Insider Secrets: Ahsoka Star Spills All on Dave Filoni's Game-Changing Approach to Crafting a Star Wars TV Show

Summary

Employing pre-visualizations and pre-animations for every episode, Filoni revolutionizes the series' production process, ensuring a cohesive vision throughout various directors' contributions.

The use of voice recordings from table reads and animated video game characters on sets created an extraordinary production experience, resulting in compelling visuals and a seamless integration of traditional animation and live-action techniques. Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahsoka, has unveiled Dave Filoni's distinct approach to creating a Star Wars live-action TV series. Having honed his skills in animation, Filoni's notable contributions to Star Wars: The Clone Wars earned him recognition. Under George Lucas' guidance, Filoni mastered the art of shooting animated scenes that mimic live-action. Now, he is venturing into the realm of live-action with the upcoming Ahsoka Disney+ TV show.

Rosario Dawson, the star of Ahsoka in the show "The Mandalorian," shared that working with Dave Filoni on this Star Wars TV series was a unique experience. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter prior to the production strikes, she mentioned that Filoni brought his animation background into this project.

Throughout the six-month shoot, we filmed simultaneously. If it weren't for having two different crews working on multiple episodes at the same time, the shoot would have likely taken a year. Despite the constant jumbling of schedules, Filoni ensured that pre-visualizations or pre-animations were made for each episode, a technique he carried over from his work in animation. However, he didn't allow us to watch them. As a result, I haven't seen anything of Ahsoka either, but that's not surprising. This project is quite secretive and being part of it feels strange. It's one of the biggest productions, so they maintain strict confidentiality. Nevertheless, Dave handled it well, and the various directors maintained that connection.

Filoni's approach is distinctive, a testament to his animation background.

Dave Filoni's Ahsoka TV Show Promises Tremendously Strong Visuals

Filoni's approach holds the promise of delivering exceptional visual effects. Many recent Star Wars TV shows have faced criticism for their visuals, mostly due to excessive reliance on and poor utilization of the Volume technology. While this technology allows directors and showrunners to create captivating CGI environments for their characters, it has unfortunately resulted in predictable shot compositions in order to accommodate the technology. Disney's emphasis on the Volume is understandable as it is a cost-effective measure, but it requires careful consideration of each shot to be truly effective. Fortunately, Filoni's style appears to be a perfect fit for this challenge.

Filoni is essentially blurring the boundaries between traditional animation practices and those used in live-action. This is all the more exciting considering his upcoming directorial role in a live-action Star Wars movie, which is a spin-off from Ahsoka and The Mandalorian. It will be intriguing to see how this unfolds.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter