Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/990311
S O L O : A S T A R W A R S S T O R Y | P E R S P E C T I V E 4 9 current series of films now and have noticed that the essence of the Star Wars aesthetic is tricky to describe but is recognisable. It's an unwritten language, style, shape, colour, that grows within as time goes by. Drawing comparisons with the nature of The Force may be stretching it a bit, but it's tempting! One can be walking through the studio, past the dumpsters, and find oneself imagining it upside down, painted white (Star Wars white, of course), dressed with strategic patches of "gack" or "greeblies," add a bleached stripe of red/orange and some deft ageing from the painters, and before you know it, have an effective and perhaps key piece of Rebel dressing for one of the sets. Even the lids from these same dumpsters have been put to use: they look great as a pressed metal Star Wars ceiling panel! If not "Rebel," one can also lean toward "Empire." It's great to see both sides, light and dark, good and evil. C D There are a few in this Art Department who have had a little more time to gain this design understanding, having also been involved in Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi. With that experience in mind, we often state that we consider Solo, and Rogue One to be "period" movies, rather than simply as "sci-fi." We have the ability to reference the original trilogy and evoke a 1975-1981 Star Wars style. Specifically, with Rogue One, 1974, and for Solo, dialling the design into the late '60s— early '70s aesthetic. "Retro" and "Lo-fi," taking the best of the technological world in that time and reimagining it for Star Wars. The control room at Fawley power station (previously seen briefly in Rollerball behind James Caan) was a great source of inspiration. We walked in there and loved it. Its shapes, lines, colour and simplicity…Wow! Our colour palettes are very simple, too. As we embarked on Rogue One, we realised that there were at least twenty established silvers to black in C. WHITE 1/8" MODEL OF THE SAVAREEN GHOST TOWN BY ALEX BAILY. PHOTO BY LAUREN CROCKATT. D. DETAIL OF A 1/4" MODEL OF THE SAVAREEN GHOST TOWN BY ALEX BAILY. PHOTO BY IDA GRUNDSOEE. E. THE MAIN STRUCTURE FOR SAVAREEN, CONCEPT ART BY WILL HTAY, DONE IN STAEDTLER MARKERS AND SHARPIE ON LAYOUT PAPER. F. PHOTO OF THE MAIN STRUCTURE FOR SAVAREEN BY JOHN WILSON. F E