[downinflames68]

I thought some of you might find this interesting, it's a video about the original graphics used for the planniing of how to blow up the deathstar, back in the 70s.

YouTube - Making of the Computer Graphics for Star Wars (Episode IV)

[Eriamjh]

Wow. So much work. Amazing that it was even possible. back in 1976/77.

[ghporter]

Young you are, Eriamjh. Much computer graphic work they could then.

The really cool point is how the animated stuff was built to mesh with the filmed images. Very cool. 'Cept they didn't give Cuba the final design for the Death Star, so HIS laser canon of doom is on the equator instead of at 45ºN.

[olePigeon]

Absolutely awesome, thanks. Is there a cleaned up version of this film? Did they include it in any of the Star Wars DVD releases?

[- - e r i k - -]

Nah. I saw this clip some years back. Doesn't appear to have been included on any official release.

[ctt1wbw]

This was when making movies was an artform that required pure talent. Nowadays you just have to know how to computer animate.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw 

This was when making movies was an artform that required pure talent. Nowadays you just have to know how to computer animate.

We still have Coraline.

[osiris]

that's when men was men, and wimmim was wimmim.

Great video

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw 

This was when making movies was an artform that required pure talent. Nowadays you just have to know how to computer animate.

This assumption is why Episode I sucked.

[ort888]

I'm sure they replaced it with something better for the new editions.

Hopefully they continue to revisit and update every piece of art as soon as new techniques are discovered... that way we can finally lose all touch with history and move ever closer to living in a 100% soulless, detached and bland society.

I've been trying to edit Huckleberry Finn down to 140 characters without sacrificing to much of the overall tone. I'm sure if Mark Twain were alive today this is what he would have wanted.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by ort888 

... that way we can finally lose all touch with history and move ever closer to living in a 100% soulless, detached and bland society.
...

You forgot the silver one-piece jumpsuits.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ort888 

I've been trying to edit Huckleberry Finn down to 140 characters without sacrificing to much of the overall tone. I'm sure if Mark Twain were alive today this is what he would have wanted.

"River cruise shows blacks are people too."

40 characters, 7 words.

Not elegant, but effective, I think.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

This assumption is why Episode I sucked.

George Lucas is why Episode I sucked.

[ort888]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

"River cruise shows blacks are people too."

40 characters, 7 words.

Not elegant, but effective, I think.

Drop a few "N-Bombs" in there and I think you might have something.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Young, you are, Eriamjh. Much computer graphic work they could then.

Young, I'm not. Turned 40 this year. Although I cannot think of too many similar graphics done in movies in the early to mid-70s.

Did you know that in 1981's Escape From New York, the computer animated buildings shown in Snake's glider were actually wire buildings highlighted with reflective tape then filmed with a camera? No computer at all!

Shows you what a little money can help you achieve (for SW, that is).

The really cool point is how the animated stuff was built to mesh with the filmed images. Very cool.

This was a simple trick, even for then.

'Cept they didn't give Cuba the final design for the Death Star, so HIS laser canon of doom is on the equator instead of at 45ºN.

I guess the rebels didn't steal the final version of the plans!

[OreoCookie]

Fortunately for the Rebels, the Imperials did not move the trench

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

George Lucas is why Episode I sucked.

This is true.

Why, oh why, did he not stand by his vow (made after "A New Hope") never to direct again?

The only one he didn't direct is by far the best of the lot - witty dialogue, actual character development, and a COMPLETE ABSENCE OF GRATUITOUS MARKETING CUTESY.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

Young, I'm not. Turned 40 this year. Although I cannot think of too many similar graphics done in movies in the early to mid-70s.

Did you know that in 1981's Escape From New York, the computer animated buildings shown in Snake's glider were actually wire buildings highlighted with reflective tape then filmed with a camera? No computer at all!

Shows you what a little money can help you achieve (for SW, that is).




This was a simple trick, even for then.

I guess the rebels didn't steal the final version of the plans!

