AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: FILMING THE WALKERS

Phil Tippett hard at work on moving the Walkers at ILM.

Stop motion filming of the intricately pre-plotted/storyboarded/animatic Battle of Hoth sequence involving the Imperial Walkers models would fully commence at ILM by late 1979, with all the key players of the pioneering team bringing their experience, enthusiasm and long working hours to bear in bringing the spectacular sequence to life within what would be one of the most time consuming effects processes ever. 

Unused test footage of a Walker against blue screen.

The motion animators wear masks to protect them from the chemicals of the baking soda used for the Hoth surface. 

Plotting movement reference for the stop motion animation.

Ultimately, with so much of the second unit live action aerial location footage filmed on Norway location for back plate work abandoned due to inconsistent weather conditions for overlay, new young talent Michael Pangrazio's matte paintings are an excellent substitution, bringing an extra layer of vital believability to the action scenes, as does the work of the rest of the model team- having worked on a snow episode of the original Battlestar Galactica weekly TV series (the two-part Gun on Ice Planet Zero), Lorne Petersen and Steve Gawley’s experiences also prove useful, layering the model surfaces with baking powder snow that looks realistic on camera. 

Two shots of Jon Berg at work. 

With long hours, Phil Tippet would always find a way to break the monotony of filming at ILM.