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Star Wars: Heir to the Force (TFA edit) Released

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 (Edited)

Hello OT community,

I haven’t posted much here on the Original Trilogy board, but I wanted to share information about an edit I am working on over at fanedit.org, Star Wars: The Force Awakens Specters of the Past (Prolonged Reveal). As the title suggests, the main changes of this edit are to prolong the reveal of Kylo Ren’s parentage, similar to but different than TK251’s edit that I recently became aware of. Along with the delayed reveal I also wanted to reinstate some OT sfx to the Falcon chase scene inspired by Joshua Harris’ amazing edit of the same idea, augment scenes with composited fx (holograms), add music to increase emotion in certain scenes (Hux speech, Catwalk scene, the duel), and remove minor dialogue and shots that just didn’t feel like Star Wars to me.

While some editors have opted to remove all references to Ren’s father, I have chosen to use such lines to misdirect the first-time viewer in hopes that the viewer will begin to think that Ren is infact Luke’s son. I remember sitting in the theater wondering why Abrams and LucasFilm felt the need to reveal so much, so quickly. This is the film I would have prefered. To sell the misdirect various omissions of dialogue were made between Han and Leia and conversations between Ren and Snoke were abreviated.

Another major change in this edit is the removal of the island ending. The final scenes of this edit are Rey and Chewie entering into hyperspace to find Luke. Knowing that Rian Johnson will begin the movie with these clips, I’m not worried about a gap in trilogy narrative, nor am I worried about not seeing Luke at all in the movie. I elaborate on the reasoning for this edit further below in the edit list.

The edit clocks in at 2:08:04 (including custom title cards and intros) cutting approximately 10 minutes from the film in total.

I’d love to read your feedback on the edit list below and any pointers you may have for a novice like myself 😃
I will have a preview file ready for viewing in the coming day(s). If you are interested please send me a pm.
Thanks!

Source: Official BluRay ripped to lossless AVI and wav files
Edited using Sony Vegas Platinum HD 10.0
Release TBD July/August
Anticipated release formats 20-25gb BR; 15gb 1080p MP4, 8gb 720p MP4

