Originally posted by Rondec Forgive me if I am wrong, but I didn't think they actually blew up a Death Star in the making of Star Wars. Wasn't that all CGI?
(I also heard that none of Apollo 13 was actually filmed in space, but I discount that).
Glad you discounted the latter!!!
The "laser" fire was animation (and the pyrotechnics were real) but the filmed portion where the camera is moving through the trench (and above the surface of the death star) was shot using a death star model (miniature) and a periscope lens on a BIG high-speed film camera mounted on rails. I was referring to the original Star Wars movie here and not the more recent ones where almost all the effects are CG (still a few miniatures used however).