Star Wars Discussion Thread v. Rogue One

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

This just keep getting more and more exciting.

[Phoenix87x]

https://www.tmz.com/2014/06/03/star-wars-episode-7-millennium-falcon-set-photos/

Well, dayam.

bravo

This keeps getting better and better.

[Kotowboy]

Wow! They're really going full speed ahead with this practical effects thing.

Which means it's already better than the prequels.

EDIT :


And in the making of Into Darkness - it shows them filling an enormous sound stage with the Enterprise set - which was all inter-connected -

- so you could actually run from the bridge to the sick bay to the transporter room etc without having to cut two sets together in editing.

Damn I would have loved to have walked around that set !

[Phoenix87x]

Wow! They're really going full speed ahead with this practical effects thing.

Which means it's already better than the prequels.

Agreed 100%

[Zantera]

They seem to be making all the right decisions with this movie so far. JJ is a good fit as a director, the more "unknown" cast combined with a few bigger names, going back to the old trilogy (with both cast, screenwriter, score etc), going back to practical effects and more locations. I couldn't be more excited for this movie.

It could still end up failing as a result of the script, the direction or maybe even editing, but at least they are making the right decisions.

[Mister Gold]

I got chills seeing that huge boar-like creature yesterday. It's stuff like that that makes me generally prefer utilizing practical effects over CGI.

Also, I've been hanging around at a SW fan forum lately and some of the folks there noticed something really sweet about these set photos: certain pieces of the set are clearly derived from official concept artwork from the 80's by a guy named McQuarrie.





JJ and Co. have clearly been doing their homework.

[ZirconBlue]

Do people actually really go and see films because they fancy someone in it ?

I have never gone and paid to see a movie based on the cast. Celebrities aren't a motivating factor for me. If that was all I'm interested in, I'd just use the Google! If it's on TV, and there's someone hot in it (or just an actor I like), it might persuade me to watch it for a bit longer than otherwise.
Neither of those new girls are hot at all anyway.

I've certainly gone to see movies based on the cast.  But based on their acting ability, not their physical attractiveness.

[ReaPsTA]

At least it looks right.

[Kotowboy]

I've certainly gone to see movies based on the cast.  But based on their acting ability, not their physical attractiveness.

Exactly - for example - Edge Of Tomorrow. The premise sounded great already - and I enjoy Tom Cruise as an actor - and the trailer sealed the deal.



I'd never ever see that there was a new Tom Cruise film out and fork out £10 - £15 to see it without knowing anything about it.


Even less chance if it happened to star some actress I liked the look of.

[zepp-head]

Just to keep something in mind, based on what we know, the prequels had more practical sets/effects/miniatures than the originals, and much more than we have seen thus far on Episode VII as well.  So things like this:

Wow! They're really going full speed ahead with this practical effects thing.

Which means it's already better than the prequels.

don't make a whole lot of sense, especially since there is no indicator of how much CGI will be added later.  After seeing the full scale of how many practical miniatures and such were done for the prequels, I actually have a really hard time believing that Episode VII will have more, especially since it is less practical (financially and in other ways) now than it was then.

[hefdaddy42]

Just to keep something in mind, based on what we know, the prequels had more practical sets/effects/miniatures than the originals

I haven't seen a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff on the prequels, so I can't say for sure, and you may be right, but on the face of it, I just don't see how this is possible.

[bosk1]

Just to keep something in mind, based on what we know, the prequels had more practical sets/effects/miniatures than the originals

I haven't seen a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff on the prequels, so I can't say for sure, and you may be right, but on the face of it, I just don't see how this is possible.

Not to mention the fact that it is contrary to what I have ever heard anybody actually associated with the movies ever say.

[Kotowboy]

https://imgur.com/a/KHacm

^ Relevant.

[MetalJunkie]

Fun fact: the spectators in the pod race when shown from a distance were actually cue tips being moved from the underside of the stands.

[The King in Crimson]

I think people getting themselves hyped simply over the inclusion of more practical effects than normal are setting themselves up for some disappointment.

[jammindude]

https://imgur.com/a/KHacm

^ Relevant.

I think people are confusing models vs. CG with "studio green screen" vs. "on location".... 

As I looked at these pictures, it *still* struck me that in more than a few, there were green screen backgrounds with few real things in the foreground.  (picture #5 in particular with Ewan and Hayden in speeder with absolutely NOTHING in the background is a perfect example of what there was just way too much of in the prequels)

I'm not saying that EPVII won't have these things.   But the prequels just seemed to be saturated with it.    JJ is shooting the new movie on location instead of a studio, and it seems there will be a bit less fakery. 

[bosk1]

^This guy gets it.

[Super Dude]

And of course, confusion of style vs. substance. Practical effects and shooting on location of course tend toward better writing, direction, and acting than plain CGI-fests, but I'm sure there have been great all-CGI movies just as history is riddled with terrible, B-movie grade movies with practical effects and on-location shooting exclusively.

[ReaPsTA]

A lot of the physical items in those pictures too are miniature sets.  It's cool that they actually built the stuff instead of just modeling it in a computer, but it's still not an actual set that actual actors perform within and interact with.

[MetalJunkie]

it's still not an actual set that actual actors perform within and interact with.

No, but this is.

[orcus116]

Meh, still looks like a dwarf could knock it over.

[BlobVanDam]

A lot of the physical items in those pictures too are miniature sets.  It's cool that they actually built the stuff instead of just modeling it in a computer, but it's still not an actual set that actual actors perform within and interact with.

