the Star Wars franchise was built on
revolutionary film techniques and more
than a few tricks welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10
mind-blowing Star Wars special effects
revealed before we begin we publish new
content every day so be sure to
subscribe to our channel and ring the
bell to get notified about our latest
videos for this list or diving into the
incredible stories behind some of the
special effects in that galaxy far far
away number 10 a mobile introduction
starwars iconic opening crawl has been
transporting us to its fantasy universe
since 1977
back in the 1970s George Lucas intended
to open a new hope with rolling credits
like the ones from Flash Gordon serials
designer Dan Perry took that concept and
added elements from the moving credits
of Union Pacific Perry made a physical
version of the scripts opening crawl
mounted the camera on a track and had it
roll over the words to create the
signature movement once the footage was
ready it was superimposed onto a starry
background the meticulous filming
ensured Star Wars got off to a good
number nine drawing a lightsaber Star
Wars Episode four a new hope what is it
father’s light saber this is the weapon
of a Jedi Knight as clumsy or random as
a blaster the lightsaber prop started as
a spinning stick inserted into the tube
of a flashbulb handle originally the
glow came from wrapping the weapon in
reflective tape while someone Shawn a
light on it when test runs proved
inconsistent animator Nelson shin used a
technique called rotoscoping he took the
unedited lightsaber scenes traced over
each frame and put the frames back into
the film with the animation in place
designer ben burtt gave the weapon its
sound by combining the audio of movie
projectors with microphone interference
it all culminated in a weapon that
looked and sounded like it was from
another world number eight
instantly appearing bread Star Wars
Episode 7 the force awakens when rey sat
down to eat in the force awakens
audiences were treated to an unexpected
effect after she poured some powder into
a bowl of water and stirs a loaf of
bread appears in the same bowl moments
later this effect was incredibly
achieved without CGI special effects
supervisor Neal Scanlan revealed that
they hid an uninflated bread prop in the
bowl of water as they covertly inflated
the prop a separate pump sucked all the
water out of the bowl this clever
illusion amazed moviegoers while leaving
a few of them with a craving for bread
number 7 bb-8 seven times star wars
episode 7 the force awakens
we’ve got company bb-8 is a
one-of-a-kind droid in the Star Wars
universe but it’s a different story
behind the scenes The Creature Shop
created seven different bb-8 puppets for
the film
this allowed directors to use bb-8 in a
variety of situations there’s one bb-8
that’s operated by puppeteers a
lightweight version that actors can pick
up easily a few that can be
remote-controlled and a couple designed
for stunt work since they all look
identical it’s almost impossible to know
which bb-8 puppet is on screen at any
given time who knew that bringing the
the back it is complete number six
paintings that looked like sets the Star
Wars original trilogy sometimes the best
effects are the ones that you hardly
notice in the original trilogy matte
paintings were used to create fantastic
backgrounds without the audience
realizing they weren’t actually sets to
create this illusion artists painted
elaborate scenery on glass that was
recorded on film they then recorded
live-action scenes on real sets that
looked like the painting lastly the
live-action sequences were edited into
the footage of each painting this
background trick was used for everything
from stormtrooper forces to big
celebration scenes even if you know
where they are the map paintings can
still be convincing number five blowing
up the Death Star Star Wars Episode four
a new hope that’s no moon one of the
most memorable Star Wars scenes is the
explosion of the Death Star although the
space station itself was a miniature the
special effects supervisor Bruce Logan
and his crew tested several different
bombs and chemicals before finding the
best looking combination they then moved
indoors place their camera in front of a
40-foot blue screen and recorded their
explosions the effect wasn’t the safest
with Logan admitting that people got
napalm on themselves between takes
however they endured and got the shot
although it’s been modified slightly
over the years the original explosion is
number four creating cgi characters
rogue one a Star Wars story we’ve heard
word of rumors circulating through the
city world 1 reintroduced the commander
of the Death Star grand moff tarkin
since Tarkan’s original actor Peter
Cushing passed away in 1994 the decision
was made to bring the character back
with special effects actor Guy Henry
delivered all of Tarkan’s lines on set
while being recorded with motion capture
and infrared cameras his performance was
