Top: The crew readies a sequence in which Finn, Chewbacca and Solo have been captured outside of Maz Kanata's castle. Middle: Mindel measures the light for a battle scene. Bottom: Ford observes the proceedings from beside the cranemounted camera. for easy repositioning, while another is on a standard dolly and track. In a sharp contrast to the complex DIT stations of most modern digital productions, the video village consists of tents with simple video taps for both the main and splinter units. Producers and script supervisors view takes on plasma screens fed by QTake video-assist software with video signals routed through Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub 12x12 switchers. We watch two scenes being filmed - slightly out of sequence - around the snowy First Order bunker. In the first, Solo, Chewbacca, Finn and Rey (Daisy Ridley) arrive at a vantage point outside the bunker. Although Starkiller Base is even larger than the Empire's Death Star, it does have a weakness - seemingly the case with all villain technology. As the characters discuss the vulnerability, the camera dollies into a close-up on Ford and he gives his classic knowing smirk - an expression instantly recognizable to any fan of Han Solo (or Indiana Jones). Ridley wears a beige costume suited to the deserts of Jakku - but less so the snowy climes of Starkiller Base - and carries a stormtrooper's blaster, updated from the original trilogy to www.theasc.com February 2016 39http://www.theasc.com