How do you feel about the VFX for the Star Wars Prequels? Do they still hold up today?
This still-image was considered an important shot from The Phantom Menace and a great deal of time and expense was put into the look of it. I'm not so sure these shots are convincing now that I look back on them. Do you have any thoughts on the Prequels - now that you've seen what Rogue One accomplished with its visuals?
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that shot is a pre-render
TPM looked decent, especially since it was on actual film. Some of the cgi even holds up today, but scenes like that were pretty atrocious.
I've always hated Naboo. It's so plain. I even hate their cultural uniforms etc etc. It all sucks.
part of the reason naboo is a plain is because they knew computers weren't good enough to make realistic shit at the time
and they still plowed forward with all the DUDE CGI LMAO shit for all 3 movies
The city looks pretty neat though.
>that shot is a pre-render
No it's not. Two things: I'm a former ILM employee and worked on the Prequels (though not this shot). This is a screen-grab from the BluRay disc.
You can tell because the heat coming from the vents of the TF vehicles was one of the last asset elements added in at the very end by the compositor.
I mean the answer is no, they don't hold up, but they still paved the way for modern effects.
Here's on of the nicer shots. (BluRay) I'm finding it less than convincing.
Lucas should be horsewhipped
They actually built that as a miniature though, what else do you want them to do?
I only like the yellow fighter jets. Padmes silver ship too
This is a shot from the same movie and it is much more rewarding visually.
There are a lot of weird shots due to Lucas' insistence of green screen sets and the entire shot being computer generated but a lot of the sets were made using practical effects.
For instance the Utapau sinkhole was an actual miniature set an
Jeepers. I forgot how lifeless those scenes were. It's incredible that they were unable to do more with what they had. Especially since they built so many of these sets as practical/physical props.
>my mom's husband works at nintendo guys I swear
No one here believes you, go away
movies are a motion-picture medium. Screenshots aren't very useful for judging these things. And even then it isn't that fucking bad. The memes that pass for criticism of these movies are ridiculous.
Watch Rogue One to see what a lifeless Star Wars movie really looks like.
>exit of the room is a flat cardboard painting
Lucas is a hack who got lucky and had other more talented people around him to say "no"
DAMN, GEORGE LUCAS' WORK LOOKS LIKE *THAT*??
>Lucas is a hack who got lucky and had other more talented people around him to say "no"
This meme genuinely upsets me. Lucas wasn't a lucky spastic who got sexually aroused at the mention of special effects, he was an ambitious storyteller who took the stupid pulp-serials he loved as a kid and made them into something much more while at the same time pushing effects harder than anybody else in the world. As a saga the Star Wars movies would have been remembered as one of the most ambitious moves in the history of the medium. It's a 6 movie long personal story about space-politics and eastern mysticism. Or at least it was until Disney got it.
This. Watch THX 1138 and tell me Lucas has no talent. The politics of the PT makes it an entirely different arc than the mysticism and character driven story of the OT. But that doesn't mean it isn't entirely complex and both parts fit together. They may not match stylistically at all, but they don't have to
Lucas has no talent.
The three prequels prove this.
Red Letter Media said so and I have this image proving it.
Checkmate.
That's a nice screen grab. Possibly the only decent memorable shot from this sequence.
Something you may not be aware of (which we still talk about) was how the Art Department ended up in a huge slapdown after that scene was shown in the film. The same ILM Art Dept had been contracted to produce the Dinotopia miniseries based on the books by Gurney. When he saw that they had taken his look (including the CGI models for the buildings, triumphal arch and flower garlands on beasts of burden, even lighting) he was so enraged that he immediately commenced legal proceedings. I don't know if a settlement occurred but his words at the time were "You've ruined Dinotopia by doing this to me." Not long after there was a wave of firings (almost the entire Art Dept was fired) but I'm not sure if it was related to this incident or something unrelated.
Not much
The prequels are awful, and if you weren't a memeing contrarian fuck, you'd realize that. TFA is significantly more watchable than any of the three.
wow, sure showed me. Time to go watch TFA again.
Talented people can make huge mistakes too. Talented people with no one to chalenge their egos can do even worse. You can accept he has talent, but talented directors can make awful movies
This was on Sound Stage 2 at the Sydney Fox Studios - they had PLENTY of room to make an extended set. Are you sure it's not just the lensing that makes it look like a painted panel instead of the set.
