WEBVTT - TechList: How Lightsabers Work 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:09.600 Hey there, it's Jonathan Strickland, and I'm here to introduce 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:14.560 a playlist of ten episodes of my podcast tech Stuff 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:20.000 that are all about entertainment and entertainment related fields, from 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:25.720 video games to television series, two films to internet videos 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:30.440 from yesteryear. So I hope you guys enjoy these episodes. 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.440 You can go to the tech Stuff podcast page and 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:38.000 subscribe to listen to all sorts of episodes about tech 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:42.240 from all realms, and hopefully this will provide a little 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:46.040 bit of entertainment, a little bit of education, and probably 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.000 more than a few puns, because that's kind of how 0:00:49.080 --> 0:01:06.240 I roll. Enjoy this playlist. Welcome to text Stuff, a 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:14.319 production from my Heart Radio. Hey there, and welcome to 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:17.040 tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:19.279 producer with I Heart Radio, and I love all things 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.920 tech and one of the things I'm doing as I 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.640 am sequestering myself in my home is going through and 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:30.679 watching stuff, including of course, all the Star Wars lights 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.160 of Star Wars. So I thought it would be good 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:37.760 to replay this classic episode that published back in that 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:42.120 is all about how lightsabers work. Chris and I break 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.319 it down for you enjoy. So we're gonna start off 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:51.400 this podcast with a little listener tweet. This listener tweet 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:54.080 comes from Jacqueline Hyde, who says, I got a listener 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:59.720 request for you, how lightsabers work. The force is strong 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:03.720 with this one, So we are going to talk about lightsabers. 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:05.800 This is kind of an interesting subject and the sense 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:07.920 that really it belongs and stuff you missed in history 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.359 class because it did happen a long time ago. Any 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.640 galaxy far far away, yeah, um, or technically it could 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.000 be fans stuff, but they don't have a podcast. So 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.679 we're gonna tackle it before anyone can grab it from 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.880 our cold dead paddawan hands. As the Jedi would say, 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.320 Niner naner, Yes, the Jedi would say that. So of 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:28.560 course we're talking about the civilized weapon from a or 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.679 the elegant weapon from a more civilized age. The light 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:36.919 Saber as introduced to us through George Lucas's brilliant work 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.040 Star Wars A New Hope Um or just Star Wars. 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.560 When it first came out in n it was not 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:46.440 American graffiti as many people think. No, no, there was 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.040 no cameo of the lightsaber in American graffiti. Although that 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:55.040 would have made that movie that much more awesome. So lightsabers, 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:56.960 of course, this is the weapon the Jedi used, the 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:00.680 the magic sword of the Star Wars series. And in fact, 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.080 when uh, most of the interviews I've seen with Lucas, 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:06.400 he just refers to it as a magic sword. You know, 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:08.760 I just said, it's that's what the purpose of it is. 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:10.639 It's just it happens to be called a lightsaber, but 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:15.000 it's a magic sword. So the problem with magic is 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.440 that there's not a whole lot to how it works 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:22.040 other than magic. You know, you're you're just totally getting 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:23.840 into that early. I thought we were going to go 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.200 ahead and talk about how it works, all right, Well, 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.600 this has not stopped people from telling us how it works, 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.120 despite the fact that it's magic. So let's talk. There 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:35.080 are people who will argue exactly how this works. It's not. 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:36.640 As a matter of fact, we have an article on 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:41.520 how it works. It's not cannon, and cannon is important 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:44.800 to me. But then again, you know what is canon 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.920 jar binks. So let's just move on into how lightsabers work. 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.760 So a lightsaber is made up of several different parts. 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.160 You've got the handle, which is pretty much where everything 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:59.640 is right. Yeah, so the handle has at the base 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.640 of the hand. You've got the power cell and it's 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:07.960 a it was it diecium, Yes, the diecium crystal. All right, 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.040 So you've got the diection power cell that's in the base. 