Where are the 2 shadows on Tatooine?

[JediTricks]

Riddle me this, mister digital-effects-tampering master Lucas, if you're so willing to go to the ends of the universe to make your movies better and more realistic for the audience to be engaged by, why is it that your precious and oft-visited Tatooine that has 2 suns hasn't had second shadows added to each character and item for daytime shots?

Seriously though, twin suns might mean 2 shadows for each thing, right? When you have 2 spotlights on someone on stage from different angles they get 2 shadows after all. This would add an additional "alien" feeling to the world.

[Kidhuman]

Jesus JT, now we have to buy all new versions again.&

[stillakid]

Riddle me this, mister digital-effects-tampering master Lucas, if you're so willing to go to the ends of the universe to make your movies better and more realistic for the audience to be engaged by, why is it that your precious and oft-visited Tatooine that has 2 suns hasn't had second shadows added to each character and item for daytime shots?

Seriously though, twin suns might mean 2 shadows for each thing, right? When you have 2 spotlights on someone on stage from different angles they get 2 shadows after all. This would add an additional "alien" feeling to the world.

Interesting question. I can't say for sure without some testing using some large sources (like 20Ks), but offhand, I'd have to say that you probably wouldn't see a double-shadow in the way that you describe because the sources (the twin suns) are A) really close together and B) really far away. Because they are so close together at that distance and are being diffused a bit through the atmosphere, they still act as one large source instead of two.

For instance, sometimes I have to hit an on-camera talent with two 800w HMI Jokers outside just to have a half a chance at combating the daylight lit background. I do other things to help, but for the purpose of the question, the light source is what is relevant. Anyway, if I place the sources right next to each other and I hit the talent with the two distinct sources from 6 feet away with no diffusion, I'll see two hard shadows. BUT, if I drop some kind of diffusion material in front of them, the "source" is more like a large soft light panel instead of two light "beams" traveling through space.

Tatooine doesn't appear to have a lot of cloud cover or atmospheric diffusion that would contribute to this, but it could be enough due to the proximity of both suns to one another. I mean, you might get a slight double-shadow, but it wouldn't be as prominent as if, say, one sun was high overhead while the other was closer to the horizon.

[Slicker]

I was thinking the same thing stilla. The suns are so close yet so far away that the light most likely "combines" on it's way to the planet and forms just a single shadow.

[basschick]

during most of the day, sunlight is pretty saturated, but as the sun(s) go down, seems to me you might well expect to see two shadows.

but PLEASE don't get lucas started on this! you don't wanna get him redoing them AGAIN

[El Chuxter]

Because it was causing the guys at ILM a headache to figure out proper placement and intensity of the shadows, and after they worked for 72 hours straight and only got one shot done right, George decided to never mind the dual shadows.

[2-1B]

I was thinking the same thing slicker. The suns are so close yet so far away that the light most likely "combines" on it's way to the planet and forms just a single shadow.

[Rocketboy]

The lightsaber shadows bug me more.

[stillakid]

I was thinking the same thing slicker. The suns are so close yet so far away that the light most likely "combines" on it's way to the planet and forms just a single shadow.

What happens when two shadows combine?

[Kidhuman]

It causes the planet to explode