Listening to The Projection Booth’s super-sized episode on Star Wars, and during their interview with ANH Set Decorator Roger Christian, he says “[There were] a lot of discussions over how dark the [Death Star] walls should be. John [Barry, set designer] wanted them really black, but the lighting camera couldn’t cope with it being so dark, so they got stage by stage, they got lighter and lighter so it reached a compromise, in effect.”
Just pointing out that the set designer wanted the Death Star to be black and white.
Thanks for the link to The Projection Booth podacst, hadn’t come across it before.
What a treasure trove of information!
Cheers, Paul