Industrial Light & Magic built a themed lounge — the Rebel Hideout — using real set pieces, volunteer staff craftwork, and custom electronics to create an immersive room that reads like a practical Star Wars environment rather than a conference space.
The Hideout was developed largely by ILM employees who volunteered time and skills across design, electronics, AV, and set dressing.
Regal Robot and ILM’s look-development team weathered and retrofitted screen-used pieces so they matched a lived-in story world.
Practical constraints — prop condition, scale, and office remodel rules — shaped what could be included and how pieces were adapted.
# What the Rebel Hideout is
# How the project started Two ILM staffers pushed for a themed lounge for decades, and the idea finally moved forward during an office remodel. The remodel provided the cover and the physical opportunity to build the space. A sink and other oddities in the plans hinted to some colleagues that something different was coming, but the build proceeded without major interference.
# How props were sourced
# Who built it and what they did This was a volunteer-driven effort by ILM employees across disciplines. Systems engineers handled the electronics and software. AV and R&D engineers integrated speakers and the soundtrack. Workplace services staff arranged for workshop access so teams could use tools like table saws and drill presses. Regal Robot was initially asked to build custom furniture but shifted to curation and advising on how to integrate the screen-used elements into an interior layout.
# room Many props were made for brief on-screen moments and arrived with dead LEDs, broken switches, and exposed wires. The Hideout team reinforced flimsy parts, retrofitted nonfunctional electronics, and matched finishes so everything felt cohesive. Look-development volunteers applied "lived-in" grime to items that were too clean for the intended story context. No item was included if it didn't make narrative sense in the hideout.
# Design approach and story rules The design process emphasized story first. The team created a virtual layout to test placement and scale before moving heavy pieces into the room. That allowed them to reject visually appealing items that didn't support the hideout's narrative. Ambient elements such as a title crawl and production engine sounds were used to anchor visitors in a Star Wars moment.
# Practical constraints that shaped the result
# What this means for makers and designers This project models a pragmatic approach to immersive set-building inside an existing workplace: negotiate access to surplus material, use virtual layouts to resolve scale, enlist multidisciplinary volunteers for electronics and finishing, and prioritize narrative coherence over collecting display pieces.
Take a first look inside The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney's Hollywood Studios, including new spaces, hidden details, Easter eggs and more.
[INTRODUCTION. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles opens on September 22.] By Craig Miller. (Reprinted from Facebook with permission.) On Sunday afternoon, I journeyed via Waymo to Exposition Park; the area of Los Angeles where the Natural … Continue reading →
Let’s make like a tree... and head to Isla Nublar The post Behind-the-Scenes of Jurassic World: Escape at Universal’s Great Movie Escape appeared first on Discover Universal .
ILM VFX supe Russell Earl and ILM anim supe Kevin Martel examine the third act battle in 'The Electric State'. The post Building up a battle appeared first on befores & afters .
Brad Bird and the "Ray Gunn" team break down how they designed one of the film's key characters: the city of Metropia.
Out of the pages and into the classroom!
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.