How was the effect of Alderaan blowing up accomplished?
A special effect sequence in the original Star Wars (1977) shows the planet Alderaan being blown up by the Death Star (frame shown below). Considering that this was the pre-digital era, I thought the explosion was really well done. How did they do it?
Obviously some pyrotechnics were used, but what were they to make such a cool looking explosion?
Best Answer
You can see the original, unaltered clip here:
If you're interested in all the special effects, there's a great documentary called Empire Of Dreams.
It was basically comprised of a scale model which was blown up, against a blue screen so the space background could be added later.
Pictures about "How was the effect of Alderaan blowing up accomplished?"
How the Galaxy Reacted to Alderaan's Destruction
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska