“Light & Magic season 2 explores in a fascinating way the dawn of the digital era for ILM and the technical challenges the Prequel trilogy brought. It’s also a more moving season than it appears to be. This one is a must-watch for Star Wars fans.”
Disney +’s series Light & Magic is finally back for a second season. It follows Lucasfilm’s visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic. The first season focused on its beginning and its expansion to become the famous visual effects company everyone knows. Season 2 is about the dawn of the digital era. Consisting of three episodes, the series releases tomorrow.
THE DIGITAL ERA
The Star Wars Prequel trilogy brought Industrial Light & Magic their biggest challenge yet – the dawn of the digital era. This has pushed the boundaries of what was possible in cinema. The same way A New Hope paved the way for what was possible and the two other films of the Original trilogy brought more challenges, this is what happened with the Prequels. The Phantom Menace had 2,000 vfx shots and Revenge of the Sith ended with 2,500 vfx shots. Right in the middle, Attack of the Clones changed everything with digital cameras.
The making of the visual and special effects of the Prequel trilogy is as fascinating as the making of the Original trilogy. It brought its own sets of challenges and innovations. Each episode mostly focuses on one of the films of this trilogy. In addition, the series also explores the technical achievements done by ILM for films like Pirates of the Carribean, Rango and War of the Worlds. This era for ILM is so fascinating. Joe Johnston who was in front of the camera in season 1 is now behind the camera. He has gathered all the key players of this era for them to reminisce of these years. The mix of archival footage and these interviews allows this documentary to have perspective on what happened.
GEORGE LUCAS THE MAN WHO REVOLUTIONIZED CINEMA
Obviously, the nineties and the early 2000’s were a shift towards digital for cinema. But, it wasn’t just all about digital. Season 2 also deals with practical effects because there was a lot of it too. There’s a common belief that The Phantom Menace was all CG, it’s false. Yes, it did use a lot of CG but it is actually the Star Wars film that used the most models than any Star Wars films combined. That Mospa Espa Grand Arena, it was a model and it was huge one! Attack of the Clones also used lots of miniatures and models. For example, Padmé’s apartment on Coruscant and the Geonosis arena were models. For Revenge of the Sith, the team at ILM did build a 12 meters long Mustafar model with fake lava.
The mix between CG and practical is what makes these films so magical. George Lucas has always used CG to help tell a story. What matters to him is how to tell a story in the most effective way. He’s a forward thinker who has revolutionized cinema twice. First with the Original trilogy with ILM and special effects as seen in season 1. And a second time with the Prequel trilogy and moving the whole industry into the digital era. What Lucas achieved with the help of all the people working at ILM is absolutely phenomenal. Everyone needs to watch Light & Magic to understand that. He has brought to the world of cinema so much more than what people generally believe.
CREATING JAR JAR BINKS
Moreover, you can’t talk about the Prequels and the digital era for visual effects without talking about Jar Jar Binks. The series explores in-depth the creation of this fully digital character. He was the first of his kind. ILM had done Jurassic Park, Dragonheart and Casper with digital characters but Jar Jar Binks was a whole different thing. It came with its own set of challenges. Bringing this character to life was a collaboration work between ILM, George Lucas and Ahmed Best. Best’s incredible work paved the way for other motion capture artists.
Best was the first at what he did and that brought its own suffering. It’s meaningful that Light & Magic not only explores the creation of the character but the reaction of the adults at the time towards Jar Jar and thus towards Ahmed Best. The reaction and creation are intertwined. The team at ILM and Best poured a lot of dedication to create Jar Jar only for them to face an unprecedented level of hate toward a character.
Though, Ahmed Best recently said that he contemplated committing suicide at the time, this series is actually the first time he talks in detail about what happened. This whole conversation about him contemplating suicide is heart wrenching. It’s something difficult to talk about but it’s something that needed to be adressed. Hopefully, that will be the start of an important conversation within the Star Wars fandom. On top of that, this season highlights Best’s contribution to Star Wars beyond Jar Jar. He did more than just bringing to life this character.
My generation grew up with the Prequels, we loved and still love Jar Jar Binks. However, as kids we didn’t realize all the hate Ahmed Best received from the adults. It was all the adults voicing their rage towards the character and these films. Kids didn’t have a voice in the media. But it’s my generation who gets to show their voice in the media now. We share our love for these films, these characters and this cast. So, it’s heartbreaking to see how much Ahmed Best suffered at the time. But it’s also heartwarming to know that he sees the love he is getting now.
VERDICT
Light & Magic season 2 explores in a fascinating way the dawn of the digital era for ILM and the technical challenges the Prequel trilogy brought. It’s also a moving season as it deals with the initial reaction towards Jar Jar and how it affected the people who created him. This one is a must-watch for Star Wars fans.
Light & Magic seaosn 2 releases tomorrow on Disney Plus.
Collectables and Anime Editor for Future Of The Force.
Star Wars expert and Japan connoisseur.
