Welcome to the Homing Beacon Archives. The Official Newsletter of Star Wars.Com, no longer available. I have salvaged as much as I can but have only concentrated on the main part of the newsletter and not the peripheral stuff. I have used images where possible. Enjoy this blast from the past!
Thursday, October 19, 2000
Issue #21
Sounds Like Episode II
Like the bounty hunters to be featured in Episode II, Supervising Sound Editor Matthew Wood goes to great lengths to trap his quarry. His targets, though, are intriguing, organic sounds and his traps are high-tech recording devices.
“You never know what you’re going to get,” says Wood, of his current task of gathering sounds. “You go out with the intention of recording one thing — like, I really need an explosion — but while I’m there the sound of the guy dropping the dynamite down the hole has a weird vacuum sucking sound, and I didn’t even expect to get that. So, I may not end up using the explosion and use the vacuum sound for something else instead.
“It can be an adventure sometimes, because you go out on these really long treks to get one specific sound, but you don’t because the animal or car or machinery is out of commission that day. So I try to get as much interesting material — regardless of the circumstances — as I can to have a great palette to work with, for Ben Burtt and I to start the sound design process. A lot of sound recording is good planning, but serendipity is an exciting factor.”
Wood’s mission to record the real world and transform it into Star Wars is just one of his many tasks on Episode II. “I get to wear a lot of hats,” he says. “I have a role in sound design, recording, ADR recording, and editing. I also supervise the sound editorial team. It’s really fulfilling.” Wood had a similarly wide variety of roles in Episode I, including an on-screen appearance as Bib Fortuna and as the voice of Ody Mantrell.
Much has been said about the switch to all-digital photography on Episode II, but has it affected the all-important dimension of sound in the movie? “It definitely affected the way we recorded production dialogue,” explains Wood, though he warns that a complete explanation would get get pretty technical. “The film is now shot at a video frame rate, and I can use that video rate all the way through the process. There’s a lot of difficulty when film is shot at one rate, and video is shot at a different rate, and you have to compensate for the difference when you’re doing design, editorial, and sound mixing. You always have to change the rate of the sound to match the picture. Now, we don’t have to do that.”
During production, Wood championed the use of a new recording technology, continuing Episode II’s groundbreaking nature. “The production sound was recorded at a 24-bit rate on a new hard-disk technology called Deva. It’s a four-channel hard-disk recorder that records onto DVD-RAM, as opposed to the library of DAT tapes we previously used for production sound. Progress is a sort of overall vibe on Episode II; everything is going forward on the visual area, so I proposed to George Lucas and Rick McCallum the idea to use this 24-bit recorder on a hard-disk. It’s a riskier technology as opposed to the tried and true,’ but Rick especially was very responsive in getting that done. It’s a different way of thinking — take a chance, take a risk. You don’t really get that luxury on a typical project, and the rewards are definitely worth it.”
Thursday, November 02, 2000
Issue #22
The Episode II Juggernaut Train
“It just starts now,” says Producer Rick McCallum, describing the progress on Episode II. Having completed the shoot in Fox Studios Australia, Tunisia, Spain, and England, the production has settled down at Skywalker Ranch to tackle the daunting task of post-production.
The use of digital cameras has indeed sped up the process, but it is still a long road ahead before Episode II sees completion. There is a misconception that the use of digital cameras will allow the film to be completed quite early, but Episode II is so complex that it will require the full three-year timeframe common to all Star Wars films.
“Were on a train, we have a deadline,” explains McCallum. “Its the most extraordinary juggernaut youve ever seen in your life. Nothing can stop it. We cant let anybody rest for a single moment. It seems like a long way away, but every day is critical for us.”
With post-production on everyones mind, the studios that temporarily became the Star Wars galaxy now stand empty. “After we finished shooting in England, I stayed behind for a week wrapping up all of the stages and everything else that wed done. After closing down our London office, I had to rush back down to Sydney to do exactly the same thing: close up everything, close our portion of the studio down. So, basically, we have no one working in Australia any more, except one accountant. Theres not even a trace of us there,” says McCallum.