View the Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuEMFMoy76s

  1. Added Custom Loading Screen and Menus (Blu Ray)
  2. Added New Fanedit.org title card based on current logo
  3. Added custom ROTJ style disclaimer
  4. Added A DigModiFicaTion Title card
  5. Added Custom Walt Disney 20th Century Fox title card with 20th Century Fox fanfare
  6. Replaced opening crawl music with opening crawl music from Episode IV
  7. Replaced crawl with custom “Heir to the Force” crawl
  8. Removed Poe’s “so who talks first…” lines
  9. Clipped Poe’s line as he is forcefully picked up, now it sounds like he was going to start saying something but the jolt of being hoisted up stops him.
  10. Replaced Video when Kylo Ren says “put him on board”; Video is a slightly cropped/zoomed shot where Kylo Ren is standing still vs the movement in the theatrical cut
  11. Removed Kylo Ren’s “comfortable?” line and Poe’s response during Poe’s interrogation scene
  12. Transition to next scene before Unkar Plott pulls down the window on his other customers
  13. Cut Poe and Finn’s conversation after Finn says “Because it’s the right thing to do”
  14. Removed Finn firing on and killing Stormtroopers and the traffic control room
  15. Cut Finn and Poe’s celebration after blowing up a turret and Scene of tie flying away from Star Destroyer.
  16. Cut “Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you Finn.”
  17. Cut Kylo Ren saying “FN-2187” (even for a Sith lord, that is unbelievable)
  18. Moved “Sir, ventral cannons hot” further up in the audio mix of the scene and cut the Star Trek-esque turret scene down. Now they just fire
  19. Cut the tie fighter blowing up after sinking in the sand
  20. Cut Finn’s “this is what we look like, some of us” lines
  21. Cut Rey’s “No” when responding to Finn’s “You ever fly this thing?” line
  22. Cut Finn and Rey’s “I can do this” lines when they first get into the Falcon
  23. Removed the Falcon taking a nose dive into the sand upon take off
  24. Cut Rey’s line “I’m going low”
  25. Replaced new Millennium Falcon turret sfx with OT turret sfx in chase scene
  26. Replaced audio of Finn cursing after the impact with a grunt (yes I know the originals had cursing, but this is just a personal preference)
  27. Cut scenes of scavengers when the first tie fighter is shot down
  28. Cut the JJ Abrams zoom when the Falcon flies into the downed Star Destroyer’s engines
  29. Cut Finn and Rey’s excessive teenage celebration after they make it to space
  30. Reworked scene in order to remove Kylo Ren’s tantrum when the officer reports on not getting the droid
  31. Cut Finn’s line “you got a boyfriend?”
  32. Cut scene of Finn childishly pushing down on Rey’s head
  33. Added Red Gradient glow to mimic the overhead light and connect the edited scene visually
  34. Cut down the Rathtar scene; Han and Chewie run down a corridor, they turn, Chewie is hit, hand blasts the raiders, Rey and Finn pop up from the hatch, Han shoots the door and yells “come on!”
  35. Cut mention of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon from Snoke’s dialogue
  36. Added hologram effect to Snoke
  37. Cut scene of Ren standing up after talking to Vader’s mask in order to use it later in film.
  38. Added Darth Vader breathing sfx when his mask is revealed after Ren talks to it.
  39. Cut down Chewie grabbing Finn and Finn saying “but that’s ok”
  40. Added lightsaber sfx and enhanced (echo & reverb) Vader lines “You are not a Jedi yet” and “You don’t know the power of the dark side” along with the Emperor’s laugh to Rey’s force vision
  41. Added SWTFUII Terror on the Salvation cue to Hux’s speech
  42. Changed Hue of Apocolypse now Tie Scene (color matched with sky to make it blue)
  43. Cut Han’s no look shot and use of Chewbacca’s crossbow and subsequent “I like this” line
  44. Rearranged the Arrival of the Resistance scenes to remove visuals of Poe. Rebuilt audio surround tracks to fit the changes.
  45. Added Rathtars cue and “Attack on the Car” cue from War of the Worlds to the scene where Han, Chewie, Finn, and Maz emerge from the castle ruins. The War of the Worlds track plays during Finn’s lightsaber use.
  46. Cut the continuous pan of Poe’s X-Wing flying, now cuts to Rey right after Finn blasts the second Stormtrooper.
  47. Cut Han’s lines about seeing their son; he now says "I saw him, he was here”
  48. Cut Poe’s references to his jacket when talking to Finn
  49. Cut scenes with the nurse and Chewbacca
  50. Added R2-D2 visually to the checking the map sequence; also added Artoo beeps and sad sounds; he is now seen, heard, active and present
  51. Cut scene where Artoo is uncovered by 3P0 and all dialogue about Artoo being asleep.
