A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout Star Wars. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent laser sword about 3 feet (0.91m) in length emitted from a metal hilt around 10.5 inches (27cm) in length. [1] First introduced in the original Star Wars film, [a] it has since appeared in most Star Wars films, with at least one lightsaber duel occurring in each installment of the " Skywalker saga". The lightsaber's distinct appearance was created using rotoscoping for the original films, and with digital effects for the prequel and sequel trilogies. Lucas, George (May 1974), The Star Wars, rough draft (PDF), Ten troopers break out of the ranks and take up the chase. Starkiller runs down a corridor and rounds a corner, reaching a dead end. The troops round the corner and confront the trapped Jedi.

Baker, Christopher Michael. "Lightsaber". AllGame. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014 . Retrieved August 24, 2014. Why We Still Love Star Wars: Lightsaber 101". Parade magazine. December 3, 2017. p.9. The lightsaber wooshing sounds are created by waving a microphone in front of a speaker playing humming and buzzing noises. Hunt, Cale (April 5, 2018). "Beat Saber: Everything we know about the VR rhythm game". Windows Central . Retrieved May 9, 2018. The Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of the Jedi Knights, the Force, and the basics of Lightsaber combat to become Padawan learners. The show is present at the Rebels stage next to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at the Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland.Since the release of the first film, replicas of lightsabers have been a popular piece of Star Wars merchandise, ranging from inexpensive plastic toys to the "Force FX" series from Master Replicas, deluxe replicas which use LED-lighted tubes and sound effects to create a close audio-visual representation of what is seen on screen. Lucas, George (May 1973), The Star Wars, story synopsis (PDF), An alarm sounds. The rebels are forced to fight their way out of the prison with "multiple lazer guns" and swords. While original trilogy hilts were typically constructed using found parts, during the prequel and sequel trilogies a different process was sometimes used. Hilts were first machined out of metal materials. Then casts would be made using the metal hilts to create resin copies that were used on screen. [10] The resin was often molded over a metal rod that a dueling blade could be attached to for fight sequences.

Korean animator Nelson Shin, who was working for DePatie–Freleng Enterprises at the time, was asked by his manager if he could animate the lightsaber in the live-action scenes of a film. After Shin accepted the assignment, the live-action footage was given to him. He drew the lightsabers with a rotoscope, an animation which was superimposed onto the footage of the physical lightsaber blade prop. Shin explained to the people from Lucasfilm that since a lightsaber is made of light, the sword should look "a little shaky" like a fluorescent tube. He suggested inserting one frame that was much lighter than the others while printing the film on an optical printer, making the light seem to vibrate. Shin also recommended adding a degausser sound on top of the other sounds for the weapon since the sound would be reminiscent of a magnetic field. The whole process took one week, surprising his company. Lucasfilm showed Shin the finished product, having followed his suggestions to use an X-Acto knife to give the lightsaber a very sharp look, and to have sound accompany the weapon's movements. [11] Sound [ edit ] Hidalgo, Pablo (2017). Star Wars: The Last Jedi – The Visual Dictionary. DK Publishing. ISBN 9781465455512. The pitch changes of lightsaber movement were produced by playing the basic lightsaber tone on a loudspeaker and recording it on a moving microphone, generating Doppler shift to mimic a moving sound source. [13] Depiction [ edit ] With the advent of motion-controlled video games, players were given the opportunity to wield an in-game lightsaber with their own hands. In the seventh generation of video game consoles, there were several Star Wars video games available on the Wii ( Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars) and one on the Xbox 360 ( Kinect Star Wars) that utilized motion controls to wield a lightsaber through arm gestures. Unleashed and Duels, both developed by Krome Studios, have more precise control of the lightsaber, allowing players to swing it in any of five different directions (up, down, left, right or forward) with the Wii Remote, while Kinect takes advantage of the eponymous, camera-based motion controller to grant the player a more fluid, one-to-one control method of swinging the lightsaber. Disneyland and Disney World (Hollywood Studios) also sell legacy lightsabers which are replicas of the lightsabers seen used by the Jedi and Sith in the movies such as Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Rey Skywalker, Count Dooku, and Kylo Ren. [40] [41]Eisenberg, Eric (December 18, 2016). "What Are Kyber Crystals, And Why Are They Important To Star Wars?". CinemaBlend . Retrieved December 26, 2016. In films such as Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi, melee weapons such as the electrostaff and plasma-lined blades deflect lightsabers. [21] [22] Types [ edit ] More Info You May Want To Know About Neopixel Lightsabers". Superneox . Retrieved September 27, 2023.