“Star Wars” fans were enthusiastic during a talk about their latest obsession, “Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” on Thursday night at the Memorial Union.

Over 1,000 people saw Gonzalo Escudero, computer graphics technical director for Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), speak about the special effects used in the movie.

He explained the process of filming the actors and the scenery, then editing and using computer graphics to make the rest of the movie.

Escudero said most of the background scenery for “Episode I” was computer-generated. Some scenes were filmed with only the actors, while everything else was added afterwards.

For example, the Queen’s palace was created completely on the computer after the scenes had been filmed, as were the robot armies and gungans, like Jar Jar Binks.

Escudero said Jar Jar was made to prove that a computer-animated character could have a main part in a movie.

So far, Jar Jar is the main target of many fans’ complaints. Escudero said he welcomes either positive or negative reactions, because it means people are thinking and talking about the production.

Amid spontaneous cheers and applause, Escudero talked about several scenes and characters he worked on in “Episode I.” He talked about several scenes, how each one was made and how the whole sequence was a composite of filmed and computer-generated parts.

Escudero was relaxed as he spoke and smiled and laughed with the audience as he showed how the clips were made.

Many of the scenes started with only the actors against a blue background. Then, buildings and robots were added with computer animation. He said the last step involved altering details like shadows and reflections.

He said one of the fight scenes was filmed with two stunt doubles, then the faces of the actors were digitally superimposed over the faces of the stunt men.

Escudero said with the capabilities of the computer graphics, the directors can shoot whatever they want, even if it’s not good, and then ask for it to be digitally altered.

One benefit of digital altering is that a scene doesn’t have to be filmed again and again just because of a minute mistake.

He also gave an example of an actor jumping onto a mat, in the original shot for safety, while his feet mistakenly disappear from view. Escudero said the animators gave him computer graphic feet to “make it look good.”

Not everything in the movie is high-tech computer animation, though. Escudero explained how the waterfalls in one scene were made by pouring salt over 14 ft. molds.

After he finished his presentation, Escudero said people could stay and hear a little about his involvement with “The Mummy.” The crowd was happy to stay and listen.

Escudero proceeded to show clips from each stage of the production of “The Mummy.” The film was created from the inside out, starting with the skeleton, moving to muscles and organs, then finally to some real bodies.

Although the refreshments ran out because the crowd was larger than expected, many of the students enjoyed going “behind the scenes” of their favorite movie.