Part of the Coruscant Elite
November 24, 2004
Note: The shoot described in this article occurred on Wednesday, November 17.
What Episode III didn't need during principal photography was another scene set in Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's office. To be certain, momentous and seismic events unfold in the crimson-carpeted space, but in the interests of opening up the environs and exploring a new Coruscant locale, George Lucas transplanted a seven-minute dialogue scene into the Galaxies opera house.
The versatility that digital technology affords him allowed for such a switch. The Art Department at Skywalker Ranch zapped over digital studies of what a Coruscant opera house would look like to Sydney, Australia. The Production Art Department then crafted a handful of theater chairs to be shot against bluescreen. Add Ian McDiarmid as the centerpiece of the scene, and you have one of Episode III's most compelling and eye-opening exchanges, one that I predict will become a source of endless fan debates regarding interpretation and implications.
But, there's still the matter of the environment. In the past few weeks, the digital and miniature architecture has come together to describe the opulent and gilded splendor of a storied entertainment venue. The scene is established with Anakin pulling up in his protractor-shaped speeder past a line of limousines, rushing up a staircase filled with Coruscant glitterati, tearing down a burnished hallway, and finally arriving at the Chancellor's executive box.
The time has come to populate the scene, and this sequence will be filled with extras that you may have seen elsewhere. Like a strange distortion of a management-mandated "casual Friday", many familiar ILMers are bedecked in the finest Coruscanti eveningwear. ILM Production Coordinator Katie Lynch says her character's name is "Statuetta Libertatta," while Model Shop Supervisor Brian Gernand uses the more descriptive if ultimately less dignified name of "Eggplant Parmesan." They, along with Associate Producer Lori Arnold (who is wearing chopsticks in her hair), kick off a long day of shooting on the ILM bluescreen stage to populate the Coruscant opera house.
Directing the CGO scene-backgrounds is VFX Director of Photography Carl Miller. Stage Manager Gabriel Hanley serves as his assistant director, communicating with and coordinating the talent on stage. When it comes time to shoot extras sitting in viewing boxes, Miller describes: "It's like a baseball game -- you don't watch just the game; you watch the people at the game." The extras crane their necks about to take in the view, lean in to gossip about who they see, or maybe stand up, and walk into the scene, as if they're late for the show. "Remember, it's a huge show, so wherever you look, you're seeing something," he offers.
"If you had asked me to do this a few years ago, I might have said no," says Visual Effects Producer Denise Ream, who wears a dark gown with teal trim and a large, squarish headdress. "But this is the last one, so how can you turn it down?"
She's part of an executive box adjacent to Palpatine's, forming the background seen over Anakin Skywalker's shoulder. The box is definitely VIP seating, if the roles of the ILMers involved are any indication. Joining Denise Ream in the box are VFX Producers Jill Brooks and Janet Lewin, Animation Director Rob Coleman, and Visual Effects Supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett. "Who's skippering the boat?" chides Michael Olague from the ILM stage crew as he adjusts the lighting for the scene. "It's rudderless!"
As architects of this particular venue, it's understandable that these people get good box seats. The "box" in this case is just two rows of seats, the back row elevated above the front row. Even the chairs are blue. "Why is everything painted blue?" asks Roger, feigning bewilderment. "You guys can keep the chairs afterwards if you want," someone suggests. John Knoll shoots that idea down. "It doesn't really go with our décor."
For Knoll, this isn't his only cameo in a Star Wars film. He's seen most visibly in Episode I, as an ill-fated Naboo starfighter pilot. For Episode III, this isn't his only part. He has taken over as the role of the fire ship pilot, replacing the footage shot in Sydney with a new take.
Likewise, Rob has had a cameo in Episode I as one of Jabba's Boonta Eve guests. A bust of Rob Coleman appears in the Jedi Archive library, and he of course as a Jedi Master named after him in Episode II.
"We decided that we were your guests, Rob," says John, describing what passes as motivation for their background roles. "And you sort of invited Roger, but you never really specified that you were paying for his ticket."
The large group of extras required today has been segmented into smaller clusters. This VIP group is "Group C" seated in "Box 4." Katie, Lori, and Brian were Group "D," seated in Box 5. Boxes 1, 2 and 3 have a mix of extras identified as Group A. Among them is Production Assistant Anthony Reyna, playing multiple roles as both human and a Mon Calamari.
Group E and F don't get box seats, but get to be ambulatory extras. They are shot as people milling about the entrance, the corridor, and trying to find their seats within the auditorium. I'm always amazed at the speed and accuracy of Carl Miller and his stage crew, throwing up powerful lamps and flags to essentially sculpt a scene's parameters with light. A fan of white lighting spreads out on the ground, casting long shadows behind the subject, framing them perfectly as if walking into a darkened amphitheater from a brighter hallway. This setup is captured by the HD camera, shrunk down appropriately, and layered into an animatic of the shot. Carl eyes it exactingly, instructing the stage crew to adjust the light or camera in minute increments.
The opera box chairs are taken offstage, and two are brought back, positioned underneath a "ceiling" of black flags to block light. A slight blue step is placed next to one of the chairs. It's a challenging exercise to mentally fill in the bluescreen gaps without any hints. Looking at the monitor, I see that this setup is meant to approximate a digital limousine. Seated "inside" are extras Pouchon Venerin and Lorelei David, both from ILM. The black flag ceiling blocks light from hitting them, thus creating a darkened interior for the speeder. The blue step represents the edge of the door frame that a person exiting a limousine would have to step over.
I tell Pouchon my theory that he may be extremely rich and powerful, if he can afford to show up this late to an opera this grand. But he's just one of many of this unparalleled Coruscant elite ... which of course begs the question, what am I doing here?
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