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Episode
II: Attack of the Clones
Notes from 2002 SPMTE Seminar
Notes from 2002 SPMTE Seminar
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Saturday
- October 5, 2002 Keynote: The Big Picture - Rick McCallum "An overview of the issues and challenges in creating, moving, storing, and manipulating the images and sounds of Star Wars: Episode II in digital form." Notes: -opened with a speech about digital cinema. Much explaining why the all-digital film process is essential to a movie like Star Wars. Interesting. *Technical Reel* -2 to 3 min.? -same material as shown at Ep. II Convention and bootlegged on Internet. -various shots from AOTC (completed vfx), Episode I music playing to soundless images. Some unknown, menacing, horn-driven music also. J. Williams? -Episode III starts shooting June 2003. *Comparison: film vs. digital* -2 minute clip of AOTC scenes (balcony meditation/Kamino platform fight) shown 3x: Ex. 1 - film, 4 weeks(?) into run, with evident scratches; Ex. 2 - film, 12 weeks into run - more degradation, scratches, though not terribly worse, the 1st was bad enough; Ex. 3 - digital source, 12 weeks into run - perfect and unchanged, sharper than film. *ANH:SE restoration* -even original YCM master (stored in Europe, I believe he said) suffered degradation, even though it had been stored using the best archiving methods possible. -multiple other prints used to assemble one undamaged print, since there wasn't one print that was entirely without damage. -opening 2 minutes of ANH shown - struck in 1995 from YCM master; restoration based on this print. No "Episode IV - A New Hope" in opening scroll!; old Fox logo, original green Lucasfilm logo, soundless playback. -noticeable dimming, scratches and degradation - still awesome to see on Pacific Hollywood's huge screen. Clip stopped at point of stormtroopers blasting and coming onboard. *digital set construction* -this clip deferred until lunch. -McCallum takes over as M.C. to introduce remaining Lucasfilm employees' remarks, each in turn. Image Creation: The Camera and the Cinematography - Fred Meyers "Star Wars: Episode II played a significant role in the creation of 24P cinematography. An examination of the experience with this new camera and how it fared in location and stage-based digital cinematography." Notes: -architect of digital setup ("pipeline") at ILM. -PowerPoint demo used throughout presentation showing flowcharts and much technical detail for various processes during AOTC's creation. Very informative, though much went over my head, as I'm not an industry professional, unlike most at the event. Plus I think the guy was almost too smart! But my amateur experience and exposure to many of the concepts and terminology given kept my head above water somewhat. -test shots - comparisons shown between HD cam, 4:4:4, analog film, and others. Subject was of different b/w and color still objects, charts, etc. with girl in center (was Amy Allen, a.k.a. the blue Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura, I believe - not in costume). *Test Roll #2* -"Sydney Reel", 24p to film shots, soundless. A selection of HD footage sent to ILM so they could test putting it to film, I believe. Not all footage was from Sydney studio - some location footage included also. -it's fantastic! A great deal of cut scene/rewritten scene material, though the point was not to show deleted scenes, but to show examples of raw 24p footage when transferred to film. -the following scenes were shown (w/o sound, w/o vfx) with some commentary by Meyers: INT. JEDI TEMPLE, CORRIDOR - EVENING Mace Windu walking down darkened hallway, back to camera. (See Ep. II Select, image #30). I believe I could visibly see his lips moving, talking to the empty space where Yoda would've been inserted. Seem to remember it being a full shot, then medium shot as he's talking. Striking composition. Length = ~5-10 seconds. EXT. CITYSCAPE, CORUSCANT - NIGHT Bluescreen shot of Anakin and Obi-Wan w/ speeder prop, looking from the side, prop's front-end facing right. Kenobi sprawled out over front end to grab plain red flag off right engine scoop. Length = ~5 seconds. INT. STARFREIGHTER, STORAGE HOLD - DAY Anakin is laying on bed off to side, curled up somewhat and facing wall. Seems to be fidgeting. Padme wakes him. Close up shot of Padme speaking to him. Length = ~10 seconds. INT. CORUSCANT, DEX'S DINER - MORNING Original version of scene with waitress, Hermione Bagwa, speaking her lines to Obi-Wan from counter, (rather than "Flo" robot). Full shot, I believe. Obi-Wan seen verbally responding from doorway area. Length = ~5-10 seconds. INT. NIGHTCLUB - NIGHT Extended shots of nightclub interior - shots of Anakin looking around and of a panning shot around Obi-Wan at bar - not edited so tightly as in the final film. EXT. NABOO LAKE RETREAT, LODGE, GARDEN