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Probably artwork by someone who was doing it as a job, not a passion. ie Not a fan.Anaria wrote:Or just really random composite artwork that has no relationship to the Episode 7 characters on the front panel?
If this is anything like the situation I have encountered with films I've worked on, the promotional artwork artists have barely anything to work with and will scrounge the web for whatever they can find to help fill in their artwork. I'm guessing this artist was supplied with the front cover character photography and some background elements, then went looking for anything else he could find to fill the remainder. I tend to doubt it reflects what's in the film.Anaria wrote:The random/variations in the TK armour makes me wonder if this depicts some Imperial outpost that was cut off from the Empire finally being absorbed into The First Order to get kitted out in new gear?
Or just really random composite artwork that has no relationship to the Episode 7 characters on the front panel?
...For more from our Force Awakens coverage and some plot revelations from JJ Abrams himself, check back tomorrow...
From the moment Kylo Ren first ignited his vicious-looking broadsaber in the first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans have speculated about the true nature of the character, this mysterious Knight Of Ren. Why is his lightsaber so ragged? Why is his title not 'Darth'? The answer to the latter, it turns out, is actually very simple, as some fans had already surmised. "Kylo Ren is not a Sith," confirms JJ Abrams in the new issue of Empire. "He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force.”
Snoke, you will recall, is a performance-captured digital character played by Andy Serkis, who can be heard growling the voiceover on the first teaser. Aside from shedding a little light on Ren’s origins, Abrams gave some background on the state of the universe when The Force Awakens begins, including the origins of the First Order, who are not quite the Imperial remnant many had taken them to be.
“That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?’” Abrams reveals. “What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?”
Kinda fun seeing these two appearing together all the time. I could quite handle if they continue as the leads, paired for the rest of the trilogy.Harvey Mushman wrote:...But, with that, they are great images!...
...This model of function would then serve as a springboard for a small army of BB-8s, all with their own specialty, designed by Lee and Matthew Denton, the electronic design and development supervisor. There was the “wiggler,” which was static, but could twist and turn on the spot and was used for close-ups. There were two trike versions, which had stabilizer wheels, allowing them to be driven by remote control without a puppeteer in the shot. There was a version that could be picked up by actors and controlled via remote for specific reactions and movements. There was the “bowling ball” version, which could literally be thrown into a shot and never fall down (like a Weeble toy). Finally, there was the rod-puppet version, which was operated by Chapman and Herring — one controlling the head, adding nuance and attitude, and the other the body — who would then be digitally erased. It was this version that would be key and able to act on set. Lee and Denton did all their engineering without seeing the script, though they were told of certain BB-8-has-to-do-this benchmarks they needed to hit. It all worked out in the end.
While Scanlan’s team ruled out a fully functioning, remote-controlled BB-8 for shooting, they never forgot that original goal. Despite having a full workload, they took the initiative to make one that was entirely free-running. No rods, no puppeteers, no anything. The dream....
...After Lee and Denton finished a gray-ball prototype that actually worked, Scanlan presented it to the higher-ups, securing additional funding. Paint and detailing were then added by the creature shop’s paint-finish designer, Henrik Svensson, to make this new BB-8 film-accurate. It all came together in time for a surprise debut at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim last April, during Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel. BB-8 rolled out onstage, dome twisting all around, peering at the audience, beeping and booping in curiosity and circling around R2-D2. It was the first official confirmation that BB-8 was not a CG creation, but rather, a practical effect, and the thousands in attendance went berserk. Denton operated the droid, having done just one rehearsal the day before.