A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape , set , or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location . Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage ( compositing ). At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is seamless and creates environments that would otherwise be impossible or expensive to film. In the scenes, the painting part is static while movements are integrated on it.
63-702: The Millennium Falcon is a fictional starship in the Star Wars franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the movie Star Wars (1977), it has subsequently appeared in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Revenge of the Sith (2005), The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Additionally,
126-458: A CGI model replaced the effects model during the approach and landing on Cloud City. No new models or sets were created for Return of the Jedi . A portion of the full-scale ship was used for a scene cut from the film in which several characters board the Falcon in a sandstorm on Tatooine. In the scene when Han exacts a promise from Lando not to damage the Falcon , the Falcon is represented by
189-468: A Millennium Falcon arc. SpaceX states that their launch vehicles (except Starship ) are named after the Millennium Falcon . The United States Air Force named the first of their software factories Kessel Run for the way they intended to "smuggle" in agile software development techniques and set speed records. The middle Cambrian arthropod Cambroraster falcatus is named after
252-544: A gravity well . In The Rise of Skywalker the Falcon is piloted by Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca and Wedge Antilles in the final battle of Exegol, leading the entire fleet of free worlds against the Sith Eternal forces. In the initial film, Solo brags that the Falcon "made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs ". As the parsec is a unit of distance, not time, different explanations have been provided. In
315-452: A backdrop painting. It is also in a matte painting of the entire hangar bay. The internal and external sets were scrapped after filming on Return of the Jedi ended. The effects models were kept by Lucasfilm and some have been on display from time to time. A digital version of the Falcon appears briefly on Coruscant in Revenge of the Sith (2005). Lucas has confirmed that the ship is
378-543: A full sized replica of the Falcon was opened to the public along with the rest of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim , California, along with a flight simulator attraction, Millennium Falcon : Smugglers Run , in which riders take control of the Falcon from inside its cockpit . An identical version of the attraction opened on August 29, 2019, at Disney's Hollywood Studios at
441-416: A general categorization of the kinds of starships: The Alcubierre drive is a speculative warp drive conjectured by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre in a 1994 paper which has not been peer-reviewed . The paper suggests that space itself could be topographically warped to create a local region of spacetime wherein the region ahead of the "warp bubble" is compressed, allowed to resume normalcy within
504-475: A new shot of the Falcon lifting off from Docking Bay 94. For The Empire Strikes Back (1980), a new external set was constructed. In spring 1979, Marcon Fabrications, a heavy engineering firm that served the UK's petrochemical and oil industries, was hired to build a movable full-scale external model capable of "moving as if it were about to take off." Built in secrecy under the project code name Magic Roundabout ,
567-533: A newly-assembled map to travel to Ahch-To, the site of the first Jedi temple, to make contact with the long-lost Luke Skywalker, travelling in the Falcon in the company of Chewbacca and R2-D2. The Falcon appears again in Star Wars: The Last Jedi , still on Ahch-To with Rey and Chewbacca . Later in the film, Chewbacca and Rey take the Falcon to the planet Crait, where the Resistance
630-662: Is an idea to use nuclear fusion of interstellar gas to provide propulsion. Examined in an October 1973 issue of Analog , the Enzmann Starship proposed using a 12,000-ton ball of frozen deuterium to power pulse propulsion units. Twice as long as the Empire State Building is tall and assembled in-orbit, the proposed spacecraft would be part of a larger project preceded by interstellar probes and telescopic observation of target star systems. The NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program (1996–2002)
693-482: Is because no long-distance journey can be made in a straight line, the "fastest" ship is the one that can plot the "most direct course", thereby traveling the least distance. In The Force Awakens , Rey references the Kessel Run but describes it as being completed in fourteen parsecs, after which Solo corrects her. In Solo: A Star Wars Story , Solo's Kessel Run is depicted in detail, providing an explanation for
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#1732797881534756-529: Is slightly exaggerated. The Falcon has been depicted many times in the franchise, and its ownership and command have changed several times. Joss Whedon credits the Millennium Falcon as one of his two primary inspirations for his Firefly television show. The Falcon and the Falcon 's distinct shape appear in Star Trek: First Contact , Blade Runner , Spaceballs , and Starship Troopers . The manga series Berserk includes
