ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

Hopefully that'll put some of this JJ negativity to rest. Not holding my breath though

 

I love the prequels flaws and all. I also like the look of the trailer. I thought it had OT and PT vibe. I hope TFA has its own look which I believe it will. Each Star Wars film looks different so far. The PT vs OT arguments need to stop. They are juvenile and everyone can have an opinion positive or negative. Im open to different directors adding their own vibe to Star Wars. In order to keep the saga going they cant just cut and paste everything Lucas has done. Not everyone will be happy with TFA that is impossible but people need to remember these are movies. Many people are involved in the process. GL had many collaborators as well. JJ and whoever else directs a Star Wars movie will have many collaborators as well. They all will go back to the foundation GL has laid. So in someways GL will always be part of new Star Wars movies no matter what. Im am not worried that GL did not have alot of imput on the story. Im fine with that, he is just passing on what he has learned and letting go of possession. Isn't that ironic.

 

I thought the trailer looked good, but it didn't really give me much of an OT specific vibe beyond some surface designs. We saw x-wings, for instance, and they looked good, but the way a feeling of speed was captured and lined up there reminded me more of the pod race than the Death Star attacks. A similar thing thing struck me with the trooper shot. Yes, they were wearing real costumes, but the way the shot was presented didn't feel like something from the OT. It felt like a scene specifically following the troopers from their point of view, which makes sense if one of the main characters is a stormtrooper. I don't mean this as a negative, but also it kind of reminded me of a video game cutscene that leads to the player directly taking control of a stormtrooper, a very in your face and near to the action feeling which, again, is not something that gave me an immediate OT vibe in terms of the visual presentation of stormtroopers.

Fortunately, though, despite the PR stuff I wasn't expecting something that recreates an OT aesthetic. I think it looks like something that channels aspects of both existing trilogies while overall feeling appropriately modern. I expect the look of the film to work fine, although I don't expect it to surpass my two favorite Star Wars films as pure visual creations--ANH and TPM.

 

basically, it boils down to this, pick your tribe Star Wars Fans:

Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Loves the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Loves the Special editions Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Loves the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Loves the Sequels Hates the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels loves the EU
Hate the Originals Hates the Special edition Hates the Prequels Hates the Sequels Hates the EU

 

Hmm..the agony of choice.

 

The Falcon shot was one of the most obvious digital/tv game shots I've seen in a Star Wars movie. Of course that may be the only shot of the Falcon in the entire movie, but I seriously doubt it. They'll be tons of digital effects. I do think they'll probably be less digital creatures though...

 

Likes the Originals, Likes various parts of the SE's, Likes various parts of the PT, will see the ST before judging and will base it on my thoughts of the ST movies and no one else's and loves various parts of the EU.

 

That works both ways... If you think Lucas is all out of ideas, and SW is better off without him... but JJ was his personal choice... then ipso facto JJ's SW will suck ballz.

 

I think the trailer felt nothing like the OT. It felt like a mix of the PT with Star Trek. Which is alright IMO. It is clearly a new Star Wars and tech and cinema have both evolved since 1983 and 2005.

 

like someone said in a different thread, cant recall, the prequels came out in the era of cgi being the new awesome novelty. overdone, cgi everything.

well, fast forward to this past weekend, i saw "into the woods" (yah, i really did, i have kids) and aside from about 15 minutes of too much singing they brought it all together perfectly. tons of what appeared to be practical fx and detailed sets, and plenty of cgi that was more in the background and woven through just right. And for the part with the giant from the beanstalk, about 10 years ago they would have animated the crap out of it, made the giant front and center and the focus of the story. In "into the woods" they hid the giant through the trees so only a glimpse of it was seen, and it truly appeared to be just an enlarged actual actress face. whatever it was it was done right.
this isnt about me evaluating the movie or glossing over its flaws, but it was done by disney. and they didnt overdo cgi in it and i hope that they will do the same for TFA. i really dont know why it wasnt overdone with cgi but maybe someone with a brain said if we want repeated watchability and longevity we gotta tone down the fx and put some quality work into it.
will they do it with star wars? $^#$% i hope so.
one flaw, scenes are played out too quickly, not hanging in a scene long enough to get a feeling.

