Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope
(1977)
The Star Wars empire of George Lucas began in 1977, with the epic's fourth episode, "A New Hope." In this installment I'll be talking about the original 1977 release. I'll be covering the re-releases of episodes 4-6 in a special installment coming soon.
The film used nearly every visual effects trick in the book at the time, ranging from the simplest "Flash Frames" like those used in "Le Voyage dans la Lune", to then-state-of-the-art complicated motion control camera shots and optical composites.
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SLOW-MO ALERT:
If you watch closely during the final battle sequence you might notice a point-of-view shot in which the camera seems to fly down and into the trench (this same shot is actually used a few times). If you watch it again frame by frame, you might notice a frame where the entire screen goes white. If you look even more carefully, you will notice that the towers and structures around the trench change from before the flash to after the flash. This is because the flash frame was used to mask a transition from one size of model to another. A smaller model was used for the first part, and much larger and more detailed trench model was used for the last part.
-----
While optical printers (used for optical compositing) had been used before, they had never been used to such precision, nor to such an extent. Motion Control photography is the use of computer controlled cameras to precisely reproduce camera moves, and became the single most important technological leap (other than optical printers) used in the creation of the visual effect for the film. Similar camera control had been achieved mechanically before, but had never been done with computers, or with such flexibility of camera movement. No such technology existed at the time, and so the visual effects artists had to invent it. So ubiquitous a technology was Motion Control Photography for the creation of visual effects, that it is still a staple of visual effects to this day. The technology has improved substantially, but the basic idea of reproducing camera moves with extreme precision from one take to the next has remained the same.
"Star Wars, Episode 4: A New Hope" (herein called "ANH") stands as a testament to what can be done with optical compositing. With the exception of some full-scale models shown on land, every ship shown on screen was a model that had to be shot as a separate blue-screen element, and optically composited with a background element. Sometimes it was not this simple (though no optical composite is ever simple), some shots required numerous elements, each with it's own matte(s), requiring endless passes through the optical printer.
"ANH" was a turning point in the evolution of movies, but it was a turning point for visual effects as well. Visual effects had been made almost exclusively by the effects departments of major movie studios. Visual effects companies as such were unheard of at the time, but George Lucas had assembled some of the youngest, brightest, and best talent in visual effects together. Most of them were fresh out of school, and Lucas presented them with the opportunity of a lifetime. The bulk of them describe working on Star Wars as some variety of playground, where kids got together to make and blow-up model space ships.
At the end of post-production the bulk of The company's crew spread to the four corners of the earth, assuming that with the completion of Star Wars, the crew was to be disbanded. None would have guessed that they would be called back, and that their expertise was soon to be drawn upon by some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
And so the largest, oldest, and most accomplished visual effects company of all time, Industrial Light and Magic, was created. ILM is still an industry leader to this day, though many of the original artists left to create their own companies, or pursue other interests.
Copies of the original film in all it's optical glory (before the addition of digital improvements for it's re-release) are rapidly becoming difficult to find, though VHS copies are still available to rent at some video stores. The very best copies of the original film are the Laserdiscs, though copies of them (and Laserdisc players in general) are becoming extremely rare.
*** Update to the Above ***
If you want to see the originals in their optical glory, and without the digital "improvements," you now have a great new option. For as long as they last, you can buy (and maybe rent) the original trilogy on DVD, each with the digital re-release on the first disk, and the original version on the second disk. Just make sure you get the versions with "LIMITED EDITION" along the top, NOT the SPECIAL edition.
And where did they get get the excellent-quality video for these versions? You guessed it... the Laserdiscs!
*** 23 July 2007 ***
THE MOVIE ITSELF: Fantastic, even to this day, and after many viewings. One of the many great things about this film (and most of the septilogy) is that it is family friendly. Children and Adults seem to enjoy it equally.
(1977)
The Star Wars empire of George Lucas began in 1977, with the epic's fourth episode, "A New Hope." In this installment I'll be talking about the original 1977 release. I'll be covering the re-releases of episodes 4-6 in a special installment coming soon.
The film used nearly every visual effects trick in the book at the time, ranging from the simplest "Flash Frames" like those used in "Le Voyage dans la Lune", to then-state-of-the-art complicated motion control camera shots and optical composites.
-----
SLOW-MO ALERT:
If you watch closely during the final battle sequence you might notice a point-of-view shot in which the camera seems to fly down and into the trench (this same shot is actually used a few times). If you watch it again frame by frame, you might notice a frame where the entire screen goes white. If you look even more carefully, you will notice that the towers and structures around the trench change from before the flash to after the flash. This is because the flash frame was used to mask a transition from one size of model to another. A smaller model was used for the first part, and much larger and more detailed trench model was used for the last part.
-----
While optical printers (used for optical compositing) had been used before, they had never been used to such precision, nor to such an extent. Motion Control photography is the use of computer controlled cameras to precisely reproduce camera moves, and became the single most important technological leap (other than optical printers) used in the creation of the visual effect for the film. Similar camera control had been achieved mechanically before, but had never been done with computers, or with such flexibility of camera movement. No such technology existed at the time, and so the visual effects artists had to invent it. So ubiquitous a technology was Motion Control Photography for the creation of visual effects, that it is still a staple of visual effects to this day. The technology has improved substantially, but the basic idea of reproducing camera moves with extreme precision from one take to the next has remained the same.
"Star Wars, Episode 4: A New Hope" (herein called "ANH") stands as a testament to what can be done with optical compositing. With the exception of some full-scale models shown on land, every ship shown on screen was a model that had to be shot as a separate blue-screen element, and optically composited with a background element. Sometimes it was not this simple (though no optical composite is ever simple), some shots required numerous elements, each with it's own matte(s), requiring endless passes through the optical printer.
"ANH" was a turning point in the evolution of movies, but it was a turning point for visual effects as well. Visual effects had been made almost exclusively by the effects departments of major movie studios. Visual effects companies as such were unheard of at the time, but George Lucas had assembled some of the youngest, brightest, and best talent in visual effects together. Most of them were fresh out of school, and Lucas presented them with the opportunity of a lifetime. The bulk of them describe working on Star Wars as some variety of playground, where kids got together to make and blow-up model space ships.
At the end of post-production the bulk of The company's crew spread to the four corners of the earth, assuming that with the completion of Star Wars, the crew was to be disbanded. None would have guessed that they would be called back, and that their expertise was soon to be drawn upon by some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
And so the largest, oldest, and most accomplished visual effects company of all time, Industrial Light and Magic, was created. ILM is still an industry leader to this day, though many of the original artists left to create their own companies, or pursue other interests.
Copies of the original film in all it's optical glory (before the addition of digital improvements for it's re-release) are rapidly becoming difficult to find, though VHS copies are still available to rent at some video stores. The very best copies of the original film are the Laserdiscs, though copies of them (and Laserdisc players in general) are becoming extremely rare.
*** Update to the Above ***
If you want to see the originals in their optical glory, and without the digital "improvements," you now have a great new option. For as long as they last, you can buy (and maybe rent) the original trilogy on DVD, each with the digital re-release on the first disk, and the original version on the second disk. Just make sure you get the versions with "LIMITED EDITION" along the top, NOT the SPECIAL edition.
And where did they get get the excellent-quality video for these versions? You guessed it... the Laserdiscs!
*** 23 July 2007 ***
THE MOVIE ITSELF: Fantastic, even to this day, and after many viewings. One of the many great things about this film (and most of the septilogy) is that it is family friendly. Children and Adults seem to enjoy it equally.
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