ST New Droid - BB-8

Easier? Possibly. Look as good? Never. Look at the above image. It looks really fake. Like a video game.

 

I'm sticking with my belief that the body is one solid sphere rather than two half-spheres or independent wheels. I'm sticking with it until it's definitively proven otherwise by more footage.

 

The body is a ball. Its only drawn split in two to show you how the mechanism and weights are lined up. The drawing I recreated is how the droid is used on average. I'm not saying there is a motorized version, but generally speaking, Its a ball with a very thing groove for the head attachment. For all intents and purposes, it looks like a ball with a head popping out and the track where the head wire pops out is really thin.

If you read my past reports, I also detail that this droid basically has every feature Artoo has and more. It has a defense mechanism that allows it to be a puffer fish with spikes that pop out. I'm not sure how much of that is character development and gags that will used in future films.

So basically, it BB has ever feature of Artoo except the ability to fly and that is evened up with the puffer fish mechanism.

 

I don't think you can always tell when something is CG. There's already been a lot of debate over whether or not the droid is CG in the trailer. Of course you can tell with creatures or something like Clone Troopers that we can compare to real people, and even the more anthropomorphic droids like Threepio, but can anyone confidently say that they can pick out every single shot in which Artoo is CG? Personally I, along with many others, initially assumed BB-8 was CG when I saw the trailer, and I seriously doubt that it would look much if any different if it were. And that's not even taking into account the advancements in CG over the last decade since ROTS.

 

I don't believe BB-8 was designed to be as sophisticated as an R2 unit. It's more like a "pet" or something. It can do menial tasks and fetch things for you, etc. However, this particular BB droid might have more going for it than normal. Sort of like R2.

The hatred for this droid says more about the person doing the hating than it does about the droid itself. Yeah, I went there. Enough already.

 

Maybe this droid is used for fixing speeder bikes nothing more no important purpose chill man.

 

They'll still use VFX where needed/ desired but there are some filmmakers who know exactly what they're doing who believe (and I agree with them) that you want as much in camera work as possible, before you then extend and augment out with VFX (and obviously tackle things that would not be feasible or impossible with practical.

 

I don't need to chill, I'm fine. I'm just tired of people griping about a droid they've seen for 3 seconds. It's ridiculous.

 

I guess at some point it all comes down to taste though. I remember when I first saw the Special Editions, I liked them overall except for the additions of CG creatures, namely Jabba in ANH, the band in Jabba's palace, and the Sarlacc, all of which I hated at the time and thought stuck out like a sore thumb. The environment upgrades on the other hand I loved. But after having time to get used to them I've grown to like the additions to ROTJ, and the updated Jabba in ANH no longer really bothers me (although I still think the '97 edition was horrible). Consequently, when I saw TPM I was blown away by it, but still preferred puppets to the numerous CG creatures and aliens. But by the time AOTC rolled around I had gotten used to that as well and now I love the animation in the prequels, and even that particular CG cartooniness of it. I've come to really adore the texture and motion of those things far more than many of the practical elements in the saga like the Rancor or the Tauntauns. Admittedly there are times when I think Lucas overreached, such as never having practical clones and even going as far as to paste heads on CG bodies, but when you compare, say, the asteroid flights in TESB and AOTC, the latter comes out on top for me.

Of course I know I'm probably not in the majority when it comes to these things, certainly among older fans, but I know kids who are really underwhelmed with the imagery of the OT next to the PT as well. So I guess what it comes down to is that time and familiarity totally changed my perspective, and now I feel that CG has become an integral part of the look and feel of Star Wars, and I don't even want it to be subtle or just used for enhancement. I don't want everything to look real, I want it to look like Star Wars. If they decided to make all of the aliens and creatures practical I'd be disappointed, because it would be missing what I feel is a crucial element at this point. I'm even concerned that if they do create CG aliens they will look too real compared to the ones in the other films just due to the improvements in the technology, especially following the rather primitive CG in ROTJ. And as for a rolling ball of a droid, I see very little purpose in making it practical. But like I said, it's just a matter of taste and I guess I'm just weird like that. Plus I suppose that throughout the making of the PT I learned to view the saga through GL's eyes, and that colors my views on these things as well.

