The power of story-making in Star Wars, Apple and AI

Storytelling has been around for a long time, but story-making is now grabbing our imaginations for the future.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Or at least that’s how it goes with most of the George Lucas Space Opera franchise, better known as Star Wars.

Star Wars

Unlike its current popularity, which is among the top 5 highest-grossing media franchises at $46.7 billion, its origin story was not as rosy as it sounded.

Plagued with economic inflation and rising oil prices in the 1970s, scepticism against political leaders arose due to the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. Even technology was waning as the space race in the 1960s slowed down, and the Internet, smartphones, and computers did not come into existence.

Sounds familiar? We aren’t too far off in the 2020s as the economic cycle goes full circle (or at least 2 rotations) 50 years later. But our perception of life back in the 1970s isn’t so clear, other than some key personal memories from the past.

Traces of a grim, gritty, and downbeat culture could still be seen in popular media, such as the Hollywood films Midnight Cowboys, Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection, and others.

Partly due to the retiring studios of the early years, the movie industry was also experiencing a decline in innovation. When they passed their reign to large corporations, their marketing teams attempted to slip in business techniques to connect with the younger audience. They, too, were not successful because they didn’t know how to run a movie studio and couldn’t tell a story.

Thankfully, a new hope was created through the rising acclamation from young movie directors like Steven Spielberg emerging from film school. George Lucas was also one of these pioneers, and he pushed the boundaries of the craft by using the latest technology and groundbreaking cinematography. More importantly, he not only knew how to tell a story, but he was determined to make an imaginative story come to life.

We, as human beings, are able to remember stories better than any other species. We can remember stories better than any other information provided to us. As a follow-up to my tribute article about Daniel Kahneman, the legendary researcher had something to say about stories. These are his words:

“No one ever made a decision because of a number. They need a story… Our memory tells us stories; that is, what we get to keep from our experiences is a story.”

And the more incredible the story is, the better the memory sticks. So when you need to film a dogfight in space, how do you go about doing it when the odds are against you?

Industrial Light & Magic

Enlisting the help of John Dykstra to put a crew together, Industrial Light & Magic was born out of a dusty warehouse near an airport to produce many of the most compelling visual effects of Star Wars and Hollywood’s blockbusters.

What made Industrial Light & Magic so successful was the application of the latest techniques developed by their band of makers. They were comprised of concept artists, model makers, photographers, producers, and much more. However, while they had a deep specialty, each of them knew what the other needed because they had prior experience working in the same medium. They were essentially T-shaped people before the term even had a name.

Industrial Light & Magic gathered many first-time achievements, from state-of-the-art motion control camera systems to experimenting with 3D computer-aided modelling. Their resourcefulness and grit over deadlines amazed the industry, attracting more talent to join their team. And despite failures, their lessons helped them produce comebacks and workarounds.

One story was about how model maker Lorne Peterson would ravage parts from a model kit shop to produce miniature X-wings with insane detailing. Another story is how, through observation, concept artist Joe Johnson created the Millennium Falcon by staring at the disposition of dirty dishes at the sink. Or when Phil Tippett conceptualised an orchestra of creatures in a particular alien gangster scene with stop-motions and puppetry.

Seeing is believing, but when something incredible is seen for the first time, it leads the mind to wander and decipher how it could ever be possible. This was what inspired many makers as kids when they saw King Kong or the 2001 Space Odyssey for the first time. They were inspired to make visual effects for themselves. And through their collection of stories, they have inspired others to follow suit. Likewise, they inspire new products to be created, as well as how they ought to be presented.

Apple

It should be no surprise that Steve Jobs would have caught on to the wizardry of storymaking. Having witnessed many feats from his own personal investment, Pixar, which also happened to originate from Lucasfilm, Jobs was able to take that magic and make it real...

Read on: The original version of this article is on UX Collective.

May 4th is a special day for me. As a kid, I was always amazed by the wizardry of the Star Wars movies, so when I learned that there is a special date commemorating Star Wars, I took the writing challenge to write something about Star Wars around this period. Take a look at my last article about the war on stars, and May the Fourth be with you.

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