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.920 That's fine. You know what if they correct us, if 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:18.120 they take that time, more power to them. Uh diaction 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:19.560 power cell is in the middle of a power of 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:23.120 vortex ring and a power field conductor. Now where does 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.720 all this power go? You've you're generated. That's essentially like 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.800 the battery of the lightsaber. That's the very base. So 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:30.960 and it's got a lot of energy stored in it, 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:33.599 lots and lots of energy. Now where does this energy 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:36.280 go once it starts to emit from the power cell? 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:39.600 It goes into the crystal energy chamber, right where you 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:44.680 have your primary crystal. Now, depending on whom you ask, 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:49.520 this crystal may or may not determine the color of 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:55.680 the lightsabers blade. Yes, Now, some would argue that the 0:04:55.720 --> 0:05:00.080 real determiner for the lightsaber color is lies with the 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:04.320 Jedi him or herself and the force that that Jedi 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:08.599 abuse the crystal. So in that case, you could have 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.880 any crystal and essentially have a lightsaber of any color. 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.880 It would all be up to the individual Jedi. Others 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:19.440 would argue, nay, tis not so. The lightsaber color is 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.560 dependent entirely upon the color of the crystal you select 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:27.599 to focus this power. Um, I'm gonna go with that one, okay, 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:31.560 So you know, of course, we we also need to 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:36.920 talk about how Jedi lightsabers are different from Sith lightsabers 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.200 because they are, yes, they are so. The crystals that 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:44.159 Jedi use tend to be natural crystals. They're crystals found 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:48.480 in caves throughout the galaxy. Um. And so these crystals 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:52.919 are they can take the power and create the the 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:56.680 the force of the I guess the actual lightsaber blade. 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:00.120 It's the best way of putting it. Um. And the 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:02.479 Sith what they do is they'll they'll make a they'll 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.760 make their own crystals, they'll create a forge, and they'll 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:08.040 build a synthetic crystal. And there's tend to be red, yes, 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:10.320 which is why you see Sith while like like Darth 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.800 Maul or Darth Vader or Darth Tyrannis walking around with 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:18.320 a big old red lightsaber, whereas Jedi they tend to 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:22.359 stick with blue and green, although other colors are also available. Yes, 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:26.040 so there are more that, but there are there are 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.520 more than one crystal though the primary crystal is uh 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.000 is just one part of that. There are second there 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:33.479 are secondary and smaller crystals. And it sort of depends 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:37.359 on the Jedi who builds the lightsaber, because the lightsaber 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:41.240 is Creating a lightsaber is part of becoming a Jedi. Yes, 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:44.240 it's actually the final step of Jedi training. According to 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:48.600 a Darth Vader, yes so. But but what the additional 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.360 crystals do is they actually help focus the energy into 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.600 a blade form, right right, So, the energy coming from 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:58.000 the power cell, once it passes through the crystal, that's 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:00.880 what gives it the the destructive for that we see 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.960 from lightsabers. The other crystals focus that into the blade 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:09.320 um and depending also on upon whom you ask, they 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:13.480 may also give the the lightsaber other certain powers, like 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:17.360 it may enhance certain certain aspects of the lightsaber. For example, 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:21.640 we know that lightsabers can deflect blaster fire. Some of 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:26.679 these crystals are apparently more effective at deflecting blaster fire 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.280 than others, and others may be better at cutting through 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.840 certain kinds of material. So uh Now, other other scholars 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:39.160 will argue that's not the case. The just focuses the blade, 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:43.080 doesn't imbue it with any other powers. Um. Personally, I 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.080 haven't had my hands on the lightsaber in a really 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.040 long time, so it's kind of hard for me to 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.760 tell you exactly what what which ones are right. And 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:54.400 also I have only ever really used one, so with 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.320 that small sample size, it's impossible to say yes. And 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.400 and it's probably a good time to point out that 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.840 if you do have the opportunity to use lights remember 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:04.640 it's it's not the kind of thing that you just 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:06.640 want to play around with, because it can be a 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:10.800 very very dangerous weapon. It turns out serious damage and 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:12.760 