What makes a Star Wars film?

[OriginsoftheJedi]

So, I'll cut to the chase. My friend and I are making a star wars fan film set in 22 aby called 'Origins of the Jedi', and we're trying to make it look as professional as possible on our low budget. Obviously, we want it to do the franchise justice, so I felt that here would be one of the better places to find answers to certain questions. In your opinion, what do you think makes a star wars movie? And, more importantly, what makes a good star wars movie? Thanks everyone in advance. We'll try our darndest to do you guys justice. ;-)

 

[Jsc]

Sound design.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Well, its two parts really.

There needs to be Stars.
And there needs to be Wars.

And maybe the Force. Maybe.

 

[Sawa Ike]

well that is a hard one cause it really depends on the tone you want. The original trilogy was good vs evil, the underdog and under it all a sense of just triumph. The jedi who were brought to the brink of extinction returned in luke and was able to redeem the monster, stop the emperor. Save the day (not the galaxy but the day) The prequel well suffered because it wanted to show the fall of the republic, rise of vader/emperor. So it showed how palpatine played the long game and the senate with small things like the trade federation which... trade law can be boring. Some people might like it and study it but it is star wars... it was about less intergalactic politics which in the original has what maybe five lines of mention before it is announced it was gotten rid of.

On the topic of what to have just a tone. If you're going to be a smart mouthed smuggler have it be funny and kind of fast. If going for jedi really try to define what kind of jedi you are going for cause as the movies and booked showed there are many types that come from the jedi code. Where as sith really are united and focused with similar goals. Also you need and this is important twi'leks... There is no star wars movie without a twi'lek somewhere. Be it Aayla, Oola or those twins Sebulba had.

 

[Eskel Tyvia]

Simple.

1. John Williams Music
2. Unique lightsaber designs
3. Good actors
4. A decent camera
5. Fashionable costumes.
6. A plot
7. Dark and lightside
8. The force. Just a little bit.

 

[Jor Kvall]

I think [member="Sawa Ike"] is on to something with the mention of tone. Delivering a coherent, consistent tone is one of the most important aspects of movie making in general, not just Star Wars. This is also one of the major areas where the prequels suffered.

If you look at the original Star Wars trilogy, there were some dark moments here and there, but the overall tone was that of a light-hearted space adventure film. If you want to make your movie "feel" like Star Wars, then this is what you should aim for. Visual considerations like lightsabers, spaceships, etc. are secondary and will fall into place later. It doesn't matter how many Star-Warsy visual effects you throw in; if the movie doesn't feel like Star Wars, then this is what contributes to confusion and/or disinterest in your target audience (see: the prequels).