Given the nature of the film as an out-of-this-world adventure and its massive visual effects, it was already expected that the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” movie franchise will make use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) animation to shoot some, if not most of the scenes.
The surprising news is that Director J.J. Abrams of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” only resorted to using CGI to film 28 of the total of about 357 scenes of the film, which means that despite the lure of modern technology, the movie still resorted to good old-school filming.
Some of the scenes were shot twice, once on location in Abu Dhabi and once at Pinewood Studios, notes MakingStarWars.net.
During the ComicCon 2015, fans actually expressed concern for the overwhelming amount of CGI visual effects used in “Star Wars” prequels which the seventh installment may be tempted to do so.
But Lucasfilm and Director J.J. Abrams need no further convincing as they simply went back to more practical filmmaking, resorting instead to authentic, real, and practical effects for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” cites Slash Film.
Still, there are scenes that really needed to be shot through CGI so, despite efforts of limiting the use of modern technology in filming, the production crew resorted to the methodology.
CGI was used to extend sets, hide puppeteers, and even create entire characters. But the better news is that unlike the previous films of the franchise, there aren’t too many of the shots in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” that are completely CGI or that does not have a share of practical effects whatsoever.
There might be some minor change in the number of CGI scenes during the editing process but that would be very negligible as the movie seems to be pretty consistent with its goal of sticking more to practical filming method.
Luke Skywalker’s location
Meanwhile, a new set of leaked images from the production set of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” gives hints of the planet where Luke Skywalker is.
The images show the Resistance Bay, which is the rebel base in the movie and also gave a glimpse of some of the ships and other set pieces that were used in the film, notes the International Business Times.
At the end of the movie, Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, returns the lightsaber to Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hammill, at the Jedi Monastery. The leaked report states that the Monastery will not be on the same planet as the location of the Resistance Bay.
The image descriptions of the last scene at the rebel base noted that it is a day shot and the cast members were seen waving at the Millennium Falcon as it takes off. The next image is a night shot, indicating that the ship has gone into space. The ship is later seen in a day shot on a planet, which only means that Luke is on a different planet in the movie.
Standing ovation
The “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” panel at the just concluded ComicCon 2015 in San Diego was one of the most anticipated events during the convention.
Apart from wanting to confirm straight from the cast members and production team the initial details about the movie that have been swirling around the internet, fans also would like to know if Harrison Ford is well in good after his airplane accident in April.
So when Han Solo showed up and joined the panel, he drew screams and a standing ovation from the estimated 7,000 crowd that gathered in the venue to listen to what the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” panel had to say.
“CGI was used to extend sets, hide puppeteers, and even create entire characters.”
So, just like the prequels, then.
Sick of this practical effects marketing meme that’s exploiting popular ignorance of how the prequel trilogy was made.