- Post
- #269303
- Topic
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - THE MOVIE - Finally finished
- Link
- https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/269303/action/topic#269303
- Time
1. Were you considering creating a DVD of deleted scenes? I believe you've mentioned you were cutting down plot lines and characters to speed up the movie. Perhaps those sort of scenes could be on a separate disc?
Surprisingly Episode 1 didn’t really have that many deleted scenes… I knew going in what I wanted to include so I didn’t just go film every single side-quest or battle. I also was working with limited disk space since I had my professional projects on it as well… but I think I’ll be getting a new hard drive for Episode 2, which will allow me more space to keep scenes and sequences I deleted. Maybe even compile a gag reel for kicks. We’ll see!
2. Have you considered a commentary track?
Don’t really know how I’d go about that – but in respect to the creators of the game who’d probably have more interesting things to say than me! Unless enough people demand it I guess, I’d say there probably won’t be one.
3. Where can you download it (Episode 1)?
You can download it by go to www.piratebay.org and search for Knights of the Old Republic for the DVD. Check the TFN forums for a DIVX version of it.
4. Well I wonder why Logan has a more like gray head on Taris and more like a brown head on Kashyyyk. He looks sick!
Yeah, a couple people have mentioned that. Early on I was trying to really skip-bleach the scenes in Taris to make it feel more cold and gritty (especially the Endar Spire sequence), and looking back I’d do it differently. But to achieve certain color schemes, sometimes the characters’ skin tones get affected. It was not meant to infer he was sick or anything like that. Kashyyyk definitely had the more warm colors, as opposed to Taris and the Spire. Look for less of that in Episode 2, for sure.
5. How come we never see Gadon Thek again after the big swoop race?
That’s something that I thought only bugged me… I never got back around to him and I wish I had. Just no time! I was thinking of being clever and at the end of Episode 3 having an end celebration kinda like ROTJ stretch along all the planets (including a rebuilding Taris!) – and have Gadon Thek somewhere around celebrating as well. What do you guys think?
6. Kaydon, is there any cover art available for the first Episode?
None currently that I made, but Darth Rictor at TFN made a pretty good one, ask him to send it to ya... I think I'll work on one eventually.. but I got a big move coming up so I'll be pretty busy through the holidays... over at originaltrilogy.com some of the users there have come up with some solid designs – take a look in their forums section. A new set of covers for all three movies just got uploaded at TFN too, thanks to Subject Zero! They look great!
7. Why was Atris in one scene [on Dantooine] but not in the next?
My official story is she headed to Telos immediately following the first council meeting to report on things there at the Polar Region. The real reason is I just didn’t find a place for her again, and I wasn’t 100 percent happy with her first appearance so I left her out. At that point I wanted no distractions to the plot and story, considering that second scene is basically the set up for the next two movies!
8. I just watched the film and it blew me away. I haven't had a Star Wars experience like that since I saw Revenge of the Sith. Thank you so much for making this film. I cannot wait until the rest are out! Could you list all the movie soundtracks you used for the music in this film? I would really like to make a soundtrack for this movie.
Thanks for the compliment, it really means a lot. I know while editing that there were big time KOTOR fans out there, so I was hoping for that type of reaction – almost like it was a long time coming getting a ‘movie’ based on KOTOR. So that makes it all worth it. As for the soundtrack, I already finished one for Episode 2… this time BEFORE making it obviously, and most likely much of it will change, it’s been good as far as getting ideas for sequences and such. I do want to ‘reverse engineer’ the Episode 1 soundtrack so I can have that as well. Rest assured I’ll make that available to everyone once that’s finished. Listing all the soundtracks would be quite a big task, I’d rather go one step higher for ya. I’ll keep you posted.
9. There's a Rodian in the film who gives Logan information, helping to move the plot forward...in the game, this Rodian was actually just a bit of a weird crazy guy who had too many battles in the duel arena. I like how Kaydon managed to use alien languages and subtitles to move the story forward, rather than having to spend 20 minutes in a sequence from the game just to get that information.
Yeah, that was actually quite convenient to do – though someone else mentioned I should have done that with some humans as well… maybe even getting additional voices. I might mess around with that in Episode 2. I also thought of digitzing myself, making me look all “KOTOR-ish” and then making me a broken feed on a hologram or something and having me in there helping push the story forward. Ha – just a thought. Would that be too much you think?
10. Those have to be the fastest closing credits I've ever seen!
That’s what happens when you take a 4 minute file and speed it up 3000 percent!
11. This would be perfect for a project like this because you can simply mute the music, record the scenes with voices and sound FX only, and then add your own soundtrack over the top. I'll have to watch it through again some time, but I think I recall hearing the game music pushing its way through your overlayed soundtrack on a few occasions.
Most parts I did just that. Only in the first 30 minutes there might have been instances of that (like the opening shot) and that was just me learning the process, and a little bit of laziness. To be honest as I edited the first 15 or so minutes I had no idea if I’d actually follow through with it, and didn’t really know if there’d be a response or an audience for the movies. That’s why I had to re-edit at least the few scenes on the Endar Spire.
