At the end of the journey, George Lucas has come full circle, returning to where it began over a generation ago. Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, just outside of London, serves as the shooting location for a single day of additional photography. The world-famous stages hosted the majority of the studio-based principal photography for the original Star Wars trilogy.
We're on Stage 8 on the morning of Monday, January 31. It's a featureless redbrick building just down the road from the George Lucas Stage, the newer structure commemorating the director that brought so many blockbusters to Elstree. A stage the size of the eponymous building isn't required, but JAK Productions does maintain an office in the George Lucas Stage.
"We started the studio work in here the first day for Episode IV," Lucas says, looking around at the dark interior of Stage 8. "I think it was the kitchen. You know, where Aunt Beru is in there cooking and Owen comes in looking for Luke. This was also the cockpit stage -- the X-wings and the Millennium Falcon cockpit were filmed here."
Today's shooting is four scenes -- or rather, four pieces of scenes. Rick McCallum was right to downplay the scope of these pickups. They're mainly to patch over continuity or accommodate a change in dialogue. For today, only Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are the actors required, and they don't even share a scene. Each is shot in isolation.
For me, it's a reunion with the London crew, the people I spent two weeks working with at Shepperton last year. As I step into the building, I see several familiar faces, including Production Manager Brian Donavan, Grips Pete and Luke Myslowski, Clapper Loader Jennie Paddon, on the video playback Demetri Jagger and Zoe Whittaker, Boom Operator Cecilia Lanza, and Hayden's stand-in (and Hyperspace member), Christian Simpson -- all of whom had been subjected to appearances, willing or otherwise, on the webcam last Fall.
As a result, each of them asks as a first or second question: "Hey, where's the webcam?" Sometimes said with trepidation, sometimes said with hope. Unfortunately, this drafty stage lacks any network access, meaning it won't be seen by the cam. "It's just me and my still-camera," I explain.
At 8:24 a.m. the bell rings, sounding the official start of the production day. Sue Wood, the 2nd AD, calls for silence as the cameras start rolling. For this first scene, the Production Art Department delivered what will be the most extensive set today -- a section of bunk aboard the Naboo yacht. This brief stretch of the starship was fully built for the Shepperton pickups, but for today, only the immediate bunk area was constructed.
An overwhelmed Padmé reclines aboard her starship, looking up to Obi-Wan. In the original footage, shot as a pickup in Shepperton, there was no dialogue. Now, there is a single line, delivered to Obi-Wan Kenobi.
As it's shot over Kenobi's shoulder, Ewan McGregor wasn't required for today. We don't even see Obi-Wan's face. Extra Mick Ankri serves as Kenobi's double, wearing the tunic, a wig and a beard. The original footage of Ewan couldn't be used without extensive manipulation, since he interacts with the Natalie imagery from September '04. Now, this new January '05 Padmé moves differently, necessitating new contact from Kenobi. Still, to provide ILM with maximum flexibility, Lucas shoots the scene with and without Kenobi. Visual Effects Supervisor Roger Guyett oversees the VFX requirements of the shoot.
"In the original take she's kind of hot and sweaty," points out Rick, looking closely at the playback from last Fall. There's no Continuity Supervisor on set today, so he's the one to spot this detail.
Today is a one-camera shoot day. In previous ones, two HD cameras captured the action, gathering a close-up and medium shot (or longer) of the same performance. Today, with only one camera to capture the action, each move-in towards the actor must be done as a separate setup. Despite this added time, by 10 a.m., Natalie has completed her work, and she is finished her role as Padmé Amidala.
In between the setups, Rick takes advantage of a few minutes of downtime to proudly show off a new video -- the full Episode III trailer that will debut in March. The small crew crowds around the single plasma screen to watch the finished trailer play. It includes some shots gathered at the Shepperton shoot, so for the UK crew, it's very much a revelation of how their work is transformed into the finished product.
It's a crowd-pleaser. "There will be fourteen more screening over the next few hours," says Rick, jokingly. When Hayden Christensen comes out on stage next, Rick plays him the trailer. It's Hayden's first time seeing it, and he can't contain his grin. He's reveling in Anakin's fall, and seeing how it comes out in finished imagery seems to be pleasing him.
The next setup is an element of a fight scene that has been growing with each stint of production. The bulk of the rematch between Dooku and Anakin aboard the Trade Federation cruiser was gathered in Sydney, shot on two separate sets -- a bluescreen environment that isolated Christopher Lee; a full set environment for Christensen to face Dooku's double; Kyle Rowling and greenscreen pieces to shoot specific action beats in Shepperton.
