The Star Wars movies have always been at the forefront of technological innovation when it comes to visual effects. Something which its first live-action TV series The Mandalorian was no stranger to. Lucasfilm wanted to find innovative ways of making its diverse alien landscapes as easily as possible and to do so, they looked to the only other industry which also requires large 3D animated worlds, the gaming industry, to find their solution.
To showcase the remarkable work that went into an innovative approach where pre-rendered sets were designed in Epic’s Unreal Engine and used as actual backdrops for much of its in-camera shots, the studio has released some behind the scenes footage of how it all works and well, let’s just say that the process is mind-blowing:
And now you know how they are able to film The Mandalorian with the superb visual effects they have and still be able to start work on a second season so quickly. I love it when different types of technology can come together and it’s wonderful to see how the studio along with Industrial Light and Magic could use a game engine to enineer such powerful effects to create the exact backdrops they needed during filming.
That this makes it easier for them to get the perfect shot and add details to the world in-camera rather than postproduction, will probably have a long-term impact on film and TV production in the future as the long and laborious post-production work can be greatly cut down and costs possibly reduced too (at least now that they’ve already spent the money creating this technology).
It’s perhaps no surprise that they chose Jon Favreau to head up The Mandalorian, as he has shown a remarkable talent for working with cutting edge visual technology in his Jungle Book and Lion King remakes.
Last Updated: February 21, 2020
justlikemo
February 21, 2020 at 12:12
this was a brilliant show, understanding what goes on behind the scenes really makes you appreciate it that much more. I’d say by far any the best Lucasfilms production away from the movies, is this series.
Son of Banana Jim
February 21, 2020 at 12:25
I would go a little further and say it’s one of the best SciFi series of the last few years. It was such a pleasure to watch.
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 12:42
lol Sure.
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 14:42
Trek fan?
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 14:50
And Star Wars. I just found the Mandalorian completely ‘okay’. The lack of character dev, random actions that characters did made watching it feel shallow to me.
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 16:11
Planning on watching, but not on Disney+ they have enough money.
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 16:11
Also Picard
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 18:01
So far I have also been in the ‘it’s okay’ camp on that front. I’m not going to go full fanboy like many have over the Mandalorian jut because I loved TNG and think Stewart is an excellent actor. As a matter of fact I think so far his performance in Picard feels completely phoned in (maybe his age?)
Son of Banana Jim
February 21, 2020 at 19:09
Is that even worth a watch? I saw a clip on youtube recently of Picard getting attacked in his study by a bunch of guys in black. They kick him over a couch. My first thought was, “Yep, that old man is dead… he just took a kick to his 80 year old chest, but If he survives, his hip is probably broken in twenty places”, but then he gets up again…
And then the other clip was with Picard looking at a sign on a Romulan planet (presumably a refugee planet) and it reads “Romulans Only”, and my first thought was, why would they write that in english? Wouldn’t it be in Romulan? With (maybe) a translated bit at the bottom….?
And then I remembered, it’s Kurtzman Nu Trek.
Son of Banana Jim
February 21, 2020 at 19:46
PS: Why are @stoompot:disqus ‘s comments being marked as spam?
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 21:11
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 21:11
People in the future live to 250 years, so Picard is in good shape and very fit.
(I think)
And why make a sign that outsiders cant read?
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 14:58
The best thing they gave us was Rogue One, honestly, anything was better than Rise of the Mary Sue
Kromas
February 21, 2020 at 12:37
Like I have said countless times before. Love or Hate Epic you can’t deny that the Unreal engine is by far one of the best engines out there.
R1ker
February 21, 2020 at 17:13
Totally agree. I remember the days when it was always a competition between Epic and Id
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 12:24
Groundbreaking? No, I don’t agree. Some of the visuals in this show were actually pretty average. Especially when it came to adding in droids and other animals. There’s a scene in ep 5 where a mechanic is talking to her droids and you can see she is green screened because the light of the CGI is completely off.
Kervyn Cloete
February 21, 2020 at 12:25
Did you watch the video? The new tech, Stagecraft, is very groundbreaking. Being able to render the background in real time on something physical that the actors can see, while tracking camera movement live, is amazing stuff.
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 12:29
Agreed. Unreal is pretty damn amazing with its real time rendering capabilities. Unheard of 10 years ago.
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 12:29
Yes, THAT is amazing stuff. The stuff I saw in the Mandalorian was not.
Kervyn Cloete
February 21, 2020 at 12:33
https://media3.giphy.com/media/SEp6Zq6ZkzUNW/giphy.gif
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 12:37
There are scenes where the CGI (and I am thinking of one in particular) pops out so much you’d have to be stoned to think it was real.
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 14:42
Which one ?
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 17:55
https://tenor.com/view/star-wars-the-mandalorian-droids-gif-15743156 This one was probably the worst.
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 18:01
I thought as I posted maybe It was unreasonable to ask you that question…lol.
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 19:16
No. I am not trolling. I am voicing an opinion that I have visuals to back up.
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 18:01
Yeah, that does look fake.
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 18:01
Amy Sedaris’ interaction with the droids was great, she’s a good actress, but the visuals did not help suspend disbelief. Simple as that. The colours were completely off.
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 18:21
Still, despite those few examples, it’s pretty amazing what the unreal engine is capable of these days and you got to start somewhere and this is certainly the first time I’ve heard or seen it being used in this way.
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 18:21
Oh totally man. I was just making a comment on the use in the series, not as a whole. It’s phenomenal what can be done now!
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 14:42
Harrumph, how dare he differ?
Son of Banana Jim
February 21, 2020 at 12:29
It’s fantastic tech. It allows the actors to see the backdrops and interact with them naturally, instead of trying to play to a green screen.
Son of Banana Jim
February 21, 2020 at 12:25
Lol, no!
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 12:33
Erm, yes actually. There were plenty of scenes where the CGI lighting was in stark contrast to the humans in the same shot.
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 14:42
lol
Hammersteyn
February 21, 2020 at 12:51
https://media.giphy.com/media/11tIB893VLShXi/giphy.gif
RinceThis
February 21, 2020 at 12:56
https://media.giphy.com/media/12zgyJya7QwQKI/giphy.gif
Hammersteyn
February 21, 2020 at 13:02
Hahaha
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 13:02
Imagine this dude as the Joker..
Hammersteyn
February 21, 2020 at 13:02
Then he’d be the third actor to get an Oscar for playing The Joker
justlikemo
February 21, 2020 at 13:27
shame, all but the dude from suicide squad
MechMachine
February 21, 2020 at 13:17
Greatest Actor out there in my opinion.
Stoompot
February 21, 2020 at 14:58
slow day?