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j a n u a r y . f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6 c g w 9 n enviable combination of critical acclaim and box-of- fice returns has catapulted Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh epi- sode in the Lucasfilm series, into the record books. In less than a month, the Disney/Lucasfilm sequel rocketed into number one at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing domestic release in history. Aer four weeks, it had earned $1.8 billion globally, with the China market just coming on board. A scan of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, where the science- fiction action-adventure achieved a 93 percent posi- tive rating, shows little if any mention of the visual effects. No complaints. No praise. One critic actually extolled the filmmakers' success in avoiding "the defi- ciencies of those latter films: the orgiastic overuse of CGI." Another critic raved about BB-8: "The simple design is ingenious and how wonderful that he/it is not computer-gen- erated but of our world." But, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has CG effects in 2,100 of its 2,500 shots, a proportion closely matching the num ber for each of the three prequels. And, BB-8 is digital perhaps a third of the time in the film. No wonder the feature has received Oscar and BAFTA nom- inations for best visual effects, and seven VES nominations. In addition, it received the AFI award for movie of the year. In the run-up to the film's re- lease, numerous articles talked about the practical effects. Few, if any, mentioned CG. Finally, on January 15, the day aer Star Wars: The Force Awakens received a visual effects Oscar nomination, Disney released a video showing before and aer visual effects shots. Green- screens? Yep. From the first scene of Rey scavenging. The "Millennium Falcon"? Digital. The TIE Fighter sinking into the sand near the beginning? The sand in the background is real, but the ship and sinking sand are digital. Maz's castle? Digital. That lightsaber battle? The entire forest surrounding the actors is digital. The explosions? A combination of real pyro and CG simulations. And the final battle, surely to no one's sur- prise, has all-digital shots. How did the artists at Indus- trial Light & Magic achieve the sleight of hand that convinced viewers and critics what they were seeing was real – or at least as real as the first three films? The answer starts with Roger Guyett, visual effects supervisor and second unit director. This is his fourth film with Director JJ Abrams, fih if you count a brief bit of help with Super 8. "[JJ and I] were in the process of finishing Star Trek when he said yes to [Producer] Kathy Kennedy," Guyett says. "Thankfully, he asked if I was interested. Once Star Trek came out, we were on Star Wars full time. I went down to LA once or twice a week. We talked a lot about the tone and style we were trying to capture." Guyett had been a visual effects supervisor for Episode III, and was keenly aware that for the seventh episode, people wanted something with more of the flavor of the first films, Episodes IV, V, and VI. "I'm incredibly proud of the work we did on III, and have fond memories of working with George [Lucas], who was inspirational, with an incredible imagination," Guyett says. "But on this one, we wanted to recap- ture more of the tactile, visceral quality of the early films. We wanted to find the right balance for the fans between historically VIDEO: GO TO EXTRAS IN THE JANUARY.FEBRUARY 2016 ISSUE BOX C G W. C O M