thejediknighthusezni

   I think the pure cgi shots look like great fun. The trailer was outstanding. It managed to achieve a moving, "human", feel. The music worked perfectly, IMHO.

    You've got an advantage with the pure cgi in that the mind doesn't expect perfect realism. With live characters in cgi environments, my mind at least, demands near perfection. 'Avatar' was very clever in that the fate of the main characters was linked to the flesh and blood. We cared about their fate. Also, the astounding advances in cgi presented in 3d created a new sort of realism.

    Looking forward to more! Great work! 

Anyway, more fantasy football.   Could someone move this to "How would you redo the prequels" in scriptwriting? Apologies! Computer is on the fritz.

     Between '77 and '83 I was collecting bits from various sources. My Granfather had a fairly large personal library in his basement. I didn't have much time or patience for actually reading the books, so I developed a method of paging through and gleaning some essential points. Books on history, archeaology, philosophy, comparative religion, mythology. There were books on oriental philosophy. Buddism, Tao (Dao), Confucius. 'A Study Of History' had pride of place on the shelves, so I borrowed a volume at a time and read most of the work (paged through the rest.)

    Also during this period, I was looking into my own mongrel background. I'm part Slavic, part German, part British, and part Altaic (Mongol.) I tended to approach history from the back and forth movements of these peoples. It's interesting to me that the Hungarians and Finns could speak an essentially Mongolian language so deep within Europe. In school, I was taught the more recent history of the peoples of a midwestern state as well.

   When ESB was released, I was blown away. I also became interested in the aspects in which it didn't meet my expectations. On the brief occasions when I considered SW, I began to look even more for historical, cinematic and philosophical relationships. I also began wishing that Ben could have been the same age as Luke's parents, so that Yoda could take his place and the basic character relationships of my backstory could be maintained. Around this time, someone told me that there were SW fans who thought Ben's name OB1 was a clone designation. I had another theory about that and thought it must be the wildest speculation. I suppose that I should have paid closer attention. It's a terrific story, Jedi clones going insane from accelerated growth.

    When ROTJ was released, again, I was blown away. Vader saving his son was so powerful. I much enjoyed the first two times I saw it. By the third viewing, critical analysis set in. I decided upon theoject. I saw very moving 'what if/if only' aspects to the OT and took it up as a pleasant little diversion.

    I needed a clearer understanding of the backstory, my best guess as to where GL was taking it, and to fill in some gaps to the best of my knowledge. Up to ROTJ release, I had Jedi as UN/LON style peacekeepers, Force Women as diplomats/peacemakers (because we all know that every SWU woman is either a farmer's wife or a diplomat/special operative;) both of Lukes parents were Force wielders (because Luke could deflect lasers, blindfolded, after 20 minutes of instruction), a love triangle among 20 year olds, and Ben/Yoda overseeing the crew. I had two or more worlds creating clone armies and going to war with each other and other systems- for some reason. I even tried to imagine a hero ship to carry our heros (shiney new- but nothing like the Naboo transports) I didn't have anything like a story for any of this- and didn't really need any.

You'd never know it, but I can get extremely fussy when I focus in on particular things.;) Anything I say must be taken with a grain of salt. It's when things come very close to being perfect that I'm at my worst. Slight feelings.

    The background environments of Kamino interiors and the battle on Geonosis left me with a slight sense of unreality. I'm not a video gamer.

    I was surprised by the difference the color adjustments tests made for the arena battle. It was very good as is, but the greys and contrasts moved it to utterly convincing. Oranges, pinks, and buff colors, together with lighter contrasts, seem to be very slightly less solid. Upping the grey scales and contrast slightly increases solidity. Jar-Jar was an excellent CGI presence. I think slight problems in live characters relating to him made the only tiny difference there.

    My only point is that any live action remake should be entirely about presenting GL's story arcs and characters to the greatest effect, artisticaly. All other considerations should serve that goal with a faith that plenty of merchandise opportunities will be created on the way.  

