Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[fdm]

Just jumping into the thread, and asking my question:

Anybody know if these box sets are going to have cases with real hubs in them, or are they going to end up being the slip the disc inside a cardboard pocket types of things?

[blonde_devil]

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

I hate how people keep saying the original Yoda looks like a muppet. I mean, I know his movement was a bit limited for its time, but he looks nothing like a muppet.

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

cousins maybe?

it is a toss up for cgi. even a lot of the guys at ILM have said that the cgi ships lack something that a real model has. it is what you can do with that cgi model, and the relative short time it takes to do the effects, that gives them the edge over models. look at the borg battle from Star trek:First Contact or the opening battle from Revenge of the Sith - those would never have been done with models just because of the number of ships and complexity of it (and the borg battle is relatively tame). yet you look at movies like Sherlock Holmes where the computer was used for digital matte paintings and such to take London back 100 years and it does a really good job. i think it all comes down to who is doing it and how much effort they put into it. you can have the fastest race car in the world but if your driver can't drive stick and get it into second gear, they are not going to win. same here - cgi is a great tool but the person using it needs to know what they are doing.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by blonde_devil

it is a toss up for cgi. even a lot of the guys at ILM have said that the cgi ships lack something that a real model has.

Citation please. You're not talking about the model unit spun off and named Kerner Optical now...

it is what you can do with that cgi model, and the relative short time it takes to do the effects, that gives them the edge over models. look at the borg battle from Star trek:First Contact or the opening battle from Revenge of the Sith - those would never have been done with models just because of the number of ships and complexity of it (and the borg battle is relatively tame).

Actually the Borg battle has several models: The Enterprise-E, the Nebula class USS Farragut and the Borg Cube and Sphere. The most impressive CG model is the USS Defiant. It's right there in your face and looks every bit as solid ("real") as the models in the shots they share.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by fdm

Just jumping into the thread, and asking my question:

Anybody know if these box sets are going to have cases with real hubs in them, or are they going to end up being the slip the disc inside a cardboard pocket types of things?

I think the US set will be the same as the US set of The Alien Anthology with cardboard pocket things, while the UK should have a Digistack set. The individual sets will be Amaray's.

[shesha]

I wonder when we will see the set start to pop up on the street.

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by Snowmaker

Out of stock? How can it be out of stock when its not even released yet?

People pre-ordering it. They prob. had a set number of copies (incorrect prices or not), & all those were snapped up at the crazy $20-20.99 price point. It'll be interesting to see if Overstock.com "honors" what is obviously a Major Pricing malfunction for all those items.


I'm just happy I was able to pre-order this at Barnes/Noble for $44+tax (& my LOTR EE set for $41+tax) with their April 1-day only 50% OFF Coupon.

[whaleman]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

The bottom shot is the CGI shot. It's also missing the pilot's helmet.

Nice catch!

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by monkeyjb1988

Uh... Kermit looks more realistic.

Take my post seriously, you did not.

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

[Show spoiler]

I know it's not Star Wars, but which one is "real" and which one is CG?

I also say the bottom one is CG. If you look at the wing, it's less grainy and in the bottom shot, the light from the engines isn't as extremely bright like the top one.

[Breather]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

I know it's not Star Wars, but which one is "real" and which one is CG?

There's no "lighting" to speak of except what the FX artists want you to see, except the fact that many models' paintjobs were gimped by the fact they could not be reflective in any way, so the bluescreen would not reflect and create transparent areas on the model. Plus the limitations of a camera rig and the fact the models aren't really moving.

The bottom one is CG. As others have pointed out, the helmet missing gives it away. However, it's very well done and could easily fool people. I didn't come to a conclusion until I noticed the missing helmet.

PeterTHX obviously already knows the backstory but here it is for anyone else. One man did the initial CG work in terms of creating the Viper, but the man he sent it to wasn't very impressed and he goes on to detail what steps he took to turn it into what we see above.

http://darthmojo.wordpress.com/2009/...ola-into-shit/

[gettodamoofies]

Originally Posted by blonde_devil

are you sure about the models? i thought first contact was the first one with pure cgi. generations had both but i thought they took the plunge for first contact. I don't have an exact quote to give you about the cgi missing something but listen to the commentaries and watch the features from the star trek movies - it is mentioned in there a few times by various people. and i didn't say that the cgi models didn't look real, just that something is different about them. the cgi enterprise in the director's cut of the original motion picture looks great. but in some shots in some movies, the ship or whatever just doesn't feel quite right(movies in general, not just the trek ones). i guess it is up to each person and how they perceive it.

First Contact was models. The only CG they used for the Enterprise in First Contact was the warp shots. Insurrection was when they went 100% CGI for the Enterprise and it shows.

As for Star Wars, I think the model work from both has some of the finest model work seen on show. Sure there are average shots but on the whole it's very impressive.

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

...The prequels used a ton of models. More than the OT. Revenge of the Sith used more models than the entire OT put together!

