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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST The nuances / ingredients that make a Star Wars film

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by phatdude1138, Nov 3, 2012.

  1. phatdude1138

    phatdude1138 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2005
    No lie! I was thinking of the Wilhelm Scream this weekend while watching SW and was going to add it to this thread. However I forgot :( Thanks for posting it! The Wilhelm Scream is a great nuance.
     
  2. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 1, 2012
    Mentioning the Wilhelm scream reminds me: didn't Ben Burtt leave Lucasfilm a while ago? How likely is he going to be back?
     
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  3. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 11, 2009
    According to Matt Wood, he still "has an office" at Lucasfilm. He did the sound for Lincoln and the last Star Trek.
     
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  4. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 1, 2012
    Good. Or maybe not, maybe he can be a "consultant" as well, who knows. [face_dunno] And TCW seems to be doing fine without him.
     
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  5. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 11, 2009
    Wood is Ben's padawan. He's a vet of the SEs, the PT, and TCW. He was basically trained to do Burtt's job, so I think we'll be fine either way. But obviously Burtt's legacy will be all over the movies.
     
  6. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 1, 2012
    Aaahhhhh.. OK. Mini-Ben. Well, then I'm not worried. :)
     
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  7. Jedifirefly5

    Jedifirefly5 Jedi Knight star 2

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    Sep 5, 2012
    For me, it's the score. The mysterious little tunes that are intriguing. My favorite is the chaotic song after Han shoots the floor in the "cave", when they are trying to get back in the Falcon.

    Or the depressing but mystical song, when Chewie is trying to put 3PO back together in the cell block.
    Or more recently, the birth of Luke and Leia, the quizzical almost sounds bytes instead of music mixed with ambient noises..

    And when the camera pans across the city scape in three focus shots to where Padme is brushing her hair, this pensive odd music. It really sets the tone. Pure genius on Williams part.
     
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  8. ofikenobi

    ofikenobi Jedi Youngling

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    Nov 15, 2012
    They need to keep having sound in space. That's something that always annoyed me when I got older but I just can't see Star Wars as wholly realistic.
     
  9. TtheForceHurts

    TtheForceHurts Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2010
    Physics don't have a place in good Sci-Fi movies. Imagine Star Wars without fiery explosions or the Executor not mushrooming on the surface of the Death Star. Lightsabers or Laserbolts that "fly" slower than at lightspeed would also be missing...
     
  10. Padme501st

    Padme501st Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Sep 4, 2006
    I don't think credits not being at the beginning is going to be an issue. I don't remember seeing credits in front of Harry Potter, just the WB logo and the title of the movie. And I'm pretty sure other movies have skipped credits after SW started the trend. I doubt all those people are paying fines
     
  11. Echo-07

    Echo-07 Jedi Master star 4

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    Nov 9, 2012
    I totally agree. Many more movies are doing this which is fine by me. People want to nit-pick movies to death and snobby critics treat movies as high art so why is it that the opening credits never get criticized? It's the dumbest, lamest part of any movie in which they appear. Think about it -- the first two to three minutes is absolute garbage, useless filler, just so they can get the useless credits out of the way. /rant

    IF Disney makes any changes to the SW formula, opening credits for example, that would be a HUGE mistake.
     
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  12. Ron Fett

    Ron Fett Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Nov 1, 2012
    I think everyone hated that hair.
     
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  13. Bobatron

    Bobatron Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    Before ROTS, a list of definitive little nuances could have included "no dream sequences" or "no human babies". :)
    Senses were heightened to notice and criticize certain little nuances in the Prequels even when those same techniques were in the OT/CT. The wipes were no different from the wipes in ANH. Smash zoom shots of the Geonosis battle weren't much different from similar shots used during the battle of Hoth. I remember someone complained about Mace Windu saying "this party's over." How is that different from Leia quipping stuff like "we ran into some old friends" or even Han saying "didn't we just leave this party?" The same thing happened with the fourth Indiana Jones movie. They couldn't handle an Indiana Jones without Nazis or a Christian artifact (as if Temple of Doom didn't exist or something). It's almost as if people got too use to movies like Lord of the Rings or the Narnia movies or something and expected that same tone with the Prequels. I know the Prequels aren't exactly like the CT, but some "little nuances" were unfairly criticized as being completely out of place when they were not.