In March, the production will return to the studio to shoot any extra material required to complete the film.
The Episode II train is still on track for a summer 2002 arrival.
Thursday, November 16, 2000
Issue #23 – Sabacc!
Episode II Animatics, By The Numbers
Heres a quick look at some of the numbers shaping the Animatics Department, currently hard at work in Episode II post-production.
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- 14 — Average length, in hours, of an Animatics work day.
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- 4 — The date, in May 2000, when the first animatic shots were delivered. One by Matthew Ward, the other by Euisung Lee. The set up of these shots began two days earlier.
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- “A few” — Number of terabytes of digital storage for the Animatics Department.
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- 10 – 20 — Animatics shots delivered daily (“Were just getting started,” says David Dozoretz, Previsualization | Effects Supervisor).
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- 2 — revisions, per shot, on average.
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- 1,000 — Approximately the number of animatics already done. Also, about how many there are still to go.
Thursday, November 30, 2000
Issue #24
Episode II Safety Is Job One
Leaving military school at a young age to run away and join the circus, and nowadays plunging into lightsaber fights with zeal may give Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard a reckless daredevil reputation, but safety is his primary concern.
For Episode II, Gillard definitely had safety challenges, such as the stunt-work involving full-sized speeder replicas. “The safety on these things starts on the drawing board, because of lot of these speeders have to go on hydraulic gimbals, which throw them around all over the place,” explains Gillard. “You have to make sure the structure’s sound, so we get a structural engineer in to make sure it doesn’t break up. We have to make sure there are no moving parts that are going to catch a stunt performer. Underneath it, we crash-pad the whole area just in case they get knocked out. Safety is such an issue these days on a film, you cannot hurt anybody. If you’re having actors do all of their own stunts, it’s paramount.”
As glimpsed in an early on location video segment, one of Gillard’s first tasks was blowing up eight people. “We’re going to use a CGI explosion so we just used eight stunt people as doubles, and they march and dive at the right time,” explains Gillard. “Then the explosion is put in afterwards. It’s a much safer way of doing things.”
That is not to say the task isn’t dangerous. “In the rehearsal we use crash-pads for them to land on. But of course, when we do the take they have to land on the floor. Which is another reason why you always have to use stunt people. They dive into the floor.”
Thursday, December 14, 2000
Issue #25
Episode II Update: Additional Shooting
Although Episode II is currently in post-production, this does not mean that filming has wrapped on this latest Star Wars movie. In March, the Episode II cast and crew are scheduled to return to Fox Studios Australia to shoot additional scenes that have developed as part of the evolution of the movie.
“It’s not typical for a film, but it should be,” says Producer Rick McCallum of the additional shooting process. “It’s not typical, because there’s two or three things that happen. For example, some directors get very embarrassed because they think it’s a weakness if they have to do additional shooting. Which is absurd, because an audience doesn’t know how much you shoot or when. This is like writing on a word processor. You cut and paste and you change right up to the minute you hand it in.”
With the shooting completed in March, the new footage will be inserted into the developing cut of Episode II. From there, new angles, scenes and elements will undoubtedly spring forth. Additional shooting later in the year is a definite possibility.
Adds McCallum, “We believe in making that process very fluid, so we change the very nature of how we set up a movie in terms of our talent. If an actor wants to be a part of this movie, he has to know that he’s going to be around and has to be available.”
Thursday, January 11, 2001
Issue #26 – Happy New Year!
Episode II Update: Printing Episode II
Though Episode II is being shot without film — the new Sony Panavision 24-fps camera shoots everything digitally — the movie will be put on film for its distribution to traditional movie theaters in 2002. Although it’s still over a year away from its premiere, tests are already underway to see how the all-digital production will look when its struck to film for a release print.
“That’s been very successful,” says Producer Rick McCallum. “We’re very excited, because this new process allows us to skip two stages.” Traditionally, a film starts off as an original negative, then is processed to become an interpositive (IP) and then an internegative (IN) and then a release print.