12. Like others, I also enjoyed the humor. I think the moments that cracked me up the most were Logan's comments about Davik's taste in music. Probably because when I first heard it I thought it was "interesting" myself... and then Logan goes "What's with this music Davik plays?" or something like that. I nearly p***ed myself!
A lot of people love that section! I know the screenings I had with friends (some under the influence, some not) all of them reacted positively to that whole gag – especially when Logan makes light of the poor tortured guy’s situation, comparing his pain of torture to the torture of the music. Ha! “You should hear the music outside”. Anyway, I am very tempted at having another sequence with Logan and some sort of music in Episode 2. Maybe that can even be our ‘I have a bad feeling about this’ running gag and have something in Episode 3 as well. Stay tuned!
13. My favorite shot right at the end was when Bastila and Logan were standing alone at the edge of the village, and they were both looking into each other's eyes. I'm hoping to see that touched on in the next one.
Episode 2 will definitely have a love story between Logan and Bastila – and the musical theme I’ve selected for it is very beautiful, though it sounds sad and somber – a perfect theme I think considering what happens between them in 2 (and 3 as well). That shot at the end of Episode 1 was there to let you guys know I AM playing the romance sub-plot!
14. Does anyone know what soundtrack the music that plays in the scene where Logan talks to Mission about Taris being destroyed is from? … I don't know what soundtrack it's from, but I'm pretty sure it's a more somber version of the music played when they first meet Mission and Zaalbar in the cantina.
It is called “Mission’s Sad Theme”. Duh! Just kidding. Its actually one of the many themes from “Gods & Generals” – I decided to use it because on the soundtrack there was a cheery version and a sadder version, perfect for what happens to her during the first half of the film. We might hear it again in the trilogy, at least once or twice.
15. About the Atton cameo [in Episode 1] ...if Taris was under sith quarantine, and the sith destroyed it, how does Atton escape and make it into KOTOR 2?
He tried to run the blockade, was captured by the Sith only to escape to Nar Shaddah. With his luck, and a little of the force, he survived and had the opportunity to escape after the Leviathan left Taris. The Sith were hunting him and eventually he found his way to Peragus...
16. What was the point in Bastila being shot by Calo Nord and falling to the ground? It does provide a little “Oh no” moment, but then when Logan kills Calo, she’s standing up again, just like nothing happened. I would have like at least a shot of her getting up and Logan asking if she was okay.
I didn’t have that in there for an ‘oh no’ moment. I liked that shot, and it showed her getting hit, but it was only to infer that she was in trouble – most KOTOR players will recognize that and think she is hurt or ‘died’ because that is the animation for it in the game. Non-gamers just see it as her getting in a bit of trouble, and I had that to set up the drama of “can Logan get to her in time”.
17. As I said before, this film is not perfect. The last half hour, though, is probably about as close to perfect as anyone could possibly get. If the next two movies live up to the standards set by that last half hour, they will be truly fantastic.
Thank you! That’s what I’m hoping most people will take from Episode 1. Is that it was a learning process, but once we hit the Shadowlands, that was after my long 7 month hiatus (or was it longer?) and after viewing the first hour and a half, I realized what could be done better and just adjusted accordingly. And dare I say, the next six hours of the saga I hope to be even better than the last 30 minutes of Episode 1! That’s at least my goal.
18. I'd give the film 85/100%! The most points were taken because if you had done the extremely job as you did on Kashyyyk as you did on the rest of the film the points would have been higher. But please I ask you don't add any mask/helm to Logan in Episodes 2 and 3.
That one shot in the teaser for Episode 2, admittedly, I just had for filler. I was thinking audiences will think it’s a dark Jedi or something.
Anyway, the closest thing to a mask Logan will wear are one of those “at the side of the head” ones, only for the opening sequence when he’s infiltrating the Sith base. I want audiences to get that he’s speaking into those things when he’s communicating via comlink, rather than deal with animating a comlink or something else.19. Kaydon, recruit some of the people here to record death screams for you. It's a pain to hear the same guy scream over and over when you have a video of the cannon fodder soldiers dying. (Aboard the Endar Spire, for example.) If it's the same exact voice file played repeatedly, it take you out of the moment.
It bugs me most during the Wookiee revolution on Kashyyyk, just before Jolee and Zaalbar arrive. And yes, that sounds like a good idea, I will definitely do that for Episode 2.
20. Is the whole movie up on youtube? I know some of it is but I'm not sure if the whole thing is up yet?
I plan to have it all up on Youtube eventually. I’ve just been without the internet for a while during my recent move. I’ll get back to it shortly… it’s picking up a lot of subscribers, I don’t want them to get bored!
21. Congrats, wasn't it something like two years since you started this?
About two years, yes. And after the first 30 or so minutes edited I took a hiatus due to work, and then through editing once I got to Kashyyyk, about an hour and a half in or so – I took another long hiatus, due to a move and a girlfriend and other things that happen in life. Beofre my next move, I decided I’d finish this up finally, not knowing if I’d get the chance to finish it anytime soon once I moved. And I wanted it done before 2007. And now I’ll say this: I want Episode 2 done before 2008. That’s about as good a release date as I can provide at this point though!
