Behind the scenes: Wrath of the Marshal
From Jalassociatecomics
Idea Formation
As this portion is being written (30/8/06), Wrath of the Marshal's preliminary filming has begun. But first, back to the idea formation.
A sequel or two had always been in the back of J and L's minds from the beginning, which was very long ago indeed. The plot began to take place in March, with possible ideas tossed out. The basic plan was to bring back the Marshal, presumed dead at the end of the first installment, and delve into his origins and ideals along the way. Two fledgeling Jedi would also star.
Many permutaions of this basic plot arose, but, since the two had gained considerable experience from their first outing, everything was alot more straightened out, with more time spent on planning. Conceptual shots were done as early as late February, laying the foundations for what was to come. Character design was done at around the same time: Lego minifigs pulled apart and squeezed together again for all-new friends and foes, including the two main padawans and the mysterious Dark Acolytes (J and L's best minifig design effort to date).
The comic was planned to be a whole lot bigger and, hopefully, a whole lot better. Many more action sequences and stunts were planned, including a suspenseful opening space scene and a landspeeder chase on Tatooine. Luke's past would also be revisited with a flashback concerning a particular T-16 Skyhopper race.
Due to a more than hectic schooling schedule, filming and what-not was put off. A trip to the History page will so how far apart progress on this wiki was spread apart. Pity Singaporean schoolboys. In the meantime, the story progressed, and L had an idea of which scenes he'd want to see, while J arranged them in chronological order and began builing the sets (find out more in Building the Comic), though he knew they would not be used for a very long while.
The Process
J and L had wized up to the whims of the digital camera, though this time, J's was employed. You'll notice most panels seem sharper, thanks to a cool super-macro function.
However, difficulties were still a-plenty in capturing part two on camera. As mentioned earlier, this is part two, so everything was twice as complicated, twice as complex--and hopefully twice as cool.
Filming, as J and L like to call it, was as painstaking as ever, due to the vast number of shots involved. However, fun was the essence, and so in-jokes abound yet again. More than obvious ones include re-cloned clonetroopers messing up during drill, R2-D2 causing havoc, good guys interrogating fellow protagonists...and all while the main characters are having relatively serious discussions.
Techniques were expounded on from The Remnant Threat, including most special effects and shot details. Green screen is featured again, providing space backdrops for a number of scenes, including the dramatic opening and the... oops, I'm not supposed to say at this point. Sorry.
We've even gone into location shots, with Tatooine sequences that feature real sand. Plus, a new, easier to control fog effect was developed: shooting from behind the cover of a microwaveable plastic box, no doubt an aged one.
Plots and locations have expanded considerably. This time around, the planets Yavin, Hoth, Dagobah and Tatooine are featured, with the desert planet being the backdrop for some interesting plot developments, including the Grand Marshal's origins... plus what started it all.
Building the Comic
If we made a big deal out of the measely one Jedi Strike Fighter MOC in The Remnant Threat, we're sorry. That's because this comic, Wrath of the Marshal, is an MOC extravaganza to say the least: chock full of original design locations and craft, nearly ten of them. These extraodinary designs, spread between J and L respectively, include the "Dyst" Class troop transport, the "Kruzar Class" troop transport, the Snubfighter, Vindicator class Star Dreadnought mini model, Desert Swoop Speeder, TIE Assaulter and a few others. What a mouthful!
Designing and building these all-original components is no mean feat: Inspiration and creativity is key, as well as your source material. Besides being challenging, these builds are tons of fun: experimental journeys in themselves, with that sense of satisfaction when you see your masterpiece completed and looking presentable.
The sets are not to be missed out as well: cath the all-new upgraded Snowspeeder Maintenance Bay in the Hoth scenes, as well as a large variety of conference rooms and offices. Han Solo is finally seen doing paperwork at his own desk, but we have not forsaken the mechanic side: a "junk room" of sorts appears as well, with random stuff strewn all over. If you look carefully, you can see hoses, bits of an Ep. 3 Buzz Droid, two complete sets of tools (three, if you count that of the med droid) and even Han Solo's own body parts! While exchanging peach for yellow coloured body parts, we had to find somewhere to store the pieces.
The most "complete" (as far as J and L's setpieces go) backdrops are the two vignettes, comprising the "Death of Binks" scene and the Darth Opacus exhibiton area, both designed and built by resident sets guy J. Although occupying just a few panels, these are most probably the most though out setpieces you'll see.
The Death of Binks scene is basically an ornate Naboo corridor, with arcs and leaves and all that, but with a tragic-and comic-twist. This is the backdrop for the brutal murder of New Republic agent High Commander Binks, the Gungan son of Jar Jar Binks. Getting the character split in two was J and L's special way of revenge against the highly irritating character from the prequels, Jar Jar.
The Darth Opacus exhibition in the New Republic Museum comprises the display tank where the Sith's body is stored, a lightsaber stand and a contol panel. The room is also adorned with security systems, such as laser gantries and a camera, which the Grand Marshal disable when he smashes the control panel to bits using the Force. It is at this point where Leia comes in to stop him, but she's too late. The whole room has an inherently dark feel, a hint of the mayhem to come.
Speaking of the Museum (which we saw a bit of at the end of The Remnant threat), the comic's action-packed beginning features a scene in the "Transportation room". This room is made up of crafts and bits of crafts, including a minifig-scale escape pod and Vulture Droid. The other exhibits comprise an X-Wing cannon, mini airspeeders, mini-models of an MTT and Y-Wing (official Lego Comapny sets) and more stuff for the Dark Acolytes to rough up. The victim is and unfortunate guard, actually a Naboo guard form the Flash Speeder set.
However, other sets were not so well thought out: the Dagobah set was literally thrown together from all of J's leavespieces, this fact partially masked by the fog filter (see the Process). However, it was because the scene was inserted last minute, and it just adds to the creepy feel. The sequence of an elite strike force getting methodically eliminated is seriously eerie.
The main MOCs, as mentioned earlier, are the ships: the star of the show. Here's a quick run-through, more can be seen at the at the Grand Marshal fanonical craft section. The Grans Marshal's feet has expanded considerably in this part two.
The "Baza" Class Snubfighter is quite a design effort, an alternate model of Lego's V-Wing set by L. The craft uses all the pieces of the original v-Wing, and, I'll admit, looks real cool.
The Grand Marshal's flagship is the fearsome Vindicator Class Star Dreadnought, a variant of the Executor class. The ship was built in mini scale, due to it's awesome specifications (12 km long and all that). However, a mini would serve more than fine: the model is a J MOC, among his best MOC efforts.
The TIE Assaulter... I could just go on and on. I suggest you vist the link above, and when you see these original models in action in Wrath of the Marshal...keep us, the builders and designers, in your thoughts.