when you can cut through, you know, a foot of 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:16.440 steel that it's not the best thing to you know, 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:21.160 swatterfly with no um. After it goes through the christ 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:26.560 the focusing crystal, it passes through the blade energy channel again, 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.640 further refines the blade and directs it into a straight 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.960 line that would emerge from the hilt um. And then 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.280 at the very top of your blade, you've got your 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:41.080 your cycling field energizer's your energy modulation circuits, uh, and 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:44.320 then you've got your your controls. Your controls adjust the 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.320 power of the blade, and it also adjust the length 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:51.640 of the blade. So even though we normally see lightsabers 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:55.040 used at at a pretty standard length, most people have 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:57.560 it at a whenever they turn on their lightsaber, it's 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:00.360 pretty much the same length each time. Technically you can 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:03.199 adjust that so you can make it longer or shorter 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:05.920 using the blade length adjustment. UM. And then there's a 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:10.040 magnetic magnetic stabilizing ring and a blade shroud emitter UM 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:12.600 at the very top which helped control the blade so 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:16.720 it doesn't just zap out when you turn it on. UM. 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:22.400 That's your basic anatomy of your lightsaber hilt, all right, 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.199 and then the worst Then there's the activation matrix, which 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:30.040 is the Star Wars term for the on switch. I 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.040 just I love that part. They're the handle is about 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:36.720 thirty centimeters in length, so they're not ridiculously long, right, um, 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.320 which is good to know. It generates an arc wave 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:43.840 energy field, and this is why the blades actually have 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:47.800 a stopping point. Yes, and it has it. It produces 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.720 sort of a gyroscopic effect to which is why you 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:52.680 have to be very careful with it because it you know, 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.760 it has it has a pull to it if you will, right, 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:58.840 But that also makes it easier to use, because otherwise 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.120 it would be like swinging a flashlight around. There'd be 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.760 no feedback from swinging the handle, and it would make 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.720 it much more difficult to master a lightsaber if you 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:12.800 didn't have that gyroscopic effect when you started swinging it around. 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:15.359 Chris and I will have more to say about lightsabers 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.240 in just a second, but the force is calling and 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:27.360 we must take a quick break. So the blade arc tip, 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:30.440 that's the very end of the lightsaber um, and it's 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:35.120 it's the arcommitter is what's keeping it from becoming like 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:40.920 a blaster. Actually, lightsabers pre date blasters um before it 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.360 was a more civilized after all, as it was, and 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.120 you know, I guess civilized means that you loved each 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.640 other's limbs off, as opposed to shooting each other from 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.960 very far away. Uh. Never never bring a lightsaber to 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.280 a blaster fight. Oh wait, no, you could do that. 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:57.679 Yeah you can't do that because yeah, all right, so 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.760 let's just talk about about that's us the basics of 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:07.080 building your lightsaber um. Now, each Jedi builds his or 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:10.000 her own lightsaber as part of their training. Uh, and 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:14.280 they're gonna build it according to their own particular fighting style. 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:17.319 Now do you have you heard about the different Jedi 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:22.640 fighting styles? No? I haven't. There are seven major forms 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:25.719 of lightsaber styles. Yes, okay, well why don't you. I 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:27.959 wanted to tell this all right, I'm gonna go into 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:30.240 a little detail, but I mean, I'm just gonna do 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.600 this as a pretty high level thing. We don't need 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.520 to get into depth. No, this isn't Jedi fighting style stuff. 