   I would have produced a remake of the OT first *SHOCK*. The controversy alone would have sold hundreds of millions of tickets. All live-action principle photography for the new OT in the space of three years (or less, if possible). As much of the post-pro and FX work and so forth on V and VI would be put off as long as possible to allow IV to finance the follow-ons. Try to design the new OT to be converted to 3D when the tech permits (now.) "Insubstantial" is a good word to describe the trouble with current CGI. It can be used to very good effect in a great many places, but it should not be overused. If actors in costumes can do the job about as well, they should. All shots meant to be outdoors should be shot outdoors, with natural light and air and as many real elements as possible, even if it is in front of a green screen. I found the "video game" environments in AOTC a little disorienting. They were spectacular and worthwhile in their own right, but it interfered a little with sus-dis. As many real elements as practicable in the sets. The purpose would be to create an OT that is perfectly consistent within itself in mood, tone, FX and so-forth. THEN produce a new PT that is perfectly consistent with the new OT.

     For the PT, at first, I was just trying to work out enough backstory to understand the OT. Also, I was playing a game to see how well I could guess GL's backstory, when it was finally revealed. After ROTJ, I needed a working concept of the backstory. I never really tried to divide it into a trilogy or develope full storylines. When TPM came out, it's basic story became canon, so far as I was concerned (it is GL's intellectual property.)

    It would be nice to know there is a record of my SW experiences somewhere. If you will forgive me, I'll drop them here. Feel free to by-pass.

    In the summer of '77, I imagined a trio/triangle with Luke's mother, father, and young Jedi Vader. They were all around twenty. I thought they would be best friends and go on clone war adventures with each other, led by Ben. Luke's mother was also very special. She had Force powers that were different from the Jedi. She could see the future a little and influence others in a positive way. Jealousy played a part in Vader's fall. Different worlds created clone armies to fight each other and it was up to the Jedi and "Force Women" to put a stop to the fighting. I had guessed that there were only a few hundred or a few thousand Jedi (Han and the ImpOffs thought it was all myth), and that Senator Palpatine must have great force power (to control Vader), and that the capitol world must have an enormous city larger than all earth cities combined (If they could build a DS.) I didn't guess that the Jedi had a central HQ. I thought they were more scattered. That's about it in '77-'78. :)

   ^ I came to this site for the fan-edits. I had no idea how broad based the efforts to preserve and improve the SW experiences are. After looking around, all I can say is-WOW! I'm very glad to know that the essential nature of the 16mm films are being transfered to digital media and will survive. Thanks! :)

   After '86, I drifted away from SW works. The great exception, that I count as NF EU, is 'The Hero With A thousand Faces'. It provided tremendous insights into the original developement of the project.

   Other than that, it was just documentaries, web articles, and the bonus materials on the PT discs. I've never read the PT novelizations. 

  Hi all,

   I'm wondering about the basic character of the prequels. Before TPM, to the extent I'd thought about it, I thought it should have a three act structure like the OT. I thought Ep II should end on a strong downbeat like ESB. Now I'm thinking the saga could have an unusual structure. Eps I and II might be as upbeat as the material permits (like ANH) and serve as a sort of first act of the saga. Eps III and V would be the middle act. Ep VI would be the third act. Ep IV would be a sort of odd interlude.

    In ESB, the ending has an almost 'Gone With The Wind' nature. The loss (seemingly forever) of a beloved member of the triangle, followed by another member vowing to recover and set everything right.  

   Hey,

  I just wanted to say I think this approach is great. Flashbacks open up a whole wide range of possibilities. I'm looking forward to the edits.

 Best of luck!

   I have been, and would need to continue, pondering the saga on the most basic levels. To this point, I've almost completely disregarded the EU. I've paged through 'SITME' and read one of the Han Solo adventures. They were enjoyable and well written sci-fi, but they were affecting my perception of the OT. They seemed unreliable as a source of info about the trilogy.

   My sources (before '86) were the movies, novelizations, and 'Dune' (my father gave me his copy in the summer of '77, without explaining why.) NF sources were 'Skywalking', Toynbee's 'A Study Of History',  Architect Speer's 'Inside the Third Riech', documentaries, and other books on history and mythology. But, above all, what I saw on the screen.

