Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Geez! How short is Boyega anyway? I know Gwen Christie is 6'3" but...

Well, he is the Luke of the new trilogy.

[GC Riot]

Originally Posted by peterthx

geez! How short is boyega anyway? I know gwen christie is 6'3" but...

5'9"

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Yeah. Heaven forbid

This post is EVERYTHING! Thank you. Frankly, getting sick and tired of this narrative being pushed by this new team at Lucasfilm/Disney and the crew behind this film that "everything is practical and real", which has a not so subtle undercurrent of criticism towards Lucas and the Prequels.

The film is six months away and it's already gotten old. Just make the damn film, have it sink or swim on it's own merits, and stop with the damn nostalgia.

[Dispatch Ninja]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Yeah. Heaven forbid

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammn that burn.

[DisneyBlu]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the Highest Grossing Film of 2015

Furious 7. Avengers: Age of Ultron. Jurassic World. All big earners, but none were a match for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode in the historic Star Wars saga, which proved itself to be the highest earning film of 2015 and among the highest grossing films of all time.

The film, brought to you by Disney, Lucasfilm, and director J.J. Abrams, proved itself as the undisputed box office champion of

-- Sorry. Silly me. This news story is from a few months from now...

[L-Rouge]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Daisy Ridley acting cute on set:


And here's a look at Domhnall Gleeson's character General Hux:

judging by design, is General Phasma female?. That is a cool thing if so.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by L-Rouge

judging by design, is General Phasma female?. That is a cool thing if so.

Captain Phasma is played by Gwendoline Christie, a female.

[StingingVelvet]

You guys can post whatever behind-the-scenes pics you want but the prequels still look like super fake CGI explosions and nothing changes that.

[Prey]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Geez! How short is Boyega anyway? I know Gwen Christie is 6'3" but...

I think she either is wearing some major heels or is standing on something in this pic because Gleeson is over 6' and Driver is around 6'2" and she looks huge compared to both of them. But yeah, Boyega still doesn't look very tall.

[Forever Knight]

Kylo Ren is the coolest design since Maul.

[Det. Bullock]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

You guys can post whatever behind-the-scenes pics you want but the prequels still look like super fake CGI explosions and nothing changes that.

Yep, all the models in the world are not an excuse for all those CGI rendered clone troopers, no wonder they always looked off, I always thought it was some weird camera filter or something before I came to know that they didn't make a single clone trooper uniform for the prequels.

I couldn't really conceive the notion of using CGI even for characters and situations when a guy in a costume would be non just enough, but better.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

You guys can post whatever behind-the-scenes pics you want but the prequels still look like super fake CGI explosions and nothing changes that.

I'll stick up for the usage of the practical stuff in the prequels 'til my dying breath, but you're right: the salient point is that it still looks incredibly digital once Lucas had finished with it. As I think I said in the Fury Road thread - when everyone marvelled at how 'practical' it all was only to discover that the film was stitched together rather seamlessly in the computer - Lucas' ideas were ahead of the technology when it came to splicing together his prequels.

I kinda feel sorry for Lucas that his ideas were always so far ahead (which was of course true of the originals too) that he had to make do with dragging the tech forward and thus not getting the best out of it, but without him being bold/unhinged enough to take those steps digital filmmaking wouldn't have progressed nearly as much as it has done.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Prey

I think she either is wearing some major heels or is standing on something in this pic because Gleeson is over 6' and Driver is around 6'2" and she looks huge compared to both of them. But yeah, Boyega still doesn't look very tall.

No woman, and especially not a model, would wear that dress without wearing heels. It just wouldn't happen. Even if it makes her tower over everyone else.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Geez! How short is Boyega anyway? I know Gwen Christie is 6'3" but...

He's adorable. He's getting cuter every time I see him.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I kinda feel sorry for Lucas that his ideas were always so far ahead (which was of course true of the originals too) that he had to make do with dragging the tech forward and thus not getting the best out of it, but without him being bold/unhinged enough to take those steps digital filmmaking wouldn't have progressed nearly as much as it has done.

