the empire strikes back

Q: The location shots in the film look like places that really exist. What are the main elements that make a fantasy environment into one that the audience will believe exists?

Gavin Bocquet

– George Lucas has always been keen to use real locations wherever possible for his “other worlds,” whether it’s the deserts of Tunisia, the snow fields of Norway, or the palaces of Southern Italy. By shooting in these “real” environments, you get an integrity and realism to the design that make them believable to the audience, even though they may well recognize some of the places. You can then enhance these environments digitally, or add additional set pieces, dressing and vehicles to take the environments to another place.

From Ask the Jedi Council Archives – 1999