The only thing more impressive than invisible visual effects reel of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is seeing the work that went into them. Industrial Light & Magic did Oscar-nominated effects work gets stripped totally naked in this brand new VFX breakdown.
Star Wars The Force Awakens is a movie with a massive budget and a huge amount of talent behind the scenes. It’s also chock full of jaw dropping visual effects which are so big and detailed that it might be hard to wrap your head around just how much of it was digital.
As is often the case with these videos, it’s amazing to think about the tiny little pieces which you’ll never see that had this amount of work and care and attention put into them. From the multiple layers making up the crashed ship at the beginning of the film to the virtual actors in the cockpit of ships you can barely see.
It’s also great to see the glimpses of the real sets which were used, as director J.J. Abrams pushed to have as many practical locations used as possible. Of course the Star Wars saga has always used special effects extensively so this is nothing new to the series, the magic has just moved inside the computer more than ever before.
There are some extraordinary extras on the home video release of The Force Awakens, and you can be sure the same quality will be present in the upcoming Rogue One A Star Wars Story.
Jean G. Thomas
