In today’s comments, we talked up the new season of the Walking Dead, reminisced over the best candy with the worst marketing schemes, and identified some of the pre-CGI secrets of the Star Wars special effects team.
In response to this post revealing a previously un-aired, original Star Wars blooper reel (if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out), sharp-eyed commenter CLBnntt picked out a curious relic of just how visual effects artists used to manufacture thrills and chills:
https://gizmodo.com/1453498645
Fascinating revelation at 0:27 or so — they created the effect of the landspeeder levitating by hiding the wheels behind mirror strips to reflect the surrounding sand. That’s brilliant. I love practical effects.
Commenter DJPixcel stepped in to add another effects tip culled from Star Wars:
I had seen somewhere that they put vaseline on the lens in a line so that it covered up the tires, and actually looked liked it was making a “hover” effect, blurring the bottom of the speeder.
Any other thoughts or stories on how the special effects were pulled off? Share them in the comments below.
Image: Marques / Shutterstock
