The advancement of digital technology in cinema has indeed changed the dynamics of the industry, allowing its practitioners to create eye-catching and wonderfully imaginative designs with greater ease than ever before. On the other hand, for a number of actors, the transition to shooting digitally in an environment consisting predominantly of green or blue screens has been counterproductive, often making it difficult for them to feel or connect with the scenes correctly.
Ewan McGregor’s woes are an amusing instance of this challenge as the actor portrayed Obi-wan Kenobi in the film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. As the climax of the story draws near, Kenobi is portrayed as bringing baby Luke Skywalker to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on the planet Tatooine. McGregor moreover, forgot about the fact that the moment was meant to carry some emotion to it. Since the whole room was painted in green, and he had to ride a giant lizard and hand over a doll to the avatar. The chaos did not however end here; George Lucas, the director, told him to lift his head and “look at the moons”. And now, the film crew was standing and wondering WHERE, exactly, was just such a place.
Stagecraft, also referred to as “the volume,” came quite in handy in enhancing the filming experience. It utilizes massive screens that display digital backgrounds in relation to the moved camera, giving actors real visual references and significantly more realism in illumination of the scenes. However, the problems of the performers have been removed with the aid of the innovations – actors have been made able to interact with the settings in a more immersing and believable manner.