Star Wars news has been a little thin on the ground over the past few weeks, with the only major announcement being that John Williams is returning to do the score.

However, yesterday it was confirmed that JJ Abrams regular cinematographer Dan Mindel will be the director of photography on Episode VII and that he’ll be shooting on 35mm and not digital.

An interesting decision mainly because George Lucas, the series creator was a big advocate of digital. Both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith were shot on digital and it was assumed by most that the new Star Wars films would follow suit.

Of course this means that film will not be shot in native 3D and should Lucasfilm and Disney feel the urge to release the film with that extra dimension, they will need to do a post-conversion – which are rarely ever worth the effort in my humble opinion.

In short, it looks like they are learning from the errors made in the sterile looking prequel trilogy.

With Kathleen Kennedy already confirming that much emphasis will be put on the physical effects, model/miniature creation and location shooting, we’re hoping this new set of films will make the universe feel much more tangible than the prequel trilogy did.

About The Author

Colin lives in south west London. Looks like a hobbit and has been watching films ever since he saw Return of the Jedi at the age of 3. You can follow Colin on Twitter @obicolkenobi.