That’s what it all comes down to as far as I am concerned. Even a photographer like Weegee was shooting particular moments that he himself found fascinating, not what somebody else would find fascinating. You edit the story the way you want it to be, not the way it really is. Editing is extremely powerful in terms of how you are telling the story. You decide what exactly is in and out of frame. Standing on top of a mountain, one of many on his 6,500 acre property, George Lucas looks out at the awesome landscape, and says "I love the fact that you can stand up here and no matter where you look you would never see any buildings you can take this picture twenty five years from now and it would be the same." So how is it that one who has such sensitivity to the real analog quality of the Northern Californian landscape devote his world to the development and implementation of all things only imagined, altered, and digital? His pioneering spirit eventually, years later made him responsible for the first digitally projected screening of a live action motion picture ( Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) and the first digitally made live action movie ( Star Wars: Attack of the Clones).” He invented the first digital non-linear editing system, which was the foundation for the now famous Avid system, did the same thing for sound with SoundDroid, and established THX for quality sound in movie theaters. Lucasfilm's laser scanner was the first to convert the photochemical filmmaking process to digital. He invented the Pixar computer before selling it to Steve Jobs in 1985. In 1979, he started the first computer division in the film industry, opening a window on a new world of visual effects: computer generated imagery. It functions as a laboratory of fantasy, keeping massive technological secrets hidden behind barn-like structures and grazing horses.Īccording to Cinema by the Bay, Sheerly Avni’s definitive work on Northern California filmmakers, "Lucas reinvested the profits from Star Wars into research and development. The ranch feels like George's own personal chocolate factory, making him Willy Wonka, or Thomas Edison, or some combination of both. In documenting his self-styled 'industrial complex', Skywalker Ranch, the juxtaposed sides become evident. Americana, science fiction, westerns in space, experimental technology, impossible visual effects, comparative mythology, East of Eden, all pieces of a very complicated puzzle that somehow altogether helps describe the aesthetics of George Lucas. evil, this western in space that takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far away? As a concept, most science fantasy would tend to take place sometime in the future, but this story was going to be told by the same man whose first feature, THX 1138, stunned his peers with its bold experimental visual style, and whose second, American Graffiti, delved successfully into the world of non-linear storytelling. What kind of storyteller starts in the middle, with no references and no information beyond some sketchy text that infamously slid backwards across the screen, setting up a perfectly vague and wonderful stage for a story of good vs. The following are excerpts from that interview, originally published in L’Uomo Vogue: In 2005, Debra Scherer took a trip to Skywalker Ranch to photograph and interview George Lucas about the origins of his aesthetic, but wound up talking about the origins of the Skywalker saga and the making of Star Wars. Not only was it a revolution technically, but as a vehicle for political and social commentary it was unlike any seen previously. However, while its success is inarguable, it was far from guaranteed. Ultimately, the heights Star Wars attained are inextricable from the cultural realities at the time of its release. After all, when being told of a friend’s departure, “may the force be with you” is as socially acceptable and comprehendible a phrase as “goodbye” and most likely, regardless of whether a person has seen the movies, they know who Luke’s father is. While an unprecedented financial success, the true impact of George Lucas’s galaxy spanning “Space Western” is truly discernible in how deeply it has embedded itself in the public consciousness, becoming an indisputable part of the modern Zeitgeist. Though often misapplied, the word “iconic” seems uniquely suited to describing Star Wars.
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