‘Star Wars’ Was Possible Thanks to This ‘Revolutionary’ Motion Control Camera, Now on Display at the Academy Museum
¡Hola, my friends! Gather around and let us take you on a stellar time travel back to when a legend, George Lucas, sparked an intergalactic revolution with “Star Wars.” Imagine this: 50 years ago in a humble Van Nuys warehouse, a team of visual effects titans faced the colossal mission of crafting a galaxy far, far away using nothing but their wits and a groundbreaking motion control camera system. ¡Qué emoción!
Now, for all the aficionados out there in Southern California, prepárense because something muy especial awaits you. The iconic Dykstraflex camera system, that magical piece of technology that brought “Star Wars” to life, has been brought back to its former gloria and is currently on display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Just in time for May the 4th, aka Star Wars Day, you can witness this marvel, weighing an impressive 1,500 lbs., along with cherished replicas like a five-foot-long Millennium Falcon and a feisty 20-inch X-Wing fighter. ¡Increíble!
Richard Edlund, a key figure in that original VFX equipo who won an Oscar for his work, recalls the sheer awe when they first tested the Dykstraflex. “Everybody was agog because it worked and we knew that we could get there,” he shared, the excitement of success buzzing through the years. And truly, what they achieved wasn't just a leap for visual effects but a monumental jump for cinematic storytelling.
Imagínate, the Dykstraflex was not just any camera. It was a wizard in the world of film, a computer-controlled marvel that could glide over a 14-foot track, making intricate camera moves—panning, tilting—seem like child's play. According to visual effects historian Gene Kozicki, these moves weren't just technical but full of arte, capturing motion blur and making pint-sized miniatures look like colossal crafts soaring through space at mind-bending speeds.
John Dykstra, the wiz behind the name ‘Dykstraflex' and a proud Oscar recipient alongside his team for their VFX achievements in “Star Wars,” reminisces, “The camera also moved during exposure so that we could capture motion blur, which was necessary to make these miniatures look like they were larger scale and moving at very high speed.”
But amigos, none of this was fácil. Take it from Edlund himself, who worried over the film's iconic opening shot where a petite ship is chased by a mammoth Star Destroyer. “That shot was so important to the success of the movie. It was going to either grab the audience or it was going to lose the audience,” he confides. Thankfully, that shot not only grabbed but held the audience spellbound and became uno de los momentos más memorables of the movie.
Fast forward to today, the Dykstraflex, after a loving restoration by the Academy's Science and Technology Council and other committed collaborators, resides at the Academy Museum, ready to awe fans and curiosos alike till July 8. And this May the 4th, the celebration is set to be grande with screenings of “Return of the Jedi” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” even featuring a visit from several beloved droids.
Reflecting on the monumental impact of “Star Wars,” Edlund recalls its debut as the dawn of the event movie era, “where the audience comes to the movie theater, and they cheer the heroes and hiss at the villains.” Indeed, “Star Wars” didn't just captivate the U.S.; it mesmerized the mundo entero, turning movie-watching into a fiesta of the senses and the spirit.
So, mi gente, whether you're a die-hard fan or a newcomer to the saga, the story of “Star Wars” and its revolutionary effects is a testament to the power of imagination y la magia del cine. ¡Vamos a celebrar esta maravillosa aventura galáctica!