Still young you are. A decade of "we know this is crap but it's the best we can afford to do" science fiction movies you have missed. I'll also point out that when the money was there, GOOD SF movies were possible. Look at Forbidden Planet, for example; they got the best and brightest to do the effects, sound, costumes (which kept popping up in later films because MGM were really cheap and liked renting stuff out), and good, solid editing. But "new" stuff from about then on was generally crap wrapped in dung in terms of production values.

The reflective tape bit was the kind of sneaky thing Carpenter learned in film school. Find "Dark Star" some time and look at what some film students can do on almost zip for a budget. And you'll never look at a beachball (even the occasional Mac beachball) the same way again!

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

George Lucas is why Episode I sucked.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

This is true.

Why, oh why, did he not stand by his vow (made after "A New Hope") never to direct again?

The only one he didn't direct is by far the best of the lot - witty dialogue, actual character development, and a COMPLETE ABSENCE OF GRATUITOUS MARKETING CUTESY.

I keep seeing people say Ep I sucked, but not "why." I didn't think it sucked at all-in fact I thought it was pretty tight. Not nearly as good as "The Empire Strikes Back," but it did answer tons of questions and was an interesting way to introduce the Republic before the Empire. Now it wasn't particularly "fantabulously incredulously wondermous" by a long shot, in part because of all the new stuff thrown in. But it hardly "sucked." If they'd toned down Jar Jar a bit (ok, maybe a lot), it would have been less kitchy and closer to wondermous, but I wouldn't say it sucked. And Ep III was fantastic.

[ort888]

It sucked.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I keep seeing people say Ep I sucked, but not "why."

I'll tell you why it sucked. It wasn't necessarily the god awful acting, painful jokes and puns, ridiculously stretched pod race, or even Jar Jar Binks. It was Anakin Skywalker accidentally blowing up the god damn ship and saving the entire day. WHAT THE ?!

I wanted to tare my f***ing eyeballs out. I hate that scene with every fiber of my body. Even more than the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish. Even more than Darth Maul being fast enough to take on two Jedi simultaneously, but too slow to turn the f**k around.

It's been 10 years and it still hurts!

[ghporter]

Ouch, ole! I guess you really did hate it... I gotta admit that Anakin's accidental actions were far fetched, but then, it's a fantasy so I let it go.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

I'll tell you why it sucked. It wasn't necessarily the god awful acting, painful jokes and puns, ridiculously stretched pod race, or even Jar Jar Binks. It was Anakin Skywalker accidentally blowing up the god damn ship and saving the entire day. WHAT THE ?!

I wanted to tare my f***ing eyeballs out. I hate that scene with every fiber of my body. Even more than the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish eating the fish. Even more than Darth Maul being fast enough to take on two Jedi simultaneously, but too slow to turn the f**k around.

It's been 10 years and it still hurts!

*mad*

Thanks for reminding me. I had just forgotten all of that, and now my hate is back, too.

Jar Jar fu*king Bings is the worst movie character evar !

-t

[Oisín]

I always rather liked Episode I, too.

Then again, I don’t remember that accidental part, and I’ve always been rather fond of Jar-Jar Binks (yes, there are actually people out there who like him—though not many!). I’m also very good at overlooking plot-holes when watching movies … at least some kinds of plot-holes.

[Spheric Harlot]

Actually, apart from everything mentioned, one of the biggest travesties of all was the "midichlorian" thing.

In one fell swoop, EVERYTHING that made Star Wars intriguing and mythical, and really influenced at least a generation and a half of kids and youths, was completely obliterated.

That was, literally, the end of an era.

One sentence.

[QuadG5Man]

[ajprice]

Originally Posted by Blue Harvest

I find your lack of faith disturbing. That property is in a prime location! Twenty minutes to the beach, twenty minutes to downtown!

This message was too short after editing so here are some words

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

This message was too short after editing so here are some words

Say what ?

