Star Wars Insider #208 is almost here and inside is the usual essential Star Wars news, interviews, reviews and articles including this look at the Industrial Light & Magic Art Department and the lineage from those groundbreaking days of the mid-70’s as the team of the time changed the visual effects industry.
Continuing a Legacy
David Nakabayshi, affectionately nicknamed “Nak,” has been creative director of the ILM art department since 2002, and is acutely aware of this legacy. As he explains: “VFX production started with Ralph, Joe, Nilo, and people like Dave Carson: they would do the artwork, help figure out the sequences, and then go on stage to get their hands and jeans dirty. And nothing has really changed for us since then.”
During his nearly two-decade-long tenure leading the team, Nak has solidified the ILM art department’s role during the production of a movie, from blue sky pre-production to the final tweaks of post-production. “We are the team that visualizes the big moments that really define the film, crafting very elaborate, focused concepts that look photorealistic, so the director and the studio can say, ‘Okay, that’s what it’s going to look like,’” he explains. “You then get all kinds of feedback that needs to be addressed, and that is where the art department really shines. We’re a fully-fledged design studio and help filmmakers at the start of their movie, who don’t have the bandwidth to hire production designers. So, we jump in and design their characters, creatures, and keyframes for their film, which is the fun, creative work.”
I’m very much looking forward to this issue arriving as my interview with Dame Harriet Walter is a part of the issue, a fascinating conversation about her role as Dr. Harter Kalonia in The Force Awakens and her uncle, the man behind Count Dooku Sir Christopher Lee.
Star Wars Insider #209 (Px Edition) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
