Star Wars movies are always a big event in the movies industry,
not only for the visual special effects, but also for the cult that
it has generated worldwide over the years. Right now we are going
to discuss a little about the visuals.
When you hear the words Star Wars and VFX together you
automatically think of ILM and cool visual effects. Let me tell
you, this episode of Star Wars is no exception to that rule. If you
are a visual special effects enthusiast, then you will find Star
Wars - Episode III Revenge of the Sith a feast to your eyes!
The movie opens with one of the largest space battles of the whole
saga. Unlike the battles you have seen on the rest of the movies
this time the camera takes you directly into the action. This added
to the loads of action going on in the background make you think
this is the best space battle of all six Star Wars episodes.
Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Digital work by
ILM.
Digital characters are considered the Holy Grail for computer
animation because they try to reinvent the reality. Down to a
technical level, a digital character succeeds if you mistake him
for a real actor (this was the goal for the guys at Square Pictures
and their Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie). However
a digital character that can connect to the audience is far more
successful. In this particular case Yoda is the winner. Just like
when you first saw him in The Empire Strikes Back, you
forget you are viewing an array of pixels, because you feel the
same connection that youve experienced for the last twenty or
thirty years.
Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Digital work by
ILM.
On the other hand we also have the bad guy, General Grievous. The
guy just looks so real you keep wondering if he is actually
computer generated, and when you see him physically interacting
with real-life actors the question gets bigger. I was having my
doubts about his acting skills, but as an animator I knew that
acting is more than just facial expressions. In this case the
animation was so good it served him more than facial expressions.
Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Digital work by
ILM.
Not only the main characters but also the digital stunt doubles are
executed flawlessly. You may remember the stunt doubles in Episode
II: they usually moved too fast, and that killed the realism
effect. It seems that ILM learned the lesson, because stunt
doubles move in a more realistic manner this time. They believed
that if they blurred the details on the doubles people wouldnt
notice they were not real, but it turned out that they had to make
them move slower to make them work. You know there are digital
doubles here, but you dont realize when the CGI version enters and
exits the frame.
Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Digital work by
ILM.
Episode III is also the movie to feature more planets. You are
taken to beautiful landscapes, lava-covered mountains, tropical
environments and rocky lands. Just like the characters, the
locations are carefully created down to the last level. The
environments are very rich and colorful. To create these
environments Lucas used all the available tricks: computer
generated images, matte paintings and miniatures, and the perfect
combination of these is what makes them work so perfectly.
Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Digital work by
ILM.
One of the most expected sequences in the whole movie turns out to
be worthwhile by itself, since its just the best and most
energetic light saber battle of all time. One would wonder how two
actors could perform a swordfight on a volcano. Most, if not all of
the sequence was shot on a green screen set. The sequence not only
demonstrates a masterful use of the light sabers but also a
masterful use of visual effects.
Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Digital work by
ILM.
At first they fight on suspended bridges and this reminds you of a
scene from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. However
things get very exciting when you see them surfing on a river of
boiling lava. This lava effect was particularly good, as you can
nearly feel the heat. Not only on the lava, but the lighting on the
characters also helps to sell the effect. The movie ends with the
birth of Darth Vader. Anakin was seriously injured during the
fight, and in this sequence you see the rebuilding process. Its a
very painful scene because they are rebuilding him alive, but its
still cool.
Star Wars The Revenge of the Sith is one of the most
visually packed special effects movies Ive ever seen. Fortunately,
in this case, the effects help the movie move forward.
Nevertheless, watching this movie leaves a bittersweet taste
Episode III with its extremely cool effects; followed by Episode
IV, which can only be defined as a visual drag. On the other hand,
these movies are more than a VFX feast, they are one of the best
sagas ever made.
All images featured in the above article
are Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. All images in the
above article were used by written permission from LucasFilm, And
cannot be printed, copied, or reprinted without written permission
from LucasFilm.
 Animation Alley is a regular featured
column with Renderosity Staff Writer Sergio Rosa [nemirc].
May 30, 2005 |
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