I guess you're referring to these shots: https://youtu.be/fsmvJTHlMrc?si=e_hidKPzsbsSG8Y0&t=124 https://youtu.be/fsmvJTHlMrc?si=e_hidKPzsbsSG8Y0&t=124. The clos

I guess you're referring to these shots: https://youtu.be/fsmvJTHlMrc?si=e_hidKPzsbsSG8Y0&t=124 https://youtu.be/fsmvJTHlMrc?si=e_hidKPzsbsSG8Y0&t=124. The closeups from 2:04 to 2:11 could look better, but the long shots that come after look fine to me — it's all the same guy in the same uniform, how different are they supposed to look? At 2:22 you can even see they made the clone troopers not line up perfectly straight — not sure if this is actually more realistic, but I imagine realism is why they did it. As for directing, evidently he did approach a few directors initially. They all said he should do it himself. After his picks turned him down, he surely didn't want to let just anybody direct it, so maybe that's why he decided to do it. From wikipedia: In November 2015, Ron Howard confirmed that he, Robert Zemeckis, and Steven Spielberg were approached by Lucas to direct The Phantom Menace. All three approached directors told Lucas that he should direct the film, as they each found the project "too daunting."[33] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_I_%E2%80%93_The_Phantom_Menace#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_I_%E2%80%93...