Film Notes

There's a man who can tell the grand kids:

"I was in Star Wars!"

This is a scene that shows its age somewhat nowadays - but it's still pretty exciting stuff! Of course our first glimpses of the two droid stars are wonderful and the character is all there - established immediately; but the troops running into position and the attack itself are economically handled - I suppose. It's not drawn-out, as it would be these days, and indeed always is in the prequel trilogy; with all its finely-detailed and cluttered CGI-rendered scenery, blizzards of laser bolts and explosions; and dozens - or even hundreds of characters racing here and there. No, because of Lucas' aesthetic sensibilities - or budget restrictions - this is pretty simple stuff. And all over very quickly indeed.

Remember Rick McCallum waxing lyrically about George's Prequel-Trilogy? "There's just so much happening in every frame!"

Hmm.

Dynamics, Contrast & Pacing: Crucial tools.

I think back then, Lucas and his peers had a sense of dynamics. Don't overdo anything or you'll have nowhere left to go. A peak of excitement here - a trough of quiet thoughtful time with character development there... and when the audience almost has their breath back - hit them again! Rinse, repeat. I remember once seeing a Halas and Batchelor Studios chart of how the drama would rise and fall and be paced throughout their animated feature film Animal Farm. It really worked!

"Is this how you introduce your villain?"

It's funny though, talk about understatement; when Lucas' best friend Francis Ford Coppola saw Vader appear he said: "George - is this how you introduce your villain?" Or words to that effect. Obviously John Williams' score helped, but the kids were buzzed anyway. You know, Lucas probably knew that Vader's large triangular black form would - in fact - look very impressive amongst the predominantly white set and his stormtroopers. It works: compositionally, and in terms of extreme visual contrast. Thanks Francis. With friends like you...

Art Notes

"AND ...A TRACTOR BEAM"

This was a crude attempt (as ever) to join the last page of 1980, onto this one of 1977! Cross out 'AND' and add the three little dots. The Tantive has been doctored too - to remove the microphone design.

This is the first appearance in the comic of the ultimate illustrator's blunt instrument: a big permanent black marker. Dad brought these home from work and not only did they write on almost anything (terrific for turning a grey Action Man Wehrmacht helmet into a shiny black Waffen SS one) but they also covered better than anything I'd ever used before. The tips were anything from 1cm to 2cm wide! Well, high-finish was never a priority in the early stuff. Either that, or at a tender age my under-developed critical faculties were a somewhat - soft.

Anatomically, things are a bit iffy! As I said in the intro: these are anatomy lessons for beginners - so pay attention if you want to draw like a beginner!

There's also some unnecessary text here. Most filmmakers are guilty of it: "GET READY MEN!". Other classic superfluous lines (some screenwriters must be paid by the word) are: "Come on", "Let's go!" and "That was close!"

On Monday we meet the droids and things hot-up!

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