Learn About The 'Rebel Hideout' Some Employees At ILM Made
Image Source: Lucasfilm
At Industrial Light & Magic, the VFX studio founded by George Lucas, its employees have found a fun way to make their jobs more interesting. Several employees of the San Francisco campus have come together to create a Rebel hideout in the building, utilizing real Star Wars props to make it more immersive. They even crafted a story behind the room! Head of CG Michael DiComo, R&D engineer Mike Jutan, Lucasfilm franchise content and strategy director Pablo Hidalgo, and systems engineer Trent Bateman discussed the room and its construction.
Dicomo discussed how their finished product exceeded their expectations, “We’re not bragging about this room. We are as amazed as anyone…we couldn’t have guessed it would be this great because everyone went so over the top. It’s the ILM spirit of everyone collaborating, doing more, and asking, ‘What do you need me to do?’”
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Image Source: ILM
Hidalgo explained how they chose which props to utilize, “When we realized that we had all sorts of different props…having a specific story structure helped limit what items we would use.” He continued, “From there, we built out the story that fit the context of this room and aligned with the characteristics of being rebels.” DiComo shifted the line of thought, “We liked the basic layout, but it still looked like a conference room…How do we make it look like an actual Star Wars room? It became an integration challenge.”
Bateman explained the immersive experience they wanted to create, something more tactile than a basic museum display, “We don’t want this to feel like a museum where you can look but not touch. We want visitors to feel like they are actually in Star Wars, and that means allowing them to not only play with the props, but for the props to play back.” Jutan wrapped up their commentary, “Everyone pulls together to create something that’s much more amazing than its individual parts. It’s like every movie and visual effect that we make.”
Image Source: ILM
As the story goes:
“It is a period of intrigue, Imperial outposts scattered across the galaxy search for signs of the fledgling rebellion. Intrepid rebel agents have infiltrated the Empire’s Logistics, Deployment, and Allotment Center – LDAC – on planet Yerbana. From the heart of this Imperial base, the rebels have carved out a secret outpost to monitor enemy activity, contact other rebels, and recharge all the while avoiding the eyes of the Empire….”
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