VFX Supervisor John Knoll Discusses Bringing Rogue One To Life

When it comes to the world of visual effects, few individuals can bolster as impressive a resume [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

When it comes to the world of visual effects, few individuals can bolster as impressive a resume as John Knoll. From films like The Abyss and Pirates of the Caribbean to Avatar and Pacific Rim, Knoll has helped bring to life countless blockbusters in the last few decades. Knoll worked on developing the Special Editions of the Star Wars trilogy that was released in 1997, which led to his involvement in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. He developed such a strong sense of storytelling, he conceived the initial concept of Rogue One and its exploration of characters only briefly mentioned in the '77 film.

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Comicbook.com recently had the opportunity to sit down with Knoll to discuss the release of Rogue One on Blu-ray.

With a career as impressive as his, there are countless opportunities in Hollywood that Knoll could get involved in. Considering the dearth of possibilities, Knoll explained what most excites him about projects and what draws him in.

"The most exciting thing is when you read a script and you see something in there and you're not sure how you're going to do it," Knoll revealed. "That's really where the exciting innovation happens. We have a process here that's never failed us yet of trying to work through these problems and come up with a solution."

Knoll added, "If I don't have the answer to a particular challenge, we have this wealth of talented folks. Somebody's gonna figure this out and we can take these big problems break them down into smaller and smaller units until they can be tackled by an individual.

Despite technology being at the pinnacle of what it can accomplish with film, some filmmakers prefer traditional methods to achieve a specific look.

When speaking to the choice of using cutting-edge methods or traditional methods, Knoll confessed, "I don't have a particular bias. I'd like to use the best tool for the job. I have a background in practical effects. I was a model maker and a cameraman for years so I'm very familiar with those techniques. I will not push things towards digital techniques if that's not the right way to do it. I feel like I'm comfortable enough with the tools that I can make good choices."

He continued, "I'm happy to use whatever is the smart way to do it."

What were some of your favorite special effects in Rogue One? Let us know in the comments!

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