ANH Stunt Lightsaber "Blades"--Triangular??? Gil Taylor sez so...

[franz bolo]

Right, but why black? Trick of the lighting? Unlikely since they went to so much trouble to shine a light parallel to the axis of the camera lens for maximum reflection.

This was a behind the scenes photo and the flash from the camera could make that happen. I doubt the lights they used in filming were even on.

Also, the black line is off to the left of the blade which is consistent with a flat side. What does that reflective stuff look like without a flash of light on it?


FB

 

[kurtyboy]

Gray.

This was a behind the scenes photo and the flash from the camera could make that happen. I doubt the lights they used in filming were even on.

Also, the black line is off to the left of the blade which is consistent with a flat side. What does that reflective stuff look like without a flash of light on it?


FB

 

[Serafino]

FB I think I understand what you're thinking, that with a strong light on it a shadow could appear black, but normally this stuff shows a kind of grey shadow, which fits with the fact that it's designed to reflect light well at various angles, and also that black stripe effect appears in different parts of the blade in the movie, like it's rotating.

Whatever the story behind it, it was a very cool effect which really gave life to the blades (and the way they interacted when they touched), which I have always missed in the later movies.

 

[Gary Weaver II]

Has anyone ever done a test to see what a triangular blade with scotchlite on it would look like?

I think it would answer quite a few questions for you guys.

-Gary

 

[lonepigeon]

I would need to check my research for specifics, but I looked into this when writing an article for the Insider awhile back. My determination from several period interviews was that the ANH blades were square - two sides coated, two uncoated.

 

[kurtyboy]

That's exactly what I recall you saying, Chris.

I would need to check my research for specifics, but I looked into this when writing an article for the Insider awhile back. My determination from several period interviews was that the ANH blades were square - two sides coated, two uncoated.

 

[kimncris]

Again, probably spinning, so the dark line is probably just shadow:

that one looks like a triangle. That would be a interesting way to get the flicker. Round rods wound not flicker so much...

 

[p0sitr0nic]

I love this stuff... xD
So the blades were square? Makes sense, still allows for open edges where the reflective tape wasnt attached.

 

[kurtyboy]

Let's not forget this great photo that Joe Campbell posted. I would say squere rod. Triangular would just not add up. :wacko

 

[Serafino]

That looks like a round rod, and the background doesn't say 'ANH' to me?

 

[p0sitr0nic]

Let's not forget this great photo that Joe Campbell posted. I would say squere rod. Triangular would just not add up. :wacko

Why is the shroud area black?

 

[scarf man]

This may be the saber that eventualy became the ROTJ Vader stunt.

 

[kurtyboy]

It is ANH. It's Luke in his Ceremonial outfit. Lonepigeon has another picture from the same photo shoot up at POSW.

That looks like a round rod, and the background doesn't say 'ANH' to me?

 

[lonepigeon]

This may be the saber that eventualy became the ROTJ Vader stunt.

It's not.
The ANH stunt is not built on a real Graflex tube (the Vader ROTJ graflex is).
This ANH saber is made from a simple piece of tubing.

 

[scarf man]

Oh, ok.

 

[neosporing]

I read many years ago that the original blades were, in fact triangular in cross-section, covered in reflective material, and they were rotated by a motor build into the lightsaber grip. The rotation caused the flat sides to flash momentarily as the lights hit them.

They then rotoscoped over the flashing, spinning blade effect that the camera captured.

Yes, i too remember this. I have somewhere video of the 'making of' or an interview, where lucas explains that his original intent was just to have the effect of light bouncing off the reflective tape of the motor driven spinning blade. I remember the documentary then cutting to raw footage of the actor preparing for the scene, action is called, the blade spins up with an electronic motor WHIR... (you can see the power cord for the motor running from the hilt in the photos where the motor driven blade was used)... but later, I remember lucas saying that the effect wasn't what he was expecting, and the logistics of the spinning blade was tempremental leading him to abandon the idea of the tape covered spinning blade.

It was a documentary where the editor was talking about, what little editing he did for ANH because the scenes were cut together as they were shot. The doc then shows the raw footage of the cantina scene where ben just cut off 'walrus' man's arm... and you see ben holding the spinning blade (and the whirrr) and when lucas yells 'cut' is exactly where the scene is cut in the film...

anyone else see this doc?

 

[Serafino]

It is ANH. It's Luke in his Ceremonial outfit. Lonepigeon has another picture from the same photo shoot up at POSW.

Ah right. Well if I stare at the blade long enough I can see a sort of round-cornered square, and the highlight sure is in the wrong place for a round blade, so okee-dokee, square it is.

Neosporing--FWIW the documentary on the last DVD release talks about the film being originally edited in a conventional way which made it rather horrible, Lucas had to fire the editors and bring in some new people and his wife a bit to cut it the way he wanted. At that point some scenes were used to the last possible frame to make it work, but I didn't come away with the impression Lucas had 'Hitchcock'ed the whole thing from the beginning.

 

[franz bolo]

As I was taking screen caps of the OWK saber, I took a few of these.

You can see the stunt blade without the effects added. It looks like it is rectangular with slightly rounded corners. As I went frame to frame, you can see the blade getting wider, then thinner, then wider, then thinner.

FB

 

[Anakin Starkiller]

That's a great pic. Thanks

Dan

 

[p0sitr0nic]

That's a great pic. Thanks

Dan

Indeed... im still very interested in this subject.