-t

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Still young you are. A decade of "we know this is crap but it's the best we can afford to do" science fiction movies you have missed. I'll also point out that when the money was there, GOOD SF movies were possible. Look at Forbidden Planet, for example; they got the best and brightest to do the effects, sound, costumes (which kept popping up in later films because MGM were really cheap and liked renting stuff out), and good, solid editing. But "new" stuff from about then on was generally crap wrapped in dung in terms of production values.

I've seen Forbidden Planet. Colorful, attractive, and impressive, especially for 1956. It might have really impressed me before 1977. What can I say? Episode IV was a lot of the right things at the right time. A lot of techniques that previously existed combined and modernized into some impressive pictures.

SW wasn't sci-fi. It was science fantasy. Fun for all ages.

I want to see those 50s sci-fi movies, but no one shows them anymore. Flying brains, crashing saucers. My wife won't let me watch 'em because they aren't
cool" anymore.

There seems to be two discussions in this thread. I'll just say that I was disappointed that Lucas did not allow John Williams to properly score the prequels. It was a disgrace to repeat music from I in II and III.

And I hate Jar Jar, but I love this sketch.
Robot Chicken

[Spheric Harlot]

Btw, for sci-fi effects that have never "needed" any digital updating and completely hold their own still, surpassing most digital fx for realism:

2001: a space odyssey.

Predates even the moon landings.

[- - e r i k - -]

Agreed. The 1080p version is a thing of beauty. I almost cried when I saw it.

[ghporter]

I just dug out my HD-DVD copy of 2001 and looked at it critically on my (recently purchased) big screen. Gorgeous, artistic, and yes, beautiful. (When I get my Blu-Ray player in the near future, I will also get a BR copy of 2001.)

Nothing digital about this film at all. LOTS of cel animation, especially all the displays. None of the model shots was done with any fancy process photography, either; it was ALL hand-matted by a small army of ladies at the studio.

Some of the most striking effects shots were indeed "state of the art" in 1966 when they were filmed; the amount of front projection in this film is amazing. ALL the moving images in spacecraft windows, the BBC interview video the astronauts watch, and importantly, most of the African backgrounds were front projected onto then-new 3M retroflective screens.

But overall the film was made very traditionally. And beautifully.

[Spheric Harlot]

Also amazing is that the moon scenery handily beats out most digitally-generated moon landscapes from more recent films, even though nobody had actually BEEN to the moon at the time.

And there is exactly ONE scientific inaccuracy in the film. And even that can be partially explained away.

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw 

This was when making movies was an artform that required pure talent. Nowadays you just have to know how to computer animate.

Uhm... they made crappy stuff back then too. Just like they make good and bad today. The technology doesn't make the movie good - the people using it does.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

And there is exactly ONE scientific inaccuracy in the film. And even that can be partially explained away.

Which one? The vacuum scene? The only thing inaccurate about it is that the air in his lungs would have been forced out. He'd still be able to survive it.

[ghporter]

That's probably it-you do NOT want to hold your breath in anticipation of a run through vacuum.

There's also exactly one joke in the film. You have to watch the whole thing to see it, and it's at least partly visual.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Which one? The vacuum scene? The only thing inaccurate about it is that the air in his lungs would have been forced out. He'd still be able to survive it.

No, that scene is accurate AFAIK. It's on the moon shuttle, where Floyd takes a sip of juice - the juice slips back down the straw. It should only do this under the influence of gravity. Though you could argue that the container expands back to it's original form, retracting the liquid into the straw.

[ghporter]

Boy you've watched that film VERY carefully. I'd suggest that the food containers were MADE to prevent spills-that future is all "messless" and user friendly, after all.

No guesses on the joke yet?

[Spheric Harlot]

The Zero-G toilet instructions are pretty funny.

[ghporter]

You got it. Clarke said in one interview or other (there were a lot of 'em) that this was indeed an intentional joke. And the instructions are quite detailed-if you can get a frame grab, you can read 'em in detail and they make sense. Or just search for them and you'll get a bajillion hits.

[Spheric Harlot]

Or you can just buy Jerome Agel's book on the making of 2001.

I practically soaked that up, twenty years ago (I was a huge Arthur C. Clarke/Asimov nut through most of my youth).