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Grrl Still Kickin' - I Left My Star Destroyer in San Francisco
Blatherings from Bonnie Burton
04:16 pm August 15th, 2008
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I Left My Star Destroyer in San Francisco


I Left My Star Destroyer in San Francisco
words: Bonnie Burton

As a proud resident of San Francisco, I can tell you I've often daydreamed of how cool it would be if a Star Destroyer hovered over the Golden Gate Bridge as I was stuck in traffic. Or if AT-AT's shared Ocean Beach with joggers and dog walkers.

It looks like a fan had the same brainwaves I did, and made it happen -- at least in video form. Check out this awesome short film by Michael Horn of Star Wars vehicles and ships as they sneak into various video footage around San Francisco all thanks to some creativity and impressive tracking software. Maybe one day tourist snapshots of Coit Tower and cable cars will have the Death Star in the background! A fan girl can dream, can't she?

VIDEO: Death Star over San Francisco (Current TV)

Here's a few of our favorite screenshots from the film including our interview with Michael about how he made the film and why:






Why did you decide to make a short film of Star Wars vehicles and ships co-existing with the citizens of San Francisco?
I was raised on Star Wars and really love the aesthetics of the Imperial ships and vehicles. I wanted to see what it would look like if our Moon was actually the Death Star, so I took it from there.

What gear did you use to make the film?
I shot everything on my junkie DV camera, did motion-tracking and comping in After Effects, and basic sound design in Final Cut.



Which scene was the hardest to make look realistic?
The shot of the Imperial shuttle landing on the rooftop. It was hard to match the camera's movement and zoom.

Which scene is your favorite?
The very last shot with the parrots of Telegraph Hill sitting on the tree branch with the fog and Death Star behind them.



Any plans on making another one?
I'm thinking about getting news feed footage of current events and super-imposing some of the Star Wars world into it.

Any words for George?
Thank you to Lucasfilm for making my childhood so magical! One day I hope to build my own Ewok Village 6000.



----------------
SOURCE: The Official Starwars.com Blog

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15 comments or Leave a comment
Comments
Comment by Silent Bob
silentbob037 From: [info]silentbob037 Date: August 15th, 2008 11:42 pm (UTC) (Link)
Would those AT-ATs have anywhere to stand where they are positioned? They'd be stomping around in the water or, at the very least, tromping on the old burned out bathhouse?
(Reply) (Thread)
Thread started by Rich Sigfrit
cinemafreak From: [info]cinemafreak Date: August 16th, 2008 01:36 am (UTC) (Link)
Oh, and guys. Remember where we parked.
(Reply) (Thread)
bonniegrrl From: [info]bonniegrrl Date: August 17th, 2008 08:42 pm (UTC) (Link)
I LOVE your Zod avatar!!!!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
cinemafreak From: [info]cinemafreak Date: August 18th, 2008 05:02 pm (UTC) (Link)
Why thank you. will you be attending Dragon*Con?
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
bonniegrrl From: [info]bonniegrrl Date: August 18th, 2008 05:56 pm (UTC) (Link)
Sadly no. I think between going to Celebration Japan and Comic-Con back to back, I'm all conned out for awhile. Though I will be going to APE in Nov.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by That Weird Chick Cynthia
one_traveller From: [info]one_traveller Date: August 16th, 2008 02:18 am (UTC) (Link)
This is really great, thanks for sharing it with us.

I came over here from [info]ohnotheydidnt. I wanted to comment over there, but they only allow comments from members, and I was just wandering through as I was looking for something else. I just wanted to say how sorry I am you had to put up with so much rudeness when you were just trying to share something cool with people. I hope you shared this with your SW groups.

Edited at 2008-08-16 02:20 am (UTC)
(Reply) (Thread)
bonniegrrl From: [info]bonniegrrl Date: August 17th, 2008 08:42 pm (UTC) (Link)
ha yeah that's ohnotheydidnt for ya. I rarely post there just because the comments are usually pretty horrible and immature. I'm glad you came over to say hello though! Thanks! ;-)
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
one_traveller From: [info]one_traveller Date: August 18th, 2008 03:53 am (UTC) (Link)
I rarely post there

I don't blame you.

I saw one of your other posts, with the 501st. Until recently I lived in Phoenix, AZ and I have many fond memories of them at our local conventions. If you haven't already seen it, you might enjoy Mark Greenawalt's site. He's a bodypainter in the Phoenix area who's done some stuff with the 501st.

http://www.futureclassx.com/bodypaint/bodypaint.htm

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
one_traveller From: [info]one_traveller Date: August 18th, 2008 04:04 am (UTC) (Link)
This link take you directly to one the SW pages in his 'Live Events' area.

http://www.futureclassx.com/bodypaint/tawnyagentleman/talon/lepreCon28.htm

For some reason the links aren't working for the other two SW bodypainting sessions he did at the cons, but you can at least see the thumbnails on this page.

http://www.futureclassx.com/bodypaint/press.htm
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by planettom
planettom From: [info]planettom Date: August 16th, 2008 05:39 am (UTC) (Link)
I guess those parrots at the end are from that wild flock as featured in that movie THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL.
(Reply) (Thread)
bonniegrrl From: [info]bonniegrrl Date: August 17th, 2008 08:40 pm (UTC) (Link)
yeah those parrots are everywhere in San Fran, not just Telegraph. They are on Dolores, in the Presidio and even Inner Sunset!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by skip
From: [info]skip Date: August 16th, 2008 06:07 am (UTC) (Link)
this is the greatest thing i have ever seen on the interwebs.
(Reply) (Thread)
bonniegrrl From: [info]bonniegrrl Date: August 17th, 2008 08:39 pm (UTC) (Link)
i know! It makes me wish San Fran really did have an Imperial Fleet Week!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Thread started by Ice
icecelt From: [info]icecelt Date: August 16th, 2008 03:19 pm (UTC) (Link)
INCREDIBLE!! I put it on my MySpace, Facebook, a friend's comments.. I'm thinking of where else I can share it! LOL! Think husband will post on SWG-EMU boards.. I mean this is AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing it, what a wonderful way to wake up!
(Reply) (Thread)
bonniegrrl From: [info]bonniegrrl Date: August 17th, 2008 08:39 pm (UTC) (Link)
Sure thing! I thought it was pretty cool too. ;-)
Thanks for passing it around! ;-)
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
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