That's why I was quite surprised when I watched some of the features on the Sith DVD. When they showed the miniature for the planet (the one with all the lava) and how they made the lava, I was like, "I thought that was all CG!"

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

I hate how people keep saying the original Yoda looks like a muppet. I mean, I know his movement was a bit limited for its time, but he looks nothing like a muppet.

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

I agree he doesn't look like a Muppet, but he did move like a Muppet. I think Frank Oz is an extremely talented guy, but he did move Yoda very much like he moved Fozzie Bear, probably because he was stuck under a platform.

As for his looks, Yoda looks like a very famous author in his old age, but I've forgotten who and I can't find it on Google. I had thought it was E.B. White, but when I checked out his photo, he looked nothing like Yoda. Then I thought maybe it was T.H. White, but it's not him either. But I'm sure someone on here will know who I'm thinking of.

And I always thought that CGI being that's in Episode I (I think) that either Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon goes to see in a "diner" looked exactly like Robert Morley in his old age.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

[Show spoiler]Very, very sure. Both GENERATIONS and FIRST CONTACT (supervised by ILM's John Knoll, who was a VFX supervisor on the prequels) used a mixture of CG models and plastic. The Enterprise-E, Borg cube, Borg sphere, USS Farragut, and the Phoenix were models. Everything else was CG, including some shots of the Enterprise-E. The Defiant was CG because they couldn't trash the studio model they were still using for DEEP SPACE NINE. Even then, she looks just as good as the model Enterprise-E. The other ships, such as the Akira-class USS Thunderchild exist only in the computer, created by Alex Jager of ILM.



The Enterprise is also CG when she's interacting with the Borg time vortex.

It only shows in INSURRECTION because of the cheaper Santa Barbara Studios doing the FX work. If ILM had done it, you would never have known. NEMESIS was nearly 100% CG and looks a lot better thanks to Digital Domain doing the FX.

The prequels used a ton of models. More than the OT. Revenge of the Sith used more models than the entire OT put together!

True. Some of the Naboo fighters in The Phantom Menace were also models.

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

That's why I was quite surprised when I watched some of the features on the Sith DVD. When they showed the miniature for the planet (the one with all the lava) and how they made the lava, I was like, "I thought that was all CG!"

Many calls the prequels "cartoon" or "CG animated movie" without knowing the facts that ILM will use real models as much as possible, and they really did.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

I agree he doesn't look like a Muppet, but he did move like a Muppet. I think Frank Oz is an extremely talented guy, but he did move Yoda very much like he moved Fozzie Bear, probably because he was stuck under a platform.

As for his looks, Yoda looks like a very famous author in his old age, but I've forgotten who and I can't find it on Google. I had thought it was E.B. White, but when I checked out his photo, he looked nothing like Yoda. Then I thought maybe it was T.H. White, but it's not him either. But I'm sure someone on here will know who I'm thinking of.

And I always thought that CGI being that's in Episode I (I think) that either Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon goes to see in a "diner" looked exactly like Robert Morley in his old age.

Albert Einstein was the inspiration for Yoda.

[Breather]

Originally Posted by aiman04

Albert Einstein was the inspiration for Yoda.

True. Stuart Freeborn, in "Empire of Dreams", said that he modeled Yoda after Albert Einstein and himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4WNo_2ZgxQ&NR=1

[Cook]

Originally Posted by aiman04

True. Some of the Naboo fighters in The Phantom Menace were also models.



Many calls the prequels "cartoon" or "CG animated movie" without knowing the facts that ILM will use real models as much as possible, and they really did.

Its the excessive cgi slapped on top of the models that makes them look cartoony and not a lack of models. I've always thought ROTS looked overly animated and "cartoony". Its just something I dont like in a film. It goes for any film and not just star wars.

[KeithBL]

Originally Posted by HylianBowcaster

So when Lucasfilm did there little show in New York City, showing off the Blu ray set, did any websites get any pictures of it, besides this one.

Never picked up the Alien Anthology box (since 3 & Ressurection don't exist in my world). How well does the cardboard slip page system work? Did anyone ever have problems with disc scratching?

[marlon dingle]

Originally Posted by KeithBL

Never picked up the Alien Anthology box (since 3 & Ressurection don't exist in my world). How well does the cardboard slip page system work? Did anyone ever have problems with disc scratching?

Blu-Ray discs dont scratch.

[KeithBL]

Originally Posted by marlon dingle

Blu-Ray discs dont scratch.

They scratch, it just takes more effort.

[Brightstar]

Originally Posted by chip75

Agreed, the UK set will have what looks like a Digistack (like the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set) and a separate booklet.

The US will have a US style Alien Anthology set and from some accounts the pages of the booklet will be part of the book case design (like the US Alien Anthology set) and not a separate item. But as I said yesterday that's just speculation on my part. I thought the UK Kubrick set would be separate cases and it turned out to be a jumbo Amaray, so I was miles off.

Lucus copied the Alien Quidrilogy set (copyright)