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GEEKERY: Cast Your Own Lightsaber

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Jul 7 2015
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Luke Skywalker

So you know the Star Wars Universe, but do you know the props?

• The hilt of Luke’s first Lightsaber was built from a vintage press camera flash battery pack. The second, seen in Return of the Jedi, was constructed from a Derwent Mk.8/Mk.9 Jet Engine Balance Pipe.

Star-Wars-A-New-Hope-Obi-Wan-Kenobi-Lightsaber-Authentic-parts-1
Obi Wan Style Lightsaber made with Original Parts

• The original Lightsaber blades were three sided rods that were covered with a retroreflector array. A lamp was placed near the action to create a glowing effect with the array… which totally failed.

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• The glow effect was eventually created by multi-layed animation created by Nelson Shin using a rotoscope. The blades were made of dowels covered in front projection paint to make movements easy to track.

• The trademark Lightsaber hum was created using a combination of the sound of interference created by a cathode ray tube television on a shieldless microphone and motors in an old movie projector.

 

Let’s get to casting!

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ILM energy effects and Cho Sun skills sold separately.

Show off your homemade Star Wars weapons, tech, and costumes in the comments!

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Author: Mars Garrett
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