then combined with a digital recreation
of Peter Cushing’s face failure will
find you explaining why to a far less
patient audience the special-effects
crew went through a similar process with
actress in Ville Dayla to create a young
Leia
although the reaction to the CG
characters was mixed their appearances
undeniably proved that special effects
have come a long long way
what is it they’ve sent us hope
number three the many sizes of the
Millennium Falcon Star Wars the original
trilogy he could junk Han Solo’s
trademark ship came in three sizes
behind the scenes while the ship’s
interior sets were normal-sized the
exterior Millennium Falcon was so big
that the crew could only build half of
it in their studio when the ship took
flight visual effects guru John Dykstra
helped program a camera to move around
and take shots of a four-foot model of
the ship in front of a blue screen all
the shots were edited into a continuous
scene to create the illusion of a flying
ship the combination of the smaller
model with the larger sets culminated in
a spaceship we’d love to visit number
two the stop-motion Battle of Hoth Star
Wars Episode five the Empire Strikes
Back the epic Battle of Hoth was another
mix of live-action and movie magic while
the actors traveled to a Norwegian
glacier for filming the Imperial Army
was being filmed on a smaller scale the
crew placed miniature at-at walkers on a
set with fake snow and a matte painting
of planet Hoth to make the machines walk
crewmembers moved the models into
different positions for each shot this
meant it could take a day to get a
second of usable film but their patience
paid off when their model footage was
edited with the live-action film for one
seriously cool battle
number one slowing things down for the
speeder bikes Star Wars Episode six
Return of the Jedi in Return of the Jedi
Luke and Leia chased down Imperial
Scouts on floating speeder bikes in the
forest the actors were placed on prop
bikes in front of a blue screen to make
it look like they were hovering to
capture their high speed movement
cameraman Garrett Brown strapped a
camera to his body turned down the frame
rate and walked through a forest his
slow walk ensured the film looked
relatively smooth the lower frame rate
allowed editors to speed up the footage
to make it appear incredibly fast in the
movie ultimately ironically this tense
chase wouldn’t exist without a slow walk
through the woods do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos every day
revolutionary film techniques and more
than a few tricks welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10
mind-blowing Star Wars special effects
revealed before we begin we publish new
content every day so be sure to
subscribe to our channel and ring the
bell to get notified about our latest
videos for this list or diving into the
incredible stories behind some of the
special effects in that galaxy far far
away number 10 a mobile introduction
starwars iconic opening crawl has been
transporting us to its fantasy universe
since 1977
back in the 1970s George Lucas intended
to open a new hope with rolling credits
like the ones from Flash Gordon serials
designer Dan Perry took that concept and
added elements from the moving credits
of Union Pacific Perry made a physical
version of the scripts opening crawl
mounted the camera on a track and had it
roll over the words to create the
signature movement once the footage was
ready it was superimposed onto a starry
background the meticulous filming
ensured Star Wars got off to a good
number nine drawing a lightsaber Star
Wars Episode four a new hope what is it
father’s light saber this is the weapon
of a Jedi Knight as clumsy or random as
a blaster the lightsaber prop started as
a spinning stick inserted into the tube
of a flashbulb handle originally the
glow came from wrapping the weapon in
reflective tape while someone Shawn a
light on it when test runs proved
inconsistent animator Nelson shin used a
technique called rotoscoping he took the
unedited lightsaber scenes traced over
each frame and put the frames back into
the film with the animation in place
designer ben burtt gave the weapon its
sound by combining the audio of movie
projectors with microphone interference
it all culminated in a weapon that
looked and sounded like it was from
another world number eight
instantly appearing bread Star Wars
Episode 7 the force awakens when rey sat
down to eat in the force awakens
audiences were treated to an unexpected
effect after she poured some powder into
a bowl of water and stirs a loaf of
bread appears in the same bowl moments
later this effect was incredibly
achieved without CGI special effects
supervisor Neal Scanlan revealed that
they hid an uninflated bread prop in the
bowl of water as they covertly inflated
the prop a separate pump sucked all the
water out of the bowl this clever
illusion amazed moviegoers while leaving
a few of them with a craving for bread
number 7 bb-8 seven times star wars
episode 7 the force awakens
