The Official "I'm worried about Yoda" Thread

Pat,

Where has lucas said that he is gonna go back and do more touch ups to the OT? thats jsut fan speculation as far as i know...

Something you gotta face folks... These films are being made 20-25 years apart. There are gonan be differences in the way they are made. If GL had access to CGI back in the 70's, he woulda used it. There never would have been a puppet Yoda. As much as we want the movies to look exactly alike, thats never gonna happen.

 

So far, the overhauling of the OT effects seems primarily to be fan speculation and I hope it remains that way. There are a few BLATANT things that still need fixing (Ben and Vader's sabers in the Death Star duel, for example) but beyond that I think Lucas would be far better off leaving the OT films alone and standing up to the challenge of making the new movies blend sylistically with the OT films on as many levels as possible.

That's not to say he shouldn't use CGI... there are some amazing things to be done with CGI, particularly as far as environments go, which don't look out of place in conjunction with the OT (particularly after Lucas' little SE additions to Tatooine, Cloud City and elsewhere) And if he can do things in CGI and not have a glaring difference in style when we go from Episode III to Episode IV, then IMHO it will be a job well done.

 

Yoda looks great. I enjoy the CG Yoda just as much as the puppet Yoda.

 

perhaps i seem a little slow, but, WAS THAT CG???
He looks excellent, MUCH better than in TPM.

As someone who does computer graphics, we aim for photo-realism. Looking at some of ILM's work, as well as Lucas and his vision, i believe we're almost there

 

On a somewhat unrelated note, I'm kind of amused that I have become the very first AOTC "basher"! Woohoo!! If you haven't already, take a moment to read the now-locked but very amusing AOTC Defense Force thread. Since I saw the and criticized the trailer first, that makes me the first "basher"!

Seriously, I don't think any of us consider ourselves bashers. We just have concerns. Is that so wrong? Besides, I made it perfectly clear in my posts that I think ILM will have all the visual kinks worked out of what is shaping up to be an awesome movie experice by the time said movie is released.

But is is kinda cool being the first "basher" anyway....

 

I'm worried that Yoda is going to kick so much ass that I'll wet myself in the theatre. The puppet yoda was fine for an old master who basically just talked, but any kind of real action would look terrible with the puppet.

 

Who said anything about using a puppet for action sequences? Obviously that wouldn't work. CGI is fine for those. But for closeups when it's just Yoda talking, then for continuity's sake it ought to be Frank Oz and a puppet... albeit a more accurate looking one than what was used in TPM.

 

I look at it this way. If they are going to have action scenes with Yoda they will need to use CGI. Unless they can match up the CGI with the puppet, they should use CGI throughout the movie for continuity. Otherwise it would look to obvious. As someone previously mentioned the technology has moved up to the point where they can do more with Yoda, and I am glad.

 

I thought he looked great. It was one of my concerns but not anymore. He facial expression speaks volumes. He really looks good.

Maybe what the thread ought to say is:

The Official "I'm worried about the Gungan entering the room as Yoda leaves" Thread.

 

"Unless they can match up the CGI with the puppet, they should use CGI throughout the movie for continuity. Otherwise it would look to obvious."

Well, they pulled it off in TPM. No reason to assume they couldn't pull it off three years later.

 

This CGI Yoda does look better than the wretched puppet in TPM; but that's not saying much.

By far the best Yoda is the puppet in ESB. If that is the best they can do, why not dust off the good ol' puppet and fire all the puppet-makers and CGI people? Good grief. I can't believe how far special effects can fall in 20 years.

Speaking of which, I am really worried about the asteroids. I can imagine the CGI boulders in AOTC not looking as good as those in ESB. I hope this isn't another case of a 20-year old movie having better special effects than a new one.

 

You think the CG Yoda for Ep. II looks bad?

Wait until you see the marionette used for his action scenes.

 

The old puppet from ESB is badly deteriorated and not usable anymore. The foam latex breaks down over time and cannot be used for anything other than a museum piece.

I am worried about Yoda in Episode II. I do not think he looks quite right in the Breathing teaser, nor did I like the one CGI shot of him walking in Episode I. Something just does not look right.

The reason I am not freaking out about it is because Lucas and ILM still have 6 months to tweak and fix things. There were shots in the TPM teaser that were refined more in the finished film. Examples are the helicopter shot flying over Theed and the shot of the Battle Droids all turning towards the camera. The Theed shot was tweaked and changed for content and color. The battle droid shot in the teaser looks badly CGI. I did not like it at the time and seeing it on DVD it still looks bad. But the exact same shot in the finished film looks WAY better and totally real. So they may very well refine and improve these shots before the film comes out. We can only hope.

