ST Filming Techniques and Technologies for the ST

Well, like you said, there have been numerous "simulated" helicopter shots throughout the films, just very few of them done on location, because usually they are used to present a setting that doesn't physically exist in the real world (Mos Eisley, Cloud City, Theed, Utapau, etc). Helicopter shots can be a great way to show off the scale of the film. Expect the finished product to look much like the other wide establishing shots used throughout the saga.

 

Well ive already committed to seeing it in imax and theres rarely 2D and 3D imax for the same film these days.....

 

I like they're doing real helicopter shots on the outdoor sets, it will give new camera angles and approaches that was not much used on previous SW movies, it'll have a fresh look of it. These directors: JJ, Rian Johnson, Gareth Edwards and such are not going to mimic or limit themselves to Lucas' style of directing. They're going to incorporate their own style to the movies, and that's probably why Kennedy hired them, to give new blood and a more modern take on SW while still being respectful to its origins.

Yeah, it's a shame. Where I live they always pass the 3D version on IMAX...

 

There’s not anything that I can say about the character, but I can say that I’m most excited and, I know this seems nerdy, but I love the fact that J.J. Abrams is shooting it on film. And that’s not just from an aesthetic standpoint -- it really does matter -- but it’s about how a movie is filmed and the set, it changes it. It changes so many things. I mean, I’ve had to do things over again because there was a hair in the gate, which is so old school, but it just feels better, and movies are all about feeling, so I think that’s something that I’m so very excited about apart from the fact that it looks amazing, so textured and alive.

It really doesn't matter though. Not in any truly meaningful way other than what that person thinks it does. If anything in a purely acting sense film is something that interrupts the acting process as each reel runs out after 11 minutes and so they constantly have to restart while an HD tape is 40 minute and replaced quickly.

VII is not being made on film anyway so really it's just the basic shoot on film, develop then transfer to digital. There it will be completely remade with lighting and grading so as to be an entirely different product from what they shot anyway. The original picture is reference at best. Looking at various shots of what JJ actually shot for STID and what it looked like afterwards shows that regardless of all the digital additions the picture itself gets a totally different texture which by comparison takes away the "alive" feeling some would say that is there in favor of the exacting grading changes you can make today.

 

The difference is that shooting on films creates a different aesthetic that even when it is converted to digital, the film aspect will remain. This is true of all movies put on Laserdisc, DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. When a movie is shot using a digital camera, it will have a different look from film right out of the gate.

 

If you show me 10 movie trailers, I can guess with at least 80% accuracy whether each one was shot on film or digital. Maybe I'm just wierd, but there is a difference. Just like the difference between the cinematography in TPM and AOTC is considerable (from my perception, and I know many feel similar). Digital is different, and for the people who can tell the difference, it absolutely matters.

At the end of the day, no matter how much you break down the technical minutiae of something, peoples perceptions do matter. Even if the technical difference between the quality of a digital image and a film image is miniscule, if people can perceive a difference, that needs to be taken in to account. Even if you use thousands of models and giant sets and did as much in camera as possible, if people come away saying it looked like a video game, something went wrong in the translation.

I get the sense that JJ is a filmmaker who is truly mindful of audience perceptions- not that he would let them hinder his creativity, but that he's willing to work towards the combination of elements that "clicks" best with the audience, even if that isn't, from a technical or efficiency standpoint, the "best" way to do something.

 

What Han Burgundy said. Helicopter shots are "establishing" place shots and they're all over Star Wars, usually an overhead "landing platform" shot (of which there are many in the PT). This is just Abrams using a physical real location. But that type of shot is all over SW. Usually when they end up on a new planet. It was just an FX shot.

 

http://makingstarwars.net/2014/09/phil-tippett-old-magic-tricks-star-wars-episode-vii/

 

Awesome. Stop motion in Ep VII would be amazing. And I do love the idea of a scene between Leia and several practical Hutts.

 

This is great news if true. I was at a dinner party last night and a girl there said she "likes some CGI but overkill like in the Star Wars movies."

I assured her there would be more practical, in-camera fx in the new one. It's rumors like this that make people more excited about these new movies and keep me from being a liar.

 

Stop motion? Really?? Are they really trying to forgo all modern film making techniques just to appease the prequel haters?

 

I see it more as being consistent on this one element. The chess characters' stop-motion, jerky movements are part of what makes them iconic, so carrying that on is a fun nod to continuity.

 

Awesome, I'm glad to see him back

 

Wow.

 

Well-done CGI is neither "easily" not "quickly" done. I'm happy for everyone who loves to make visual effects with toys and stop-motion (I'm also happy for everyone who stills loves to use a typewriter or handwriting), but does it need the constant disrespectful, condescending and downright uninformed side blows against CGI and its extremely talented artists?
Well-done CGI takes a lot of time, dedication, talent and love for detail.

One can prefer one technique without hating (cluelessly bashing) another techniques.

 

True, but the chess set doesn't need to be featured at all. Every rumor we hear is some sort of fanboy call back to the OT. I know WHY they're doing it, but there are less blatant ways of going about it, imo.

 

There will be fan service, but there will be a stack of new characters, creatures, ships and worlds.

 

I really hope so. the Star Wars universe is too big to repeat old ground.

 

What I think we might get a flavour of, is the familiar in a new light. So for example, if MSW is correct about DR swelling in a downed AT-AT, you get some healthy dollops of fan service, but in a way we haven't seen before and in a way that very visually give us an idea of what has befallen the galaxy since ROTJ.

If we see a valley in the desert that's littered with Imperial wreckage that's giving us an instant glimpse of history we missed out on. I think it could be very evocative. Especially as I would imagine they'll keep the explanations to a minimum and it will just be a background detail.

 

Even though I think CGI has become visual overkill in most movies these days, I agree with the above posters in that it is a respected craft created through loads of creativity, talent and, obviously, very hard work.

Still, I think that little nods here and there are smart moves. The Falcon chessboard isn't supposed to look real, since it's a hologram game, it is supposed to look the way it looked in ANH. If one of those creatures was to fight Luke for example, that would've look a bit too Harryhausenesque (a master in his own right, we wouldn't be having this discussion if it wasn't for him, heck we probably wouldn't have Star Wars at all).

Having the master in stop motion, who crafted the same effect almost 40 years ago is not only a nod but a homage. It doesn't discredit CGI or recent advances in technology at all. Some people might point it out that way for pseudo nostalgic reasons, but if executed right with a proper use of stop motion, it could be a very nice thing to have in this movie, nothing groundbreaking of course, but something nice indeed.

 

Awesome, I've been waiting decades to see that chess board again! Oh wait, no I haven't.

 

How do you make something look like a videogame when the CGI in the movie already does?