819-446: Is that digital matte art is often characterized by an artificially perfect look. One of the modern approaches adopted to address this is the integration of details from a photograph, say, of real places to depict realistic scenes. It is this reason why some digital matte artists refer to their work as a combination of digital painting, photo manipulation, and 3D, for the purpose of creating virtual sets that are hard or impossible to find in
882-399: Is today's modern form of a traditional matte painter in the entertainment industry . They digitally paint photo-realistic interior and exterior environments that could not have been otherwise created or visited. The term 'digital' is used to distinguish a DMP from a traditional matte painter. Craig Barron , the co-founder of Matte World Digital , offered an insight regarding the transition of
945-515: Is under attack by the First Order. The Falcon loses its sensor dish for the third time on Crait, after it is shot off by a TIE fighter, but still manages to single-handedly take out most of the First Order's fighters on the planet while Luke distracts Kylo Ren. After the battle, surviving Resistance personnel leave Crait aboard the Falcon . In The Last Jedi , Rey uses the Falcon ' s escape pod to board Supreme Leader Snoke 's flagship,
1008-465: The Falcon and not another ship of similar design. A CGI version of the vessel also appears in the Disney attraction Star Tours: The Adventures Continue . On June 3, 2014, TMZ confirmed that the Falcon would return for Star Wars: The Force Awakens when it leaked a photo from the set of the film, showing a full-scale version of the Falcon being built. An effects shot of the Falcon appears in
1071-451: The Falcon appears in a variety of Star Wars spin-off works , including books, comics, and games; James Luceno 's novel Millennium Falcon focuses on the titular ship. It also appears in the 2014 animated film The Lego Movie in Lego form. The ship, a YT-1300 Corellian light freighter , is primarily commanded by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate , Chewbacca , and
1134-472: The Falcon in order to escape from an attack by the First Order , having been targeted for having the droid BB-8 in their possession. They are captured by a smuggling freighter, which turns out to be piloted by Solo and Chewbacca, who reclaim the Falcon . Forced to escape in the Falcon from an ambush by parties to whom Solo is heavily in debt, Solo reluctantly agrees to help Rey and Finn return BB-8 to
1197-441: The Falcon , and Lucas' only suggestion to Johnston was to "think of a flying saucer". Johnston did not want to produce a "basic flying saucer", so he created the offset cockpit, forward cargo mandibles, and rear slot for the engines. It was also said that the shape of the ship was roughly based on a hamburger with an olive-on-the-side cockpit. The design was simple enough to create in the four-week window. Johnston called production of
1260-457: The Mega -class Star Dreadnought Supremacy . Director Rian Johnson noted that he wanted its design to resemble a coffin, inspired by C.S. Lewis ' Perelandra . The escape pod was monogrammed to say "Property of Han Solo". In the film Solo: A Star Wars Story , it is revealed that Lando modified the Falcon by putting an escape pod between the frontal 'mandibles', which Han jettisons to escape
1323-523: The Millennium Falcon in varying sizes. The 5,195-piece Lego model (part of the Star Wars "Ultimate Collectors Series") was physically the largest Lego set sold by the company, until it was topped in 2008 by the Lego Taj Mahal . In September 2017, Lego released an updated Millennium Falcon set in the Star Wars "Ultimate Collectors Series". With the new interior and more details compared to
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#17327978815341386-420: The Millennium Falcon . Kenner , Hasbro , Steel Tec, Master Replicas , Code 3 Collectibles and Micro Machines have all released Millennium Falcon toys and puzzles, including a Transformers version of the ship. Hot Wheels has made a model of the ship for their Star Wars starship line and a version of it as a car. It is also available as a Hot Wheels playset. Lego has released multiple versions of
1449-479: The Resistance . After Rey is captured by the First Order, Solo agrees to take Finn in the Falcon to the First Order's new Starkiller Base—a planet that has been converted into the next generation of 'Death Star'—by attempting a risky maneuver of bypassing the planet's defences by exiting hyperspace in its atmosphere. When Solo is killed by his son, the rebels escape the destructing Starkiller Base. Later, Rey uses
1512-647: The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando , Florida. Footnotes Citations Starship A starship , starcraft , or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems . The term is mostly found in science fiction . Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in Oahspe: A New Bible . While NASA 's Voyager and Pioneer probes have traveled into local interstellar space,
1575-479: The teaser trailer for The Force Awakens , released on November 28, 2014. This version of the ship is a digital recreation of the original 1977 five-foot model, with additional detailing reflecting the passage of time. The most noticeable change is the rectangular sensor array above the top hull, which replaces the circular dish from the first three films. On April 16, 2021, concept artist Phil Saunders shared some abandoned concept art, and revealed that Judi Dench
