Let’s say you’re Rob Coleman, one of Industrial Light and Magic’s top computer animation artists. And you’re given the opportunity to render in CG one of the “Star Wars” universe’s most beloved characters: Yoda. What do you do when you learn that you’ve landed this plum assignment.
Well, according to what Coleman told folks who attended “VES 2002: A Festival of Visual Effects,” you put your head down on your desk and almost begin to cry.
Mind you, these weren’t tears of joy that Rob was on the verge of crying. These were tears of frustration brought on by what Coleman had read in the then-super-secret “Attack of the Clones” synopsis that George Lucas had provided him with. Which revealed how — in that film’s finale — the teeny, wizened Jedi master would take on the evil Count Dooku in what Lucas described as the most amazing light saber battle to ever appear in a “Star Wars” film.
How do you rise to a challenge like that? Particularly when you’re dealing with Yoda, a little green guy who’s much loved by the “Star Wars” community for his ability to tap into the Force … but the fans also love Yoda because he’s supposed to be 800 years old and somewhat slow moving.
So how was Rob supposed to serve two masters? The fans — who want the “Star Wars” characters that they know and love to remain just as they’ve always been — as well as George Lucas — who obviously has his own ideas about how the “Star Wars” characters should look and behave?
Well, in Coleman’s case, the first thing you do is lean on your boss a bit. As in: You try and persuade George Lucas that Yoda and Count Dooku can’t just launch right into their light saber battle. That — in order for this scene to work dramatically — that it’s important to ease the audience into the situation.
“After all, it’s just not believable to have Yoda suddenly go from being this teeny little guy hobbling on a cane to this mini-maniac, swooping through the air, swinging his light saber,” said Coleman. “Which is why — after months of nagging — I was able to persuade George to insert that short ‘Wizards Duel’ scene just prior to the start of Yoda and Count Dooku’s light saber battle.
The idea behind adding that short scene — in which the two Jedi heaved lightening bolts as well as huge pieces of equipment at one another — was to remind movie-goers how truly powerful Yoda actually was. So that — once the wee Jedi master unsheathed his light saber — it wouldn’t seem so ridiculous that Yoda could kick Christopher Lee’s ass.
“The other thing that I was trying to achieve in this short scene was to sort of lower Yoda’s age. Roll the odometer back a few centuries,” Coleman said. “Have him go from being a feeble 800-year-old to a somewhat spry 400-year-old.”
Rob really believes that this short additional scene made all the difference when it came to making “Attack of the Clones” Yoda/Count Dooku light saber battle both entertaining and acceptable to “Star Wars” fans. Particular given that — right after the “Wizards Duel” scene — Lucas was asking Coleman to do things like “Have Yoda move like the Tasmanian Devil in those ‘Bugs Bunny’ cartoons. I want him to be like a leaping frog.”
Speaking of moving animals … To give his team of CG artists a sense of how fast and fluidly Lucas was looking for Yoda to move in “Attack of the Clones”‘s finale, Rob actually cut individual shots of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to the Yoda/Count Dooku animatics. Folks who attended Coleman’s “Star Wars II” presentation at the 2002 VES Fest actually got to see these animatics … and howled with delight when — just before a brief moment, Chow Yun Fat flailing away at Count Dooku.
Still — in spite of the months and months of hard work that Coleman and his crew had put in on the Yoda/Count Dooku light saber battle sequence — Rob was still uncertain how this scene would play with “Star Wars” fans. Would they laugh? Or — worse — just boo?
Which is why — on “Star War II” Attack of the Clones”‘s opening days in May 2002 — Coleman found himself at his local multiplex. In a theater full of the “Star Wars” faithful, waiting to see what they thought of the part of the movie that Rob and his team had worked on. As it got closer and closer to the Yoda / Count Dooku sequence, Coleman sunk lower and lower into his seat …
Finally, that moment in the movie arrived. Rob — who insisted that he really had no idea how the Yoda/Count Dooky sequence was going to play to a paying audience — was absolutely thrilled when the “Star Wars” fans went nuts over that part of the flick.
“That one reaction made all those months of fighting with George, and then trying to figure out a logical way to have Yoda kick Christopher Lee’s butt, all worthwhile,” Coleman concluded. “Thanks so much for being willing to come along for the ride.”
Do you like hearing these sorts of behind-the-scenes stories about your favorite visual-effects-laden feature films? Well, then maybe you should make plans to attend “YES 2004: A Festival of Visual Effects,” which be held June 18th-20th at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA. For further information on this year’s event, head over to the VES web site.
Next Wednesday … learn about how the challenges of Sony’s first “Spiderman” film really taxed the talents of John Dykstra’s FX team.