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Jetée · 03-17-2010, 07:55 PM

Yoda's unexpected but much lauded break dance

Quote:

It's no secret that all Jedi Masters display extraordinary skills on the battlefield, but it seems one in particular has the impressive ability to rap and breakdance like a hip hop legend. As the Revenge of the Sith DVD makes its way off of store shelves and onto TV screens in homes around the world, fans are quickly discovering the Hip Hop Yoda Easter Egg of the beloved Jedi Master surrounded by clone troopers as he takes a much needed break to show off his street dancing skills.

Fans curious about the backstory of Yoda's breakdancing debut can look to Virginie Michel d'Annoville, one of the Lead Animators on Revenge of the Sith. During Episode III postproduction, Michel d'Annoville was responsible for various tasks such as breaking down any assigned sequence shots and evaluating the animation times. On a supervisor level, she advised each animator on his or her shot and helped to guide the acting performance of the various animated characters.

"The original idea was only to have Yoda dancing Jackie's routine and integrate the animation into the class video," Michel d'Annoville says. "Then modeler Franz Zach mentioned the idea of having clone troopers in the background following the rhythm of the song. CG supervisor Philippe Rebours came up with the background plate with Technical Director Christian Foucher. They took care of the lighting and rendering of all the elements. Additionally, Cloth Simulation Lead Steve Sauers offered to work on Yoda's robe. Finally, Compositor Mark Hopkins put together all the files and layers. It was the combination of all these amazing talents from ILM that allowed Hip Hop Yoda to reach this level of quality."

"The biggest challenge was to stick with it to the end," Michel d'Annoville says. "I knew once the production of Episode III ended, everyone would be off in separate directions, so there was definitely a deadline. Yoda is entirely key frame animated for about 1,500 frames (one minute) so it was a lot of work and sometimes I felt I would never finish. To save time, the clone troopers animation was pulled from the motion capture library and key framed from the waist up."

Any fan who has been paying attention to interviews with Animation Director Rob Coleman knows all too well about his extreme dedication to get Yoda's mannerisms just right, in so far as dangling off the sides of stairwells to capture the essence of Yoda's painful fall during his fight in the Senate room with the Emperor. Unfortunately, in order to keep the Hip Hop Yoda clip a surprise, Coleman was not asked to breakdance for motion capture footage.

Once the project was finished and everyone saw the finished masterpiece, Coleman wasn't the only one impressed with the results.

"I'm not sure how George Lucas found out about Hip Hop Yoda," Michel d'Annoville says. "I received an email from the producer Denise Ream telling me how much George loved it and his intentions to put it on the DVD. You can of course imagine how excited I was to hear that!"

In order to place the clip on the Revenge of the Sith DVD, ILM contacted the band The Roots for permission to use their song as Yoda's rapping soundtrack.

"The Roots were very enthusiastic, however they requested to have Yoda perform a specific dance move characteristic to their style," Michel d'Annoville says. "I was impressed with the way animator Maia Kayser was able to incorporate their request so seamlessly into the original animation."

As more and more fans discover the Easter egg on the Revenge of the Sith DVD, Michel d'Annoville says she hopes they enjoy Yoda portrayed in a more amusing way than they may be used to seeing him.

"I hope the fans will appreciate Hip Hop Yoda with a smile and laugh as much as the Star Wars team did during our Episode III 'monthlies' screening," Michel d'Annoville smiles. "Yoda is a wise, old Master Jedi who can always surprise us."

[starwars.]