Animatics: The Moving Storyboards of Episode I

Our generic Star Wars animatics soldier will wear a Rebel technician's jumpsuit, a WWII-era shoulder harness from the Indiana Jones movies, and a Star Wars bandoleer of unknown origin.

We begin our animatic by going out and filming a stand-in going through the necessary motions. Animatics team leader David Dozoretz is our director and cameraman--he knows what he needs out of the shot, so he just grabs a camera and a stand-in and goes out to shoot it. To make the stand-in look the part, we've called on Gillian Libbert, our Costume Appearance Manager, to dress our soldier with a uniform made out of items from the Archives. Some of the costume elements are from Star Wars movies and some are from the Indiana Jones pictures, but for the time being the costume will just blend the figure in the shot better than his street clothes. The simple shot "may not look like much," but it will be the basis of the animatic to come: as crude as it is, it is our shot's "background plate," the image to which other elements will be added.

Our Costume Apperance Manager is on site when a costume is being borrowed from the Archives and worn. Gillian Libbert makes sure that the costume elements are fitted properly for the shot and that everything looks right.

Outside, we select a location that will place the Battle Tank farther away from the soldier than shown by Jay's storyboard. Things can look different once you translate them from drawings to real life, and in the analysis of shot director David Dozoretz, "our soldier is gonna be instant toast if he's that close to the tank." We prudently put our man at enough distance to give him an even chance before he's blasted.

David Dozoretz directs our soldier to aim at an imaginary battle tank, which will later be added as a CG model. CG fighters flying overhead will also be added. Although they are not on the storyboard, Dozoretz imagines that their addition will give the shot more action and focus, drawing the eye through the shot.

While we are out doing the mini-shoot, David comes up with an idea to add more life and motion to the shot. He directs the actor to slow down and look up at one point - before he crouches and takes aim - to see ships flying overhead that will be added later. This kind of concept development is a key part of the value of animatics.

The background plate is just a rough version of what will become.

The background plate serves as a canvas that animatics artists can "paint" on using their computers. Colors will be corrected, sharpness adjusted, and the sky will be brightened and enhanced.