  52. Edited Han to say “I know everytime you think about Luke you’re reminded of him”
  53. Cut Leia’s lines about their son’s training, Snoke, and Han being able to help because he’s Ben’s father.
  54. Cut Kylo Ren’s “you’re my guest” line, now he just coldly stares at Rey
  55. Rearranged and repurposed shots of helmeted Kylo Ren and composited/combined others in order to have Ren Masked. Shortened scene as well.
  56. Edited audio to simulate Ren’s helmeted voice.
  57. Added subtle audio of Vader breathing when Rey reveals that Kylo Ren is afraid and the connection is severed
  58. Repurposed and replaced shots (cropped and speed) during Snoke conversation as to have Kylo Ren hooded and masked.
  59. Added Hologram effect to Snoke
  60. Digitally painted hooded and masked Kylo Ren into the far shots when Hux is walking away….ugh….
  61. Removed Han’s “so it’s big” line
  62. Removed Han’s “there’s always a way to do that” line after asking how to blow it up. Removed Leia’s “Han’s right” line
  63. Removed Leia’s lines about bringing their son home; inserted shot of Han’s face when she would have been talking
  64. Horizontally flipped the scene where the stormtroopers are looking for Rey and everyone is obviously left handed
  65. Cut scene where Han asks Finn what his job was and their verbal altercation; it’s a gag to set up a later gag and slows down the movement of the narrative
  66. Cut Finn’s “you remember me” lines and scene with Phasma; took Han’s advice and brought it down Wink
  67. Cut Rey crawling into the space that soon will squash her; now she just begins to descend down the wall
  68. Cut Finn threatening to blow Phasma’s bucket off
  69. Reinstated the Kylo visits the Falcon deleted scene (cropped out timestamps) and added the “The Bombing Run” cue from the FYC version of the soundtrack.
  70. Cut Finn’s lines about not being ready and his head nod “what’s that” lines
  71. Horizontally flipped scene where x-wing crashes into the snow and Han, Fin, Rey, and Chewie run into the frame and stop. (The next scene contradicts the placement of the characters)
  72. Added a combination of the cue Finn’s Trek and Finn and Poe Reunited from the FYC Star Wars TFA soundtrack along with the Han and Leia cue to the Catwalk scene
  73. Added The Force Unleashed (Infiltrating the Junk Temple) during Finn and Kylo Ren’s duel
  74. Removed the ground ripping apart separating Rey and Kylo Ren; superimposed same shot of Rey and Kylo Ren when Rey shuts down her light saber looking across ravine at Kylo Ren. Now the two cropped images meet removing the gaping hole.
  75. Cut first order officer going AWOL, the scene cuts to Hux and Snoke before the officer speaks
  76. Added hologram effect to Snoke
  77. Cropped video to exclude Chewbacca from the background when Leia walks towards Rey; we can imply that Chewbacca hugged her or whatever
  78. Leia’s hug with Rey stays; it’s easy to explain, Leia knows how much Han meant to her, “Han told me about the girl” (Rey) and she (Rey) needed that one person who understood to be there for her
  79. Added composite of Artoo’s eye being active when he is supposed to be waking up.
  80. Cut 3P0’s line “R2-D2 you’ve come back!” when approaching R2; he now says “Come along you two” (taken from the 2016 Oscars speech)
  81. Edited 3P0’s lines to say “Artoo may contain some much needed good news” instead of “Artoo D2 may…”
  82. Cut 3P0’s line “how I’ve missed you”
  83. Cut scenes of Rey arriving on planet to find Luke; I used the force theme from the end of the movie to make the famous iris ending and fanfare occur right as the Millennium Falcon enters hyperspace; also added various sound effects for the Millennium Falcon, crowd, and Chewbacca during takeoff.
    (The reason for this particular decision was to mirror the OT in how they end. The OT trilogy ended two ways, a victorious celebration (IV and VI) or an adventurous plan set in motion (V). Showing Luke at the end of the movie is like showing scenes of Han frozen in carbonite in the trunk of Slave I. The scene with Luke doesn’t really advance the story and it removes the sense of episodic closure the OT accomplished with each episode. We know that there will be a Star Wars VIII, we know that Luke will be in it, we didn’t see Luke the entire movie, why not just wait? He was in the movie to sell the movie. I’m already sold on the movie, so out he goes so that we can focus on Rey, Ren, and Fin.)
  84. Revised “edited by” credits to add Fanedited by DigModiFicaTion
  85. Added “A DigModiFicaTion” after “A Bad Robot Production”
  86. Added 20th Century Walt Disney Logo, Fanedit.org logo, DigModiFicaTion logo, and special thanks section to credits

