“Gang of Outsiders”, Part 1 of Light & Magic on Disney+, is a fascinating delight to watch. The trailer is a bit over-hyped, as the history of a bunch of obsessed young guys finding each other and working their butts off to take on an impossible technical challenge doesn’t need “Don’t Stop Believing” for emphasis.
Much of the Spring, 1978 issue of Cinefantastique magazine was devoted to Star Wars. If it wasn’t the first coverage of Industrial Light & Magic, then it was certainly the most extensive at that time. I’ve scanned a few pages from the issue.
One tidbit in the Disney+ documentary is something that I apparently knew from Cinefantastique, but had forgotten long ago. Richard Edlund created the original Pignose guitar amp. Still in business today, I remember seeing ads for the Pignose in Rolling Stone.
The costumes in Star Wars weren’t the responsibility of ILM, but this is the funniest picture in the magazine. Greedo’s trans secret is out!
I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the series, although I expect my interest might start to taper off once they’re deeply into the digital era and everything turns orange and teal. *Blech!*
An early use of computers in film was the EditDroid, another Lucas technical initiative. I don’t know yet if the system gets mentioned later in the series. Built around programmable LaserDisc players, EditDroid was intended to take the drudgery out film editing.
