In a galaxy far, far away, there is scene of a transformation of a couple. In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the viewers witness the birth and transformations of multiple people. Darth Vader has just been defeated by his old master and is laying burnt on the bank of the lava river while his wife, Padme, is in labor. The scene begins a little after two hours into the movie and when the Emperor finds Darth Vader barely alive. The shots in the scene mainly compose of Vader and Padme but there are also some reaction shots from characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Emperor Palpatine.
The different types of lighting used by Lucas in these various shots is on point with the mood and feel of what is happening at the time. The viewer first sees Vader, while still in human form, in a dark room being worked on by medical droids. The camera is placed so the viewer is higher than the people in the scene so that the viewer is able to see what is happening. As Vader is screaming, the camera quickly jumps to Padme screaming in a bright, white room.
As Padme is delivering her babies, the camera jumps back to Vader, now half constructed in his new body, laying on the table while being worked on. The lighting from above gives the viewer a great view of Vader but nothing else. As Vader’s mask in being put on, the camera switches to the view of Vader. The camera then zooms in on the villain’s masked face then quickly switches to a close up of Padme. The back and forth switching of settings, shows that both individuals are going through pain and transformation.
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Through both transformations, there are reaction shots of characters in the scene. Throughout Padme’s delivery, Obi-Wan is shown having various reactions when the medic informs him that not only is Padme having twins, but that she is also dying. The reaction shots of Obi-Wan are close ups of him and the lighting comes from in front of him and the setting behind him is dark. When Vader’s surgery has been completed, Palpatine enters the scene and has some lines in the film, Cloaked from head to toe, the viewers don’t see much of Palpatine. The viewers are able to see Palpatine’s mouth and nose. The smoke around Palpatine gives the small amount of lighting used, a very appropriate look for the scene.
The sounds in these shots are light but very influential as to how the viewer feels. The music used is from John Williams and is all performed by a symphony and sang in Latin. The sounds from the two medical rooms, gives the viewers a feel of what the two main characters are hearing throughout the entire scene.
The transition techniques used in the film were mainly cut transitions but Lucas added in some wipe transitions and also a fade in/fade out transition. The use of cut transitions was a great addition to the film because the shots are going from close ups of Vader screaming, straight to a close up of Padme screaming. The wipe transitions were not right to left or left to right transitions. They were on a diagonal which made them less noticeable to the viewers.
Overall Lucas did a great job with all elements of the film and with it being a very emotional scene, that is saying something. All the elements of actor/actress placement and lighting and sound all complimented each other to make a magnificent scene.