Original Run Time 2:18:06
Edit Run Time 2:08:56
Time Cut 0:11:55
Time Added 0:02:01 (includes title cards during opening and credits)

Special Thanks (in alphabetical order):

Anakin5kwalker
Canon Editor
DarthRush
Force Ghost Recon
Imperial Fighter
ironman23
Kexikus
LastImpressions
Moe_Syzlak
Original Trilogy Fan
revel911
risc19*
RougeLeader
Smithers
ssj
That OT Ruler
thecuddlyninja
ThrowgnCpr
TM2YC
Zarius

*for supplying the hyperspace menu effect

Walt Disney and LucasFilms ltd
the fanedit.org and originaltrilogy.com communities

and my family, who put up with me through this whole process

digmodification.wordpress.com

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Seems interesting. Obviously each SW fan has his own vision of each film, so I would argue that some changes aren’t necessary while I thing some are missing, such as:

Leia knows how much Han meant to her (Rey) and she (Rey) needed that one person who understood to be there for her

Leia has not clue about that. The hugging scene would basically be the very first thing I would remove if I were to make my own TFA edit 😃

Also not a huge fan of reusing tracks from the OT. The “burning homestead” cue is already awkward enough in the theatrical version IMHO.

Cut first order officer going AWOL, the scene cuts to Hux and Snoke before the officer speaks

This is the second thing I would change: reverse your idea and it’s perfect !

Good luck with your edit !

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MalàStrana said:
Leia has not clue about that.

Upon reflection, true. Ha. I’m assuming that Han and Finn had some conversations off screen with Leia about Rey. I guess I’m taking the Abrams approach and saying that’s a story for another time.

MalàStrana said:
Also not a huge fan of reusing tracks from the OT. The “burning homestead” cue is already awkward enough in the theatrical version IMHO.

No worries, no OT cues reused here. It’s all from EU or TFA. There are OT sfx (Falcon turrets, some dialogue during vision) but no cues.

MalàStrana said:
Good luck with your edit !

Thank you!

digmodification.wordpress.com

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 (Edited)

Thinking of tackling a new crawl

STAR WARS

Episode VII

THE FORCE AWAKENS
SPECTERS OF THE PAST

The new Jedi order has been extinguished. Led by the nefarious KYLO REN,
the First Order has ascended from the ashes of the Galactic Empire to
threaten peace throughout the galaxy. In the wake of destruction, Luke
Skywalker has vanished.

Desperate to preserve peace and the New Republic, General Leia
Organa-Solo leads the Resistance against the rising darkness.
Hope for the galaxy lies in the return of the Jedi.

Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where
an old ally has discovered a clue that may help restore balance to the force…

Thoughts?

digmodification.wordpress.com

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 (Edited)

I was thinking about this; instead of the Walt Disney Pictures logo, how about the Touchstone Pictures logo?

UPDATE: Nevermind. I see what you did there. 😛

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DigMod said:

Thinking of tackling a new crawl

STAR WARS

Episode VII

THE FORCE AWAKENS
SPECTERS OF THE PAST

The new Jedi order has been extinguished. Led by the nefarious KYLO REN,
the First Order has ascended from the ashes of the Galactic Empire to
threaten peace throughout the galaxy. In the wake of destruction, Luke
Skywalker has vanished.

Desperate to preserve peace and the New Republic, General Leia
Organa-Solo leads the Resistance against the rising darkness.
Hope for the galaxy lies in the return of the Jedi.

Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where
an old ally has discovered a clue that may help restore balance to the force…

Thoughts?

I like it a lot, I would just recommend changing the last paragraph to something more like:

As the First Order prepares a crippling blow to the New Republic, their dark enforces gather above the graveyard planet of Jakku, where Leia has just sent ace pilot of the Resistance Poe Dameron, to discover the key to Luke’s location…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO-SldLrNA&autoplay=1

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 (Edited)

Thanks OTFan,

I’ve been editing the new crawl over at fanedit.org and have come up with this.

Forgot to post the update.

https://vimeo.com/176941774

Episode VII

THE FORCE AWAKENS
Specters Of The Past

Thirty years have passed since
the victory at Endor. In the outer rim,
a dark power has risen from the ashes
of the Empire. The FIRST ORDER now
threatens to enslave the entire galaxy.

The nefarious KYLO REN and his
Knights have slaughtered the new Jedi
order. In the aftermath, the heroes of the Republic have withdrawn from one another. Luke Skywalker has vanished.

