This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
TTD: Cutting this:
- This troper thinks that how Lost handles Ben Linus's ability to deceive and beguile fits this trope, given that it's a matter of scriptwriting. Able to talk people into doing his will, being the show's resident Chessmaster, his speeches that accomplish this are regardless and for the most part composed of vague riddle-like answers to direct questions that the castaways of Oceanic 815 never seem to be able to follow up on. Of course, perhaps making people to be too stupid to press the point may BE his power...
"Crapping out on showing fantasy creatures and/or superheroes showing off their powers and kicking ass all over the place because there's no special effects money left" is pretty specific. So, no, this doesn't really fit. Sorry.
Bluetooth The Pirate: They animate superhero shows all the time. In fact, almost all the superhero shows I can think of are animated, with Heroes being the oddball. I think what that statement should say is that it's some kind of problem that those animated superhero shows are family friendly and not grim and gritty. Which I don't agree with.
Klasodeth: Removing this:
- There are very few instances in the original Star Wars trilogy of lightsabers actually being activated or deactivated onscreen, due to the expensive and time-consuming animation it would entail. The Prequels, of course, had access to advanced computer graphics, so we get to see every single activation and deactivation. (Showoffs.)
This really only applies to the first movie, since for whatever reason the film-makers decided to use the full-length lightsaber props in every scene that featured an active lightsaber. In each of the lightsaber activations featured in the movie, there is a brief hitch during the activation, as the actors were required to remain absolutely still while the handle-only prop was replaced with the full-length prop. In the final shots, the lightsabers appear to activate instantly, save for Obi-Wan's lightsaber during the duel with Darth Vader. Due to a trick of perspective, the illusion of a slow-activating lightsaber was achieved by having the actor point the prop directly at the camera, and slowly angling the prop so that the beam appeared to elongate. That would seem to be a pretty restrictive technical limitation, but that didn't stop the film-makers from depicting three lightsaber activations in a movie that featured only one actual lightsaber duel. And this limitation was not present for the sequels once someone realized that like the blaster shots, lightsaber beams could be drawn without requiring a placeholder beam attached to the prop.
Anyway, considering the how much time activated lightsabers spend on-screen, it is difficult to believe that elongating an otherwise stationary lightsaber beam over a short period of time is more technically challenging than animating the beams as they rapidly move and rotate during battle. During the course of several lightsaber battles, the various lightsaber attacks require the beams to be drawn at progressively different lengths as the lightsaber changes orientation relative to the camera. That's exactly what a lightsaber activation is—the drawing of the beam at progressively different lengths. And reviewing the major lightsaber battles, there are still several activations. In most cases where an activation or deactivation is not depicted, it is because doing so would affect the timing of a scene. Generally, when a lightsaber is activated or deactivated off-screen, it is for timing purposes or for convenience, not due to budget constraints or technical limitations.
The only ongoing technical limitation I'm aware of regarding lightsabers in the original trilogy is that two versions of the lightsaber were needed, each version serving a different purpose. One was just the handle by itself, and the other had a solid shaft attached that stood in for the lightsaber beam. The handle-only model would have greatly complicated the choreography for battle sequences since the actors would have had to fake contact between lightsabers, and the shaft of the full-length version could not be removed by the special effects techniques available at the time. Since transitioning from the handle-only lightsaber to the full-length lightsaber requires cutting between two scenes, it was not possible to film a single shot in which a lightsaber is activated and used to physically strike another lightsaber. the film-makers simply accepted this limitation and performed quick cuts between shots when it was necessary to rapidly bring a lightsaber into battle. The beginning of the lightsaber duel in the Emperor's Chamber is a prime example of this.
Due to the removal of the above, the following is being changed from this:
- For similar reason to lightsaber activations, Marcus's telescoping fighting staff in Babylon 5 was opened and closed mostly off-screen.
...to this:
- Due to budget limitations, Marcus's telescoping fighting staff in Babylon 5 was opened and closed mostly off-screen.
