Thread by @agraphafx

Deep Dive on the Dianoga:
#VFXarchaeology

p1 "According to Lucas, the monster in the trash compactor sequence, which was called “Dia-noga” in the script, was intended to be “a giant, sort of filmy, clear, transparent jellyfish… "

p2 "...that comes shooting out of the water.” Due to complications with the special effects crew, who proposed an alternative giant “brown turd that was bigger than the set,” the filmmakers compromised on the one tentacle seen in the picture..."

p3 "... The shot of the creature’s eyeball was added during post-production in CA, filmed in Lucas’s backyard."

catalog.afi.com/Catalog/movied…

p4 "Lucas scaled down the part the dianoga would play. Special production and mechanical effects supervisor John Stears said they crafted a bigger monster but only used the tentacle as Lucas decided to combine the original, bigger dianoga encounter with the trash compactor scene"

p5 "...That meant Stears’ monster got cut down from a full body to a single tentacle. The iconic head was added in the eleventh hour. Phil Tippett and Jon Berg sculpted the dianoga’s eyestalk as fast as they could and filmed it on a stage at ILM..."

p6 "... The debris in their model puddle of garbage included pieces from the exploded Death Star and X-wings."

starwars.com/news/creature-…

p7 a more fully realized Dianoga design showed up in the Star Wars Holiday Special animated sequence

p8 "The Dianoga puppet is constructed of stipled latex over foam and features hand punched hair and fine paint detail. The monster was originally designed with a blinking mechanism and the original eyelid wire armature still remains..."

p9 "...The eye is made of plastic and features small painted veins along the edges and an interior cornea. The inset pupil can be seen through the plastic covering."

Some BTS filming of the insert shots. Unlikely they were in Lucas' back yard as claimed

propstoreauction.com/view-auctions/…

Open the pic on previous post to see the original sketch by Normal Reynolds