General Leia Organa-Solo leads a brave
Resistance against the growing threat.
She is desperate to find her brother,
the last of the Jedi, to help restore
peace and justice to the galaxy…


The edit is essentially complete. I’m just working on making the first lines of the crawl not fade out prematurely. The last week has been full with family and school, hopefully by this weekend the solution will present itself and the preview file will be available.

digmodification.wordpress.com

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 (Edited)

The edit is essentially complete. I’m just working on making the first lines of the crawl not fade out prematurely. The last week has been full with family and school, hopefully by this weekend the solution will present itself and the preview file will be available.

Yeah, I really like that crawl as well. The only other things I would change about this edit would be to replace Ewan McGregor’s voice with Alec Guinness’s during the force vision from this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThlaSITXROk and possibly replace Threepio’s line “Artoo Deeto may contain some much needed good news” with this line from the novelization https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder/msg/e68bkypcnnp4h14m
Just a suggestion anyway, thanks. I absolutely love your Snoke hologram.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO-SldLrNA&autoplay=1

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 (Edited)

Thanks for the feedback OTFan!

I like the Alec Guinness idea. Are you the uploader of the video? I’m assuming the lines come from A New Hope when Obi-Wan is talking to Luke on the Falcon after practicing with the remote?

The Threepio lines would be hard to implement based on Marc Thompson’s somewhat overzealous voice performance. I do like the idea of trying to add some reasoning to the scene, but I think just having Threepio show up and give his lines fits the mood of the film a little more. Your audio clip could be inserted during the first scenes of Artoo, which I’ve omitted for now, to indicate that Artoo is infact on the case throughout. This could make the interchange between the droids at the end a little more meaningful.

I’ll mull it around in the melon and see if I can implement your requests 😃

Thanks OTFan!

digmodification.wordpress.com

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Original Trilogy Fan said:
Yeah, I really like that crawl as well. The only other things I would change about this edit would be to add replace Ewan McGregor’s voice with Alec Guinness’s during the force vision from this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThlaSITXROk and possibly replace Threepio’s line “Artoo Deeto may contain some much needed good news” with this line from the novelization https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder/msg/e68bkypcnnp4h14m
Just a suggestion anyway, thanks. I absolutely love your Snoke hologram.

Where would I be able to see the Snoke hologram?

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Thank you very much!

And this is indeed very impressive. Great work.

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Thanks Kexikus!
The updated hologram is a little more present as to cover his hands during scenes. There are other edited scenes on my vimeo that I haven’t posted as to save them for the release. But if you like spoilers feel free to check them out 😃

digmodification.wordpress.com

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 (Edited)

DigMod said:

Thanks for the feedback OTFan!

I like the Alec Guinness idea. Are you the uploader of the video? I’m assuming the lines come from A New Hope when Obi-Wan is talking to Luke on the Falcon after practicing with the remote?

The Threepio lines would be hard to implement based on Marc Thompson’s somewhat overzealous voice performance. I do like the idea of trying to add some reasoning to the scene, but I think just having Threepio show up and give his lines fits the mood of the film a little more. Your audio clip could be inserted during the first scenes of Artoo, which I’ve omitted for now, to indicate that Artoo is infact on the case throughout. This could make the interchange between the droids at the end a little more meaningful.

I’ll mull it around in the melon and see if I can implement your requests 😃

Thanks OTFan!

No, I’m not the uploader of the video. I think Hal 9000 may have actually suggested using it for an edit of TFA on another thread. According to the uploader, it’s a fan voice over that just sounds like Alec Guinness. If you do end up using it, I suggest giving credit to DJ Mitz, for uploading it. I agree that Threepio’s line in the film fits better with the mood of the scene. I do like the idea of putting in the first scene with Artoo, though. Thanks

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO-SldLrNA&autoplay=1

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For those who are following, the new crawl is done. I will be making a preview file tonight 😃

Here’s the new crawl: https://vimeo.com/177566991

Again, pm if you would like to be a previewer. Those who have pm’d, I will respond to your initial pm 😃

Thanks for the interest!

digmodification.wordpress.com

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 (Edited)

Hal 9000 said:

To clarify, I am not a proponent of using the Alec Guiness impression over McGregor.
It’s fine, but no, it wasn’t me who suggested it.

