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6.2.01
Episode II Designs!
The Official Star Wars Site has posted a great article about the designs ofEpisode II. "It didn't take long at all to design," recalls Concept Artist Jay Shuster. "The chosen sketch was done 15-20 minutes before one of the art meetings. There were six or seven drawings on the board, and I had thought 'George is never going to pick this one.' Sure enough, though, you never know what he's going to pick. There was a certain character to it that he enjoyed," says Concept Artist Jay Shuster.
Star Wars movies take place in immense settings realized through digitally enhanced imagery. At the same time, though, they're personal stories about individual heroes and villains. To move these characters around these grandiose landscapes, they need to travel in a style befitting the saga. This bright yellow hot rod speeder is just the answer.
With a design chosen, the Art Department began adding color and detail. "I put some racing decals on it, kind of a NASCAR thing. I put little STP stickers on it. I tried to make it as sporty as possible," recalls Shuster.The story demands of this particular speeder determined many of its features. "George wanted Anakin and Obi-Wan to do certain things, physically, on this speeder, so it only made sense that it be a convertible," says Design Director Doug Chiang.
"After the design was approved, we figured out the proportion and scale, and roughly how big the speeder should be," says Chiang. "I gave the drawings to John Goodson, who made a little foam-core carving to work out the shape. He started building a larger scale model with all the details." Based on the concept model, the Australian crew began building the speeder full-size for filming. "When Doug first gave me the assignment, he said the engines should be exposed, and most likely they should be jet-like turbine engines," recalls Shuster. Gavin Bouquet's department was faithful to that design, installing these fearsome jets into the front of the speeder. "It does show off its power," notes Shuster.
"George liked idea that perhaps some young teenage kid from Coruscant has cooked up this machine. So it has special modifications; that's why you don't see the engine cowlings on there. It's somebody's passion, this little hot rod," says Chiang. "Keep in mind that this speeder is seen at night, when it's dark, so that dictated the bright color," adds Chiang. The speeder's interior also underwent revisions for story purposes. "Originally, the steering column had this big radar screen and windshield on it," recalls Chiang. "Because of the scenario that George was choreographing in the script, he determined that it didn't need a windshield after all."
Although bearing the visible attributes of speed and power, the full-size prop needed low-tech help to move around. "I've seen some shots of the final in Australia, and it really got beefed up," says Shuster "The forms got a little bit inflated. It looked a little trimmer when I drew it." Practical effects supervisor Dave Young and his crew oversaw the mounting of the speeder on an incredibly fluid gimbal, which provided the stationary vessel with the illusion of speed and maneuverability.
As mobile as the gimbal was, in order for the speeder to truly soar, Industrial Light & Magic needed to render it as a CG model. The model is an extremely detailed reproduction of the full-size prop. It even sports a faint dusting of grime that comes from plying the busy skyways of Coruscant.
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