In the first part of a two-part story, Mark Newbold, writing at ILM.com, talks to TJ Falls (Vice President of Visual Effects at Lucasfilm and Visual Effects Producer on Andor) and Mohen Leo (Production Visual Effects Supervisor on Andor) about the effort required to create over 4,000 effects shots for the second season of Andor, the Emmy-nominated Lucasfilm series.
“It was a good opportunity to expand our horizons,” says TJ Falls, vice president of visual effects at Lucasfilm, about the team’s work to create a grounded aesthetic for both seasons of Andor (2022-25). After Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) established the tone for the adventures of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the Andor production opted to utilize a number of existing locations for filming in the United Kingdom and around the world. It was a tactic previous Star Wars productions also chose (for example, 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace traveled to Italy and the Caserta Palace for the interior of the Theed Palace on Naboo), but integrating these locations to such a degree was something new for Industrial Light & Magic, a choice Falls appreciates.
“It allowed us to go out in the world and find a real base reference,” explains Falls, who was also the overall visual effects producer for Andor. “That was something the team worked hard to capture. We’re actually there in the city or in the mountains, so it was wonderful to be able to tie real-world locations into our digital work.”
The debut season of Andor leaned heavily into this physical integration. But, with a very real-world, global pandemic happening around the production, season one had its international travel wings clipped, as Falls explains.
“We couldn’t travel, but we still managed to gather reference material, including some for the ship-breaking yards on Ferrix. For season two, we were fortunate enough to finally be able to travel, so we flew to Lake Como and the Italian Alps to capture plates for Ghorman, among other locations.”
Joining Falls, production visual effects supervisor Mohen Leo picks up the conversation.
“Being able to travel to Spain for a variety of locations on season two allowed [production designer and executive producer] Luke Hull to rely much more heavily on the look of existing locations that were compatible, particularly the Senate building. Once we did the first location scout at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, we were looking around, thinking, ‘Wow, it looks like Coruscant already.’ That made a huge difference, having that basis, both for interior and exterior spaces, so we could then use visual effects to build on and make it feel like Star Wars.”
The practicalities of having a ready-built set in the form of an existing building clearly had their benefits. Still, the broader task of adding visual effects presented its own challenges, as Leo explains.
“One thing I took away from the project is to push as much as possible for real locations,” he says. “Using an existing building during a shoot allows people to make informed decisions that stick, because if you have something that already looks 50%, 60%, or 70% the way you want it to, everyone has the confidence to say ‘Okay, this is the frame that we want, and we understand that we’re going to put this building in the background. Also, you have the composition of the lighting and the weight of the architecture, which makes it much easier, rather than having a blank canvas in post-production and then debating what it should look like.
“For example,” Leo continues, “there were the mountains around Ghorman. A couple of people from the production team and I went to Italy and did a two-day helicopter shoot. We felt strongly that even those locations where we would never actually shoot with a full crew or with actors should be based very specifically on real landscapes. That allowed us to put the Star Wars architecture in there and have that foundation.”
With the tremendous amount of work required to bring these locations to life, the balance between real locations and visual effects is a delicate one, based on story requirements, budget, and time.
“When we go location scouting, I always ask the director of photography [for season two, Damián García, Christophe Nuyens, and Mark Patten], ‘What are we keeping from the location?’” says Leo. “Because there has to be value in us being there. We were on location in Spain, and a Coruscant scene was discussed, which involved two people standing by a railing, looking out across the fictional cityscape. If we’re going to replace the whole city, then we don’t need to shoot that in Spain.” If you want that view, we can shoot that back in London on a green screen set because it’s easier, and we’ll have more control over the lighting. That, for me, is the main thing, having a clear idea when you go on location of what we keep from the location, and why we are there?”
Photos: The original location plate (top) shot at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain opposite the final shot (bottom) with the Coruscant skyline (Credit: ILM & Lucasfilm).
The use of natural light throughout the series is even more impressive when considering the balance between physical structures and digital extensions. Bathing the action in brightness or shadow, regardless of where and how it was shot, Leo explains, is how this integration was managed.
“We work very closely with the DP on that,” says Leo. “There are scenes where people walk directly from a stage set in London onto something that’s on location in Valencia. In the context of the story, it feels like one continuous location, even though they were shot months apart in two different countries. Obviously, we take lots of photographic reference. We have the plates of the one side at hand when we’re doing the other, and we’re constantly checking to make sure things fit together. On this project, we had a plan for each of those things before we went on location and shot it. We’re not trying to force things together in post; they’re meant to go together.”
“That’s exactly it,” adds Falls. “It’s the collaboration with the DP and lighting team, but also with previs, with techvis, and knowing that we’re going from studio space to location space. We had the opportunity to plan that out very specifically, each step of the way. And what helped us succeed is that we had a plan, and we were able to push it through to the best of each department’s abilities to deliver on it.”
Read the article in full here, and stream Andor on Disney+ now.
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