I prefer Alec Guinness’s voice over Ewan McGregor’s for that scene because not only does it fit better with the OT and parallel him saying to Luke “You’ve taken your first step into a larger world”, but it fits with him saying “Rey.” just before. Now he says “Rey, these are your first steps.” instead of it sounding like two different voices. Ewan McGregor’s performance as Obi-Wan is great though. Thanks Hal, I think someone did suggest the idea on another thread but I’m not sure who.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO-SldLrNA&autoplay=1

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That crawl looks fantastic. May I ask what tool you used to make it?

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DigMod said:

Thanks! I created it using Blender. It’s a free 3D rendering program. I’ll be posting a template on fanedit.org

That’s awesome. Let me know when it’s up 😃

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 (Edited)

The previews are rendered and uploaded and PM’s have been sent. Thank you all for your support, interest, or general toleration of this project.

If you would like to view the preview file please send a PM. Thanks everyone! 😃

digmodification.wordpress.com

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Dang! I’m looking forward to this big time!

~The original trilogy is my life… kind of~

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Hey DigMod,

I just finished watching your edit. Thanks for letting me preview it for you. I really enjoyed watching it. At times, I forgot I was watching a fan edit and found myself wrapped up in the story again. I thought many of your edits greatly improved the film. The Rathtar sequence, cutting Rey’s “No” after Finn’s line “You ever fly this thing?”, the Snoke hologram, and ending the film before finding Luke were all great. My first
problem with the edit, however, is that the colors, especially in the first scene, were too dark, and there were a few other scenes in which the colors took me out of the movie. My only other problem with the edit was that there were a few moments of dialogue I thought could have stayed in. For example, Poe’s “so who talks first…” lines, Kylo Ren’s “comfortable?” line, Finn and Poe’s conversation “You need a pilot.”, the Star Trek-esque turret sequence, and a few others. I don’t feel that they detract from the film, and without them, it can be hard to get a feel for the character’s personalities. Hux’s speech and Han talking to his son before his death, I felt were more suspenseful and effective without music. Lastly, there were a few moments where I felt the editing stood out, and it was slightly distracting. Most of these are only personal preferences and I absolutely loved watching the edit as it was.

Thanks DigMod, keep up the great work.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO-SldLrNA&autoplay=1

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 (Edited)

Thank you Original Trilogy Fan! I greatly appreciate your willingness to view my edit. I’m not sure what is happening with the color. My source is a lossless avi ripped from my blu ray. For some reason, when I render an mp4 file the brightness just tanks. The film did not receive any recoloring treatments. I do have another fan editor that has offered to color correct the film. I may take that route.

I’d love to know the scenes when the editing stood out to see if I can improve those moments.

Thank you again for taking the time to watch and support this project 😃

DigMod

digmodification.wordpress.com

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DigMod said:

Thank you Original Trilogy Fan! I greatly appreciate your willingness to view my edit. I’m not sure what is happening with the color. My source is a lossless avi ripped from my blu ray. For some reason, when I render an mp4 file the brightness just tanks. The film did not receive any recoloring treatments. I do have another fan editor that has offered to color correct the film. I may take that route.

I’d love to know the scenes when the editing stood out to see if I can improve those moments.

Thank you again for taking the time to watch and support this project 😃

DigMod

Looking back on it, I think most of the moments where the editing stood out I only noticed because I was trying to compare it to the original. If I had seen this version before the original, I think it would fit just fine. The only moments where I still might notice some editing, would be where Kylo interrogates Rey, and the scene where you cut Kylo getting angry. In the interrogation scene the background seems to change, the camera angles of Kylo’s face make him seem powerful and overbearing when he shouldn’t, and the fact that you only see one shot of them both, makes it feel like those shots were taken from another scene. During the other scene, the officer’s face and tone of voice changes so suddenly it’s sort of distracting. Thanks DigMod

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO-SldLrNA&autoplay=1