I feel bad for George that every time someone mentions less CGI, they think they're deriding the prequels (which were almost exercises in design over storytelling). I don't think that's their full intention, it's more of a general statement, they're trying to get back to the original sensations of having things on-screen for the actors and audiences to relate to.

Lucas may have gone overboard, but I don't think they could have made the movies when they did and they were still full of physical effects and model work. Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but sometimes you have to go too far before you realise you've gone too far!

The prequels 'making of' books are full of wonderful images of practical locations, sets and props, there was still an awful lot of real going on.

[Geoff D]

It's still an indirect dig at the prequels because they're trying to ingratiate themselves with all the people who think that they were wall-to-wall CG. I still wonder if it'll turn out like Indy 4 though, where we were showered with promises of practical goodness and ended up with a very "digital" looking movie regardless. Having said that, JJ is usually extremely canny at picking the right effect for the right shot (digital train wreck in Super 8 aside) so it'll be a beautiful movie alright.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

You guys can post whatever behind-the-scenes pics you want but the prequels still look like super fake CGI explosions and nothing changes that.

Bingo. Using greenscreen when it's actually necessary is one thing. Using it for characters walking down a CGI created hallway or some such thing is ridiculous.

I'll give Episode I credit for at least integrating CGI well. But Episodes II & III look absolutely horrible. Even though models were certainly used, the extreme use of CGI was insane (the Clonetroopers being only the tip of the iceberg).

[Captain Flint]

That new reel footage made me that much more excited for this movie. Holy crap, only 5 more months!

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Yeah. Heaven forbid

Funny you should share those pictures... since that scene in the originals (Return of the Jedi) is an easy reference to why sometimes filmmakers use that style... doing the typical Hollywood approach on many productions where a moving vehicle is replaced with this style of film-making (with background footage put behind the more stationary filming). Obviously, it makes sense sometimes, especially here given that they were riding something that's not even real, but this is one of the easiest to spot scenes in the whole original trilogy of over-used/dated CGI. Green screen is sometimes considered a must in filmmaking but it doesn't mean the prequels did it better by doing it for so much of those films. When you can use traditional methods... it's a better option.

This is also why the CGI in Jurassic Park still looks better than the CGI in this summer's blockbuster Jurassic World. They built the models and then worked the CGI in afterwards, rather than pure CGI. Some of us like the more traditional approach to be used more often and it's clear Abrams is doing that. Does it still have CGI? Of course. CGI is an important filmmaking tool. But it can be over-used and sometimes there are better filmmaking methods that can be used.

There was an overuse of green screen in the prequels and it seems like the new film will be more in line with the original trilogy where a much higher percentage of the work done for the film is traditional.

Technically, some of it is just an over-use of CGI as well... I mean CGI Yoda and Storm Troopers? I prefer a puppet Yoda and actual people playing those parts in costume.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by GenPion

Funny you should share those pictures... since that scene in the originals (Return of the Jedi) is an easy reference to why sometimes filmmakers use that style... doing the typical Hollywood approach on many productions where a moving vehicle is replaced with this style of film-making (with background footage put behind the more stationary filming). Obviously, it makes sense sometimes, especially here given that they were riding something that's not even real, but this is one of the easiest to spot scenes in the whole original trilogy of over-used/dated CGI. Green screen is sometimes considered a must in filmmaking but it doesn't mean the prequels did it better by doing it for so much of those films. When you can use traditional methods... it's a better option.

This is also why the CGI in Jurassic Park still looks better than the CGI in this summer's blockbuster Jurassic World. They built the models and then worked the CGI in afterwards, rather than pure CGI. Some of us like the more traditional approach to be used more often and it's clear Abrams is doing that. Does it still have CGI? Of course. CGI is an important filmmaking tool. But it can be over-used and sometimes there are better filmmaking methods that can be used.

There was an overuse of green screen in the prequels and it seems like the new film will be more in line with the original trilogy where a much higher percentage of the work done for the film is traditional.

Technically, some of it is just an over-use of CGI as well... I mean CGI Yoda and Storm Troopers? I prefer a puppet Yoda and actual people playing those parts in costume.

Oh come on. The cgi in Jurassic park is NOT better than world.