I've gone through every single piece of set photos and behind the scenes footage out there, Even pictures of the homemade suit up close in exhibits to where I have a pretty solid idea of what fabric they even used for the blue parts of the suit and just how custom they are, In my research I have found absolutely no way that those eyes could be mechanized. The area you are looking at for putting any sort of mechanism is about 2 inches wide, 2 inches tall, and maybe half an inch deep while being all up on your face. In the movie tom didn't have a faceshell for the homemade suit, it was just a mask and goggles with swappable lenses for better visibility. and motion tracking. You also have to take into account, what would be the benefit of making a physical mechanism for something so small that would be overlayed with CG anyway? I don't think that they were physical mechanisms and that it would even be possible to make such a thingDid you work on the set of the film? — Not asking in a snarky way, I'm just going to be a stubborn ass and stick with my theory of a practical mechanism until proven otherwise(which if you did work on set, alrighty then.) Everyone thought BB-8 was CGI because it looked impossible to be practical.
This is all mostly based on the layered shutters in this up close of the photo, along with the side view of the photo earlier on. And because I don't remember that shot in the film.View attachment 754625
That's a great idea! I'd love to see that, post a link once you create the thread.
Everyone was 100% certain that BB-8 would be impossible to build as a practical effect, yet look how wrong we all were. Unless someone worked on the set, or knows/has spoken to someone who did, it's impossible to "confirm" anything. I for one am willing to keep an open mind until more information comes to light that can prove for certain one way or the other.
That's a great idea! I'd love to see that, post a link once you create the thread.
@Fett202, yknow what they say, never say never.
The reason that photo grabbed my attention was that it didn't seem to be made presentable. You can see there are are a few layers, yet they are hidden by the top layer. Why make it multi-layered for presentation if you're just going to cover the other layers up? That's why I thought it might be possible it was a screen-used mechanism. But, of course, I could be wrong— I just don't think we should completely dismiss the possibility.
The14thDr beat me to it.
Yes, I have seen the behind the scenes. I also dug around and read a lot of articles surrounding why the remote controlled BB-8 wasn't used at all in the film (and if it was, I know it wouldn't have been exclusively used), and the ones who created it said in an interview it was because they didn't have the time to develop it. Sand I can understand, but it didn't look like it slid around uncontrollably on stage or on the red carpet.