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:37.960 You know. That's right. Yeah, that's another podcast that we're 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.080 starting next month. You'll start requesting now. Um, next month 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.840 being April. I can't imagine when the first episode will 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:49.240 come out. So so the the fighting styles that you 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:51.560 can think of it kind of like martial arts styles. Um, 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:53.679 you know, not all martial arts styles are alike. Cut 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.079 on day is very different from jiu jitsu, which is 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.440 very different from a keto, which in turn is different 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:03.199 from hap keto. Um, there is their drunk Jedi style. No, 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.000 there's no drunken master Jedi style, although I hear Yoda 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:07.719 can get up to some y he shenanigans on a 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:12.200 Saturday night. Uh. The seven forms of lightsaber combat are 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:15.079 actually listed as you know, Form one, Form two, Form three, 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:16.679 They each have their own names, but I'm not even 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.640 gonna try and pronounce them because they're all alien and 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.680 I don't have the capability. I don't actually know what 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:24.680 the pronunciation is for most of them. But if you 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:26.720 hadn't spilled your mini chlorine, you'd be fine, I know. 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.000 In general, Form one is the foundation. It is the 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.679 basic form of lightsaber combat. It's your basic strikes, your 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.960 basic defenses. Um. It teaches you how to view the 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:41.000 body as a series of targets, like you think of you. 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.320 You divide up the body like the heads a certain 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:47.680 uh certain target, the arms, the torso, and you know, 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.360 attacks are very specific to each target. You know, different 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:56.679 slashing techniques and hacking techniques. So Form one is kind 0:12:56.679 --> 0:13:00.600 of lightsaber combat one oh one, everyone pretty much through that. 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:06.280 Form two is dueling. Now, this lightsaber combat really concentrates 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:11.400 on finesse, blade control, footwork. This is the kind of 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:16.640 of style that cal Dooku slash Darth Tarrannis used. Yes, now, 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.040 that is why his lightsaber handle actually has a curve 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:21.400 at the end of it. It's so that he can 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:23.959 hold it kind of like a pistol grip. Gives him 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.640 a lot of control over the tip of the blade, 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:30.280 and that's just his style of dueling. Now, this was 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:33.760 much more popular before blasters came out because it was 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.040 just really meant for lightsaber to lightsaber combat. Once blasters 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.880 came out, people Jedi began to realize that the in 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.760 order to deflect these these blaster bolts, they would need 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.839 to adapt their fighting style. This is not the best 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:50.760 style to use if you're being shot at by stormtroopers, 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:55.760 for example. So, uh, but that was tarrannis is favorite form. 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.800 Then there's four three, which is defensive where you are 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:02.360 trying to feel the least amount of target space on 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.760 your body. So it's really good for defending against blasters 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.720 that kind of thing. Form four is an acrobatic style, 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.920 lots of flips and spins. You're using the force to 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.360 boost your your physical abilities, so you're you're depending more 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:21.040 on uh, these acrobatics than on your blade at that point. 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.840 So Yoda uses that a lot. Um if you've seen 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.640 him fight Count Dooku, he's like a little queens and art. 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:32.840 And then uh, Form five that uses the deflective nature 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:37.520 of the lightsaber to reflect blaster fire. Um, you you 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:41.760 use use strengthen your attacks. So it's a more brute 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:46.080 force kind of of approach. This is the style favored 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:49.760 by a certain Skywalker family. Both Anakin and Luke used 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:55.920 Form five. Form six combines elements of Forms one through five, um, 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.840 but it also teaches that you should be detached from emotion. 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:04.120 You should be using very calculating ways of of moving. 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:08.240 You shouldn't let your emotions dictate what you're doing. Form 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.360 seven is kind of the opposite. That's leveraging your emotion 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:14.880 into power and using that to fight your opponents. This 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:19.880 was what Darth maul Uh used with some reliance on 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:23.920 on on Form H four as well, the acrobatic style. Now, 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.120 of course he had a double bladed lightsaber. Yeah, and 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:30.080 those don't work all that differently than a regular lightsaber. 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.760 They're just basically two lightsabers attached together at the hilt. Right, 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:36.720 So there's there's four crystals instead of two or a 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.400 minimum of four, because you have to have for you know, 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:41.680 two of the generator type and two of the focusing 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:45.040 type at minimum in order to create the two blades. 