That.
A scale set put in with blue screen is just as bad as a full CG set, because in both cases, the actors aren't interacting with that environment, so the lighting isn't real, they're limited in what they can do acting-wise, they actors don't gel with that environment due to the keying, and the directing is actually more limited than doing it via CG, because they'd have to use a motion control camera to sync the two elements up rather than being able to match moving it in a computer. All of that makes for very unconvincing scenes.

The PT may have used more models, but that's because it used models where it really shouldn't have been using them to begin with. To put it into perspective, they're building a real, full scale Millennium Falcon for Ep VII. They didn't even build a single clone trooper costume for the PT.

That doesn't automatically mean the new movie is going to be awesome, but it's a good indicator that they're trying to do this right all around, and fills me with a lot of confidence that it's being done right.

[ReaPsTA]

They didn't even build a single clone trooper costume for the PT.

So they all really were clone troopers.

[orcus116]

Ctrl-V Troopers.

[ReaPsTA]

[Accelerando]

I just finished watching the entire Star Wars: The Clone Wars series on Netflix. I have to say...this is important Star Wars storytelling. More essential than Star Wars episodes 1, 2, and maybe even 3 which I actually like. For so long I ignored it because it premiered when I was in college and I wasn't really interested in watching animated television that wasn't Family Guy or South Park, but more or less it was because I was hung up on my disdain for the prequel trilogy.  If you haven't already watched this series, I advise you give it a shot. The Clone Wars definitely started out aimed directly at children. But as it progressed, it became mature. There were even episodes that touched on high-minded concepts like Existentialism. Some of the best episodes were about the Clone Troopers. You can identify with them on a human level that I did not think possible since they are clones. The Clone Wars' Anakin Skywalker is what the prequel trilogy Anakin Skywalker should have been. The final season, which I guess is only exclusive on Netflix, brings it all to a satisfying end. The last three episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is to me one of the greatest moments in all of the Star Wars, from the movies to the expanded universe.

[zepp-head]

Just to keep something in mind, based on what we know, the prequels had more practical sets/effects/miniatures than the originals

I haven't seen a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff on the prequels, so I can't say for sure, and you may be right, but on the face of it, I just don't see how this is possible.

Just by the volume of behind the scenes pictures it is pretty well documented at this point, at least by going on what we have available.   I posted a link to a few hundred practicals a few pages back, but it really just falls on deaf ears.  Most people would be surprised at how much of those films was accomplished with non-CGI means. 

It's easy to bash though, simply because a lot of people don't know any better, which seems to be the case on a number of issues.

Just to keep something in mind, based on what we know, the prequels had more practical sets/effects/miniatures than the originals

I haven't seen a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff on the prequels, so I can't say for sure, and you may be right, but on the face of it, I just don't see how this is possible.

Not to mention the fact that it is contrary to what I have ever heard anybody actually associated with the movies ever say.

Such as?

https://imgur.com/a/KHacm

^ Relevant.

I think people are confusing models vs. CG with "studio green screen" vs. "on location".... 

As I looked at these pictures, it *still* struck me that in more than a few, there were green screen backgrounds with few real things in the foreground.  (picture #5 in particular with Ewan and Hayden in speeder with absolutely NOTHING in the background is a perfect example of what there was just way too much of in the prequels)

It's not evil on its own, the speeder bike chase, among other scenes, was all blue-screened.  Plus, there are many people that didn't know that no Clonetrooper suits were made for the films, so I would chalk that up as pretty successful work.

But this is really just part of a bigger point, the quality of a film is largely not determined by the tools.

[Mister Gold]

I just finished watching the entire Star Wars: The Clone Wars series on Netflix. I have to say...this is important Star Wars storytelling. More essential than Star Wars episodes 1, 2, and maybe even 3 which I actually like. For so long I ignored it because it premiered when I was in college and I wasn't really interested in watching animated television that wasn't Family Guy or South Park, but more or less it was because I was hung up on my disdain for the prequel trilogy.  If you haven't already watched this series, I advise you give it a shot. The Clone Wars definitely started out aimed directly at children. But as it progressed, it became mature. There were even episodes that touched on high-minded concepts like Existentialism. Some of the best episodes were about the Clone Troopers. You can identify with them on a human level that I did not think possible since they are clones. The Clone Wars' Anakin Skywalker is what the prequel trilogy Anakin Skywalker should have been. The final season, which I guess is only exclusive on Netflix, brings it all to a satisfying end. The last three episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is to me one of the greatest moments in all of the Star Wars, from the movies to the expanded universe.

I actually just watched the two-part Clone Wars animated series from 2003 that leads right into RotS on YouTube. I absolutely loved that and will probably start watching the more recent TCW series soon too, especially after reading this.

[hefdaddy42]

It just doesn't make a lot of sense to say that the prequels used more practical effects than the originals because, technology-wise, almost all that the originals had access to was practical effects, whereas the prequels definitely used a shit-ton of CGI, regardless of how much practical effects they also used.

[Arry]

it's still not an actual set that actual actors perform within and interact with.

No, but this is.

Goddamn that is fuckn cool as hell.

[CrimsonSunrise]

So what's the overall consensus on Josh Trank?  When I think of Chronicle, I don't get the warm and fuzzies about him directing a SW's movie.

[YtseBitsySpider]

I love the little note JJ posted after those falcon shots leaked asking people to stop leaking photos....as I looked at the table the note was on all the hair on my arms stood up.

SO COOL.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Let the wookie win...... 

[Accelerando]

For those who were worried Mark Hamill was not going to be in shape for the new movie, just take a look at the picture that was taken during Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World this past weekend.



He's looking 10x better than he has in many lightyears

[Phoenix87x]

Looks good.

The man is very professional when it comes to his work, especially something of this magnitude. There wasn't really any doubt in my mind that he would get back in shape for the role. But regardless, he looks good.