ILM: ENGINEERS OF EPISODE I
For many years, it has been reported, through a variety of
sources, that Episode I of the new Star Wars Prequel Trilogy will
have the most special effects ever in a motion picture. Just
think about that for a minute. It has been confirmed that this
movie will have around 1,500 SFX shots, compared to 200 for 'A
New Hope', and this movie will have more than double the effects
of 'Titanic'. The company charged with achieving this feat is
Industrial Light and Magic or ILM for short; the visual engineers
of Episode I. The enormity and magnitude that the special effects
will have on this film is realised when you consider that the
post production for SFX will take a year and a half to complete!
Those familar with the wizardry of ILM will recall such
names as John Knoll (who created the X-wing flyby in Star Wars:
Special Edition) who is the overall supervisor of Special
Effects, Dennis Muren (of Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 fame)
will be doing two major effects sequences, according to Rick
McCallum in the Star Wars Insider, Scott Squires is doing some
other major sequences, while Robe Coleman is the supervisor of
all animation.
ILM is just another revolutionary company that George
Lucas has founded that has forever changed cinematography as we
know it, along with the THX format and Skywalker Sound. Imagine
films such as Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and Dragonheart would
be like without the creative genius of ILM? Then consider other
films such as Titanic, Starship Troopers, Star Trek, etc . . .
(add any special effects burden films) would be like without the
breakthoughs of ILM? They may not have been involved in that
production, but people who started their careers there have
branched off and started their own production houses, or added
their talents to other companies, such as Phil Tippet. Such is
the respect for ILM, that they are THE premier special effects
company in the business.
Now, when you consider what they have DONE, now imagine
what they will DO next with the Star Wars prequels. Ever since
the beginning of the production, George Lucas and Rick McCallum
have stated that they need to INVENT new technologies for this
film to be possible. Quoting George Lucas "We're depending
on it. If we don't invest in new technology, I don't know what
will happen. That's the part that scares a lot of people. We
depend on our ability to come up with ideas and things right now
don't exist. ILM has spent the last nine months trying to
reinvnet some of the techniques. We have to write new software to
do some of the things that I want to do. We have a truly
synthetic cyber-character. We did some acting in Casper, and
obviously we made some very life like creatures in Jurassic Park,
but nobody's ever made a life like creature that acts. You have a
performance from the character, and he's a regular character.
We're doing that."
Rick McCallum has also spoken about these 'digital
synthetic characters', which he said should have genuinely
individual qualities and be seamlesly integrated with real
actors. The other core effects technology, McCallum explained, is
'virtual sewt-technology', involving the spatial manipulation of
a three dimensional matte painting. These technologies, he said,
are ' as REVOLUTIONARY as the coming of sound and color.' THINK
about that statement folks! Reportedly, some background shots are
so complicated that it takes 75 hours to combine all the matte
paintings together properly on computers. A full hour and 45
minutes of computer generated imagery is being created for the
prequels.
Just as ILM's work in the original trilogy revolutionized
the industry, ILM's contribution to Episode I looks set to
redefine state of the art special effects as we know them.
According to Rick McCallum, ILM will be providing an average of
13 visual effects per scene in Episode I - which is quite a
staggering amount of work, when compared to 'Independance Day',
whch had three effects every five scenes!
Personally, like many others, I can't WAIT to see this
movie. Imagine what we have seen so far in other movies that ILM
has contributed to, and now TRY to imagine what the prequels will
be like, as they are creating even new technologies just for this
film! Picture that the film will be like the ending of ROTJ: SE -
eg: Coruscant scenes, but all throughout the film, and even
better. Picture a character created even better than JABBA in
ANH: SE, that will be throught most of the film, and INTERGRATING
with real actors (Jar Jar Binks). To conclude, I feel that to be
an employee of ILM would be the most fun and enjoyable job in the
world!
Until next time
MTFBWY
PS: To find more about the people at ILM behind the
creation of Episode I, head over to the Official Web Site:
http://www.starwars.com
Sources used in this article with thanks:
(1) Star Wars Galaxy Magazine.
(2) Sci-Fi Invasion!
(3) Film Review