User:Saamirt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Origin and design
Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) Joe Johnston sketched and Colin Cantwell built models that eventually became the final X-wing fighter in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.[1] The X-wings were designed to appear more "traditional" than the Empire's TIE fighters.[2] ILM built miniatures in various scales, with wing markings indicating which prop represented which pilot.[1] When ILM fell behind on generating X-wing footage, Star Wars producer George Lucas and his editors temporarily used World War II dogfight footage for initial editing cuts.[3] Each X-wing model was built around a hollow core made from surgical tubing, which allowed lighting, cooling, and electrical connectors for the wing motors to be installed and maintained.[2] The cockpit windows were made from faceted glass so that accurate reflections could be filmed.[2] Although the movie's initial script and novelization describe the X-wings as belonging to "Blue squadron", limitations in bluescreen photography led to the markings on the filming models, as well as the fictional squadron affiliation being changed to red.[1]
In addition to miniatures, ILM made a full-size X-wing for scenes in the Rebels' Yavin base hanger; combined with cardboard cutouts and careful editing, the Rebels appear to have dozens of fighters.[1] ILM also made a full-size X-wing cockpit that was used for all actors; the astromech droid visible behind each actor was changed for each starfighter.[4] Background noise pitch and tone also varied between X-wings to further differentiate the characters piloting them.[5] The "lake" in which Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) crashes his X-wing in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was only 3.5 feet (1 meter) deep, requiring the creation of a rig resembling the starfighter sitting in the lake at an angle.[6] The rig was built in hinged sections so it could be manipulated by frogmen to sink or rise, a key feature for the scene when Luke fails to levitate his ship from the water.[6]
In 1993, ILM visual effects specialist John Knoll created a proof of concept test of dogfighting X-wings and TIE fighters to demonstrate the feasibility of using commercially-available desktop computer software for simple animation work.[7] This resulted in numerous parts of space battle scenes being "re-shot" as digital animations for original trilogy's Special Edition releases.[7] The ARC-170 starfighter seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is deliberately reminiscent of the X-wing's design.[8]
