A transcript of an interview with George Lucas was provided to TFN at the Media Day in Los Angeles this past Tuesday, here's the first of a three part series this weekend:

Can you descrive the technical details of the DVD release: does having a digital source make for the best possible picture and sound quality?
Because Episode II was shot with a digital camera and created digitally, you could almost say it was made for the DVD format. The Episode II DVD also marks the first time a movie has gone straight from a digital source to DVD, which presented new technical challenges to the THX team. They did a phenomenal job making sure that there was no loss of definition to the digital images that were so full of motion and detail. Their expertise in image and sound replication preserved the creative work that so many artists and sound designers had put into making this movie.

What is or are the best features of the DVD format, as far as you are concerned: the optimum reproduction of picture and sound, or the opportunity to include 'extras'?
Obviously, the movie itself should be the driving force and the reproduction of the movie's sound and picture quality should be exactly as the filmmaker originally created it. The opportunity to include 'extras' is just one of the added benefits that the DVD format allows.

Do you feel you're leading the charge in the digital revolution?
I see the digital future of cinema as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The advance of cinema into the digital world is a normal transition. Just as we went from siletn films to sound pictures, from black and white to color films, digital cameras are just another tool we can use to create movie. The cameras we used on Episode II were early versions and a bit cumbersome. We got the results we wanted but in any evolutinoary process, it can only get better.

What effect do you think digital tools will have on cinema?
More people will have access to the medium. It's similar to writing novels or plays. If you have a story to tell and the talent, you can express yourself. That has not been possible with film because it's just too expensive. Digital also allows filmmakers to have a wider range of subject matter.

More tomorrow!