Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars - 65: Fon Davis and the Secret Miniatures of the Star Wars Prequels, recorded at Star Wars Celebration Japan

65: Fon Davis and the Secret Miniatures of the Star Wars Prequels, recorded at Star Wars Celebration Japan

05/13/25 • 58 min

Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars

In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of our our Star Wars Celebration Japan panel "The Secret Miniatures of the Star Wars Prequels" with Fon Davis!

Watch the YouTube version of this episode for all the amazing behind the scenes visuals shared during the panel!

You should also watch the YouTube video we refer to in (and showed during) the panel, which includes many of the miniatures in the Star Wars prequels.

Panel description: Episodes I, II, and III revolutionized the use of computer graphics in film but did you know that the ILM model shop was still in full swing during production? There are more miniatures in each of the prequels than the original trilogy combined! Fon Davis, an ILM model maker during the Special Edition and prequels era, takes us through his favorite behind the scenes photos and stories - many of which involve explosions. From the podracing arena on Tatooine to the lava flows of Mustafar, a surprising number of miniatures were created and used in tandem with other visual effects. Take a deep dive into the movie magic!

Show Links:

Watch season 2 of Light & Magic on Disney+ now for more from Fon and other ILM behind the scenes images and stories!

For more ILM stories, check out the Episode II panel from SiliCon 2022 with Fon Davis, John Goodson, Kim Smith, Nelson Hall, and Don Bies!

Fon has also joined us for convention panels about Galaxy Quest, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, as well as at Star Wars Celebration in London in 2023!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to never miss an episode of Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of our our Star Wars Celebration Japan panel "The Secret Miniatures of the Star Wars Prequels" with Fon Davis!

Watch the YouTube version of this episode for all the amazing behind the scenes visuals shared during the panel!

You should also watch the YouTube video we refer to in (and showed during) the panel, which includes many of the miniatures in the Star Wars prequels.

Show Links:

Watch season 2 of Light & Magic on Disney+ now for more from Fon and other ILM behind the scenes images and stories!

For more ILM stories, check out the Episode II panel from SiliCon 2022 with Fon Davis, John Goodson, Kim Smith, Nelson Hall, and Don Bies!

Fon has also joined us for convention panels about Galaxy Quest, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, as well as at Star Wars Celebration in London in 2023!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to never miss an episode of Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Previous Episode

64: Droids, AI, and Sentience, recorded at Star Wars Celebration Japan

In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of our our Star Wars Celebration Japan panel "Droids, Artificial Intelligence, and Sentience"

Panel description: R2-D2 and C-3PO. BB-8. Battle droids. Star Wars isn't Star Wars without its lovable droids. We'll examine the science of robots, the programming of personality and the ethics of sentient mechanicals in society, plus go behind the scenes on designing droids for the movies. Why do droids in Star Wars look the way they do? Why do we all love R2-D2? How close are we to having droid intelligence and personality in our own world? Let's go inside the gears and processing units to explore all the possibilities. Our team of experts includes Yukie Nagai (Project Professor, International Research Center for Neurointelligence, University of Tokyo), Fon Davis (ILM Model Maker - Star Wars), Chris Kempshall (author, Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire and The History and Politics of Star Wars) and Joel Welch (PhD Law candidate at Western University, Emerging Technology Policies & SciFi). Moderated by James Floyd (Star Wars Insider; Star Warsologies, Star Wars Crossword Puzzles).

Show Links:

Check out Yukie Nagai's robotics website.

Check out Chris Kempshall's website.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to never miss an episode of Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!