  The Force: It seems to be a mash-up of all religious traditions. But for the mono-theistic religions, it seems to be The Power or The Spirit with all aspects of "Personhood" removed. More recently, theologians and scientists have been describing the universe as a sort of "Energy Field" of rippling information (or Wisdom.) All the forces binding, present to preserve or save, everthing in the U is a manifestation of this "Force." It could be called "The Logos" by which all is maintained and kept from chaos and destruction. People who respect and abide by the wisdom find a right path to life, those who turn their backs on it create their own or other's destruction. It's amazing, the way GL was able to distill these spiritual insights for a movie. 

   I LOVE Midi-chlorians! Mitochondria-chlorophores, micro-scopic symbiotes that transform energy into forms useful to the host, BRILLIANT!! It is the most ingenius, and, at the same time, the most unfortunately employed metaphore/plot device in cinema history. I wouldn't want a PT fan-edit to be bogged down by the problem-but still- WOW!

   The Prophecy:  Shakespeare, Oracle Of Delphi, all great. We have witnessed so many failed prophecies and prophets that the business is very suspect. I don't think we understand the astounding, cosmic power one would have if a prophecy of the fate of the Galaxy could be proven demonstrably true to anyone of average or above rationality. Those who held such understanding in good time would hold the keys to the future. The Jedi were blind, confused, disagreeing, and discredited because of their inability to correctly interpret a true prophecy. Imagine the power and ability They would have held if someone had provided the correct, provable interpretation in time. Their Graces, whatever their faults, limitations and past failings, would have become the most powerful rallying point for every rational being of any good will they could contact throughout the Galaxy. They might have been able to prevent the cataclysm from the outset. Failing that, they might have greatly mitigated the horror for large regions of the galaxy.

      The Jedi masters went down the wrong path because they accepted the prophecy on it's face.  They were not certain that there might be another way for The Force to be true to itself and the galaxy.  They insisted upon limiting The Force to their own pitifully limited understanding. In a sense, that is the most terrible form of blasphemy.   

Bingowings said:

I thought it was clones vs clones.

Obi-Wan's old name sounded so much like (as in Artoo) a phonetic transcription of a registry code, that maybe OB1 was a clone too.

I thought could have resulted in the official outlawing of clone technology to mass produce slaves and armies resulting in droids taking their place (like the Butlerian Jihad in reverse)

    That's what I thought. Clones vs clones.

   I was learning a little about the U.N. in school and on TV.

   Republic=UN  Senate=Assembly  Jedi=UN observer/peacekeepers

    The Rebellion was the backdrop conflict through the OT. I thought clones vs clones would be the backdrop of the PT.

   The novelization reinforced that by declaring that droids weren't good for war.

IIIIEEEE've got a few more things, (Radical Redux)

   I don't know if anyone's reincorporating the deleted PA scenes in ROTS. I thought that, with alot of work, the deleted scene of PA before the senate in AOTC might be added to ROTS. Cut the assassination part, and keep pressing others to war. Add her to the ROTS senate chamber. Might be a fun edit and make her a more central part of ROTS. Above all, ROTS must have a four hour runtime ;)

   For the effort to turn JF into BF: Has anyone tried cobbling some PM dialogue (showing OW the clones) to say something like "A bounty hunter named Fett...." and "...,who we acquired as a boy,...." It would mean losing the JF/OW:PI head game,:( but it would save precious time.

   I'd like to see a showcase for JW's sweeping romantic/classical SW saga themes. Montages seem to be the best device for that. I've seen that there is an edit centered on OW combining the PT. Maybe a radical edit centered on the romance in AOTC and ROTS or on the life and POV of PA throughout the PT.

   For PA, maybe a romance/tragedy about her life with musical/cinematic montages and brief glimpses of key events to cover the actions of other characters outside of PA's presence and incorporating all of the deleted scenes of PA.

   For the couple's romance/tragedy, montages and brief glimpses of events of others and of PA and AS when they are not together and remove all references to PA having been queen. All deleted scenes of them together reincorporated.

   Back to the combo, I'm ignorant of the capacities and downloading of DVD5 and DVD9. It seems as though some editors want a very quick and tight cut while I'm throwing up problems because I can't bear to lose any of the georgous visuals. Two versions? One has three 45 minute sections while the other has 53 to 56 minute sections?

