The lightsaber is a science fiction weapon with a key role in the Star Wars movies and in the novels, games and other forms of media that constitute the Expanded Universe. The lightsaber is a sword with a column of brightly colored energy in the place of a metal blade. Its distinct appearance was created using rotoscoping for the original trilogy, and digitally for the prequel trilogy. The lightsaber first appeared in Star Wars (1977), and in 2008 a survey of approximately two thousand film fans found it to be the most popular film weapon. Prop of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber. The lightsaber hilt is a polished metal grip that can project a blade about one meter long. The blade cuts through most substances without resistance, leaves cauterized wounds in flesh, but is deflected by another lightsaber blade and energy shield/wall. An active lightsaber gives off a distinctive hum, which rises in pitch and volume as the blade is moved rapidly through the air, and bringing the blade into contact with an object or another lightsaber blade produces a loud crackle. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them to deflect blaster bolts. Every Star Wars movie features at least one lightsaber duel.

The name "lightsaber" is often used to describe other similar weapons that appear in science fiction.

Visual effects

Nelson Shin, renowned South Korean animator, was tasked with drawing the lightsaber to match the film scenes that the film producers brought. Shin explained to the people from Lucasfilm that since the lightsaber is made of light, the sword should look "a little shaky" like a fluorescent tube. He suggested inserting one frame that was much lighter than the others while printing the film on an optical printer, making the light seem to vibrate. Shin also recommended adding a degausser sound on top of the other sounds for the weapon since the sound would be reminiscent of a magnetic field. The whole process took one week, surprising his company, and Lucasfilm demonstrated the film to him, having followed his suggestions, including using an X-Acto knife to give the lightsaber a very sharp look.

Sound

The lightsaber sound effect was developed by sound designer Ben Burtt as a combination of the hum of idling interlock motors in aged movie projectors and interference caused by a television set on an unshielded microphone. Burtt discovered the latter accidentally as he was looking for a buzzing, sparkling sound to add to the projector motor hum.

The pitch changes of lightsaber movement were produced by playing the basic lightsaber tone on a speaker and recording it on a moving microphone, generating Doppler shift to mimic a moving sound source.