1638-427: The "twelve parsec" boast. Solo has to make many calculated jumps to avoid killing the crew. After integrating the memory module of Lando's damaged L3 droid into the ship's navigation, Solo is able to take a "shortcut" (which is dangerously close to a black hole ). Chewbacca indicates the real distance was closer to 13 parsecs, but Solo insists, "Not if you round down," implying that the claim of "less than twelve parsecs"
1701-432: The 1990s, traditional matte paintings were still in use, but more often in conjunction with digital compositing. Die Hard 2 (1990) was the first film to use digitally composited live-action footage with a traditional glass matte painting that had been photographed and scanned into a computer. It was for the last scene, which took place on an airport runway. By the end of the decade, the time of hand-painted matte paintings
1764-485: The 2007 model, the 7,541-piece model is the most expensive commercially available Lego set. Lego has also made a version of the Falcon to tie in with Solo: A Star Wars Story . It is called the Kessel Run Millennium Falcon. A version called The Dark Falcon features alternate characters such as Darth Jar Jar and Jedi Vader, showing the Millennium Falcon with black coloring. On May 31, 2019,
1827-574: The Clones , and two Lord of the Rings films, among others. Because of the growing need for 'moving' mattes, camera projection mapping has been implemented into the matte painting timeline. Although ILM CG Supervisor Stefen Fangmeier came up with the idea of projecting Yusei Uesugi's aerial painting of Neverland onto a 3D mesh modeled by Geoff Campbell while working on the motion picture Hook in 1991, projection-mapping based 3D environment matte art
1890-513: The Pembroke Dock museum has an exhibit about the project. Along with the full-size mock-up of the Falcon , a new miniature model was created for The Empire Strikes Back to allow ILM to film more intricate in-flight rolls and pitches that were not possible with the five-foot model. This model was able to be mounted on a gimbal that allowed ILM to simulate very difficult maneuvers as the ship attempted to outrun Imperial TIE fighters during
1953-467: The advantages of the digital age, matte painters have slowly transitioned to a digital work environment, using pressure-sensitive pens and graphic tablets in conjunction with painting software such as Adobe Photoshop . A digital matte painter is part of a visual effects team being involved in post-production , as opposed to a traditional matte painter, who was a special effects crew, often creating matte paintings on set to be used as backdrops. Throughout
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2016-430: The art from traditional to digital in the following words: It is difficult to categorize what a matte painting shot is today... Most filmmakers still call what we do matte shots, and we like that because we see our work as an extension of the original craft. But it's more accurate to say we are involved in environment creation. The time period and extent of involvement of a digital matte artist in film production varies by
2079-407: The asteroid-field-escape scene from the film. The new model, which measured at approximately 32 inches in length, had several surface features that differed from the five-foot model, including an updated landing gear and different surface greebles . The 32" model was the version of the Millennium Falcon most depicted in toys, model kits, and promotional materials for the Star Wars universe prior to
2142-513: The bubble, and then rapidly expanded behind the bubble creating an effect that results in apparent FTL travel, all in a manner consistent with the Einstein field equations of general relativity and without the introduction of wormholes. However, the actual construction of such a drive would face other serious theoretical difficulties . There are widely known vessels in various science fiction franchises. The most prominent cultural use and one of
2205-529: The circular sensor rectenna dish on a random pipe or circuit in the second Death Star. Regardless, Lando and the others successfully destroy the Galactic Empire . In Star Wars: The Force Awakens , set some 30 years after Return of the Jedi , the Falcon is in the possession of a scrap dealer named Unkar Plutt on the desert planet Jakku , having been stolen from Solo and Chewbacca some years prior. Scavenger Rey and former stormtrooper Finn steal
2268-560: The cockpit with its greenhouse-style window was likely inspired by the cockpit of the American B-29 Superfortress . Visually, the Millennium Falcon was represented by several models and external and internal sets. For Star Wars , a partial exterior set was constructed and the set dressed as Mos Eisley's Docking Bay 94 and the Death Star hangar. Besides the functional landing gear, an additional support held up
2331-532: The company leased the 1930s Western Sunderland Flying Boat hangar in Pembroke Dock , West Wales . The model, which took three months to construct, weighed over 25 long tons (25 t), measured 65 feet (20 m) in diameter and 20 feet (6.1 m) high, and used compressed air hover pads for up to 1.5 inches (38 mm) of hover-height movement around the set. It was then disassembled and shipped to Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, for filming. Today,
2394-588: The crumbling California Missions by painting them on glass for the movie Missions of California . Notable traditional matte-painting shots include Dorothy 's approach to the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz , Charles Foster Kane 's Xanadu in Citizen Kane , and the seemingly bottomless tractor-beam set of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope . The documentary The Making of Star Wars mentioned