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:48.760 By the way, those focusing crystals are usually add again 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:52.000 crystals usually, but you can also find them on Dantweine 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:55.720 as well as many many other uh planets within the 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:58.760 Star Wars galaxy. Yes, until Center Star comes after you 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:02.760 and you know calls you a coward. Right, I'm sorry, 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:08.240 I switched. Okay, you lost me? You lost me? Seriously, 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:13.760 you never played SENTI Star, I rarely played anyway. Also, 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:17.880 um depending, uh way, way way way back in the past, 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:21.400 back when the Jedi we were um much more numerous. 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:25.720 The color of your blade also would indicate what what 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.440 kind of Jedi you were. For example, if you had 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.280 a blue blade, that signified that you were a Jedi guardian, 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:33.320 and so you're much more you know, kind of a 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:36.320 physical you would get into the fights, you would you know, 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.960 defend people with your your prowess. Uh. Green would suggest 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.720 that you were a Jedi consular, and this would be 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:49.000 someone who was much more thoughtful, kind of contemplative. And 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:52.320 then um, yellow would indicate that you're a Jedi Sentinel. 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.960 And that's someone who kind of was in between the 0:16:55.960 --> 0:17:00.560 other two. So so not as physical as the guardians, 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:04.879 but not as brainy as the others either. So yellow 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:08.800 and blue, dummate green, this is true. I learned that somewhere. 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:13.000 So should we go into the other aspect of lightsabers. 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:16.120 So you mean we're actually gonna step outside of the 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.520 realm of Star Wars just looking at the time and 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.440 thinking that maybe we should do that. That's pretty good idea, 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:25.160 all right, So that's within the Star Wars universe, of course, 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:27.639 that's how they supposedly work. And I should also add 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.480 none of that is cannon. And when I say cannon, 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:33.959 I'm talking about the stuff that Lucas himself has signed 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:37.000 off on as saying, yes, this is officially part of 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.800 the Star Wars history. Um, most of that is just 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.879 the movies. Um. To some extent, you could argue the 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.520 books as well. Some of those Lucas has more or 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.400 less said, yeah, even though that didn't appear in the movie, 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:51.160 that is cannon as well. But he never goes into 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:54.560 explaining the blades in the movies. And so this is 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:58.879 really other people trying to um rhet coon really to 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.800 explain why the stuff works. Yeah, um yeah, basically, and 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.760 if you're unfamiliar with the term in cannon is uh 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:10.000 like basically, they're written instructions for how a magical or 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.280 you know, fantasy or science fiction universe operates. It kind 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:15.760 of helps you write the stories and the Star Wars, 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.080 Cannon sort of came about after some of the stories 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.560 had already been in practice, so it's a little looser 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:22.120 than some of the other universe. So if you were 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.159 to read some of the comic books or some of 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:25.840 the other books that have been written in the Star 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:29.080 Wars universe, you might notice that they sometimes contradict what 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:32.560 happened in later movies, and that's because they're not Cannon, 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.440 all right. So moving on to how they actually created 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:38.600 this effect, which is really which is really fascinating too, 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:40.560 I think right now now, First of all, in a 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:45.200 New Hope, the first film, they hadn't originally considered animating 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:48.520 or adding any light to these at all. The original 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:52.120 idea was that the lightsabers were going to have There 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:56.040 were these these uh I think it was three sided 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.600 three sided poll that came out kind of a triangular 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.120 poll on each side was was coated with a very 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:05.879 reflective material, and they used a lamp that was on 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:07.960 the same side as the camera and focus the light 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:10.680 so that it would reflect off of it be really shiny, 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.080 and there was a motor inside the handle that would 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.679 direct the side to be aligned properly for the camera. 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.520 But the effect was not as a zippy as Lucas wanted. 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:25.520 So um, they started to cast about and see if 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:28.639 they could find some other way of making this magic 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:32.719 sword seem really magical, and they contacted an animator by 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:37.520 the name of Nelson Shin. Nelson Shin took a week 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:41.080 and looked at this footage that had been shot and 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:46.960 used an effect called rhodoscoping. The the technique and animation 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:50.440 technique is actually very old technique. A lot of people 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:54.520 and myself, including associated with AHAs take on me video. 