 

The acid test is if those concentric circles (the thin black lines not the orange and blue symbols) ever deviate from the vertical in relation to the direction of travel.

 

Roach - sure, you can't argue with or against personal preference. I think regardless of the techniques used, the proof will be in the pudding re the overall look of the film. If the look of the teaser is representative of the finished film (and if anything, I expect the FX to improve), I think we're in for a treat.

 

I'm not entirely in love with the look of TFA based on the trailer, but however it was accomplished I will grant that BB-8 looks just fine, and even if some of the cinematography, design, and color grading aren't really my thing, I have no problem with any of the VFX on display so far.

 

What is "wrong" with it, if I may ask?

 

I didn't say anything was wrong with it. Mainly I'm just not personally crazy about the color palette of some things like the X-Wings, Dameron's costume, or the color grading of the trailer, which I actually think is a lot better in the trading cards. Just my opinion though.

 

Yes, I know you didn't say it but I was wanting to know what you didn't like - what was "wrong" for you ( hence the " " ) - I should just have asked what you don't like about it and not put words in your mouth (so to speak) - which wasn't my intention but I felt it meant the same thing.

Can you explain why though? Just want to see it from your point, because I don't understand it

 

I thought the colouring in the cards looked different - so it wasn't just me?

 

Yes, they were - I think it was to make the cards look "vintage" like the older ones.

 

We don't yet know the ratio of CG to practical.

Also, it isn't a "dedication to practical" - Abrams isn't a man with an agenda or a mission about VFX. Lucas did have a mission - to advance CG as much as possible - he was about experimentation.

Abrams is making the decision on the cost, look and feel. The space sequence in Star Trek was originally a CG heavy and expensive sequence. Abrams suddenly had an idea while filming the fight scene on the drill and while Pine and Cho were still in costume got some mirrors and fans and filmed the sky dive portion. Saved a massive amount of time and money.

To be honest, BB-8 has proved the fans who argue CGI vs. Practical are talking through their hats - no-one could tell whether it was computer generated or not.

This is the very thing Lucas was aiming for all along.

Yes, tha is the kind of filmmaker that Abrams is - use the thing that works best.

Lucas is an experimenter who work allows people like Abrams to do that.

And... ???

You seek reason where there is none

 

I can`t believe that nobody has made a "They see me rollin they hatin" music video with BB-8 yet!

 

BB-8 is the most Star Wars sounding thing since . . . (I'm trying to think of a prequel name that actually felt THAT Starwarsy but can't) . . probably since R2-D2

 

To be honest I'm not really sure how to be any more specific than I already was. It's really just about my personal aesthetic and my view of the aesthetic that Lucas created in his movies, which for me clashes a bit with what Abrams has done here. And granted, we've seen very little and I know the trailer doesn't necessarily represent the final product. And most of what's in the trailer has already grown on me to some extent, so it's probably just a matter of getting used to it. I always knew Abrams would bring some of his own style into it, which he has but definitely with some restraint and adherence to what's come before, but knowing and seeing are two different things. I'm guessing it will actually take seeing the movie several times before I fully warm up to it, and even then I may have some issues but hopefully they'll stay within reason. On one hand, I'm already beginning to understand with this movie how others felt about the prequels, but on the other I'm trying my best to learn from that situation to be more open minded about something that doesn't quite fit in with my personal view of how it should be.

 

That is terrific.

 

Very good indeed.

 

Just like Luke, Han and Leia are stepping aside... so is our beloved R2. R2 is a Lucas creation...I'm sure Abrams wants to put his mark on these movies. Just hope we don't we see any "comedY' ala jar jar.