10 Most Unnecessary Times Star Wars Used CGI

Now here's where things get really weird and interesting.

It's no secret that the prequels - especially the latter two films - made extensive use of blue and green screen tech, with the actors shooting most of their scenes in coloured voids which were then digitally populated in post-production.

Another, less-discussed reason that George Lucas shot so much of the movies this way is that it allowed him maximum control to change scenes in post.

By shooting most scenes against blue/green screens, Lucas could easily isolate the actors from one another in order to change their positioning, re-time their reactions, or even morph entirely different takes together.

The latter trick is noticeable a few times throughout the prequels, perhaps most notably when Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) regales Anakin with the tale of Darth Plagueis in Revenge of the Sith. At one point, Anakin's side profile subtly morphs, as Lucas transitions from one take to another.

Though modern movies do plenty of digital trickery, the take-morphing technique isn't common for a reason - it has the potential to look goofy as hell, requires outrageous amount of blue/green screen, and most filmmakers would rather just shoot ideal coverage and know precisely what they've got when they enter the editing room.

Check it out for yourself at 1:25 in the clip below: