The Realities Behind "Realities":
Talking to the creators of the Star Wars website
"Realities Beyond The Myth"
Interview by Loren Phillips
5/6/99
"Realities
Beyond The Myth" is a website produced by the Discovery Channel Canada
Online. This well-researched site is an in-depth exploration of the scientific
possibilities, and impossibilites behind many of the things seen in the Star Wars films.
Topics include lightsabers, hyperdrive, twin suns, and The Force.
JH is Jeffrey Haas, Webmaster
GC is Gloria Chang, Producer
KB is Kim Beskowiney, Junior Multimedia Designer
ES: What kind of Star Wars fans were the people who produced the site?
GC: We had a mixed group of Star Wars
"fandomania"...from the one or two in our group who thought the Star Wars movies
were okay, to those who really liked the movies, to Paul Kaliciak, our internet manager,
who wrote the story on Star Wars culture, who saw the originals 40 times and whose
interest in Star Wars eventually led him to his present job. (Read about this at http//www.exn.ca/starwars/culture.cfm )
We are all fans, I'd say, but not all of our lives are dictated by Star Wars
trivia, movies and games.
KB: I can't speak for my fellow co-workers but i'm a serious sci-fi fan. I inherited
it from my father. He used to take us to all the sci-fi movies, so I saw Star Wars in the
theatre when I was only five years old. I loved it thenn and to this day I never
tire of seeing them. I believe that if it wasn't for my dad, I wouldn't have such a love
for this type of entertainment. "The X-Files" is my major obsession though.
Everything is an X-File to me. Everything can be explained in Mulderisms and
Scullyisms. I'm not a collector of memorabilia, but I find out about news and
information as much as I can. I'm hoping to see E1TPM on opening night, but we'll
have to wait and see. It will be the hottest ticket in town for a while!!! I have to
admit that working on something that you totally love makes it even more special.
ES: What types of research sources did you utilize? Also, we were told that Echo Station
was one such source material - how was it used?
GC: (As the main editorial producer on this site, I can talk to you about
the editorial research, Kim can answer this question on a graphical basis.) We used the
"Star Wars Encyclopedia", the book "Star Wars, the Magic of Myth" and
the official Star Wars site to ensure all our references, names and facts were accurate.
As for the different story ideas we covered, we went directly to the researchers at
the forefront of the field we were writing about, using other articles, stories as
background research.
KB: Before I came up with the concept for my design of our Star Wars minisite, I surfed through many of the existing Star Wars sites. I wanted to get a feel for what was out there already and careful not to do something that someone else has done. Echo Station became a good resource for this, as there are many links and information I needed to come up with my design. We also has permission from Lucasfilm for our images, so I ended up spending a couple of days going through the teaser and the trailer frame by frame to get the right shot for the site. As well, the overall navigation of the site was problematic and we had to come up with a way to integrate all the stories and information in a way that was visually appealing yet not confusing. I also wanted to tie in the older Episodes with Episode 1, so each thematic area contains scenes from the older Episodes as well as the new one.
ES: How did you find people who were knowledgeable about both Star Wars and the technical category you were addressing?
GC: As a science site, the first criterion we have to address is the science knowledge of the researcher. As it turned out, some of them turned out to be avid Star Wars fans as well - which added to the story because of their enthusiasm, but it wasn't necessary. Our idea was to look at the scientific possibilities of Star Wars, not to, say, survey the Star Wars following among scientists. Besides, who hasn't heard of Star Wars?
ES: What was the most difficult topic to cover?
GC: Although I organized and directed the editorial content on the site, four other writers also wrote stories for it. I've asked them this question, and Steven Hunt has this to say: "Aside from the fact that a Star Wars-like hyperdrive engine is the stuff of science fantasy, trying to explain the entire concept of traveling through space-time - or going faster than the speed of light - is a bit of a stretch at the best of times. There's a reason why quantum physics and the theory of relativity is the academic pursuit of a very few on this planet! And I definitely am not one of those. I guess the other problem is trying to explain concepts that are so clearly still in the arena of theory and making them approachable to those who are looking for a shred of believability in the Star Wars saga."
ES: How long did this site take to make, including information gathering, etc.?
GC: The idea of doing this site had been proposed officially in our meetings before Christmas. I actually started work on it at the beginning of March, getting ideas together, organizing editorially what we would cover, gathering research material, then finally interviewing and writing my share of the stories. As well, four other writers were given some time between then until our launch (April 2nd) to write their stories.
