Serious Post-Production Mode

Welcome to a look Inside The Holocron. A collection of articles from the archives of *starwars.com no longer directly available.

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This feature explores the intense creative push behind the post‑production phase of The Phantom Menace, focusing on the editorial decisions, sound refinements and visual polish that shaped the film’s final identity. It highlights how the team balanced innovation with tradition, working under immense pressure to deliver a cinematic experience that felt both fresh and unmistakably Star Wars.

It also reflects on the collaborative spirit that defined the process, showing how artists, editors and technicians combined their skills to elevate every frame. Their efforts reveal the unseen craftsmanship behind the film’s pacing, emotional beats and iconic moments, offering insight into the dedication required to bring a galaxy to life.

Serious Post-Production Mode

November 2, 2000 — “Where we’re at right now is serious post-production mode,” says Producer Rick McCallum, describing the current status of Episode II. “George [Lucas] arrives early every morning. He’s working with Ben Burtt. Jamie Forester and I are working, along with Matthew Wood and Skywalker Sound, to make plans for the new post-production sound environment that we’re going to create for Episode II.”

The production has moved from overseas studios and locations back to northern California. Early next year, more studio work is scheduled for any additional shooting that is required. “We are starting to outline the plan of our additional shooting in March,” explains McCallum. “We’re also working out the moves with ILM and setting up the schedule of how we’re going to proceed. There is an awesome amount of work that we have to do, which we expect to go full bore in January and deal with for at least 15-16 months.”

The current task ahead of McCallum is ensuring the timely delivery of a rough cut of the film. “What we’re trying desperately to do is to keep George totally linked in to getting a first assembly of the film as soon as possible so that we can begin to lay off a lot of the scenes,” he says. With the rough cut done, individual shots can make their way to Industrial Light & Magic for effects work. One scene, involving Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), is largely complete and has already been delivered to ILM.

At the same time, the digital artists have begun crafting wireframe models for the various computer-generated characters. ” John Knoll and Rob Coleman are busy getting their crews started for some of the scenes they’re going to be attacking,” McCallum reports.

“At this point we’ve gone from the theoretical down to the practical,” says McCallum, “We have to actually start making miniatures soon. It’s looking really good. Everything’s moving.”