 

Yeah, I had a bit of a chuckle at that. After months of PR talk about old school, practical and all that and the big "Star Wars is Back" moment of the trailer stood out (to me) as an extremely noticeable example of new school effects work. And not particularly good work at that.

 

I'm pretty sure I read a VFX guy saying that shot was practical with a new type of motion control camera. I'll have to go dig up the quote...

 

Keep in mind that Disney and Abrams weren't even planning on releasing that teaser to begin with, so that Falcon shot was most likely animated very quickly and at the last minute (considering that principal photography had just wrapped a month before). I'd be surprised beyond belief if the current iteration of that shot makes it into the final cut of the film without being revamped to some degree.

I'm mostly in the pro-JJ camp, but I don't agree with those who are saying that it looks and feels like the OT. Sure, the OT iconography is there, X-Wings, Falcon, Stormtoopers and such...but the actual mise en scene is much more "current" and more stylish than the OT. It looks like a JJ film to me. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing (I actually really like JJ's visual flair)...just different, that's all.

 

Darth PJ





More videogamey to me ^

Either way, the movie has a year to come out, obviously the digital effects or early but even then it still looks far more realistic imo. I can tell the X-Wings are actual models and it really benefits from that, the CGI enhances instead of replacing. I actually loved that scene in the teaser more than the Falcon scene for that very reason.

 

Hmm, if that's true it had me fooled, and not in a good way. Granted, I realize that the stuff in the trailer is in no way finalized, but still, first impressions count, and I thought it weird that the Falcon of all things stood out to me as looking along the lines of TV quality CGI. I'm surprised Abrams didn't focus on the much better X-Wing shot for the big action moment and reveal the Falcon in a manner similar to how that batmobile Easter egg vid did.

 

Again, this footage was shown right after filming stopped pretty much. So a lot of the CGI/Effects are probably rushed to show us something and get us excited. The fact that it looks this good this early if anything is a great sign. It'll only improve.

 

So, your point is?

 

Yep. As you say filming had only just finished. It's silly to judge the special effects already.

 

Precisely. But as has been clearly proved, there are those on here who, in their desperation to try and make some sort of incongruous point, have jumped on the clearly very early CGI. It's laughable

 

Except that is wasn't as we know and each single prequel had more practical effects that the entire OT combined.

So just like the prequels then.

Well it hardly can do that. It's not the start of something that those 2 movies were but a continuation.

Depending on what some people want it to be a shot can be "practical" or "CGI" so no doubt the term practical will be used by many people for ST shots and they will still use the term CGI for the PT.

 

What CGI environment scenes were there in the OT? You seem to focus on the use of miniatures, which has never been in question between the 2 trilogies in my eyes. It's the utterly cartoonish, unrealistic environments and equally awful lighting in such scenes that are the main bug bare. AOTC was the most guilty of this. And Sith too. The switch between actual environments and CGI was literally terrible to the point of ridiculous. And the films were nowhere near good enough to make you ignore that glaring fact.

 

You seem to forget that press statements are usually diplomatic and anyone would generally not want to say negative thing about their fellow directors. How does being an ideal choice suddenly imply that he was the personal choice of Lucas? Considering that it was quite clear that the person that wanted JJ was Kennedy as opposed to Lucas, you are just making stuff up.

There's nothing wrong with bias. Everyone is bias to a degree. The issue is when people do not admit their bias.

 

Oh right. So now Lucas was just a glove puppet for what Kennedy was thinking and wanted? I think you're just making stuff up. Which I expected in all honesty.

 

Matte paintings were the "CGI" of the OT and there were some horrible uses of matte paintings. It just goes to show that both trilogies have plenty that are good and bad about them.

 

Well it certainly looked more like an effects shot from a prequel than it did the OT.