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.119 I associate with Ralph Box She's um Lord of the 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:02.600 Rings movie. Yeah. Also Wizards was another movie he used 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:05.560 it in. But it's it's where you take live action 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:08.399 footage and then you overlay animation on top of it, 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:12.439 sometimes replacing the live action footage entirely, sometimes enhancing it, 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:14.600 and in this case it was enhancing it. So what 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:18.119 he did was he used animation cells to create this 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:23.320 this glowing blade effect on top of the actual physical 0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:27.000 rods that were in the shots, and then uh using 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:31.679 you know, synchronizing the cells that he had created with 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:35.240 the actual film, overlaying the animated effect on it, creating 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:40.040 a new print that combined these two individual prints and 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:41.600 that's how you you know, he sent that back to 0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:43.480 Lucas and said, well, here you can try this and 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:47.040 see if this works. Lucas liked it. Um, they decided 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:49.680 to go with that approach. They refined it a little bit. 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.480 They added some color so you had different color blades 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:56.160 because originally they were both white and uh. And that 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:00.159 was the beginning of the lightsaber effect. We have a 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:02.359 little bit more to say about lightsabers, but before we 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:12.200 get to that, we're going to take another quick break. Now. 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:16.960 In the first three films, which episodes four or five 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:20.520 and six, UM, they use the rotoscoping technique where they 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:25.520 would essentially hand draw these things on cells. Um. Basically, 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:27.600 what they do is they put that cell over the 0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:31.600 original film and color it in and then but that's 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:33.760 not but that's not all of it, because that does 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:36.320 add some color to it. But from from there they 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:39.439 have to shoot more film with the cell and the 0:21:39.480 --> 0:21:42.600 original and when they do that, they shoot it over 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:46.920 a black background and use a light diffuser over the lens. Yes, 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:50.440 they double exposed the shots, and that that makes them 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:52.639 really pop, That make that makes them look sort of 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:56.000 you know, gives them that sort of otherworldly effect. You 0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:59.359 know how bright they are in the shots. Sou and 0:21:59.480 --> 0:22:01.680 a sophisticated when you think about it, but very very 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:05.040 time consuming, right, Yes, it took took a really long time. 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.360 It took slightly less time by the time they got 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:10.920 around to the prequels episodes one, two, and three, because 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:13.480 they could do it all digitally, But somebody still has 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:16.680 to go into the computer and you're doing it. You're 0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:18.879 doing it all in computer as opposed to doing it 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:23.160 on hand handmade cells. Um. So, I mean it still 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:26.119 takes time, it's just not quite as time consuming, except 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:28.439 for the fact that Lucas decided to throw in about 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:31.240 I don't know ten times as many lightsaber battles in 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:35.600 those first three movies as the original trilogy combined. Um. 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:38.879 The the actual hilts of the lightsabers were made up 0:22:38.920 --> 0:22:42.720 of old camera flash battery packs and other odds and ends, 0:22:42.760 --> 0:22:48.439 like stuff from hardware stores like plumbing um gaskets and 0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:52.880 things like that. Now, they shot these movies in England, 0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:57.320 so they were raiding various British hardware shops. So a 0:22:57.359 --> 0:23:00.240 lot of the materials that they used to build the 0:23:00.240 --> 0:23:03.159 the light superhandles are very hard to find or sometimes 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:05.600 impossible to find in the United States, which is why 0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:08.919 it's kind of challenging to create a model of those 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:12.800 those first Again, this is for the first trilogy four 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:15.119 or five and six. Um, it's hard to make those 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:17.639 faithfully just because it's hard to get those parts in 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:21.080 the United States. Um. Now for episodes one, two, and three, 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:24.880 those were all machined and so there's all like routed. 0:23:25.119 --> 0:23:27.680 They designed them in a computer and then and then 0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:30.119 made use a router to cut custom parts and then 0:23:30.160 --> 0:23:32.800 assemble them. So it wasn't like they were just grabbing 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:36.080 whatever they could find and and sticking it together. Um, 0:23:36.119 --> 0:23:38.679