TERRACE - LATE AFTERNOON A few extended and alternate shots of Anakin and Padme walking around the terrace. Length = ~10-15 seconds. EXT. NABOO, MOUNTAIN MEADOW - LATER AFTERNOON Small bit of footage from the shaak fields, facing the direction of the big, open hill. A medium shot shows Padme standing, facing away from camera and to the far left of frame. A large amount of open space to the right seems to indicate an area where some vfx would've taken place, such as Anakin chasing or riding a shaak. Length = ~5 seconds. INT. JEDI TEMPLE, LIVING QUARTERS - EARLY EVENING Mace Windu is seen sitting at a desk in a darkened room (an Image Attack photo features this scene). The desk is on the left w/ Mace facing right, speaking. We see some empty space in front of him as well as an empty chair. Mace is likely speaking with a hologram, Yoda in the chair, or both. This scene may have appeared in the final film in some reworked form, but this particular footage was not in the film. Length = ~10 seconds. INT. TIPOCA CITY, FETT APARTMENT - DAY Medium shot - Obi-Wan is back in the Fett apartment, alone. It is an angle or area of the apartment that does not seem very familiar from the previous scene, (perhaps the bedroom mentioned in the script) though the general stark white appearance is the same. Obi-Wan's robes may have a bit of water on them, though I didn't really see it. We see his face looking out from his hood as he thoughtfully passes a hand over several disorganized items on a counter, possibly containers, etc. that are white plastic and/or chrome in appearance. He then gets a look of concern and starts to turn away. For some reason I can't remember the details of what I saw here as well as I'd like, in terms of what sort of things I saw lying around and and exactly where they were placed - probably because everything was generally so white that it's hard to recall. But my impression of the disorder in the room was not one of major upheaval - just enough to indicate that some movement had been going on since the earlier scene when the room was almost entirely devoid of any kind of standing objects. Length = ~5-10 seconds. EXT. NABOO SPACEPORT - DAY A high, wide shot of the large plaza filmed in Spain with several extras walking about. Not the same straight-forward angle as the CG enhanced establishing shot from the final film, but looking from the side a little bit. Length = ~5 seconds. EXT. TATOOINE, HOMESTEAD, COURTYARD - LATE DAY High, wide angle of courtyard, composed almost exactly like the final film when Anakin, Owen and the others first meet, only Anthony Daniels is seen harnessed to the uncovered C-3PO puppet. Length = ~5 seconds. EXT. TATOOINE, HOMESTEAD, COURTYARD - LATE DAY A medium shot of Anakin going up the stairs of the courtyard wearing the long black cloak. I think this would've been just after he got up from the table to find his mother. At the top of the stairs we see the dark portal that leads to the domed entrance topside. I believe Anakin pauses to say something to the people below - perhaps the missing line: "I can feel her pain, and I will find her. I know she's alive." Can't be sure, since it was silent. Length = ~5 seconds. INT. TATOOINE, HOMESTEAD, GARAGE - DAY C-3PO, eyes showing brightly in the dim garage, happily holds his right arm up, moving it around to admire the new coverings he's wearing. He's near the doorway where Owen and Padme are standing to our left, also looking on with pleasure at his changed appearance. Length = ~5 seconds. INT. GEONOSIS, CENTRAL SQUARE - DAY High angle shot of Anakin and Padme walking and looking cautiously around. It is a blue screen environment except for the floor tiles which match those seen in Dooku's Hangar during the swordfight. Padme wears her full, white senatorial outfit including a previously unseen white cap with mask, as shown on p. 144 of the Art of AOTC book. Length = ~5 seconds. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM (GEONOSIS) - DAY We are looking at Dooku from his left side as he is seated at the round conference table. Jango Fett stands behind him wearing a dark poncho/covering and holding his helmet in his left arm. I believe Dooku was speaking. Length = ~5-10 seconds. EXT. NABOO LAKE, FLOATING LANDING PLATFORM - DAY Another shot that I can't totally remember the details of, but this is the cut scene where the old man, Paddy Accu, has returned Padme and Anakin from the hidden retreat by boat. This platform stretches out a bit longer than the other one, but has some of the same greenery, flowers and pillared fencing. Our POV is perpendicular to the stone platform where the boat is parked, with its peaked end pointing left. I recall some kind of building or structure with an entrance in the mid-ground where they are debarking. Padme now wears her Tatooine outfit with the gray hooded cloak. Length = ~5-10 seconds. To be continued ... |