

In the build up to the release of the new Star Wars episode, JJ Abrams had been at pains to emphasise that his film making would incorporate a return to the "classic" visual tricks that had been employed to great effect for the original saga. Forget mass-produced armies. Forget shimmering background scenery. Forget Jar Jar. This would be 'real'.
"Wherever possible, whenever possible, we tried to do things as much in camera as we could," Abrams told the Associated Press back in September. "That meant that a lot of artists... were building things, not with pixels, but with wood and paint and foam, and actually constructing sets that we could have done in post [production with CGI]."
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With that in mind, take a look at the following before-and-after show reel (released to coincide with the film's attempt to build Oscar buzz), revealing those moments when Abrams and his team were able to stick to their promises of making things real - and the points when they had to rely on mind-blowing computer effects.
There's a surprising lack of green screen...
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As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.
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