An artist in Zurich created a 123 meter-long infographic of Star Wars: A New Hope which tells the story of the film through visual diagrams.
Inspired by ancient Chinese script rolls, Martin Panchaud, a native of Switzerland currently living in Zurich, created a 123 meter-long infographic of Star Wars: A New Hope (that’s roughly equivalent to 403 feet). The ribbon tells the story of the film through objects and diagrams, as well as dialogue bubbles to help you follow along.
Below is the first part of the story, where you can get a sense of the brilliant visual style and what kind of details were chosen to convey what’s happening (via /Film).
via SWANH.net
Martin created this masterpiece with Adobe Illustrator CC in 2016, though he doesn’t say anywhere on his website how long the creation process was. I can’t imagine 403 feet of Star Wars taking any less than several months.
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Martin’s motivation behind all this painstaking work?
"It is part of an artistic approach, an experiment in order to create an internet curiosity."
According to the Who? page on his website, SWANH.net, the visual style that is this infographic is Martin’s particular forte, having specialized in it specifically. He is also an illustrator and a graphic novelist, and has other work you can look at on martinpanchaud.ch.
As for why he chose to apply his unique storytelling method to A New Hope in particular, Martin cites both cultural and personal impact for his choice.
"Star Wars series has had a heavy impact on pop culture and they continue to influence trough generations. It is a modern form of mythology and the IV episode is where it all began.Other than this Star Wars is a childhood memory. Maybe some of you may recall your very own and personal sensations you had when you first saw the film. My visual style leaves more space for the individual imaginary universe."
Martin’s story ribbon has made such a big splash on the internet, we hope he will continue to bring us more film adaptations in this form. What I like about it is it’s easy to read, quick to get through, and yet visually detailed so you know exactly what everything is and who everyone is without having to have it explained to you. It’s a brilliant way of getting close to the experience of a movie, only on a far more simplified scale.
Next: Happy 39th Birthday To Star Wars: A New Hope!
To scroll through the entire ribbon, head to SWANH.net.