ES: With all of the recent publicity regarding Lucasfilm trademark infringements, did you have to obtain any type of approval from Lucasfilm for anything on the site?
GC: We asked for and received official authorization to use Star Wars images - as indicated at the bottom of each web page on our Star Wars site. Lucasfilm really liked the ideas behind our special tribute.
ES: How do you feel this site compliments and/or contradicts books such as "The Science Of Star Wars"?
GC: To be quite honest with you, I didn't know this book existed until you informed me about it. I called the sci fi bookstores in Toronto and checked the major bookstores too (as well as searches on the web) - and was told there was no book delving into the scientific possibilities of Star Wars -- because it's a space fantasy. Also, as far as my research told me, George Lucas didn't use (at least in the first three movies) any science consultants as some other movies/shows have (Star Trek, Deep Impact, Titanic, etc.) And there's good reason...according to the short blurb on amazon.com, the book was published in April 1999. I actually looked into, ordered and bought the books we used for reference in February. Now, having read the blurb on the book, it looks like the author had the same idea as us. It says "... Jeanne Cavelos explores the scientific possibilities and questions raised by the Star Wars films and books." With this in mind, they seem obviously complimentary to each other.
ES: How long will the site be left live?
JH: The site will be live indefinitely. We won't give it the same amount of on-air and online promotion as we do now, but it will still be accessible to Star Wars fans and people browsing through our site. It will be incorporated into our new Canada in Space section as a stand-alone feature.
ES: Will the site be expanded at all after the release of the new movies?
JH: Depending on the cultural upheaval caused by Episode I, we may or may not add more stories in the short term. If a legitimate scientific study comes out that, for example, profiles the psychological makeup of a Star Wars fan, we would probably do a story about it. As well, seeing as none of us really know what's in the movie, we can't say what cool science there might be for us to write about. But knowing Lucas' legendary creativity, I'm sure there are going to be lots of fantastical leaps in logic that just might work in a real-world environment. We'll explore those scientific possibilities before the next movie comes out.
ES: What has been the feedback to the site so far?
JH: The feedback has been phenomenal. We've received tons
of web coverage (yahoo.com, echostation.com, jedinet.com, e! online, etc...), mainstream
media coverage (a lot of Canadian newspapers and a new media magazine) and hundreds of
e-mail. As well, you can just read some of the comments to our stories and get a good
feeling for reactions. I'm sure you know what I mean when I say that it's very cool to see
people actually read online. Our AVERAGE user session lasts 15 minutes! For me, that's the
highest compliment.
KB: I took a lot of time and passion creating the overall look of the area and I'm
getting really good feedback from it as well. I appreciate it because I know how many fans
have the same passion (and even more) for it as i do!
ES: This is the Discovery Channel's Canadian website...should we be looking for any television tie-ins for something of this nature?
JH: Every Tuesday night we have been airing a Star Wars YAFI (You Asked For It) -- culled from the list of submissions on our site -- with a detailed explanation on @discovery.ca at 7PM EST and repeated at 11PM EST. The last Star Wars YAFI will air on May 18.
ES: Do you think that learning that something is
not physically possible in the real world ruins the enjoyment of watching films for the
fans? In reverse, does learning that something IS possible add to the enjoyment?
GC: No, I don't think so at all. Star Wars is a space fantasy (although I
suppose some ardent fans would like to believe it's real). Considering the obvious appeal
of such a world, the questions that naturally arise are "Could such a world be
possible? Are such technologies possible?" Our website aims to answer
these natural questions. Good journalism is about answering questions that naturally
arise, and sometimes bringing up questions that a reader wouldn't think of, but are very
interesting to read about...questions that bring enlightenment and entertainment. And yes,
I do believe learning something more about any subject in general adds to its enjoyment. I
know I certainly appreciate Star Wars so much more after having worked on our special
presentation. I think for me on a personal level, what would perhaps ruin my enjoyment of
Star Wars, is if I knew all the story details of upcoming movie soon to open this month.
It's sort of like how knowing the ending of a book can sometimes take away from its
effect when you actually get to it - so I have stayed away from all the gossip on the
websites concerning that - although I do know the basic premise, which is fine. But
knowing how much work went into making the movies; the little stories behind certain
scenes; how, for example, a planet COULD orbit twin stars...only adds to my appreciation
of the great story that Star Wars is.
KB: I honestly believe that it adds to the pure enjoyment of science fiction entertainment. This genre is special in that it make you think about what can be possible in our future and i think that's awesome. Dare to dream!!!