 

uh, well, if there are any conditions under which you CAN freak out about Yoda, you need to get a life.

Something didn't look 'quite right?' something didn't look 'quite right' about the puppet, either. Nothing that's unreal will ever look perfectly real. Deal with it. Like i said earlier, Yoda looks great to me in the teaser--and i thought he looked great walking in TPM.

 

I'm much more worried about this:

http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/yaddle/img/eu_bg.jpg

 

uh, well, if there are any conditions under which you CAN freak out about Yoda, you need to get a life.

Something didn't look 'quite right?' something didn't look 'quite right' about the puppet, either. Nothing that's unreal will ever look perfectly real. Deal with it. Like i said earlier, Yoda looks great to me in the teaser--and i thought he looked great walking in TPM.

First off, I think we need to be a little nicer than this here. Second of all, my reference to the reason I am not freaking out was in reference to other people who ARE freaking out about Yoda. I am not, nor will I.

When I say something did not look right, I refer to the fact that Yoda does not even look as good as Jar Jar, Watto or Sebulba in TPM. And he certainly does not look as good as the puppet. My hope is not necessarily that Lucas will use the puppet everywhere in Episode II. My hope is that he will chose whatever technique works best for each shot. If a simple shot of Yoda's face looking at Mace Windu looks best as the puppet, then use it. If a shot of Yoda walking or fighting works best as CGI then use it.

George Lucas himself set the bar for CGI photorealistic characters in Episode I. I expect the bar to remain as high or even be pushed higher in Episode II. Yoda as CGI should look at LEAST as good as the CG characters in TPM. Yoda in the "Breathing" teaser does not. Hence my hope that the shot is not finaled and will continue to be tweaked as shots that appeared in the TPM teaser were.

 

Sorry you felt hurt by what I said. I don't think I'm going to retract it, though, because you're just plain wrong. Yoda looks great. As good or better than the Ep1 characters.

 

You dont think Yoda looks better than Jar Jar?

ummm, ok.... =/

 

The first time that I saw the trailer, everything seemed to flash by so fast that I didn't even realise that he was made of CG. Neither of my friends who saw the trailer with me realised it either.

I don't understand all of this nonsense about Yoda appearing to look different, and that they should keep the look the same for continuty sake. Yoda has had a different look in each of the movies thus far. Even between Empire and Jedi, there are a few slight differences. Heck, Chewie had a different "hair style" in each of the movies he appeared in and no one has yet to complain.

The point is, no matter if you think he looks good or not as good, he is still the same character we all know and love. Dispite the fact that he is computer generated, he still has the same familar facial look, which will always be good enough for me. Just like people, creatures also slowly change over the years.


Mace Windy,
the storm after the calm!

 

Maybe I'm odd, but am I the only one who thinks that the Yoda puppet in TPM looks better than the one in ESB? After watching TPM several times recently, I watched ESB and was surprised at just how crude Yoda actually looks in that film. This is not a knock against Frank Oz as the performance is excellent, but the technology to create the facial expressions and such was just not there. The TPM Yoda is far more expressive and life-like, and the CGI Yoda in AoTC is the next logical step in his evolution. Frankly, I really don't see what all the angst is about.

Off topic but, aren't fans of a series supposed to actually enjoy the series instead of nit-picking the hell out of it? Lighten up, folks, and just enjoy the damn movies! Yeesh.

 

Maybe I'm odd, but am I the only one who thinks that the Yoda puppet in TPM looks better than the one in ESB?

No you are not. I think Yoda looks great in TPM. I liked how he looked younger and had more hair. The latex puppet from ESB does not look as good when we look at it from today's perspective, which is why they went with silicon instead of latex for the Yoda in Episode I.

I am sure that ILM will get the CGI Yoda in Episode II looking just fine. I am just a little iffy on the shot in the breathing teaser.

 

Have any of you seen the new trailer...I think we can close this thread now. The new Yoda is money-actually, I shouldn't call him new Yoda, he looks just like TESB Yoda.

 

Well like I said, I hope they spend all the time and effort needed to make Yoda look good. Once I see the Mystery trailer, I may put to rest the slight concerns I have regarding Yoda in CGI. We'll see.

 

Yoda in today's trailer looks like the Yoda from ESB and ROTJ. Very good.