These aren’t necessarily new aspects of filmmaking, but what we’ve seen of the production of\u00a0The Force Awakens\u00a0<\/em>does\u00a0provide some exciting examples of cinema’s potential.<\/p>\n One of the most notable aspects of\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/em> is its extensive application of practical effects.<\/strong> With the negative reception of the prequel trilogy’s overabundance of CGI, the new film appears to be attempting a return to form with its overall\u00a0more traditional filmmaking.<\/p>\n This is quite\u00a0obviously\u00a0one of the most promising visual aspects of the film, but what is especially important to note is when<\/em> they choose to use practical effects, and when they choose to\u00a0refer to CGI. As seen in the majority of the behind-the-scenes footage, most of the set pieces shown were predominantly\u00a0complete, physical environments, supplemented in small part by\u00a0CGI.<\/strong><\/p>\n Computer technology can be a wonderful tool to complement a shot, but should be used only to break the boundaries of what is practically possible<\/strong>. For instance, it’ s understandable that outer space dog fights will contain heavy CGI, but tangible, familiar-looking environments that humans are interacting with are best kept real. While the above scene of Kylo Ren exiting his shuttle is comprised largely of green screens, it still includes as many real assets as possible to accentuate the atmosphere<\/strong> and keep the subject embedded in the setting.<\/p>\n The new droid character, BB-8, is a testament to the new film’s\u00a0commitment to practicality<\/strong>. While the droid’s unique design could certainly have been achieved digitally, the production team went the extra mile and built a fully functioning, mechanical BB-8. This resulted in a much more gritty, textured, and above all, physically accurate depiction of a character that both saves money, and feels natural\u00a0within the context of\u00a0film (as opposed to the digital filmmaking introduced by the\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>prequel trilogy).<\/p>\n With\u00a0high-fidelity visual effects becoming\u00a0increasingly accessible for the budget filmmaker,\u00a0hopefully this kind of prop innovation will inspire you to think outside the box before settling for CGI shortcuts.<\/strong><\/p>\n Adequate pre-production planning will generally make the shooting process\u00a0much smoother and less prone to problems. Not everything can be anticipated or planned ahead of time, but it certainly goes a long way to at least rehearse crucial and complex scenes<\/strong>, even if it isn’t\u00a0at full scale.<\/p>\n Sometimes an idea for a shot, prop, or action may seem\u00a0great, but will fall flat for an unanticipated reason\u00a0when brought to life. This may seem rather obvious,\u00a0but many filmmakers don’t spend as much time planning out the technicalities of their individual shots as they potentially could.<\/p>\n Going into a scene knowing exactly what you want from it can be beneficial to your budget, as it allows you to prepare precisely\u00a0what you require\u00a0to achieve your goal and nothing more. Some of the early behind the scenes footage of The Force Awakens\u00a0<\/i>shows effective previsualization through the use of concept art and even miniature dioramas. <\/strong><\/p>\n For instance, as seen above, by setting up a\u00a0miniature version of the Tie Fighter crash to be depicted, J.J. Abrams and his crew were able to accurately\u00a0explore\u00a0potential cinematography and lighting options, while also verifying the necessity and practicality of each full-sized prop.<\/strong><\/p>\n In this day in age, one can even model and virtually explore a 3D digital preview of a scene<\/strong> prior to set construction. When you’re on a tight production schedule, this kind of preparation will allow you to get the most of each set in the short time that it’s available. While a scene such as this one is of a much larger scale than\u00a0you will likely encounter, it still goes to show how much effort and time should be\u00a0invested in guaranteeing your success before\u00a0the cameras start rolling.<\/p>\n Arguably one of the cooler moments behind the scenes of\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/em> is the brief look at the Millennium Falcon cockpit mounted to a motion simulator. This\u00a0may seem a bit over the top, but details such as more accurate physical movement within the context of a vehicle\u00a0like a space ship will go a long way in maintaining suspension of disbelief.<\/strong><\/p>\n Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>has never really been commended for its realism, but effects like this further immerse the actor in their environment in comparison to something like simple camera shake. The main point to take away from this is that your character will inhabit a fictional\u00a0situation much more seamlessly if they actually physically interact with and respond to their situation.<\/strong><\/p>\n This same principle is applied to the stormtroopers thrust into the air by tow cables. The stormtroopers could certainly have acted out their movements\u00a0in front a green screen to be later thrown into the air digitally, but the simulated physics simply would not have held up in comparison to the visual\u00a0subtleties\u00a0of true kinetic force.<\/p>\n Star Wars <\/em>is somewhat of a totem of production scale and quality that consistently sets the bar for modern movie magic, and judging by this small glimpse into the newest chapter of the saga,\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/em>\u00a0will have a lot of technical inspiration to offer up-and-coming filmmakers.<\/strong> With this brief insight into the cinematic mastery of the looming\u00a0blockbuster, hopefully you will\u00a0appreciate this action a bit more when you see it come to life on screen.<\/p>\n What technical aspects of\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/em> are you most looking forward to?<\/strong>\u00a0Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Star Wars sets some great examples for aspiring filmmakers. In fact, lessons can even be found in the very brief behind-the-scenes looks we’ve had at The Force \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":68777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4519,3843,715,583],"tags":[810,1093,1473,734,536,1578,4867,2906,2461,2165,4868,795,756,1901,4873,1228],"class_list":["post-class-post-68408","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-cinematography-2","post-class-category-filmmaking-2","post-class-category-industry","post-class-category-video-production-2","post-class-tag-behind-the-scenes","post-class-tag-cinematography","post-class-tag-directing","post-class-tag-film","post-class-tag-filmmaking","post-class-tag-physics","post-class-tag-planning","post-class-tag-practical","post-class-tag-preproduction","post-class-tag-production","post-class-tag-schedule","post-class-tag-shooting","post-class-tag-special-effects","post-class-tag-star-wars","post-class-tag-the-force-awakens","post-class-tag-vfx"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n1. Practical Effects<\/h3>\n
![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/TFABTS_00005.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Kylo-Ren-Green-Screen.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bb8-JJ.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n
\n2. Previsualization<\/h3>\n
![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/TFABTS_00000.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/TFABTS_00001.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Millenium-Previs.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n
\n3. Realistic\u00a0Physics<\/h3>\n
![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/rey-cockpit.gif\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/12\/TFABTS_00004.png\" "\\"3")
Image from Walt Disney Studios<\/em><\/p>\n
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