With my intentions to create a VFX short inspired by the visuals seen in the Star Wars franchise I wanted to research further into how the visual effects techniques for the Star Wars films have developed with quickly-evolving technology.
When George Lucas made the first Star Wars they had a relatively low budget so there were props made from existing products. An example of this was Luke's legacy lightsaber hilt which was made from a Graphlex flash canister used with a camera. Initially to create the effect of the glowing blade wooden dowels were attached to the hilt which were wrapped in reflective material so that they appeared fluorescent. Artist Nelson Shin then went and rotoscoped a beam of light over every frame of the wooden dowel to achieve the desired effect.
In the early 2000's when making the prequel trilogy the production team had a much higher budget as well as much more advanced technology which meant that a computer could be used to track the blade instead of having to draw on every frame. This technique is still used today however it is much more polished and allows for a much more realistic looking effect. In the Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett the prop designers used an illuminated blade which would allow colour reflections to be scene of the actor and their surroundings.
This research allowed me to reflect on which techniques work best when doing moving visual effects. In my Altered States project I was able to use several VFX assets in conjunction with my film however I did not have the knowledge of how to track them onto moving footage. With this in mind, the VFX short that I intend to complete will push my skills in After Effects and Premiere Pro and hopefully showcase my ability to blend foreign assets into my own footage.
Harvard Referencing:
Reference list Baker, L. (2019). The Iconic Special Effects of the Star Wars Films — Ranked. [online] The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. Available at: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/star-wars-special-effects-retrospective/.befores & afters. (2019).
The world already loved lightsabers, “The Phantom Menace” made better. [online] Available at: https://beforesandafters.com/2019/05/21/the-world-already-loved-lightsabers-but-then-the-phantom-menace-made-them-even-better/.Englehardt, N. (2016).
A Breakdown of the Visual Effects Used in the Star Wars Franchise. [online] Platt College San Diego. Available at: https://platt.edu/blog/a-breakdown-of-the-visual-effects-used-in-the-star-wars-franchise/.
Commentaires