Andor is different from others war of stars Disney+ shows in a variety of ways. Not only does it have a longer season, but it also has a darker and more mature tone. Visually, it looks different than other shows, and there’s a reason for that. Andor Creator Tony Gilroy reveals why Andor looks different compared to others war of stars shows.
Star Wars shows on Disney+ use the volume to create their environments
Disney+ has brought war of stars to television with several shows including The Mandalorian, The book by Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi. Even though these shows have smaller budgets, they still look great due to the use of a technology called The Volume. The Volume is a soundstage with LED panel walls that allows actors to visualize their surroundings instead of just standing in front of a green screen.
It can be difficult to discern what The Volume is and isn’t, but the technology isn’t entirely consistent. There are times when the backgrounds can appear spurious and objects in the background can disappear, causing breaks in continuity. A mix of practical effects is used, but it gives TV shows the ability to bring an environment to life without having to shoot on location, which has both advantages and disadvantages.
Andor is Disney’s first Star Wars series to be filmed on location
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gilroy reveals why they chose to shoot Andor on location rather than using The Volume like others war of stars shows. He says he wanted the series to be a “build show” where they shoot everything with the actors and then go from there. There were times when he wanted to use The Volume, but using both systems wasn’t possible.
“In a perfect world, we’d be able to do location and old-school recording, and then we’d use the volume when we wanted to use it. There are times when volume would be really good for us, but the technology doesn’t exist to do both. Because of the workflow on the volume, you must make a selection at this point. All post-production has to be done beforehand. You must shoot all your plates. Everything must be done. If you go into the volume, everything is ready. You just add the actors.”
“Our system is completely different. We shoot everything with the actors and we build from there if we need to build something. And these two systems, maybe there is someone who does it, but it’s not economical [both]. So we automatically thought, “We have to be a construction fair.” It really wasn’t a controversy. I’ve seen it become a controversy recently, but it’s not like that at all. There are times when we would like to use it. It does some great things.”
Fans are responding positively to ‘Andor’s design
Until now, Andor receives overwhelmingly positive reviews and many are praising the way the series looks. Many fans prefer The Volume’s realistic sets and gritty atmosphere to its cleaner, digital setting. It looks very cinematic despite being a streaming service. Andor could lead to that war of stars Using a more mixed approach between filming on location and filming at The Volume.
Andor is currently streaming on Disney+.
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