In the latest instalment of events a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Solo: A Star Wars Story brought together cutting edge visual effects and some brilliant old school practical FX to seamlessly bridge the gap between the 70s aesthetic of the original series and the expectations of a modern cinema audience.

Canada’s Hybride was tasked with creating several hundred shots for the film, working in close collaboration with Industrial Light and Magic. Recently Art of VFX sat down with Hybride’s Joseph Kasparian and François Lambert to discuss how that collaboration worked.

From the interview:

How did you get involved on this show?

Joseph Kasparian: Hybride and ILM have a strategic alliance, which allows us to collaborate with them on some of their most exciting projects. To this day, this is our 15th collaboration with ILM.

François Lambert: And our fourth incursion into the STAR WARS Universe!

How was the collaboration with director Ron Howard and VFX Supervisor Rob Bredow?

Joseph Kasparian: We worked directly with ILM VFX Supervisor Pat Tubach and he would do the reviews with Rob Bredow and Ron Howard. After each director review we would receive notes that we’d discuss with Pat through cineSync whenever anything needed to be clarified.

François Lambert: Solo was such an enjoyable and smooth ride. I feel very fortunate we could collaborate with such accomplished artists. I feel there was a genuine trust that we could participate in delivering their vision, which meant that we were part of the creative process.

The rest of the interview details some of the work that went into Hybride’s shots and is very interesting indeed!!!