KMC Forums - Caught On The Cam: The Wookie Tree

THE ULTIMATE TREEHOUSE

In addition to seeing costumed actors rushing passed the webcam during principal photography of Episode III in Sydney, Australia, and during pickup shooting in England, fans might have also spotted a more stationary star during the cam's stay at ILM's shooting stage -- an extremely intricate model tree to be more specific.
This tree model may be of interest to loyal Chewbacca fans who always wanted to know more about Wookiees and their homelife on the jungle-like planet of Kashyyyk. The planet is home to massive, primeval rain forests. The arboreal Wookiees have carved out a niche among the branches, building modern cities in the tree canopies.

The mighty wroshyr trees, as they are referred to in the Expanded Universe, are the most visible form of life on Kashyyyk. Kilometers-tall, the trees have the notable ability of fusing together if their growth paths intersect, forming a stronger, conjoined tree. The limbs in the forest canopy are so thickly intertwined that they form a natural cradle for Wookiee architecture. Entire cities are perched in the wroshyr branches, housing many Wookiees.

The Wookiee homeworld was originally featured in "The Star Wars Holiday Special", a television musical extravaganza which only aired once. The show included establishing shots of Kashyyyk, courtesy of a production painting by the legendary Ralph McQuarrie. From this show, fans discovered that Wookiees not only lived atop immense trees, but that they were both one with nature and comfortable with technology. Metal and plastic computer monitors and holoprojectors could be found within expertly carved wooden alcoves.
It was the task of Practical Model Supervisor Brian Gernand and his 20-person team at Industrial Light & Magic which included model makers Jon Berg and Jeff Brewer, to build a working miniature model of the Kashyyyk tree to be featured in Revenge of the Sith.

His team began to construct the ornate model in July 2004 and in 13 weeks they were ready for the three-week shoot featuring the tree as not only a main backdrop for important meetings between Jedi Master Yoda and a holographic Jedi Council, but also served as a model for various wroshyr trees positioned along the Kashyyyk beach.

"We used the prototype 'pre-viz' maquette model that stood about 18 inches high that was done by Danny Wagner in 2003 out at the JAK Art Department," Gernand recalls. "From that model we decided how big it was going to be, how it would look and how much it was going to cost us. And when we got to production on the actual model we stuck to that tree very, very closely. That tree had been the concept model which had been approved by George Lucas quite some time ago. That model is what we used as our blueprint to come up with the general geometry and overall shape of the thing."

The shape and scale of the tree would prove to be one of the most interesting challenges for Gernand and his team. "The tree is a 1:72 scale," Gernand explains. "This means a person is one inch tall, and a Wookiee is a inch and an eighth. That's a pretty fine scale. The base of the tree was 12 by 12 feet, and the tree itself was 12 feet tall, without the canopy, which would be added in later digitally. At full scale the tree is 200 feet wide and over 800 feet tall just to the canopy. But the bark and the surface texture of the trunk itself was not over-exaggerated or blown up, so the bark had to be as we would know it on Earth in scale. The vastness of this tree really meant that the sculpture itself had a ton of detail. The wood architectural elements were done in fine strips of teak planking. So it was fairly tedious."

To create the realistic aspects of the tree, the trunk was sculpted. Using a steel armature to position the structure upright, the ILM team surrounded the steel armature with a scupltable urethane foam. The sculptors basically created the trunk featuring bumps and tree-like knots. A material called Y2 Clay was then melted and brushed onto the foam itself to form a 1/16th to 1/8th-inch membrane enabling the ILM artists to use their fine sculpting tools to transform the clay itself into a believable bark texture. Once the sculpture was complete, the team painted the clay and covered the trunk with teak strips that would then become the final surface of the tree trunk. The architectural elements were created by using designs in AUTOCAD and plenty of skilled laser-cutting techniques.

FRANK LLOYDS RIGHTS OF THE GALAXY

"For the entrances to the rooms that are all along the tree, we did a laser cuts with filigree," Gernand says. "Each room had lighting inside. We wanted to show that not only was the tree hollow but that there was also a labyrinth of rooms. There were also over one hundred pagoda-like shapes on this tree that were also done by hand."

The base of the tree also featured a ground plane -- that included a park area -- borrowed the same sand that was used on the Kashyyyk beach miniature also created by Gernand's team. For the park area, Gernand's team was busy constructing miniature trees, shrubs, bushes and grass as well.

While constructing the tree, Gernand and his team not only tackled numerous technical obstacles, but also learned quite a few things about the Wookiees themselves.
"I was shocked to find out one of the criteria in constructing this tree -- that George was absolutely adamant about -- was the fact that these creatures are nothing like Ewoks," Gernand says. "Wookiees are extremely talented. The craftsmanship and the level of work that's gone on to create the architectural elements used on this tree are very, very fine. Their woodworking abilities and metal crafting abilities are tremendous. You would think with those hairy Wookiee hands they wouldn't be such craftsmen but they are in fact the Frank Lloyd Wrights of the galaxy!

"Once you see the Kashyyyk tree itself and the environment that the Wookiees have created it helps you to understand all these major mechanical aspects all the way around the tree," Gernand continues. "Their gorgeous workmanship also shows up in the ground battle with their elaborate weaponry and the war machines. Their guns are made with hammered copper and the mixed metals and the design aspect alone of what they're using to fight with is amazing."

After the tree was built and the footage shot, Gernand and his team had a unique opportunity to show off the tree to other coworkers at ILM to an understandable enthusiastic reception.

"When the tree was on the stage a lot of the other ILM artists didn't have the time to come around and see what everyone else is working on, but luckily there was a social gathering on one of the stages when the tree was still there," Gernand remembers. "We basically lit the tree up and the reaction was tremendous. It's truly a piece of beautiful art in itself. Everyone has just been blown away by the thing."

ILM artists won't be the only people impressed by the tree's intense intricacy. Fans that have been patiently waiting for more of Chewbacca's backstory have much to look forward to in Revenge of the Sith.

"When George Lucas created Episodes IV, V and VI, not much was said about Chewbacca's homeworld," Gernand says. "But then he established in the rarely-seen 'Star Wars Holiday Special' that Wookiees lived in trees. So for all those years since, including Episodes I and II, we never actually saw that, until now. In Episode III, George has decided to remind us of that Wookiee environment. I think a lot of fans have gravitated to Chewbacca as one of their favorite characters and they now have the opportunity to learn more about him."

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