New Star Wars Trilogy: 3 Do’s and 4 Don'ts

By Brendan Foley /

DON€™T: Go Too Nuts With the Digital

CGI is an incredible tool that completely changed how movies could be made and what they could portray. That€™s neat, really it is. But what CGI almost always lacks is a strong, tangible qualities that allows the viewer to feel empathy and connection with what they€™re seeing. Compare Mos Eisley space port with the endless, perfect walls of any building on Coruscant. One looks like an actual place that you step into and be a part of, the other looks like a video game background that Samuel L. Jackson wandered into in his PJs (and who knows, maybe he did. I€™m sure the eye patch gets disorienting after a while). Now, CGI and other digital tools are fantastic TOOLS. They should absolutely be a part of a blockbuster filmmaker€™s arsenal. But they shouldn€™t be the ONLY tool in said arsenal. A healthy dollop of practical, on-set make-up and effects would go a long way in helping the viewer connect with the grander CGI monstrosities and vistas. Digital augmentation of practical make-up would enhance BOTH, creating truly alien life forms and habitations that we haven€™t even imagined yet. What I€™m saying is, you need a little Doug Jones with your Andy Serkis.