Gavin Bocquet Talks 'Episode 3' Designs

"We're in a good position now," Bocquet said in good humor before his meeting, "but if we're in the same spot in six or seven weeks we might be a little bit nervous. We're all pretty relaxed about it at the moment."

Producer Rick McCallum and returning Supervising Art Director Peter Russell were already at Fox Studios Sydney working on preparation. "There's a local crew but it's pretty minimal," reports Bocquet. "We've probably got about two or three weeks of just prep, but then we would hope to be pretty much semi full-on come February. We're about six months, really, until we plan to start shooting."

Bocquet cites the main difference for his work on Episode III to be time. "The time scale is a little different. Certainly from Phantom to Clones, the schedule for prep work has gotten smaller each time. It'll be a little smaller this time," Bocquet smiles.

Without a final script in hand, the production team has learned to adapt to Lucas' quick-paced style. "We try to be in a position where we can really move when called upon and be ready to go quickly." Bocquet cites a new ship for one of the film's heroes as an example. "We still don't know if we're going to need a full-size cockpit or a full-size ship, but we're doing all the technical drawings for it. Even if we don't build it, then that information is ready for ILM to have and use."