Star Wars and Special Effects

by Molly Hewitt

The science in the Star Wars films may be higher than high tech, but some of the FX are downright homegrown.

• The Millennium Falcon was modeled after a hamburger with an olive next to it. Huh, do you see that?
• George Lucas got the idea for the Falcon cannon's targeting grid from a paperweight he saw on sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke's desk.
• Parts of the Death Star's profile echo the San Francisco skyline. Guess there's no place like home.
• The equipment used to fire the Death Star's weapon was actually a Grass Valley Group 1600-7K TV production switcher. Hmmm, looks like TV really is violent!
• Cardboard cutouts fill out the crowd in the medal award scene at the end of Star Wars. They're cheaper than extras.
• Rumor has it a sneaker plays the part of one of the spaceships in a dogfight scene, and a potato stands in for an asteroid!
• The laser "sounds" were made by striking a guy wire of a power pylon. That's funny, did you know light had a sound?
• Chewbacca was modeled after Lucas' dog, Indiana.
• The AT-ATs were based on a ship loading structure in Oakland, California. Their movements were designed to imitate walking elephants.

Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is one of the most well-known special effects companies in the world, but even they had to start somewhere. Their very first creation was the scene of the escape pod leaving Princess Leia's ship. In Attack of the Clones we'll see how far they've come!

Source: Internet Movie Database at www.IMDb.com

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