I wouldn't watch TFA again, but I sure as fuck wouldn't watch the prequels again.
I've watched the prequels several times. Somebody appears to have made a misjudgement here.
No, it's not the "lensing" its the sheer laziness and utter contempt that Lucas has thinking that the audience wouldn't notice obvious shit like this.
Enablers like you caused this to happen.
I have a soul sir, I am a human being, I can feel how lifeless and fake this is, it is an insult to my humanity and shakes me to the core.
kek wtf, I can't tell if Yoda is sitting or levitating here, that CGI shadowing is awful
I see almost no resemblance in that image. Big whoop, both cities have waterfalls
Shadows within shadows
It's so deep and layered.
Lucas surrounded himself by people who were "Yes-men" that approved of everything he said. Lucas became a bit of a shit during the filming of the Prequels. There was a candy store on the backlot and for a diabetic, he sure spent a lot of time buying candy (presumably "for his kids"). So there was some pondering as to if he was doped out with high blood-sugar. Otherwise, everyone around him thought he couldn't put a foot wrong.
This is why he hired McCallum to act as his producer because Rick was very sympathetic to anything and everything Lucas suggested. There was literally nobody that would stand up to George during this period. After the prequels were released, people did a double-take and started to wonder if he's lost his touch.
Also, not all the sound studios had actual man-made sets and props. Most of the sets were more than 50% bluescreen. Some were 100% just so they could add the backgrounds later.
>people did a double-take and started to wonder if he's lost his touch
I didn't. I'm aware that something isn't real when it's greenscreened, but then I'm aware everything isn't real because it's a movie and I'm not autistic enough to use 'immersion' as a criticism.
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>Papatine's pure look of absolute disgust
>tfw Papa is literally me
>one giant city with literally no villages or towns outside of it
does George not know how civilizations work?
>Enablers like you caused this to happen.
Nope. In fact Lucas rejected a number of my designs at first glance that other members of the design team had earlier reacted with "Damn! Why didn't I think of that?" But in the end he was actually cutting corners rather than having the courage to offer something more evolutionary (not revolutionary). I can't go into more detail without revealing something that might fuck me over and the last time I posted original photographs some SJW reverse-searched the image to my online archive and outed me. But plenty of us came up with some really interesting visuals and conceptuals. There was a lot of design work that didn't make it to the Art-Of books because if they did, they'd show up what was approved and how some of it was inferior to what was rejected.
it looks like an old video game
No it's not.
>shitpost
You have to go back.
And you.
Nice try, mouseskeeter.
15 years later and disney wars looks almost the same masked by darkness and lens-flares, especially CGi Tarkin and Leia. You can't make this shit.
We have come to the time where people unironically defend the prequels.
What wonders will the future have in store for us next?
I found this CGI Tarkin online in 2012. Anyone know more about it? From what I can see, it's as good as the one in the film.
I want to ask him if I knows where I can get a water chip.
>defend
There's nothing to defend, prequels are great movies.
Most would strongly disagree with you.
I respect your opinion however stupid it is.
Now that's just memery. I'm an ardent prequel supporter, and they certainly have their complexities and redeeming values, but the prequels are incredibly flawed. There are some great things, many of which lie subtly underneath some layers, and my goal is to get people to look past those layers that, seeing as they're trash, turn them off. But, as far as unironic opinions go, that's the most you can say about the prequels. Redeemable. They are not great, to many blatant flaws hold them back
they obviously didnt use it.
They also built a lot of animatronics they just scrapped and CGId over.
0:05
You can see the left portion of the platform in the center of the room snapping into place.
holy shit thats terrible
I feel like all of the interesting shit about the prequels happened off-screen or were only in the films briefly. The Clone Wars, General Grevious being competent, Jedi going into war, grand battles, Order 66, etc.
The prequels were nice for universe building, but the films themselves just weren't good.
Jeepers. I didn't even notice that when I watched it the first time for the painted panel. How on earth was that approved?
(pic not even remotely related)
I don't care what most i.e. plebeian says.
False flagging faggots are worst.
That looks like it belongs in the fucking Star Wars cartoon. Jesus Christ.
>Did I ever tell you about the battle of Windows XP?
>Lucas surrounded himself by people who were "Yes-men" that approved of everything he said.
This.
Lucas had talent. He wasted said talent by doing everything except directing for couple decades. Most people need to use their skills to maintain 'em and develop 'em.
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