From the October 1994 issue of HOME THEATER TECHNOLOGY 
If You Like What You See Here, Don't Miss The Real Thing!
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The Force is With Him

George Lucas talks about telling tall tales and the technology that brings them into being.

Interview by Scott Wilkinson

George Lucas will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greatest storytellers of all time. He has done more to bring tales of adventure, fantasy, and the triumph of good over evil to a mass audience than anyone before him. Millions of people have been touched by his stories on the big screens of commercial cinemas and the somewhat smaller screens of home theaters.
In the process, he has pushed the envelope of technology way beyond the supporting role it had previously held. If something could be done better, he did it better. If something couldnt be done at all, he invented a way to do it. From production to presentation, all facets of filmmaking and viewing have been profoundly influenced by Lucas singular drive to tell his stories in the best possible way.
These days, the watchword is interactive multimedia, and Lucas is well-positioned to make an enormous impact in this brave new world. LucasArts has been producing interactive entertainment for over ten years. Their most recent CD-ROM release, Rebel Assault, is the top-selling CD-ROM ever produced, and X-Wing is the number one game for PC-compatible computers.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Lucas is now hard at work producing the next installment in the Star Wars saga. This is intended to be the first film in a second trilogy that predates the events in the Star Wars movies weve all come to know and love. Although his schedule makes most lives seem like a perpetual vacation, we caught up with him long enough to ask a few questions about storytelling, technology, home theater, and the future.

HTT: How do new technologiesvisual effects such as morphing and presentation technologies such as THX and Dolbyaffect storytelling?

GL: The new digital technology lets filmmakers tell stories they couldnt even dream of five years ago. It gives writers and directors more creative freedom. And as the new technology develops, the cost of making movies will come down. More 
filmmakers will be able to tell bigger stories, take more chances, and make more interesting films. 
In terms of presentation, audiences will continue 
to demand higher quality images and better sound. For example, THX allows the audience to hear the film exactly as the filmmaker intended. And todays multiplexes will expand to become larger entertainment centers that include Imax and 3-D capabilities.

HTT: How does digital technology make storytelling better?

GL: Digital technology has two benefits: it expands the creative possibilities and lowers costs. If you value creative freedom and want to tell ambitious stories, you must have control of the economics. Your ability to tell a story is only limited by two things: the limits of technology and the limits of finance.

HTT: Does home-theater presentation technology impact the creative process in any way, given that more films are viewed at home than ever before?

GL: Ive always insisted on feature-film quality whether Im working on a television series or a motion picture for theatrical release that will eventually end up on videotape or laserdisc. Our response to the importance of the home-video market was the introduction of the Home THX Audio and LaserDisc programs. These projects are aimed at making the video experience as close to a theatrical experience as possible.

HTT: Movies are now being made specifically for the home-theater market and home video. These films will never see the inside of a movie theater. How is the making of these movies different from working on a feature intended for theatrical distribution?

GL: The programming we developed specifically for the home market is The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. It was originally aired on network television, but it was created for the home marketvideos, laserdiscs, and interactive multimedia. Our challenge was to produce feature films on a television budget. We were able to meet this challenge by experimenting with new production techniques and pushing digital technology in new directions. We were able to create sets, multiply actors, and paint environments into the computer. 
We mixed Young Indy in Dolby Surround, as we would any feature film, and monitored the mix in mono to make sure it could also be heard through an average television set. If you watch Young Indy in a home theater, as opposed to normal TV, the experience will definitely be more intense. 

HTT: Do you think that more films will be created exclusively for home viewing and home-theater 
presentation in the future?

GL: Yes. What is commonly referred to as the 
information superhighway will open up new opportunities for filmmakers. Right now, there is a select number of gatekeepers in Hollywood who control the industry. As more cable channels 
are added, the demand for programming will increase. As a result, there will be more opportunity for first-time directors to produce experimental 
and offbeat films. 

HTT: Do you think that cinema and home theater (as two different experiences) actually complement and drive each other? Home theater has had a blockbuster year and so has cinema. Is there a correlation?

GL: Yes. When videos first arrived, there was a fear that it would diminish the movie-going audience. This, of course, proved to be false. Videos will never replace feature films; they are two different experiences. The key is good storytelling. There are only a few dozen films in theatrical release at any one time. The theatrical market is therefore much more dependent on 
quality product than the video market, where you have thousands of choices.

HTT: There are those who say the future of storytelling and entertainment will be interactive; that is, people wont just want to be told stories, they will be a part of the creative process. Do you think that people want to just sit back and be told a story, or do they want to interact with it?

GL: There are movies and there are games. People who want to be told a story will see a movie, and people who want to interact with the characters will play a game. Weve got a CD-ROM game called Rebel Assault in which players actually get into the movie. By pushing the buttons and controls, the player becomes an active participant in the storyline. I call it a game, but somebody else might call it an interactive movie. Future games will be more articulate, have better images, more complex characters, and the appearance of an unlimited ability to move around. 

HTT: Are so-called interactive stories really interactive? Ultimately, there are only a limited number of variations to these stories. True interactivity allows a player to create their own variation. Will this ever be possible or desirable?

GL: LucasArts approaches interactive entertainment from a filmmakers perspective. The game designers are professional storytellers. Their job is to provide the player with a story line and a set of goals, but it is the player who makes the decisions and drives the game forward. It is more an act 
of discovery.

HTT: How do you view the future of home entertainment, and how it is created and delivered?

GL: I think view-on-demand games will be here soon. Once the technology is worked out, home delivery of games is inevitable. Party-line gamesinteractive games that you play with several people in real time at various locationswill be popular. Add teleconferencing so you can see the person, and it will be as if they are right next to you. Movies on demand will be big as well. LucasArts and THX will definitely be involved in the development of future technologies for the home.

 1994 Home Theater Technology Magazine

From the October 1994 issue of HOME THEATER TECHNOLOGY 
If You Like What You See Here, Don't Miss The Real Thing!
Subscribe Today To HOME THEATER TECHNOLOGY Magazine
On Newstands everywhere or 
Call (800) 264-9872 To Subscribe - $23.95 For A Full Year