2457-482: The earliest common uses of the term starship was in Star Trek: The Original Series . (This list is not exhaustive.) Matte painting Traditionally, matte paintings were made by artists using paints or pastels on large sheets of glass for integrating with the live-action footage. The first known matte painting shot was made in 1907 by Norman Dawn (ASC) , who improvised
2520-582: The first time in Martin Scorsese's Casino . Matte World Digital collaborated with LightScape to simulate the indirect bounce-light effect of millions of neon lights of the 1970s-era Las Vegas strip. Lower computer processing times continue to alter and expand matte painting technologies and techniques. Matte painting techniques are also implemented in concept art and used often in games and even high end production techniques in animation. A digital matte artist , or digital matte painter ( DMP ),
2583-489: The fourth draft of the script, Kenobi "reacts to Solo's stupid attempt to impress them with obvious misinformation." Lucas acknowledged the misnomer in 1977, saying that Han modified "the navigational system to get through hyperspace in the shortest possible distance". On the film's DVD audio commentary , Lucas further explained that in the Star Wars universe, traveling through hyperspace requires careful navigation to avoid stars, planets, asteroids, and other obstacles, and that
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2646-657: The greatest victories of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic. The ship originally had a more elongated appearance, but this design's similarity to the Eagle Transporters in Space: 1999 prompted George Lucas to change the Falcon ' s design. The original model was modified, re-scaled, and used as Princess Leia 's ship, Tantive IV . Modelmaker Joe Johnston had about four weeks to redesign
2709-618: The hidden Rebel base on Yavin IV and departs under bitter circumstances, but returns to assist Luke in destroying the Death Star. Solo pilots the Falcon , with Chewbacca, Leia, and C-3PO aboard, to elude the Imperial fleet in The Empire Strikes Back , which is a notable struggle due to a damaged hyperdrive. They take refuge at Cloud City, where Darth Vader captures Solo after Boba Fett tracks them there. Lando Calrissian helps
2772-409: The most noticeable. The effects models for Star Wars matched the design of the exterior set. The primary model was five feet long and detailed with various kit parts. The ship was represented by a matte painting when Princess Leia sees it for the first time, showing the full upper surface. For the 1997 "Special Edition" , a digital model replaces the effects model in several shots, and is used in
2835-399: The near future. In April 2016, scientists announced Breakthrough Starshot , a Breakthrough Initiatives program, to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of small centimeter-sized light sail spacecraft named StarChip , capable of making the journey to Alpha Centauri , the nearest star system , at speeds of 20% and 15% of the speed of light , taking between 20 and 30 years to reach
2898-442: The new Falcon design one of his most intense projects. The sound of the ship traveling through hyperspace comes from two tracks of the engine noise of a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 , with one track slightly out of synchronization with the other to introduce a phasing effect. To this, sound designer Ben Burtt added the hum of the cooling fans on the motion-control rig at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). It has been noted that
2961-461: The others escape, with R2-D2 successfully repairing the ship's hyperdrive. At the film's end, he departs in the Falcon to track down Solo and his captor, Jabba the Hutt . Calrissian again captains the Falcon during the climax of Return of the Jedi , with Nien Nunb as co-pilot, to destroy the second Death Star. Before the second Death Star is destroyed, Lando accidentally damages the ship by hitting
3024-430: The purpose of these uncrewed craft was specifically interplanetary, and they are not predicted to reach another star system; Voyager 1 probe and Gliese 445 will pass one another within 1.6 light years in about 40,000 years. Several preliminary designs for starships have been undertaken through exploratory engineering , using feasibility studies with modern technology or technology thought likely to be available in
3087-415: The real world. Paint was superseded in the 21st century by digital images created using photo references, 3-D models, and drawing tablets. Matte painters combine their digitally matte painted textures within computer-generated 3-D environments, allowing for 3-D camera movement. Lighting algorithms used to simulate lighting sources expanded in scope in 1995, when radiosity rendering was applied to film for
3150-415: The release of the sequel trilogy . The model was reused for Return of the Jedi (1983). At the end of this production, the model was destroyed. As in Star Wars , the location set was changed around the ship set. The only major design change was to add a landing gear where the disguised fuel line had been in Star Wars . This set included the port side, giving the set seven landing gears. The internal set
3213-403: The set: a top hatch that Lando Calrissian ( Billy Dee Williams ) uses to rescue Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ), and the compartment where Luke rests on a bunk. The 5-foot-long (1.5 m) effects model from Star Wars was modified to reflect the additional landing gear, and several new models were built, including one roughly the size of a U.S. quarter dollar . For the 1997 Special Edition,
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#17327978815343276-485: The ship in the Mos Eisley cantina to deliver them, C-3PO and, R2-D2 , and the stolen Death Star plans to Alderaan . When the Falcon is captured by the Death Star, the group conceal themselves in smuggling compartments built into the floor to avoid detection during a search of the ship. The group eventually escapes aboard the Falcon after rescuing Princess Leia. Solo later collects his fee for delivering them to
3339-462: The star system, respectively, and about 4 years to notify Earth of a successful arrival. To travel between stars in a reasonable time using rocket -like technology requires very high effective exhaust velocity jet and enormous energy to power this, such as might be provided by fusion power or antimatter . There are very few scientific studies that investigate the issues in building a starship. Some examples of this include: The Bussard ramjet
3402-425: The structure and was disguised as a fuel line. The interior set included the starboard ring corridor, the boarding ramp, cockpit access tunnel, gun turret ladder, secret compartments, and the forward hold. The cockpit was constructed as a separate set that could be rocked when the ship was supposed to shake. Several inconsistencies exist between the internal set and the external set, the cockpit access tunnel angle being
3465-419: The technique used for the tractor beam scene as being a glass painting. By the mid-1980s, advancements in computer graphics programs allowed matte painters to work in the digital realm. The first digital matte shot was created by painter Chris Evans in 1985 for Young Sherlock Holmes for a scene featuring a computer-graphics (CG) animation of a knight leaping from a stained-glass window. Evans first painted
3528-417: The type of film and by the artist's supervisor's ( film producer , film director , art director ) intentions. However, there are artists such as Mathieu Raynault who stated that they are often brought into the production at a very early stage, providing sketches and concepts to get a dialogue started with the director or art director. Raynault was involved on films like 300 , Star Wars: Episode II Attack of
3591-452: The window in acrylics, then scanned the painting into LucasFilm's Pixar system for further digital manipulation. The computer animation (another first) blended perfectly with the digital matte, which could not have been accomplished using a traditional matte painting. Traditional matte painting is older than the movie camera itself and has been already practiced in the early years of photography to create painted elements in photographs. With
3654-492: Was a professional scientific study examining advanced spacecraft propulsion systems. A common science-fiction device is to posit a faster-than-light propulsion system (such as warp drive ) or travel through hyperspace , although some posit starships as outfitted for centuries-long journeys of slower-than-light travel. Other designs posit a way to boost the ship to near-lightspeed, allowing relatively "quick" travel (i.e. decades, not centuries) to nearer stars. This results in
3717-484: Was considered for a role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as the original designer of the Millennium Falcon . What a piece of junk! You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought. Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in the card game ' sabacc ' several years before the events of the original Star Wars film. In that movie, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker charter
3780-568: Was drawing to a close, although as late as 1997 some traditional paintings were still being made, notably Chris Evans ’ painting of the RMS ; Carpathia rescue ship in James Cameron ’s Titanic . One particular drawback to the work of the digital matte artist is an occasional tendency of their output to look too realistic, which traditional artists avoided by using impressionistic elements or by suggesting details. What this means
3843-402: Was previously owned by gambler/con-artist Lando Calrissian . Solo: A Star Wars Story depicts the ship as being co-piloted by, and later integrated with, Calrissian's droid L3-37. Described as being one of the fastest vessels in the Star Wars canon , the Falcon looks worn-out but despite its humble origins and shabby exterior, the Millennium Falcon has played a critical role in some of
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#17327978815343906-407: Was slightly refitted from A New Hope and featured a sliding cockpit door, a larger cargo hold, an additional corridor to port, and an equipment room. The cockpit was rebuilt slightly larger to allow more actors to fit comfortably; shots were apparently slightly cropped in later releases of the film to hide this alteration. Two new interior sets were created that are not shown to connect to the rest of
3969-518: Was until recently, like its predecessor matte painting has been, the industry's best-kept secret. The involvement of 3D in this until then 2D art form was revealed by Craig Barron in 1998 after completing their work on the feature film Great Expectations when they introduced this technique as a 2.5D matte to the public. In production today this combination of 2D and 3D is part of every matte artist's bread and butter. Because of their high artistic skills, digital matte artists are often also involved with
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