The forum discussion centers on the calculation of Yoda's weight using physics, as detailed in Rhett Allain's article from Wired. The analysis focuses on a scene from The Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker supports Yoda during a one-handed stand. By estimating the center of mass and equilibrium of the Luke-Yoda system, the calculation suggests that Yoda's mass is negative, indicating that Mark Hamill's legs were likely supported by a rope or cable. The discussion emphasizes that the visual effects in film often prioritize aesthetics over realism.
PREREQUISITESPhysics enthusiasts, film students, visual effects artists, and anyone interested in the intersection of science and cinema will benefit from this discussion.
What? an estimate of what the fictitious yoda of the movie would weigh? You do realize that he probably was mostly movie effects, and no telling what materials the physical part of him was made.fzero said:This article in Wired http://www.wired.com/2015/08/used-physics-calculate-much-yoda-weighs/ describes a calculation of Yoda's weight from a still from The Empire Strikes Back. The author, Rhett Allain, is an Associate Professor of Physics at Southeastern Louisiana University. I didn't go through the details of the calculation, but it does fall in line with an obvious guess about how the shot was staged.
Evo said:What? an estimate of what the fictitious yoda of the movie would weigh? You do realize that he probably was mostly movie effects, and no telling what materials the physical part of him was made.
Obviously what is shown on film is purely for the visual effect and not intended to have any relationship to reality. The people that create these effects for film couldn't care less how realistic they are. Trust me, I know people that do the effects for these films and they give zero thought to reality. They do not care.fzero said:The calculation in the article is a bit more interesting than that. The scene is one in which Skywalker is doing a one-hand stand, supporting Yoda on his feet. By estimating the center of mass of the Luke-Yoda system and requiring that it be in equilibrium about the pivot point, Yoda's mass is determined from some assumptions about Luke's height and weight. The mass turns out to be negative, which I take as a fairly indirect confirmation that Mark Hamill's legs were supported by a rope or cable.
Evo said:Obviously what is shown on film is purely for the visual effect and not intended to have any relationship to reality.
You would be surprised to find out how much of what you see is not real. Easier to add it with a computer later than require any specific actions or abilities from an actor.fzero said:I am saying that the actor's orientation in the scene is not natural and some physics can be used to show that he had to be supported to maintain his pose. Presumably the shot was green-screened and Yoda could have even been added in post-production, but it makes sense that the actor was posed in a particular way for the shot. The result is consistent with that. There wasn't any particular reason to tilt the camera or rotate the frame in post for this scene.
Evo said:You would be surprised to find out how much of what you see is not real. Easier to add it with a computer later than require any specific actions or abilities from an actor.