WEBVTT - How the Lightsaber Effect Works

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. Hi. I'm Marshall Brain with today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>how does a lightsaber work in the Star Wars movies? Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>lightsabers aren't real, like the Millennium Falcon and Yoda. Lightsabers

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<v Speaker 1>are a special effect that looks so real you actually

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<v Speaker 1>believe they exist. The technique used to create the lightsaber

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<v Speaker 1>effect is pretty straightforward, but it's tedious on the set.

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<v Speaker 1>The actors use props. They hold handles that have aluminum

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<v Speaker 1>rods attached to them, and these rods are the length

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<v Speaker 1>of a lightsaber blade. The handles are plastic models, and

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<v Speaker 1>the aluminum rods are painted red or green or blue.

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<v Speaker 1>The actors use these props as though they were lightsabers.

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<v Speaker 1>After the film is shot, it's taken to the special

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<v Speaker 1>effects department. The actors look like they're fighting painted broomsticks

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<v Speaker 1>instead of lightsabers. A special effects artist now has the

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<v Speaker 1>job of making those broomsticks look real. The artist looks

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<v Speaker 1>at the film frame by frame and draws the outline

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<v Speaker 1>of each lightsaber blade into the frame. Then, for each frame,

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<v Speaker 1>the artist paints in the correct color for the blade

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<v Speaker 1>using a bright cartoon color in the modern digital world.

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<v Speaker 1>All of the outlining and coloring is done on a computer,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's still all done by hand. The effect is amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>The lightsabers look incredibly bright and real. Be sure to

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