“Each time you go through another process, there’s an enormous amount of degradation to the image,” explains McCallum. “Now we can go from data, skipping past the original negative and the IP stage, and go straight to an IN, and then the release print.”
The end result is greater picture quality that holds up after repeated printings. “When you normally make a film,” says McCallum, “you might be able to scratch six or eight release prints, or ‘show prints,’ off the original negative. And those are the very best, pristine prints out there. We can basically do 5,000 now, so we’re really excited about that.”
Thursday, January 25, 2001
Issue #27
Clear Your Mind of Questions
A popular segment of the Official Star Wars website is the Ask the Lucasfilm Jedi Council. Registered members can ask all manner of questions of Lucasfilm staff. A common question is “are the questions you post for real?”
Indeed they are. We get tons of great questions, and it’s a daunting task sorting through to the select few that get posted. Not every one of them can be answered, but we try to choose some of the most popular, intriguing or entertaining questions of the lot.
What helps makes the sorting process entertaining are the fans out there who have fun with Ask JC (as it’s called around these parts). A few of their questions make it to the site (as when someone asked Doug Chiang “Are you an especially dangerous Doug?”). There are so many, though, that we can’t answer all of them. Here are some that we’d like to share with our Homing Beacon subscribers.
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- Is Chewie a male or a female? Me and my sister have arguments about it. She also believes that Chewie is in love with C-3PO that is why s/he went to rescue Threepio.
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- Since so many people want to be in a Star Wars movie, why don’t you let them pay to be an extra? Say \$500/person. I would!
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- Do you know if there were any Gungans in The Empire Strikes Back? Because, in one of the scenes, there appears to be one of them.
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- Hi, I wanted to know why Yoda’s house is shaped like Sebulba’s face and head.
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- Is it true that Ricky Martin will be in Episode II?
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- In a fight between Darth Vader and the Predator, who do you think would win? Because he’s the only guy I can think of who can defeat Vader.
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- When Qui-Gon first meets Jar Jar, he says “You own my Scottish kilt.” Why did he say that?
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- Can Yoda type to me?
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- How come there is no Qui-Gon Jinn bubble bath? Its slogan could be “Qui-Gon, take me away!”
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- Does Kelsey like me?
Thursday, February 08, 2001
Issue #28
Playing Favorites: A Quick look at LucasArts’ Starfighter
On February 21, LucasArts is set to release the highly anticipated Star Wars: Starfighter flight action game for the PlayStation 2. In it, players can fly as one of three different pilots during the events that surround the tense Trade Federation embargo of the peaceful world of Naboo. With many options to choose from, playing favorites is not only unavoidable, it’s encouraged.
“It’s one of the key things we wanted to do with the game,” explains Starfighter‘s director, Daron Stinnett. “By playing the different characters through the course of the game, we wanted different people to feel attached to different characters, and have their own favorites. That extends to their ships as well.”
The pilots are a mixed bunch, as are their signature vessels. Rys Dallows is a young fighter jockey behind the stick of a gleaming yellow N-1 starfighter. Vana Sage is a mercenary rogue who flies a sleek and deadly craft. Nym’s a gruff alien pirate with a fearsome brute of a bomber.
“Nym is my favorite,” reveals Stinnett. “He’s just cool. We’ve got a great actor, Charlie Rocket, to play him, and he’s got some great dialogue. He’s kind of a Han Solo-type character, with a seedy background, but he’s jumping in to help people in need. He’s got his own reasons to help too.”
Next on Stinnett’s list of favorites is Sage. “She’s more like a bounty hunter-type of character,” explains Stinnett. “She certainly has an edge in her background and depth to her character. In some ways she reminds me of Princess Leia, especially with her interactions with Nym, and how that relationship plays out.”
Rounding out the trio is Rhys, whom Stinnett describes as “the classic young upstart kid who’s cocky and full of bravado, and ends up finding himself way over his head, yet comes out victorious at the end. It’s easy to draw parallels with Luke in some ways. In fact the whole trio somewhat intentionally draws a real resemblance to Episode IV.”