22. Does anyone here know what the music that plays when the group is fighting that creature in the shadowlands and then finds the wookie is from? It plays right before the jurassic park music. Also is the battle scene with Chunndar music from Hook? It sure sounds like it.
The Chuundar battle music is not from Hook. You’ll never catch this so I’ll just tell you. And it’s the same music from the Shadowlands battle as well… it’s from “A Muppet Treasure Island”! Obviously, I have a very deep collection of soundtrack music to draw from!
23. About the scene [final confrontation against Calo Nord], you must have thinking much because when Logan talks to Calo its Carth, Canderous and Bastila in the background. That means you have recorded two times. Because a party can only contain 2 members, by the way where is Mission?
Mission’s there too, in one of the reaction shots. But yes. Typically I’d play through a sequence (the major ones anyway) about three times, so I could get all their reaction shots. Therefore with three or more combinations I ensure that everyone’s in there. Gets a bit tedious at times though. It’s interesting though – a lot of times there are one-liners, especially for certain characters, that you’d otherwise miss if you only had one combo. Another plus for making these movies. A good example of this is when Mission AND Bastila plead for Logan to take Zaalbar along with them to the Wookiee village. I cut both in, though a typical gamer will only experience one of those convos. I just turned it into a group conversation.
24. I'm also wondering what music track Kaydon did use on the clip they are leaving Taris, the sad theme when the buildings are being destroyed of Taris...
“Destruction of the Roger Young”, from “Starship Troopers”.
25. During the training, they spar with swords, and then they suddenly turn into lightsabers in the same scene. Not sure if that was a small glitch.
Not a glitch. More an artistic cut – meant to symbolize a passage of time… where once these two padawans dueled with swords, finally our hero Logan is rewarded with his own lightsaber. It was a better first appearance of the green lightsaber, than him just igniting it against those mercenaries just before the swoop bike chase.
26. And not a big deal, but you misspelled "Wookiee" every time you typed it in the captions. Only had 1 ‘e’!
Wow – I had no idea. Good catch! I won’t be going back to fix it anytime soon, but I’ll definitely know now for the future installments. Oops! Wish you didn’t tell me.
27. The only problem I had was that when you translated the Wookiee language as
subtitles, you wrote it as broken English...you should have done proper
grammar in the subtitles.
This was an artistic decision made by me, only because I remember playing through the game my first time it just felt odd that the Wookiee (with two e’s!) captions were so intelligent sounding. Not to say that they aren’t intelligent as a species, I guess through making it broken English, I’m inferring that’s how a direct-to-basic translation of their growls would be, as interpreted by our heroes. I won’t budge on that one! I don’t think I’ll have the Selkath captions go this route, however [in Episode 2].
28. How long did the post-production take?
I usually played through about two to four hours of gameplay, then log and capture it, and then edit it together. So a final tally would be impossible, since I did it in segments. I’ll probably do it the same way for the next two as well. It just varies, I guess… depending on how many edits need to be made, dialogue, even special effects, etc, etc.
29. What made you put a green lightsaber on Logan?
Qui-Gon Jinn is one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars saga, so I wanted Logan to share the color, I guess. Plus, (and I remember reading somewhere that this was the reason Lucas made Luke’s saber green in Return of the Jedi), it’s easier to see it/comp it against a blue sky.
30. Anyway what soundtrack did you use in the film? Could you post what songs you put in your movie? (preferably in chronological order with a notation in what scene they played) Any hints on future selections? One of the reasons that I'd like to get the song list is so I can make my own KOTOR1 movie playlist for my iPod. Hell, I might even make artwork for the cover!
Like I mentioned earlier, I’ll be working on an Episode 1 soundtrack very soon. There were so many different soundtracks mixed together it’d take forever to make a list, and even longer for you guys to track the music down. So I’ll see what I can do for everyone.
31. How long do you think it will be before EVERYTHING is finally released? And any plans for a KOTOR Episode 1 Special Edition?
Hmmm, I’d say by the end of 2008. I think I could do one a year, providing I don’t have any more super-long hiatuses. We’ll see. That’s the best answer I can give for that. As for a Special Edition – I don’t know. Only if compared to Episodes 2 and 3, the first part of Episode 1 is just too rough. But I don’t know. That’d definitely be very far off.
32. What was the hardest thing to do in the movie [Episode 1]?
Deciding what should stay and what should go! And also making sure I was developing the characters enough, both in my editing, and especially in-game, for gameplay purposes. The last thing I want to have happen in Episode 2 production is realize I didn’t develop the romance subplot enough, or the Carth/Dustil subplot enough (for Episode 3) – to where I’d have to go back and start over! So that’s the biggest challenge. It gets maddening because sometimes certain conversations just have to take place at a location that I might have preferred elsewhere. Those global events though, you just have to accept them as you would if you were playing the game. So that’s the challenging part. Also, another challenging aspect was before I learned how to free the camera DURING battles. Early on, the battles were the toughest thing to edit together, by only switching back and forth between characters. Ugh! You definitely see this during the Taris segments in Episode 1. Thankfully those days are all in the past, and Episodes 2 and 3 will all feature battles ala’ the last 30 minutes of Episode 1.
