The author, Michael Rubin, was part of Lucasfilm from the 70’s to mid 80’s when the significant work happened which lead to the computer/film revolution. He was a member of the team which would teach to prospective filmmakers the ways in which digital editing and sound processing could help their creative process. The book seems to be an indepth look into the minds and times when these creative steps took place. Like the Jobs/Wozniac early days of Apple, this book focuses on the people who moved filmmaking from celluloid to the digital process we’re all familiar with. Since the author has written other how-to books and the presentation has that old computer manual look to it. I think the book covers from the early Lucas/Coppola days to the creation of Pixar in LFL. There’s some interesting photos, where you see the guys with their computers and in the background on one wall are the storyboards for the OT and on the other wall are math formulas and computer code on how to actually get the computer to create renderings and understand THX audio processing. The presentation illustrated how it was the similar aspirations of Lucas/Coppola, to create a filmmaking process which was streamlined and could eliminate the need for big studio. Coppola pioneered HighDef video (which George would later push/use) as Lucas’s LFL team pioneered the digital editing components which shortly after their creation, everyone used. And as everyone used them, their ubiquity became so commonplace they’re now on your desktop.
Some other bits of interest.
To get help from Lucasfilm with your book or project make sure to not reference Skywalking or Empire of Dreams.
On the OT, he agrees that they are Lucas’ to do with as he wishes, but he’s not in favor of some of the changes.
He didn’t have any opinions on fan preservation projects, it didn’t sound like he knew they existed.
Mr. Rubin is of the opinion that Lucas might actually return to his old days and make works of a more experimental nature, maybe even going as far as releasing them under different monikers.
On Ben Burtt's move to Pixar, Burtt seems to have been stuck with the notion of always being an underling. On SW he was initially a gather of sounds, even though he proceeded to make those sounds magic, in the eyes of maybe Lucas and the whole corporate culture, he wasn't able to grow beyond those initial impressions. Now at Pixar, Burtt will be back with some of the people he started working with, the ones who developed the tech. This book explains who some of them are.
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