ANH 5: Hologram Opera

A NEW HOPE
Written By Chrysanthe Tan

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." In minutes 21-25 of Star Wars, we see and hear Princess Leia's hologram, Lovesick Luke™, and the glorious ambience that is the Lars Homestead. Joining me for this episode is opera singer/librettist/robot dad Aiden Feltkamp!

This episode is also available on YouTube in video format. 

Timestamps:

  • 0:00:00 - Hello there.

  • 0:02:31 - Layers of sound in Luke's garage.

  • 0:06:59 - Luke's interactions with the droids and what that indicates about his character.

  • 0:12:20 - Threepio introduces himself to Luke. Does he make a dirty joke?

  • 0:17:06 - Threepio sounds so self-deprecating.

  • 0:18:00 - Zap! Bloop! Cello. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope."

  • 0:19:18 - Hologram message looping but artfully mixed in and out.

  • 0:20:30 - We discuss the "bigness"/drama of the cello entrance (sound clip example). This is "The Princess Appears" on the soundtrack.

  • 0:21:34 - Leia's theme (and the difficulty thereof).

  • 0:25:36 - Context matters when it comes to evaluating the impact/drama of musical cues.

  • 0:27:54 - Parallel to Luke in his hut on Ahch-To in The Last Jedi.

  • 0:29:00 - Cat bomb.

  • 0:29:46 - Orchestration of Leia's theme while the hologram plays. Lots of beautiful space for the dialogue to lay on top. Orchestration as "pre-mixing."

  • 0:35:26 - Recitative (the sung-style of dialogue in opera).

  • 0:38:29 - Artoo is the smartest in the room.

  • 0:39:09 - "Where'd she go? Bring her back! Play back the entire message!"

  • 0:40:41 - The quirkiness of old robots (like R2) running on the same hardware and software. Aiden has a robot.

  • 0:42:45 - Aiden talks about showing his robot Star Wars and how the robot tries to mimic Artoo and the soundtrack...

  • 0:47:57 - Moving on to the Lars kitchen, comparing the ambient hums in the kitchen and garage.

  • 0:55:00 - Our different relationships with scores/soundtracks, consumption habits, etc.

  • 1:01:11 - Threepio name drops Obi-Wan Kenobi and Captain Antilles. Worldbuilding.

  • 1:03:21 - Dialogue between Uncle Owen and Luke (while Aunt Beru watches and gives looks).

  • 1:06:55 - Luke's personality, adventure-seeking, quick buy-in to the Force. Do gullible people take to the Force the most?

  • 1:12:33 - Star Wars Minute podcast references.

  • 1:15:54 - Shazam test.

  • 1:17:18 - SWMM Questionnaire.

  • 1:23:15 - Cat bomb.

Musical Themes:

  • 4. Leia

  • Note: For consistency, I use the theme names and numbers established in Frank Lehman's Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars. You can download it free at his website: https://franklehman.com/starwars/.

Where we are in the soundtrack album:

  • "The Princess Appears"

  • "Hologram/Binary Sunset"

Shazam test:

  • "Sector 12" by Marsfinder

  • "Who Am I" by Marsfinder

  • "Daft Fader (Original Mix)" by DJ Phully

  • "Alot More" by Jett I Masstyr

  • "Tron, Clu, & R2D2" by DJ Digital Josh

  • "Luke Skywalker" by MISTER

References:

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

  • Expansive. Dramatic. Romantic.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

  • R2-D2.

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

  • TRON (composed by Wendy Carlos)

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Follow Aiden Feltkamp!

Star Wars Music Minute:

Xanthe:

Chrysanthe Tan

Composer / Violinist

www.chrysanthetan.com
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ANH 6: Binary Sunset Breakdown
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ANH 4: Lars Family Ties