Why Andor is so visually stunning: A real studio makes the difference
The Galaxy far far away has also been on the bleeding edge of special effects and visuals. From the intricate details in the original trilogy to the computer-generated image in the prequel trilogy and even the ever-improving look of Star Wars: The Clone Wars the way, we see the Star Wars galaxy has been ever-evolving. These evolutions have mostly been for the good, but the visuals of Andor have been taking fans back in time.
The secret behind the unique look is actually a return to traditional sets, instead of some of the newer techniques.
What have the rest of the shows been using?
Many of the newer Star Wars shows such as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have utilized “the Volume.” This was formerly known as Stagecraft or virtual production. In short, this process utilizes a massive wrap-around screen that creates the environment behind the actors and actresses.
This virtual production technique has several advantages over green screens, namely the fact that the actors and actresses can actually see the environment in which they are acting. For Star Wars fans we also get to see more planets (in theory) as it makes more environment more accessible.
What has Andor been using?
For all the praises sung about this process, there have been some complaints that the backgrounds in previous shows look to be 2-D. In all fairness, they have been, but Andor so far has been visually above average.
That isn’t to say the new series hasn’t used any computer-generated images, but many of the planets have had actual sets. So far the results have been improved over its compatriots.
What about the future?
You can see by the vast amount of environment in the included pictures, this process is not an easy one. It would have certainly been easier for the showrunners to use “the Volume” to create a lot of these environments. As the technology grows and improves we can hope that it will be just as visually impressive as Andor is now. But for now, it seems that the traditional way of doing things still takes the cake.
Andor is now streaming exclusively on Disney+. The next episode will premiere Wednesday, October 12th. Be sure to check out all of our coverage of the series, including episode recaps, reviews, and more.