![]() ![]() ![]() I think it’s an important part of the visual effects supervisor’s job to get really deeply embedded in production, and keep us all focused on trying to generate the best result. How did you manage to retain the aesthetic of the original Star Wars films-achieved through the use of physical models-but also provide something more modern in appearance? There’s a seamlessness to the visual effects in Rogue One. We’re trying to strip all those things away so you can treat visual effect scenes like any other part of the movie. The “bad old days” were if it was going to be a matte painting, you had to lock the camera off and it couldn’t pan, tilt or move at all or if we were going to add an effect to it, it couldn’t be a handheld camera. Now, with digital compositing, most of the energy that goes into a shot goes into the aesthetic issues of: Is it a good shot or not?Ī lot of what ILM has been pushing on, over the last few decades, has been to try and remove the constraints from filmmaking. There’s things that you just couldn’t do with an optical printer. We only got so many whacks at the comp before you started getting diminishing returns, where the elements would start getting dirty, or getting scratched. In the end, re-photographing elements on an optical printer put an upper limit on the quality of everything that we did. One thing I’m not nostalgic about is optical compositing. I used to do a lot of miniature work, and it’s still warranted, but it’s done less often, largely for budgetary, schedule and flexibility reasons. There are things that I am nostalgic about from the “good old days.” I loved motion control cameras, actually. It’s mostly that digital technology, especially digital compositing and its synthesis, that had a huge impact on how films are made now. Dennis asked me to move over to computer graphics department to keep an eye on the work as it flowed through the department, so I was kind of an early advocate for use of computer graphics in visual effects, and seeing its potential. I’d been a motion control camera operator for I think three years before this. We started a computer graphics department to follow up on this initial, pioneering work done by Lucasfilm computer group, and I was around while that was really starting to take root. It’s going to affect how we do what we do. ILM saw the value of all of that from the work on Young Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek II-computer graphics is going to be something. ILM had just started its own computer graphics division, after the Lucasfilm computer division had been sold off and became Pixar. I came in during the era of models, motion control and optical printers. In broad strokes, how have you seen the field of visual effects change since you started there? I started informally pitching this-”What about the rebel spy mission to steal the Death Star plans? Imagine SEAL Team Six in the Star Wars universe, sneaking into the most secure facility in the heart of the Empire’s military industrial complex, against all odds, to steal the Death Star plans.” People’s reactions were, “Oh, yeah! I can almost see that movie.” It was shortly after Kathy came onboard, and the announcement that there would be these standalone movies that were self-contained adventures that took place in the Star Wars universe seemed like a really exciting possibility. 'Barbie' Is Out Of The Box In A Big Way, But Can It Bring Comedy Back To The Oscars Too?Īs a visual effects supervisor who has worked on the entire Star Wars franchise in some capacity, but Rogue One marks your first writing credit. ![]()
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