Cotton buds play a lot of extra roles in Episode 1. (Image: Lucasfilm/Disney, jlcst – adobe.stock.com)
In times when computer effects were not yet standard in films, you sometimes had to get creative. In the finale of Shining the snow was made of Styrofoam and for Terminator 2 they designed all sorts of sculptures.
In Star Wars. Episode 1 – A Phantom Menace the makers go one step further, thanks to a short one Videos just noticed on YouTube today.
First look at this picture:
Looks like CGI, but the building and tiers are actually a real model. (Image: Lucasfilm/Disney)
This is part of the arena including spectator stands. Looks like CGI? But it’s actually not, it’s a real model that’s about as tall as a man.
Now turn to this picture:
You have to look closely to see the cotton swabs. (Image: Lucasfilm/Disney)
Well, did you recognize it? Yes, these are truly cotton buds that are colorfully painted. The countless viewers in the film are not canned, but each and every one of them has cotton wool in their heads, so to speak.
The pod race itself is filled with lots of computer effects (which still look pretty good today), but for the surroundings, model maker Michael Lynch wanted to create the illusion of a real, cheering crowd (whatculture).
450,000 cotton swabs were not only paintedbut also plugged into a fine-meshed net. The employees who had to do this are really not to be envied.
Thanks to the internet, the “viewers” stand upright. (Image: Lucasfilm/Disney)
Now a crowd of spectators doesn’t just sit on their chairs, but moves and gets excited.
This is how the makers managed to get the spectators in the stands cheering.
- With fans the stage designers blew under the cotton swabs to simulate the movement of the crowd.
By the way, at the beginning of this scene you can see the cotton swabs in the background:
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There are other interesting facts about Star Wars: Episode 1 – A Phantom Menace.
- Due to the heavy use of blue screen (another version of the green screen), many scenes shot were simply pieced together from several shots.
- ET can be seen in the Galactic Senateactually there are three. This makes ET part of the Star Wars universe.
- Although a lot of CGI was used Episode 1 has more practical effects than the original trilogy combined (whatculture).
More tech articles about Star Wars:
Especially with the old first six episodes of the film series, there is all sorts of exciting trivia about the creation process and how the larger-than-life space opera was implemented without many computer effects.
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