Making the Most of Visual Effects: Making a Scene

Background  

View these photos and descriptions to learn how the hangar scene preceding the Podrace was developed in The Phantom Menace. (All photos courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.)

Final




Background

A digital background painting acts as the backdrop to the hangar scene.




 




Words to Know

  • animatic: rough moving computer version of shot

  • composite: combine; synthesize

  • superimpose: to place or lay over or above something

 

Animatics

Live

 

 

Live-action photography of the actors and actresses taken on a set in London. Superimposed onto the live-action photography is a rough animatic of the digital characters: Jar Jar, Watto and Sebulba.

The animatic helps the digital artists in placing these characters naturally into the live-action scene.

Digital Characters  
Wire

Wire frame of the digital characters is the first step in creating 3D digital characters. After digital modelers "sculpt" the 3D shape of the digital character in wire frame, an animator will then take the wire frame and move/animate the character. (Jar Jar, Watto, Sebulba)



Wire A rendered version of the digital characters before being composited into the live action scene.

Final Image

Smoke

Isolated footage of smoke such as this was added to the final image to create the ambience of the hangar.

 
 

Live

Final shot as seen in the film. Note that in addition to the various elements composited to create this scene, shadows and reflections were also added to create a further sense of realism.

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