New VFX Footage From 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 Released
The Mandalorian gained worldwide acclaim from critics and viewers when the series launched in 2019. Over the course of two seasons, the series became engraved in pop culture in discussions, memes, and opinionated blogs about Mando and Grogu (aka "Baby Yoda"). But the best component to the series overall is the use of different kinds of special effects.
The original Star Wars films and TV shows had the use of practical effects for their sets and the actors to interact with (except for the prequel trilogy). The newer films and TV shows under Disney have embraced the practical effects for their productions in order to tell a story in the most possible way involving the aliens, spaceships, makeup, costumes, and even explosions.
What the advancement of computer technology did over the past 30 years was to evolve the computer generate imagery for live-action TV and films. Sometimes the full-blown CGI works or it doesn’t. But the use of “stagecraft technology” comes into play for The Mandalorian. The true way to do it is with a healthy balance of both worlds. And that’s why it’s the most popular use of production when filming the two seasons of Mando in addition to the upcoming Star Wars TV series in the near future.
The second season of The Mandalorian was lucky enough to dodge the COVID-19 production shutdown, and it's expected that season 3 and the upcoming spin-off The Book of Boba Fett will run to schedule as well. But while the wait for the premiere of The Mandalorian season 3 continues, some new behind the scenes videos may help keep viewers entertained.
Here is the breakdown of “Stagecraft” via The Direct:
The system uses a rear-projected LED screen to create what is essentially an immersive real-time, and very convincing, green screen. It made the show look phenomenal and allowed the stories to go places that it otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.
That mix of visual and practical effects is the way to go, and thanks to a newly released video, fans can witness the process.
Industrial Light & Magic recently released a video on YouTube displaying some of their work on the second season of The Mandalorian:
Featured in the VFX montage is Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka, harnessing her sabers in the forest of Corvus, and Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan briefly seen talking about Gideon’s cruiser before the reel cuts to Industrial Light & Magic artists designing and developing a miniature version of the spaceship.
The video shows the incredible VFX work that goes into large-scale production. The show pushed boundaries with state-of-the-art techniques, such as the use of gaming engines to render CGI backdrops in real-time.
Season 1 of The Mandalorian did the unthinkable, which was to accomplish visually stunning imagery with the “stagecraft technology” in order to support the story being told. And in season 2, the technology continued to evolve and to impress. The sequences in the show looked far better than many films and TV shows.
The "Stagecraft" technology lets the show do things that were not feasible before, not to mention that it lets the show be entirely contained as most of the work can be done on a soundstage, compared to having to jump from location to location while shooting.
These technical processes mean that The Mandalorian has a fairly different production process compared to most other TV shows. Disney+ released an in-depth documentary about the making of The Mandalorian season two earlier this year, and many of the directors and stars spoke incredibly highly of the process of working with this new technology. Audiences can expect some of the same epic CGI landscapes and creatures when season 3 debuts.
Source(s): The Direct