   Maybe the shortened versions of the lab droids scene and the  (PE deleted) Dex at the diner and OW consults with Yoda scenes could be reincorporated using a musical montage (no dialogue).

In the 45 minute section, maybe start the musical montage with seeing a shortened  Dex sitting with OW, then a shortened lab visit, then shots of Ow sitting in the library, then Yoda, then ending with hearing dialogue when OW and MW walk out to the Platform.

   For the long version, maybe start musical montage at the end of Dex/OW talk.

    For Dex, maybe start the scene with OW and Dex already seated and recolor/alter Dex's clothes so he doesn't look like a short order cook.

   For Naboo romance in the 45 minute version, Maybe start the musical  montage as they kiss by lake then sweep through the picnic (first part of PA telling of her past and smiling, then go to meadow rodeo (first part of ride then maybe cut to roll) then to dining room up to laughing about negotiations and ending by fireplace hearing "Tell me...."

   Maybe a musical montage beginning with OW behind the astroid and transitioning OW all the way to conference table in less time then hear PE's conference.  :)

edit:   Okay, that's truly it for the jedi and fan-edits. Just trying to get everything on the table.  I know that when I get too fussy it just goes backwards. Sorry. The fun part is seeing what, if anything, the fan-editors do with the notions on the board. I might try a couple of rifs on non fan-edit topics.  Thanks and apologies to all who have slogged through my grammar and SYNTAX ERRORS. MTFBWY :)

   I'm sorry that I have exhausted my ESB ROTJ thoughts.

   I just wanted to let everyone know that I am most profoundly impressed by the quality of the effort here!My silences have been due to awe. Watching  rough notions tossed out and then everyone here going to work to develope them into great possibilities and then some into great edits has been fascinating beyond words. I hope that what I have brought up might be helpful in some small way.

   All I have left are for remakes. "Treatment", except in the  medical/surgical sense, is probably too grandios for anything I did. I abandoned that whole effort long ago after reading an article about the tremendous difficulties production companies faced in dealing with any material coming in from outside sources. It seemed like it might just create great problems- the exact opposite of the intent. I continued to think about it, from time to time, for my own edification and/or amusement. Manipulating the characters and environments of the SW world in ways that could only rightfully be accomplished by LFL (remakes) seems like an intrusion upon intellectual property.

   I'm grateful that LFL and The MPAA have permited these fan-edit efforts to continue. I can certainly see how it all contributes very much to the film and audio arts and technology.

    It's been an amazing show! Thank You! :)

I continue to worry about the elevator scene. There is so little for establishing prior relationship. Maybe begin with AS "You fell into that nightmare...." They chuckle, then go again to a quick exterior shot of elavator rising (if nec to cover a rough transition) then AS "I haven't seen her in <2> years...." I think that one has to work.

  I appreciate the gallows humor in the face of danger. Quips make it feel more like SW.

    Maybe start hangar scene in TPM with simply OW "The negotiations were short." and have QG brush it off with his part after. Try different things to see what works best? If we don't see the crew in the consular ship cockpit when it's destroyed then they might have debarked?

    ROTS is, by necessity, a tragedy. Maybe make the prior episodes as lighthearted as possible by cutting frowns and highlighting quips wherever it seems to work.

   That's all I've got for the PT. It will be fun to see whatever the fan-editors decide to do with the trilogy. :)  

^ I entirely agree. If there are younglings present, they must be slaughtered. It is to account for the fate of these characters, as well as to seal the new underling's loyalty in blood with the slaughter of innocents ( Tyrants and organized criminals have been using that heinous tactic throughout history.)

    Various fan-editors are side-stepping such difficulties through outrageous acts of revisionism (I continue to wonder at the tolerance of LFL and The MPAA.)

   I would keep the sequence of the boy on the landing platform. Perhaps the Jedi order begin their apprenticeships at the age of 11 or 12?

   I've read some histories of WWII. I recall reports by SS officers after the war stating that Himmler broke down in hysterics when he witnessed with his own eyes the mass killing of civilians. My rule of thumb is that if it's too much for Himmler, it's too much for a fallen hero in a SW movie.

Hey,

  It looks like the editors around here are at a point where additional suggestions are probably more trouble than they're worth. Sorry for getting in late.

