P2 G

P2 G – Production process

Pre-production

On October 30^th, 2012, it was confirmed that Disney would be purchasing Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. They also confirmed that they planned to reboot the saga and deliver a further three episodes to the already existing six episodes. The following year it was confirmed that the new Star Was (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) was to be shot in the UK after Lucasfilm representatives had come to an agreement with George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer) on where filming should take place. George Osborne also agreed to gift $25,000,000 towards the production of the film as he believed having the new Star Wars being filmed in the UK brought many cultural benefits to the country. It was later announced that costume designer Michael Kaplan (mostly known for his work in the Star Trek films) and cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Who had been called upon to shoot the film) would be collaborating on the new Star Wars film. Furthermore, it was later confirmed that well renowned film editors Mary-Ann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey were being brought in to help with the editing of the film’s footage.

Casting

In August 2013, casting for Star Wars: The Force Awakens began. JJ Abrams met with all the potential cast members and put them all through scripted screen tests to try and determine which of the candidates were best suited to the roles that needed to be filled in the new Star Wars film. These screen tests went on in both the UK and USA to give JJ Abrams a wider variety of candidates to choose from, however the lead actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley were eventually chosen to play Finn and Rey, with old cast members such as Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher returning to fill the other lead roles. All chosen cast members had to sign an agreement that strictly prohibited them from giving the public any notion of their involvement in the new Star Wars film until they were told they could do so.

Production

In March 2014, the production team for Star Wars: The Force Awakens travelled to Iceland amongst other filming locations to determine where exactly they should be filming in the country as well as how the shot should look. To accomplish this, the production team took multiple snaps of the scenery which was potentially going to be used in the final cut of the film. Filming for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was officially supposed to begin in April 2014, however, Harrison Ford had his leg crushed by a hydraulic door on set which led to filming being delayed for two weeks. In May 2014, it was announced that filming for Star Wars: The Force Awakens had officially begun. It was also announced around the same time by Lucasfilm and Disney that principal photography for the film was also to begin, taking place at Pinewood Studios, UK.

 

Post-production

In August 2015, the production team for Star Wars: The Force Awakens confirmed that the new Star Wars film was estimated to be around 124 minutes long. This estimation turned out to be inaccurate however; as the actual final product turned out to be 135 minutes long. It has not been confirmed as to why this was the case but many critics have assumed it was down to JJ Abrams’ decision to cut some content and make some scenes bigger which led to the difference in run time. Furthermore, cinematographer Daniel Mindel worked with the production team to go to actual filming locations around the world and film with real life scenery to get away from the CGI worlds that were used in the prequals and were generally disliked by fans. By going to real locations to film, Daniel Mindel knew that they would be staying true to the original Star Wars formula which made fans much happier when the film finally hit cinemas in December 2015.

Music

John Williams was put in charge of the music team for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in July 2013. This meant that he was not only responsible for the music that was going to be included within the films, but was also responsible for the music in the trailers. Fortunately, for him and his team though, much of the music used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was music that had been used in previous Star Wars films. However, they did still have to work on many original tracks that were exclusive to this instalment in the Star Wars saga. John Williams and his team were assigned to work in Sony Picture Studios and remained there until their work was done. Furthermore, South Korean K-pop boy bad ‘Exo’ collaborated with Disney to make a song based on the new Star Wars film called ‘Lightsabre’, however, this song was only made available in South Korea for purchase.

P3/D1 - Focus group

P3/D1

Me and my fellow classmates came together to conduct an in-depth discussion on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We mainly focused on looking at what elements of Star Wars: The Force Awakens different members of the film’s target audience are drawn to and how Star Wars: The Force Awakens has catered to each of its target audiences demands.

One member of the group said that her little brother was mainly drawn to the robots in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This would include the likes of R2D2, C3-P0 and BB-8. This gives evidence to suggest the robots included within Star Wars: The Force Awakens are more a lure for younger audiences as children will be inevitably drawn to the silliness and immaturity of the robots as they can relate to this seeing as they are likely to be silly and immature themselves.

