Star Wars: Visions Memories 09

The thing about Star Wars is that there is a LOT of it. And you know what? Most of it is fantastic. It’s so, so good. So much has been explored across all the movies and television shows, but also in games, books and more. How can anyone possibly find and create something fresh and new among all that? It’s funny, I remember thinking about this years ago, long before I ever knew this would happen and even before the live action shows existed. Coming up with something original in Star Wars is not easy.

I’m going to say it, only because it’s something we heard over and over after the release of our short: our team managed to do it. 

So how did we do it?

I think partly it goes back even before the script, with the idea that we would tell a story in the Star Wars universe about characters who don’t know any Star Wars lore. That alone meant that we couldn’t lean heavily on anything done before in Star Wars. We instantly ruled out so many connections to the Star Wars galaxy (admittedly a risky move) and that forced us down a path where we had to bring a new point of view.

But what really made the difference, in my view, is the work of art director Almu Redondo, and the art team and the influences we brought to them. Sure, we talked a lot about Star Wars. It happened. But when it came to the story we were telling, most of what we talked about came from very different places, and usually just from life. We wanted a story that felt real and grounded. Not a cover version of a story that has already been told better than we could. Or a look that was trying to live up to Ralph McQuarrie or Doug Chiang - let’s face it, we’d be doomed to fail. Our look came from elsewhere.

When we were forming the story, a happy coincidence happened. I took a couple of weeks off and went to the wilds of Kerry, out near Skellig Micheal (Ahch-to in the sequel movies). It was remote, haunting and beautiful.

I came back with these images and photos but I actually couldn’t share them yet with Paul because he took the next week off. I had to wait for him to return to the studio. Turned out he went to the exact same place and came back with almost the same images.

This was our planet.

It was Ireland. It was the wilds of Kerry just given the slightest hint of a sci-fi nudge. And as a result, it felt real.

And that’s the thing about Star Wars locations - they feel real.

Much later, in a visit to Skywalker Ranch (I’ll talk about that later), we got to visit the legendary library in the Main House. There was a huge book, left open, with post-its on several pages. It was a photo book of different landscapes across the Earth. Each post-it was marking the influence for a planet seen in various Star Wars movies, with little hand written notes. And I looked at it and thought, they did what we did. They weren’t trying to out sci-fi the previous movie. They were trying to find the look from right here on Earth. 

And that’s why it works. That's why it feels real. That's why it's not just derivative of other sci-fi. It's fresh.

The backdrop of our short is just one example. Our short is full of designs that come from real life, given a Star Wars twist. Our speeders? They’re old Irish tractors. The Sith Mother’s eyes? They’re the eyes of seagulls. Right down to the smallest details, our inspiration is all around us.

Want to make something feel real? Simply look at reality.

I'm getting close to wrapping up these Visions Memories. Stay tuned for how it all came together as we approached the reveal and launch! If you're not subscribed to the email version, well...