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Revenge Fantasies ILM's Visual Effects Wizards Create an Unprecedented Number of VFX Shots for Revenge of the Sith More than the previous installments of the Star Wars saga, Revenge of the Sith features worlds and environments that could not be found by scouting the globe for suitable lensing locations. To create truly other-worldly experiences, writer-director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum once again turned to the wizards at Industrial Light & Magic, the entertainment industry's premiere visual effects house, which was founded to create the effects for A New Hope. Revenge of the Sith has more than 2,200 visual effects shots, surpassing the records of the previous Star Wars movies and dwarfing those of other visual effects spectaculars, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. “There are some shots with 50 or 60 different elements, most of which most people will never even realize are effects,” says producer McCallum. Many of those “invisible” effects were critical in creating the eight planets that appear in the movie - the most in any Star Wars film. Lucas called upon two of ILM's visual effects supervisors, John Knoll and Roger Guyett, to share the enormous effects load, each taking primary responsibility for specific action sequences and effect types that occur throughout the movie. Rob Coleman returned as animation director, reprising his previously Oscar-nominated role from The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Among the eye-popping shots supervised by Knoll - who has more than a decade of experience working on visual effects for Star Wars films and worked closely with Lucas during the entire pre-production and first-unit photography phases - is Revenge of the Sith's epic opening battle sequence. High above the city-world of Coruscant, the last days of the Clone Wars play out on a massive scale, while Obi-Wan and Anakin attempt a daring rescue of Chancellor Palpatine, who is being held captive by Separatist forces. The scene is unique among the numerous battles depicted in the Star Wars movies, because it is set not in outer space, but in the upper regions of Coruscant's atmosphere. “Setting it there gave us the opportunity to create smoke trails, fires and other pyrotechnics that would not exist in the vacuum of outer space,” Knoll says. Roger Guyett supervised the creation of the volcano planet Mustafar, where Obi-Wan and Anakin fight their epic duel. Guyett knew it was vital to make the treacherous environment look realistic, as Obi-Wan and Anakin wage a vicious battle across streams of molten lava and through exploding magma. “We wanted to get the atmosphere of danger in the world around them as they duel,” Guyett says. “It's a classic fight between two very powerful characters. The environment around them supports the menacing quality of the fight. I wanted to make it as precarious and hostile as possible, and, of course, to make it look as hot as hell. It's sort of like the Niagara Falls of the lava world.” The computer-generated elements of Mustafar were composited with real footage of an erupting Mt. Etna, as well as digital matte paintings and elaborate miniatures overseen by ILM practical model supervisor Brian Gernand. Some of Gernand's “miniatures” measured more than 30 feet long, adding texture and realism to the environment. Gernand and his team created glowing “lava” using methylcel, a thickening agent commonly used in milkshakes. They pumped thousands of gallons of the lava through the intricately detailed miniature, creating a four-footwide river that cut through the center of the enormous model. Revenge of the Sith features the first-ever big-screen exploration of the Wookiee home planet Kashyyyk, a lush world teeming with immense forests. John Knoll created several establishing shots of the planet, while Guyett supervised a massive and visceral battle scene in which hundreds of Wookiees fearlessly take on Separatist forces. Gernand and his model makers built a detailed miniature “hero tree,” and ILM artists layered in effects elements to create a seemingly alive Kashyyyk forest. For the never-before-seen sinkhole planet Utapau, Knoll supervised a white-knuckle chase and hand-to-hand combat sequence between Obi-Wan and the Droid leader General Grievous, while Gernand's crew created models of an enormous sinkhole and an Utapau city. Other worlds seen in Revenge of the Sith include Felucia, a bizarre environment filled with gigantic, exotic fungi and other vegetation; Alderaan, the idyllic world that is home to Senator Bail Organa and the future Princess Leia; Padmé's native Naboo; and the barren Tatooine, which Anakin's son, Luke, will call home. ILM also contributed to a sequence that moviegoers have been waiting decades to see: the moment that Anakin transforms into the black-helmeted Darth Vader. Roger Guyett gave the scene a stylish look with noir-ish lighting and a heavy spotlight. “The environment looks like part operating room, part torture chamber,” he says. “Even so, the scene has an unexpected poignancy.” Many of Revenge of the Sith's most memorable characters were created entirely by artists at ILM. Animation director Rob Coleman supervised 90 minutes of animation, more than any previous Star Wars film. Coleman points to the CG rendering of Jedi Master Yoda as perhaps the animation department's most significant achievement. “We created a digital Yoda for Attack of the Clones, but it was all very new for us at the time,” says Coleman. “For this film, Yoda has become a full-fledged supporting character, with more screen time and dialogue. It was a lot of fun to explore the next level of acting with him.” Coleman notes that his team also made important physical advances with the character. “This time around, Yoda's skin is much more realistic looking,” he explains. “Also, the rendering of his clothing is more sophisticated.” While Attack of the Clones provided the first-ever look at Yoda's impressive skills with a lightsaber, Revenge of the Sith amps up the stakes and action for the Jedi Master. In the Senate Chamber, Yoda engages an even more fearsome opponent, in an epic fight that seals the fate of the Republic - and Yoda's own future. Among the entirely new characters created at ILM is the villainous General Grievous, a chill-inducing combination of alien and droid who commands the seemingly limitless droid army. “George Lucas wanted a visually interesting antagonist who represented the technology that will ultimately consume Anakin,” says Coleman. “It's an early version of the technology used to save Vader but in Grievous' case, the technology is not quite working, so as formidable as he is, he's also a bit sickly. He's a skulking, miserable villain with a hacking cough, and we had a great time working with him because we love creating bad guys!”  Next Page: Keeping Score