One member of the group also said that the thing her Dad enjoyed most about Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the return of the original cast. This is in reference to the return of Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca who had not appeared in a Star Wars film for over 30 years. This suggest that the original cast was brought back to cater to the needs of an older Star Wars audience who would have likely been around when the original Star Wars trilogy was released.

Another member of the group also pointed out how women are now more included in this instalment of Star Wars’ target audience. This is mostly evident through the new main protagonist; Rey, who plays a strong independent female lead character who can fend for herself in the Star Wars universe. This shows how this time round Star Wars has tried much harder to include more women within its target audience as the original Star Wars films didn’t do a very good job of representing women in a positive light.

P2 E

P2 E – Star Wars content

Roughly 30 years after the destruction of the Death Star; ex-stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) finds himself turning on the First Order after coming to the realisation that he was fighting for the wrong side all along. He escapes from the first order via a TIE Fighter with a prisoner captured by the first empire known as Poe Dameron. After being chased by opposing TIE Fighters Finn and his comrade Poe crash land on the desert planet known as Jakku. Finn manages to make it out of the ship in one piece but Poe is nowhere to be seen and is presumed to be dead by Finn. Shortly after crash landing on Jakku; Finn discovers a young girl known as Rey (Daisy Ridley) and realises that she is the one in possession of the BB-8 droid that has a map leading directly to Luke Skywalker which the first order have been looking for relentlessly.

The pair then quickly leave Jakku in the infamous millennium falcon after being attacked by the First Order who have gained wind of the location of the BB-8 droid and who has possession of it. The owners of the millennium falcon; Han Solo and Chewbacca the track the ship down and get on board to discover that it has been hijacked by Finn and Rey. After discovering that they are the ones who have possession of the map leading to Luke Skywalker; the four of them decide to team up to find Luke Skywalker and take down the first order to restore balance to the galaxy.

Rey then stumbles upon the actual lightsaber that belongs to Luke Skywalker and his father before him. She is then told to take it with her on her journey to find Luke Skywalker and to return it to him once she finds him. However, the mission is halted after Kylo Ren; the leader of the first order takes it upon himself to steal the map to Luke Skywalker to use for his own evil gain and to put a stop to Rey and Finn’s mission all together. Rey and Finn finally encounter Kylo Ren in person whilst on board the Star Killer Base and engage in lightsaber combat using Luke’s lightsaber. Finn is first up against Kylo Ren but is quickly defeated after getting slashed in the back and it is Rey who steps up to the plate and takes it upon herself to defeat Kylo Ren. After a long winded lightsaber duel it is Rey who ends up on top and Finn and Rey can then continue with their journey to Luke Skywalker…

 

‘Village scene’ analysis

This is one of the first shots from the ‘village scene’. It is a close up of the storm trooper’s helmets and shows them standing in line in a shuttle. The lighting and sound are both grim and moody and the whole scene generally depicts a very dark amotsphere.

 

 

Soon after the previous shot, a wide shot of the shuttles coming in is featured in the next scene. The dramatic lighting and thunderous sounds create a tone of panic and drama which prepares viewers for some form of conflict to take place.

 

 

A wide shot of the camp coming under fire is then included within the scene. This shot uses vibrant colour to highlight the danger and a dark background to help users see where the danger is. It continues with its dramatic, but dark lighting and sound but seemingly slightly ups the panic levels

Soon after the scene begins to pan into a medium shot, showing a conflicted stormtrooper reflecting on the actions on those around him which creates a sudden sympathetic tone. However, the dramatic sound and lighting ensure users that the drama is still going on outside of this shot.

 

The end of the scene takes a more mellow turn as a medium-wide shot of BB-8 rolling away into the distance is shown shortly after the conflict has stopped. Although the lighting is still dark and grim, the mellow sound is what assures users that conflict has finished, which gives viewers time to sympathise with what BB-8 has had to witness.