we’ve got company bb-8 is a
one-of-a-kind droid in the Star Wars
universe but it’s a different story
behind the scenes The Creature Shop
created seven different bb-8 puppets for
the film
this allowed directors to use bb-8 in a
variety of situations there’s one bb-8
that’s operated by puppeteers a
lightweight version that actors can pick
up easily a few that can be
remote-controlled and a couple designed
for stunt work since they all look
identical it’s almost impossible to know
which bb-8 puppet is on screen at any
given time who knew that bringing the
the back it is complete number six
paintings that looked like sets the Star
Wars original trilogy sometimes the best
effects are the ones that you hardly
notice in the original trilogy matte
paintings were used to create fantastic
backgrounds without the audience
realizing they weren’t actually sets to
create this illusion artists painted
elaborate scenery on glass that was
recorded on film they then recorded
live-action scenes on real sets that
looked like the painting lastly the
live-action sequences were edited into
the footage of each painting this
background trick was used for everything
from stormtrooper forces to big
celebration scenes even if you know
where they are the map paintings can
still be convincing number five blowing
up the Death Star Star Wars Episode four
a new hope that’s no moon one of the
most memorable Star Wars scenes is the
explosion of the Death Star although the
space station itself was a miniature the
special effects supervisor Bruce Logan
and his crew tested several different
bombs and chemicals before finding the
best looking combination they then moved
indoors place their camera in front of a
40-foot blue screen and recorded their
explosions the effect wasn’t the safest
with Logan admitting that people got
napalm on themselves between takes
however they endured and got the shot
although it’s been modified slightly
over the years the original explosion is
number four creating cgi characters
rogue one a Star Wars story we’ve heard
word of rumors circulating through the
city world 1 reintroduced the commander
of the Death Star grand moff tarkin
since Tarkan’s original actor Peter
Cushing passed away in 1994 the decision
was made to bring the character back
with special effects actor Guy Henry
delivered all of Tarkan’s lines on set
while being recorded with motion capture
and infrared cameras his performance was
then combined with a digital recreation
of Peter Cushing’s face failure will
find you explaining why to a far less
patient audience the special-effects
crew went through a similar process with
actress in Ville Dayla to create a young
Leia
although the reaction to the CG
characters was mixed their appearances
undeniably proved that special effects
have come a long long way
what is it they’ve sent us hope
number three the many sizes of the
Millennium Falcon Star Wars the original
trilogy he could junk Han Solo’s
trademark ship came in three sizes
behind the scenes while the ship’s
interior sets were normal-sized the
exterior Millennium Falcon was so big
that the crew could only build half of
it in their studio when the ship took
flight visual effects guru John Dykstra
helped program a camera to move around
and take shots of a four-foot model of
the ship in front of a blue screen all
the shots were edited into a continuous
scene to create the illusion of a flying
ship the combination of the smaller
model with the larger sets culminated in
a spaceship we’d love to visit number
two the stop-motion Battle of Hoth Star
Wars Episode five the Empire Strikes
Back the epic Battle of Hoth was another
mix of live-action and movie magic while
the actors traveled to a Norwegian
glacier for filming the Imperial Army
was being filmed on a smaller scale the
crew placed miniature at-at walkers on a
set with fake snow and a matte painting
of planet Hoth to make the machines walk
crewmembers moved the models into
different positions for each shot this
meant it could take a day to get a
second of usable film but their patience
paid off when their model footage was
edited with the live-action film for one
seriously cool battle
number one slowing things down for the
speeder bikes Star Wars Episode six
Return of the Jedi in Return of the Jedi
Luke and Leia chased down Imperial
Scouts on floating speeder bikes in the
forest the actors were placed on prop
bikes in front of a blue screen to make
it look like they were hovering to
capture their high speed movement
cameraman Garrett Brown strapped a
camera to his body turned down the frame
rate and walked through a forest his
slow walk ensured the film looked
relatively smooth the lower frame rate
allowed editors to speed up the footage
to make it appear incredibly fast in the
movie ultimately ironically this tense
chase wouldn’t exist without a slow walk
through the woods do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos every day
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