The True Stars of Star Wars?: Experimental Filmmakers in the 1970s and 1980s Special Effects Industry

This article describes the participation of West Coast experimental filmmakers in the special effects industry of the 1970s and 1980s. I argue that although individuals working on films such as Star Wars had limited influence over the production, experimental filmmaking approaches to kineticism, the illusion of movement, and allover design of the film frame helped special effects practice remake fictional screen space in mainstream feature filmmaking.