Speaking with the ever-awesome James Floyd, ILM veteran Warren Fu discusses his work on the Star Wars saga in Star Wars Insider #213, out now in the States and coming to the UK at the start of October.
Star Wars Insider: How did you become part of the Star Wars movie making process?
Warren Fu: I started at Industrial Light & Magic as an art department intern during my last semester at UC Berkeley. I was making photocopies, doing research, and organizing art from Men in Black (1997) into binders. When postproduction on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) began, I was hired as a full-time production assistant. Visual effects art director David Nakabayashi (aka “Nak”) was the first to believe in me, giving me small assignments, like the display graphics for Darth Maul’s binoculars. It was a big moment for me when I saw that binocular shot on the big screen during dailies and George Lucas approved it. I went on to do more on The Phantom Menace, designing display screens and storyboarding. I also worked on a few matte paintings on that film, earning my first credit as a concept artist. Nak ended up being like a big brother, a friend, and a mentor throughout my time at ILM.
A big turning point in my Lucasfilm career was seeing Doug Chiang around ILM doing review sessions. A lot of artists I knew in my classes were quiet, shy types, but Doug was this confident artist and leader that was George’s right-hand man in creating the visual language of the new trilogy. He had a calm, yet assertive way of communicating. You respected him and worked hard because he knew exactly what he was talking about. The most important thing I learned from Doug was that you don’t have to be intimidating or mean to be a strong leader. Seeing that he was a successful Taiwanese American with experiences similar to mine also really inspired me.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He currently contributes to ILM.com and SkywalkerSound.com, having previously written for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Starburst Magazine, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia and Model and Collectors Mart.
He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host (the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015), the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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Speaking with the ever-awesome James Floyd, ILM veteran Warren Fu discusses his work on the Star Wars saga in Star Wars Insider #213, out now in the States and coming to the UK at the start of October.
Star Wars Insider: How did you become part of the Star Wars movie making process?
Warren Fu: I started at Industrial Light & Magic as an art department intern during my last semester at UC Berkeley. I was making photocopies, doing research, and organizing art from Men in Black (1997) into binders. When postproduction on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) began, I was hired as a full-time production assistant. Visual effects art director David Nakabayashi (aka “Nak”) was the first to believe in me, giving me small assignments, like the display graphics for Darth Maul’s binoculars. It was a big moment for me when I saw that binocular shot on the big screen during dailies and George Lucas approved it. I went on to do more on The Phantom Menace, designing display screens and storyboarding. I also worked on a few matte paintings on that film, earning my first credit as a concept artist. Nak ended up being like a big brother, a friend, and a mentor throughout my time at ILM.
A big turning point in my Lucasfilm career was seeing Doug Chiang around ILM doing review sessions. A lot of artists I knew in my classes were quiet, shy types, but Doug was this confident artist and leader that was George’s right-hand man in creating the visual language of the new trilogy. He had a calm, yet assertive way of communicating. You respected him and worked hard because he knew exactly what he was talking about. The most important thing I learned from Doug was that you don’t have to be intimidating or mean to be a strong leader. Seeing that he was a successful Taiwanese American with experiences similar to mine also really inspired me.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He currently contributes to ILM.com and SkywalkerSound.com, having previously written for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Starburst Magazine, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia and Model and Collectors Mart.
He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host (the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015), the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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Star Wars Insider: How did you become part of the Star Wars movie making process?