The result of one of those specific beats needs a follow-through. In the duel, Dooku tosses both Anakin and Obi-Wan through the air like rag-dolls, using the Force to turn the two Jedi into barely-controlled missiles. The throwing of Anakin was gathered at Shepperton, as was his hard impact against a bulkhead. Now, what's needed is his rough landing and his look up, to see his friend suffer the same fate.
By 10:25, we're past this small action piece, and onto shooting a decidedly darker, cowled Anakin receive instruction and words of dark wisdom from his new mentor. This requires a reshoot because the dialogue has been altered. Sidious' lines remain the same, and are read from off-stage by Anakin's stand-in, Christian Simpson. Hayden reacts, nods, weighs Anakin's options, and then replies.
"The Council's first move will be against the Senate," says Anakin. He listens to a few more words from Sidious. "I understand, Master."
Suddenly, a voice squawks over an open walkie talkie, "Are we still rolling?"
"Yes, Master" replies Hayden, not breaking character.
The walkie talkie is quiet in subsequent takes, and we've moved onto the final setup. Word has spread that Episode III is wrapping, and it draws the attention of a guest. Dean Devlin, admitted Star Wars fan and producer of such big screen event movies as Godzilla and Independence Day dropped by to talk shop with McCallum. He's a recent convert to the world of HD photography, and compares notes with Rick, offering nothing but praise for the digital medium. Rick can't resist, and shows the trailer once again.
The last pickup is the most complicated of the lot. Demetri pulls up the playback to show Hayden the context. In the fiery chaos of Mustafar, Anakin runs along a length of crumbing architecture, balancing and running uphill as the floor drops from beneath him, culminating in a foolhardy leap when he reaches the peak of the incline.
The framing sequences were shot in Sydney and Shepperton, with octagonal segments of set meant to represent the falling structure. All that matters now is the length of the run. Three wooden frames represent a small fragment of the environment's shape, while the rest is delineated with tape on the blue floor.
Again, in the absence of a Continuity Supervisor, there's no clear chain-of-command to figure out who determines which hand Hayden should hold his lightsaber. Standby Props Marie Finch needs to know, since she will hand Hayden the handle. She asks Demetri to pull up the clip, and Nick Gillard looks at the footage closely to reconstruct the choreography.
"How about I throw it from hand to hand, just to keep [Obi-Wan] off-balance," jokes Hayden, tossing the lightsaber handle from his gloved hand to his bare one like a Harlem Globetrotter trying to outwit a hapless Washington General.
Since Anakin was clinging to the falling structre with his good arm, he carries his lightsaber in his left hand. When he lands from his leap, it still is in his left hand. "But here, he's got it in his right," says Nick, pointing to the next time we see Anakin.
"Yeah, but that's 15 minutes later," exaggerates Lucas. "Do you want me to shoot an insert of him switching hands? It happens."
Hayden takes his position near the blue blocks. He just needs to run the length of the "set." "It's a bit minimal, isn't it?" says a familiar voice. Production Designer Gavin Bocquet, who had since gone onto other projects, returns to witness the last shot. "I couldn't miss the last day of Star Wars," says the prequel veteran, who was one of the key members of the Young Indy team to graduate to the new Star Wars trilogy.
As the final shot lines up, I look and see Trisha Biggar, Nicole Young and Michael Mooney of the Costume Department watching closely. It's a bit of a shame that the very last day is gathered with such a small crew. There are many names not represented here that really should be.
"This really feels like it's the last day," says Jennie Paddon to me. The Shepperton wrap was a bit bittersweet, but it was known that there would be one last round of pickups in '05. Now, this is the end of the road.
A few takes with varying camera moves... Hayden runs at top speed.
And that's it.
"Last shot, Rick," George points out with little fanfare. "It's all over now. Twenty-eight years."
Applause spreads among the small crew. Rick glances at his watch. It's only shortly after noon. The last day of shooting was only a half day. "I can't think of anything else to say but: that's lunch, everyone."
"Can we watch the trailer again?" asks Hayden.
Cameras have stopped rolling, leaving only the postproduction questions to be answered. ILM continues to work on it's shots, whittling away at the enormous numbers to meet the April 1st deadline. Skywalker Sound has been assembling the audio mix a layer at a time. This week, John Williams picks up a baton to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra for the last Star Wars theatrical motion picture soundtrack.
If this isn't the home stretch, I don't know what is.
here's the thread for the trailer description http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f38/t321806.html