    That said, the SW movies shouldn't use completely different cinematic techniques. Excessive hand-held and shaky cams shouldn't be used. It shouldn't look like the new Battlestar Galactica. Speaking of which, also, just because the new Battlestar Galactica thinks it's cool to make the ships fly in a realistic fashion with thrusters all over and whatnot doesn't mean that method would work for SW.

    Anyway, one primary nuance I've always liked: shots of major explosions aren't filmed with several cameras that linger on the shot. If something looks awesome, the camera doesn't linger on it or the shot doesn't last long. Another: major characters don't get named or explained. Watching ROTJ we can't know Mon Mothma was the leader of the Rebellion, that she survived the battle, or that her name was Mon Mothma. I imagine this is something a new SW movie with others in control might try to avoid though.
    Each SW movie added something new. A wedding, a kid as a main character, an extremely comic character, someone sleeping in a bed, a scene in slow motion, a domestic family scene, a bullet-firing weapon, the drums during the Zam Wesell chase, camouflage stormtroopers, cosmopolitan city-dwellers, a high society operatic performance, a sporting event...has there been a dolly/zoom shot? It's one of the neat things about watching STAR WARS.
     
  14. FloridaFilmGuy

    FloridaFilmGuy Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    May 1, 2000
    Wipes are meant to capture the feel of a very specific aesthetic. Not having them breaks that. That's a silly thing to propose, as SW is meant to look a certain way. Always has....
     
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  15. Echo-07

    Echo-07 Jedi Master star 4

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    Nov 9, 2012
    Don't forget the electric guitars. I don't think eg's were used in any previous SWS score.
     
  16. Motterman

    Motterman Jedi Grand Master star 2

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    Dec 22, 2000
    Wipe Transitions +1

    Actually, not much else to add.

    The one thing I would add is that the writing should aim for a big twist in Episode VIII that either tilts the OT, the PT, or everything before it on its head. The OT had "I am your father", the biggest thing missing from the PT was an equally foundation shifting revelation.
     
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  17. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    New Jedi Order's was "There is no Dark Side". Then it turned out that was deception.
     
  18. DARTHLARS

    DARTHLARS Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Mar 12, 2002
    Another thing: Display aspect ratio is 2.35:1

    Except that the OT had a dream vision in a cave on Dagobah. There was also a baby Ewok. ;)
     
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  19. bergstrom

    bergstrom Jedi Master star 2

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    Jan 26, 2004
    SYMBOLISM. Show that thought went into the script, for example, when Anakin heads to the Jedi Temple in EWp3 and walks a cross a cross sign on the floor , I read about here years go, but forgot the context in which it applies to Nazi Germany. (Someone can infor me). But I didn't get it when I saw the film, but when I came onto the boards, it was discussed and I found it interesting. Things like that.

    mayve some quite Zen moments/scenes a swell. And yes, wipes. Were there any upward wipes in any other films apart from ANH (Luke and OB1 lifing C3PO after the banta attack)
     
  20. Bobatron

    Bobatron Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    DARTHLARS, that's why I edited it and put no human babies. I don't consider the cave occurrence as a dream vision.
    I never realized fans didn't care for the wipes. The wipes really don't happen enough for them to bother me or even notice many times. Many scenes change without them.
     
  21. The Crippled God

    The Crippled God Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Nov 17, 2012
    I think I could very well enjoy a Star Wars film without a chase in it. However, if there were to be a chase in it, it would be cool if it included something very fast going through the sewers of a city, with tentacles shooting up from the sewage, dangerous and deadly corners to cut, darkness and that the chase propels the plot and not exists because a Star Wars film "needs" a chase.
     
  22. smallpaul

    smallpaul Jedi Master star 3

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    Aug 15, 2001
    I think it is crucial that SW remains rooted in the 1930's-1940's serials. Quick snappy dialog delivered while actors are running and doing stuff. Tough broads, dashing men, fast talking etc.
     
  23. awesomejedi

    awesomejedi Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 7, 2012
    I never noticed the 'I have a bad feeling about this.' My favorite one is Leia's line in ESB. I hope they don't forget to put that in there.
     
  24. Bobatron

    Bobatron Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    I hope to see the hyperspace jump shot again.
     
  25. phatdude1138

    phatdude1138 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Feb 2, 2005
    Another nuance is that: "Lived in, worn, look" as it pertains to sci-fi / space movies. Lucas was really the originator of making "outer space movies", especially the ships, places and people look worn and used. This of course needs to be maintained in the future ST...