   I just want to address probably the greatest transition problem and then violate my own imparative to cut as much as possible by argueing for reinsertion of parts of PE's deletions.

   Going from TPM section suddenly to PA and AS having known each other in the past is a bit of a rough jump. Maybe, in the elevator, it could go from OW chuckling about the Gondarks to AS saying "I haven't seen her in <TWO> years, master." 1 year to finish term as queen, they meet, and then 2 more years to the present events. Then like PE.

   The walk to the palace might have to be put back in as well. Then like PE.

   PE has more fortitude for cutting very beautiful scenes for the sake of speedier and better pace and character development.

   In the picnic scene, maybe turn up the waterfall noises and muffle conversation during the distant establishing shots. Then, maybe start dialogue with AS "Whatever happened...." then PA "I went...." then AS "Maybe...." PA "You really...." AS "I like...." Cut all political stuff then PA "You're making fun....(so it looks like reaction to "...I'm not sure....")" then  AS "No, I'd be...."

   In the meadow rodeo, maybe trim a little just as he starts to fall (Go to PA worried look) Cut to roll together the frame when PA slaps chest. Muffle or mute forced laughter throughout.

   Dining room scene: I can see good reasons for all PE's cuts, save one.  PA is very lovely and AS is being charming. The only slight problem I see is when the apple bite enters her mouth. Maybe go to AS the frame she bites then back to her after mouth is closed. (or leave as is.) Then, in the arena battle, reinsert only PA "I call that aggressive negotiation." or simply "Aggressive negotiation." (or not at all :/)

   Fireplace scene: They look away from each other then cut all AS dialogue before (keep) AS "What can I do? I will do anything you ask." then cut everything before (keep) PA "I can't...We can't... It's just not possible." then wipe to OW scene. Saves time.

   OW-JF platform fight scene: Trim it a bit. Maybe, when OW slides over edge and holding wire have OW swing towards balcony the moment JF releases the cord ( no fall and then throw wire on way down) (might build tension.)

   In Asteroid chase scene: Maybe just the sonic blast thing or just the guns thing. Then hide behind the rock.

   Garage scene: Maybe cut AS "Why did she have to die?" cut AS "It's all OW's fault. He's jealous! He's holding me back!"

   New continuity errors: TPM Palpy to Senate "<Recently> elected...." (term ends in a year." OW MW on landing platform OW "...Since he was a boy" 3PO on farm recognizing PA. Maybe more.

   Aside from these possibilities, I like PE's work

    Just throwing out suggestions. Whatever :)

Hey,

   I only consider episode numerals to keep the various versions straight. I could happily live without them. The titles look great.

   I wanted to finish up ROTJ with color-correction. I love the high shine and black eyes they put on Vader's helmet and mask--EXCEPT-it sorta blotted out some of the definition of those magnificent, iconic, insect eyes. I was wondering if some white reflection could be readded to bring out the bulbous shape. Failing that, I never understood the problem with red-eye Vader; Could the red be restored?

   OT as a whole:  Between '77 release and ANH:R the colors were off. In ROTJ, I thought the colors were a little too "California Redwoods"-"Yuma" bright. I felt ROTJ:SE, with it's deeper colors and greater contrast, was a definite improvement. It made Endor seem a little more alien and "Forest Primeval."

   ESB, for me, is unique. The monochromatic scheme and stop-motion effects give it a BW feel. Graininess, color and contrast flaws almost seem to belong there. I have been surprisingly tolerant of my VHS, GOUT, and SE versions. Even the blue is a pluss to me. I've vacationed in the mountains several times; In late afternoon, under blue sky and in the shadow of the valleys, everything can take on a bluish hue. In ESB '04, it makes Hoth seem more alien.  Pink light sabres are terrible.

   For ANH:R- Thank you. For ROTJ:R- Like the SE, only much more so. For ESB:R- Surprise me! I'm sure I'll love it.

   OT:R will be my go-to version. The GOUT is sufficient to remember what came before.

   I know it's the big thing on this site, but I just can't get excited about OOT salvation. I don't know what was done for the OT:SE restoration. I've always imagined LFL rigged up some kind of transfer to tape using NASA/NSA grade optics and CCD arrays. If so, how much more would it have cost to have some film school intern stand there and run the extra outake and deleted scenes footage? 500 bucks? In any case, I just can't believe GL would ever permit the crown jewels to be lost.

