# Another question for "Star Wars" geeks. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2000, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729 "2000-04-03T13:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/1 "2000-04-03T13:51:00Z")
Anybody know the total number of special effects shots in “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace”? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/2 "2000-04-03T14:08:00Z")
Why don’t you go over to [http://starwars.com](http://starwars.com) and ask them? 🙂 * * * “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/3 "2000-04-03T15:11:00Z")
What fun would that be? Seriously, I did visit the site and looked around, but couldn’t find the answer. I was hoping the response time from my fellow Dopers would be faster. ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/4 "2000-04-03T16:07:00Z")
Whew! I finally found it. According to this website, [http://www.sunherald.com/effects/html/1.htm](http://www.sunherald.com/effects/html/1.htm) , there were over 2,000 special effects in the Phantom Menace. ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/5 "2000-04-03T19:47:00Z")
Insert obligatory comment about plot here. * * * I’m your only friend I’m not your only friend But I’m a little glowing friend But really I’m not actually your friend But I am ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/6 "2000-04-03T20:20:00Z")
I only counted one. One big, start-to-finish computer-drawn effect. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/7 "2000-04-03T20:24:00Z")
I only counted one. One big, start-to-finish computer-drawn effect. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/8 "2000-04-04T12:23:00Z")
Thanks, Wiggum! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/9 "2000-04-04T12:40:00Z")
Something like 2187 shots had some form of special effect involved. That was around 95% of the movie. However, some effects were only removing an eye-blink, or flipping an image, or seamlessly removing or importing an actor. Not all of them included Gungans, Pod Racers, or Light Sabres. * * * [The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - **Shadow of the Pigeon** - Weirdo of the Night ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/10 "2000-04-04T15:03:00Z")
And there’s one shot in which no special effects are used at all … Right, right, “only” one. I know which one it is, but I am holding the answer hostage in resentment towards the all-too-liberal bandying-about of the term “Star Wars geek”. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/11 "2000-04-04T20:13:00Z")
Sorry, what I meant to say was “all-knowing sage of ‘Star Wars’ and related science fiction film wisdom.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-star-wars-geeks/9729/12 "2000-04-04T23:58:00Z")
There’s more than one shot with no special effects in it. There are, in fact, probably around 50 shots like that. What you may be referring to is the one scene that used a digital camera and not film. Though even then, I think there were about three scenes. * * * [The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - **Shadow of the Pigeon** - Weirdo of the Night