Of the new vessels flying the skies of Starfighter, Vana’s ship is Stinnett’s number one choice. “Her ship is built for stealth, and that really syncs up with my preferred method of gameplay. You can play more of a sneak attack style, rather than in-your-face blow ’em up. That’s one thing I really like about Starfighter. Each of the characters and ships gives you a different style of gameplay to experience.”
For more information about Starfighter, check out the official LucasArts site here. For further insight into the evolution of Starfighter from Daron Stinnett, check out the official Star Wars website on February 16 for an exclusive feature. Clear skies!
Chat With the Creators of Starfghter!
On February 13, 2001, LucasArt.com will be hosting an online chat with some of the people responsible for Starfighter‘s creation. The chat starts at 6 p.m., PST. It is a members-only event, so be sure to register at LucasArts.com.
Thursday, February 22, 2001
Issue #29
Faces Frozen in Data
It’s still a year and a half away, but toy fans were afforded their first glimpse into Episode II at this year’s American International Toy Fair. There, in a sealed off room open only to specially-invited attendants, Lucas Licensing and Hasbro unveiled incredibly detailed busts of select Episode II characters.
The busts were crafted by Gentle Giant Studios of Burbank, California, who used digital scanning techniques to translate an actor’s features into geometric data. This data can then be used for visual effects, archival and licensing purposes. In the rapidly changing world of digital filmmaking, this innovative practice is becoming all the more common.
“Christopher Lee was very intrigued and very cooperative in the process,” recalls Gentle Giant President Karl Meyer. The legendary actor’s role — that of a charismatic separatist — was one of several transformed into a plastic bust.
“He couldn’t wait for the scanner to finish,” says Gentle Giant Technical Specialist Steve Chapman. “He was so excited and wanted to see his form on the computer screen that he ducked out of the scanner to get a look at himself before it was finished.”
“Ewan [McGregor] had Nick [Gillard] there coaching him in different poses,” says Meyer. “It ended up being just a continuation of what they do on a film, but in a different place rather than the studio, and with a different machine rather than a camera. They were really just doing the filmmaking process, and this is just now another step in how movies are made.”
Keep checking starwars.com for an upcoming feature on how these busts were made and what digital scanning means for the future of Star Wars merchandise.
Thursday, March 08, 2001
Issue #30
Episode II: Book Report
Best-selling author R.A. Salvatore has now half completed writing the Episode II novelization. Though there was some trepidation in originally accepting the assignment, he found he couldn’t turn it down.
“Sure it’s high profile, so in that instance it’s good for my career,” says Salvatore. “But more than that, it’s high creativity. Even though it’s a novelization and I’m playing off someone else, I get to sit down with George Lucas and listen to the guy who created all this. That’s a life experience. You don’t turn things like that down.”
Like Terry Brooks, who wrote The Phantom Menace novelization, Salvatore will get to expand the story of the film, and tell of events not shown on the screen. With Lucas’ guidance, he is getting insight into the characters and complexities of Episode II.
Salvatore explains, “I was able to add in a lot of things that I think will complement [Lucas’] vision. Some of them might not be approved, and I’ll have to make some changes, but that’s part of the process too.”
When Salvatore first read the script, one scene jumped out at him. “When Amidala first sees Anakin again, I really enjoyed writing that scene. I know that the most powerful scenes in the movie are going to be when those two are together.”
The author adds,”Their relationship is very complex. Here’s a guy we know is heading for darkness. I was afraid that the turnover for Anakin was gonna be just a simple thing. People don’t snap like that and go over to the dark side. Maybe they have temporary rage, but they don’t become Darth Vader because of that. But with Anakin, there’s a lot more to it. That’s the real beauty of it. She’s a big part in what’s going on in him. It’s all with the best intentions, they’re just misplaced. I think that was a nice touch with the script.”
The Episode II novelization is due for a summer 2002 release by Del Rey Books.
Thank you for reading this post.