   Dissin' and nitpickery is a whole lot more fun than cheerleading; But, tbh, If I thought it was more important to my family, my health, and my long term economic survival to control costs or step back or step forward, I'm sure I would do so with less regard for overly fussy fanboys than GL has shown.

    In ROTJ, the infernal legion of 6000 became just 39 formal chaps v. 5 to 6 overwhelmed heros. If the creator of it all wished to show concern for his family and employees at the expense of some grand spectacle, or to concentrate upon the true story of reconciliation between father and son, who are we to judge? We should be very grateful for what is provided. Learning from a frame by frame analysis leads us to conclude that it could have been arranged as a spectacular and terrible conflagaration, but family, employees and the story of reconciliation would indeed have suffered much for it.

   Anyway, I came to this site to learn about OT:R. I've learned very much. Much more remains a mystery. If, by tossing out a few suggestions, I might come to feel that I made some small contribution to one or two minor edits, well- Bonus!

   I was raised by an artist/technician. One thing it taught me is that I should not suppose that I could do as half as well as those who have much experience with the countless difficulties of completing a work. I'm going to finish up some PT thoughts and get out of the way. Then, I'll return my user name and password to the aministrators to do with them what they think best. I might come and lurk once in awhile, but if asked "...The State Department will deny...(as though anyone would care what the State department has to say:)  

Bingowings said:

Why not augment the Naboo fighter escort with pristine X-wings, as a senator during these difficult times Padme could have some official Republic ships protecting her as well as the ceremonial escorts from her homeworld.

She is landing on the Republic capital planet.

If the Prime Minister of Ireland was going to land in Washington I'd imagine the US would send some fighters up to protect him during the landiing.

    TBH, the fighter change was the product of the remake mindset (good catch, Bingo.)

    In my remake SWU, Naboo is to the galaxy what Luxembourg is to the world. I'd be mildly surprised to discover that Luxembourg is building all of it's own high performance fighters. in the RSWU, items like advanced fighters, top of the line executive transports, and AI droids are produced by competing multi-system intra-galactic consortiums.

    In this, I was trying to follow GL's original story arc (my best guess, anyway.) 

    Luxembourg (Naboo) is a medium between French and German.

    Switzerland (Aldaraan) is a medium between French, German, and Italian. 

    The Holyland (RSWU Naboo/Aldaraan/Newname) is the medium between Europe, Asia, and Africa.

   EDIT: NAME:R

Bingowings said:

Why not augment the Naboo fighter escort with pristine X-wings, as a senator during these difficult times Padme could have some official Republic ships protecting her as well as the ceremonial escorts from her homeworld.

 

    A cheap re-use of old (CG) props. ;)

    X-wings could be cool. :)

Jaitea said:

EyeShotFirst said:

mrbenja0618 said:

Eye, did you do this in After Effects.. You kinda said how you did it... Can you be more detailed? Looks great!

My computer can't handle that in After Effects. I did it in photoshop, but the changes were applied to all the frames at the same time. I have dabbled in After Effects and I believe it can be done.

I used photo filter, cyan, and raised it to my liking.

I then went into brightness/contrast, and raised brightness until it didn't feel dark. Then I added contrast to bring back some detail.

Then removed a little saturation, and boosted some colours.

The underlined part is what made it look good, other was just messing around.

When I was doing this I was applying each change to each layer at the same time.

 

If anybody would be willing to do the scene in motion, that would be awesome!!

I did a few tweaks with the colour in Ae and it does totally change the scene......the colours that are buried under that mask of orange , its maybe not adjusted to what you had in mind ESF, but to me its different to look at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRyu4DiZWNw

J

      Been meaning to say the color adjustment work going on here is just PHONEMENAL! So nice to see this en bloc. I wonder what tune haljordan is singing after seeing your work.

      ^ Bingo, I've been waiting  to deal with great PT concepts like skipping worlds and limiting character involvement.

