The video quality of Clone Wars on disc is spectacular. Presented in full anamorphic widescreen, its colors are incredibly vibrant, and both contrast and image detail are outstanding at all times. I watched this via front projection on a 100-inch screen and it's just beautiful. Note that all 20 of the original 5-minute animated episodes (composing Seasons One and Two of Clone Wars) have been edited together for this presentation into a single long film (with credits only once each at the start and finish).

As starwars.com reports:

'With each Star Wars film, composer John Williams has selected a particular composition to stand apart. It's removed from the context of the film, and generally has its start or end reworked so that it becomes a standalone musical piece. In the past, these have become singles on the soundtrack, concert suites or music videos. Examples include "Main Title," "Darth Vader's Theme (Imperial March)," "The Forest Battle," "Duel of the Fates," and "Across the Stars."

For Episode III, a dramatic cue from the sixth reel gets that treatment. Called "Revenge of the Sith" -- or less colorfully, 6M9 -- it appears in the film during the thick of the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker. The first half of the second day of scoring sessions consists of capturing this piece for both inclusion in the film, and as a modified version for the soundtrack release.'

In the finished film, Grievous' voice will undergo some sort of processing. Currently, it is lowered in pitch and has a ring modulation to it. That may change as the audio mix is still being put together. Wood offers the caveat that everything may still change, having witnessed all the prequels being made. "But I did also record Grievous for the Episode III videogame. I did 125 lines of dialogue for that."

Maverix Animation Studio along with other California filmmakers will host The Film Industry Art Auction for Tsunami Relief on Friday, February 4 at 7:00 pm to benefit the victims of the tsunami disaster. In the gallery space of Maverix Animation Studio, at 1717 Seventeenth Street, San Francisco, Calif, original paintings, comic art, animation art, and movie memorabilia from prominent contemporary artists will be up for bid. There also a select group of items for sale online. All of the money raised will go to charities working on the tsunami disaster such as UNICEF, Habitat for Humanity and The International Red Cross.

Artists and filmmakers from all over the United States have donated artwork for the event including artists from Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney, Fox, Dreamworks, Rhythm & Hues and Wildbrain. There will be a diverse selection of original artwork ranging from comics, photography, prints, paintings, and rare movie memorabilia, including work from members of the Star Wars prequels art department like Iain McCaig, Erik Tiemens, Sang Jun Lee, Warren Fu, Derek Thompson, Benton Jew,and Alex Jaeger.

Q: What is the story behind the game? Where does it stand in relation to the films?

A: The game takes place in the Clone Wars between Episode II and III. It acts as a bridge between the most recent film and the one that is coming out very soon. The game starts in the arena on Geonosis which was featured in Episode II and it ends on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk which will play a prominent role in Episode III.

Q: Are many of the locations you will fight in the same as the films, or are they new to the game?

A: There will definitely be a nice mix of familiar and new locations in the game. You’ll fight your way down into the well known Droid Factories on Geonosis to destroy the Separatists’ droid production and then later in the game rescue a Wookiee leader on the yet to be seen planet of Kashyyyk.

The Knights of the Old Republic series is one that is near and dear to our hearts, so we were very excited to work on Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. When we set out to do the original Knights of the Old Republic, role-playing games often had some dialogue voiced and the rest was text. We felt it was time that this convention was done away with and something more cinematic and immersive was introduced. We suggested that all the characters be voiced, even seemingly insignificant non-player characters. That's right, all of them. At first the reaction was kind of, "Well you can't do that, that's not how these games are." After the initial shock, everyone said "Well, why not?" Obviously it turned out to be well received and people seemed to realize that just because the RPG genre had been a certain way in the past didn't mean that it could not be so much more.

When we set out to cast and record The Sith Lords we knew we wanted to stick with something of a formula. We wanted to keep the same sort of genuine Star Wars feel that was so successful in the first game. Having worked together for a number of years we were pretty comfortable codirecting the project, since we tend to share the same sense of aesthetics. Voice-over was a very big part of the original game and we knew there would be a significant amount of pressure on the voice-over in The Sith Lords to match the excellence of the first game. We also learned from experience that these games were often written more like adventure game text than a film script, so we were going to need great actors to make paragraphs sound more like snappy dialogue in a feature film. We also wanted to get some fresh voices and expand beyond the usual pool of voice-over talent that has performed in most video games.

More clarity on screen means film makers have to make doubly sure that attention to detail is meticulous.

"When we did the first HD version of Star Wars Episode I, everybody was very sun-tanned, but that was make-up.

"In the HD version of Episode I, all these make-up lines showed up," explains Mr Dean.

The restoration of the older Star Wars episodes revealed some interesting items too.

"There are scans of a corridor [on the Death Star] and fairly plainly in one of those shots, there is a file cabinet stuck behind one of the doorways.

"You never used to be able to see it because things are just blurred enough during the pan that you just didn't see it."

What are your personal memories of the original Star Wars trilogy?

At 23, I'm a little young to remember when the first trilogy came out, but my older brother is 31 so he was the perfect age. He was fanatical about the films and had every action figure and item of memorabilia imaginable. I have very early memories of my brother pushing me away from his Millennium Falcon to ensure that I didn't break it.

How did it feel to be cast as the man who becomes Darth Vader?

It was really hard to grasp the concept of playing such an iconic role. I was over the moon about being offered the part, didn't hesitate for a second, and from there it was just a matter of how I was going to figure out doing it.