Seventeen years after Star Wars: Episode III hit theaters, Ewan McGregor returns to the role of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, now cut off from the Force and hiding from the Empire after the fall of the Jedi Order. An urgent message pulls him out of his exile when the young Princess Leia is kidnapped by Darth Vader’s agents and Obi-Wan is forced to confront the truth that his former apprentice still lives. The six-episode limited series is directed by Deborah Chow and stars McGregor along with Vivien Lyra Blair, Moses Ingram, and Hayden Christiansen, reprising his role as Darth Vader.
The spirit of Star Wars has always had one foot in the past and one foot in the future. George Lucas’s original films were nostalgic throwbacks to radio serials, Saturday matinees, Westerns, and samurai movies, but they were also groundbreaking technological achievements that changed the art of filmmaking forever. Star Wars is, as ever, about balance, and that spirit of balance between old and new continues in the limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Camera Operator had the opportunity to chat with A camera operator Chris Moseley and B camera/Ronin operator Chris Herr about their work on the series and about bringing a new, more modern look to this story about familiar characters. We talked extensively about Industrial Light & Magic’s StageCraft technology and the LED Volume at its heart, which can conjure up fantastical worlds rendered on set in real time, and the new challenges and opportunities for camera operators that comes along with it. Also discussed was the unique shooting setup for the series that relied primarily on gimbals instead of Steadicam, working on a show that at times felt more like a movie than television, and the sheer childlike awe of seeing Darth Vader right in front of you.
On July 28, 2022 the Television Academy announced Industrial Light & Magic would be awarded an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for its StageCraft virtual production technology.
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David Daut 