Droidmaker: George Lucas And the Digital Revolution - Hardcover

Rubin, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0937404675 ISBN 13: 9780937404676

Publisher: Triad Pub Co, 2005

Synopsis

The inside story of George Lucas, his intensely private company, and their work to revolutionize filmmaking. In the process, they made computer history. Discover the birth of Pixar, digital video editing, videogame avitars, THX sound, and a host of other icons of the media age. Lucas played a central role in the universe of entertainment technologies we see everyday.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Rubin has had a diverse career. Initially he spent a decade evangelizing the use of computers for filmmakers and, later, consumers. During this time he was involved with editing both television and feature films (Lonesome Dove; The Sheltering Sky). He has written and published a dozen serious books (Nonlinear; The Little Digital Video Book) and a few humorous ones (Defending the Galaxy; Computer Gardening Made Simple). Rubin has been both a founder and a participant in start-up companies. His experiences range from bricks-and-mortar retail to high tech. He continues to be a vocal advocate for individuals to create and distribute content independently, from movies and music to books and software. He's a student of industry disruptions. He loves photography.

Rubin's business background includes Lucasfilm, where his career began, and Netflix. He spent over 10 years as the cofounder and CEO of Petroglyph Ceramic Lounge and helped launch the you-paint-it ceramic industry. After Petroglyph and before Netflix, he stopped to write and publish Droidmaker. Most recently he's an accomplished product creator, developing new web and mobile applications, including Pingster, MapOmatic and MedChart. He's passionate about product simplicity.

Rubin hold an ScB in neuroscience from Brown University.

From the Inside Flap

Money can buy a lot of privacy. But little in the film business was ever more private than George Lucas Computer Division, the fog-shrouded Marin county laboratory where he used his Star Wars windfall to forever change what we see on the screen, and how we see it.

Why did Lucas spend so much of his new-found wealth to reinvent filmmaking? What was he trying to do? What did he really accomplish? And why did he suddenly stop?

DROIDMAKER is an insider s chronicle of Lucas uneasy role between business, technology and entertainment with parts played by Francis Ford Coppola, Walt Disney, The Grateful Dead, Akira Kurosawa, Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, Stanley Kubrick, Ross Perot, Robert Moog, Steve Jobs, The Doors, Steven Soderbergh and many others. Their stories woven into a tapestry of backdrops: USC, Atari, Sun Microsystems, CBS, America Online, Amadeus, the University of Utah, Tron, Xerox, Twilight Zone, Pixar, Jurassic Park and, of course, Skywalker Ranch.

DROIDMAKER goes behind the scenes of how movies are really made. It follows Lucas and his dynamic relationship with Coppola. Explore the universe of Star Wars and how a filmmaker came to rely on computers to make tangible his imagination. The very nature of media today is in part due to Lucas passions. The films, products and experiences that trace their lineage to his scientists make an extraordinary list; his company s secretive research spawned billions of dollars in new companies and gave birth to whole new industries. Only a success on the magnitude of Star Wars could eclipse what are likely Lucas most significant cultural contributions.

If you enjoy movies, or use computers for video, music or games, you are living in a world imagined by George Lucas from behind the walls of his hidden fortress. DROIDMAKER takes you inside those walls for the first-ever look at the secrets, the myths, and ultimately, the reality of Lucasfilm.

Edition details

• Publisher: Triad Pub Co
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0937404675
• ISBN 13: 9780937404676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 518