It would take years for computers to fully harness the FX power we take for granted today, but by the end of the ‘70s, computer-generated images had already started popping up in a wider array of sci-fi movies (including The Black Hole and Alien), and in the ‘80s, the CGI revolution really got rolling - largely through the efforts of Industrial Light & Magic engineers.Įarly stop-motion animation gave film fans some of their most thrilling glimpses of the fantastic and otherworldly during the pre-CG era, but those sequences also always had an unnatural, herky-jerky feel - something animators attempted to combat for decades by artificially adding motion blur through a variety of methods that ran the gamut from smearing petroleum jelly on the lens to simply bumping their models before capturing a shot. Of course, it all looks fairly quaint now, but at the time, the sequence - glimpsed during the scene showing Rebel pilots getting some last-minute training before their attack on the Death Star - was thoroughly state-of-the-art, and added to the movie’s futuristic feel while showing sci-fi fans early advances in technology already brought to bear on 1973’s Westworld and its sequel, 1976’s Futureworld.

Through ILM, Lucas would ultimately become indirectly responsible for ushering in the CG era that’s essentially revolutionized special effects in general - and although computer graphics were already starting to come into their own before he took us long, long ago to a galaxy far, far away, it was Star Wars that gave audiences their first extended look at 3D wireframe animation in action. While enabling a crucial component of the movie’s signature aesthetic, Dykstraflex also acted as a gateway into far greater innovations by serving as the first major project out of Lucas’ next business venture: Industrial Light & Magic. Miller and Jerry Jeffress - allowed Lucas the ability to precisely replicate the repeated camera movements necessary to create Star Wars’ eye-popping space battles, while adding an incredible (and previously unattainable) freedom of movement along multiple visual axes. A computer-controlled motion camera apparatus that piggybacked old VistaVision cameras onto an ungainly array of hardwired circuits, the Dykstraflex - named for lead developer John Dykstra, who worked alongside a team that included engineers Alvah J.

Much has been made in recent years of George Lucas’ oft-stated wish to return to “experimental films” after making his Star Wars fortune, but from a technical standpoint, Lucas’ popcorn space opera was one of the more experimental efforts in modern moviemaking - and the Dykstraflex might be the best example of how he used a small army of talented outsiders to create the technology needed to suit his vision. We decided to go back to the beginning and take a look at just a few of the many ways in which Star Wars‘ visual thrills helped redefine special effects - and whether or not you’re a fan, this list makes it clear that our modern moviegoing experience owes a number of debts to what happened in George Lucas’ long-ago, faraway galaxy.

The Star Wars movies aren’t just about swooping space battles, cool-looking aliens, and beloved droids, but let’s be honest - a large part of the saga’s immense appeal has always rested on its awesome special effects.

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