     I didn't want to try any PT concepts until after I have watched PE's TPE and AOTP. I wanted to use that approach as my starting point. I've discovered a workaround (after it was dropped on my head- Thanks Frink:)

     I haven't found any examples of the exact approach I hope to see in a PT fan edit.  Lots of help here along those lines. Makes me think it could be done.

    For ROTS, not much else to do. The "Poster Boy" banter is a little clunky;  I think a little trimming could smooth that out. Others are removing the younglings and toning down some of Aniken's exclamations. For the 'Lava River', I think I might have gotten the "Cooling Shield" concept if the energy cones had extended upwards to shoulder level, fading out on the way up. The "Go to Padame before the Masters" idea is intrigueing; I'd be interested in a clip. ROTS is too dense with reveals and plot ties to cut agressively. Anyway, it's great! 

      I've seen edits combining all three episodes. I want to combine 1 and 2. If TPM could be altered at the meeting of the Jedi and Jar-Jar to have JJ say he has a watercraft and maybe that there'd be no warm welcome at the Gungan city, there could be a cut to a shortened journey through the core (without too much JJ howling). Then they could go directly to Coruscant. No Tatooie. No boy. They would return, find the Gungans, and fight the battle (except the fighter battle- It's moved to battle of Geonosis) The Gungan battle could be reduced to not much more than luring them out and wildest JJ antics cut (PE.) Some of the talk about Qui-gon's new apprentice would remain including council objections and Obi-Wans warnings and apology (new 15 year old boy never seen.) Make Obi-Wan seem about 30 (5 O'clock shadow?) and cut all the Padowan trials stuff (full knight.) Every effort to keep it under 50 minutes. New crawl and Droid ship attack? :) Otherwise much like PE. All Naboo fighters removed from TPM sequence.

 For AOTC, new crawl and droid ship dropping out of hyperspace behind senator's ship? New crawl could state that the senator is returning with a republican fighter escort (Naboo fighters recolored and markings like X/E-wings with Republic insignia) Meeting in the apartment could be cut to suggest that Ani and Padame have met sometime between TPM section and present (Han and Lando knew each other previously) A Fed base ship could be in orbit as Obi approaches. TPM fighter battle takes place with Naboo recolored as Geonosis and fighters recolored and clones with shaded visors in cockpits. Otherwise much like PE except some shortened sequences re-added (next post.)

   Every effort to keep it under 160 minutes (cuts wherever possible) so it is one film instead of two back to back. additional crawl about halfway through the AOTC section (to make it seem like saturday morning adventure theater.) For working purposes the new episode sequence is: 7 TPM section, 8. first (senator returns) AOTC section, 9.second AOTC section, and episode 10 is ROTS (episodes 11-16 are for remakes.) 

   EDIT: Could Maul and his probe droids land on Naboo instead? Change background? It's probably too much to hope that Maul- Qui-Gon first duel could occur while escaping from Naboo.  

  ^ A related thought.

   I had braced myself for an astonishing tragedy, and ROTS did not disappoint.

   To be honest, I thought that the way GL tied all the loose ends with such stunning visuals, moving performances and clever plot (Templar Knights) made ROTS a surpassing work of art.

   I've always felt that the only thing any film maker owes me is the feeling that it was worth the price of the ticket and the gas to and from the theater. GL has greatly exceeded that expectation in every case.

   At the same time, if such a marvelous saga can be improved upon, anyone who would be called a fan has the responsibility to make a reasonable effort to that end.

   And so: To further reduce the tragedy to more "PG" levels, could Aniken-Vader be made stronger? I had taken "A young Jedi..." to mean about 20. This would have put Vader in his early 40's in the OT. I didn't think of him as so greatly broken until ROTJ "He's more machine..." and "You've only forgotten." This makes it sound as if he has little responsibility and power.

   In a fan-edit, could we see only the very start of his catching fire, and then Obiwan's view is obscured by falling lava and great smoke? could his wounds be made to look less severe (missing limbs and burns on head?) The goal would be to make him seem like 'The Bionic Man', "Better,stronger,faster" He could be made taller with his replacement legs. He might seem like a stronger character. It might make his saving Luke more powerful.   Stray thought.

   Great ideas around here. I hope the serious fan-editors are preserving the posted ideas and saving PMs. Wry and incisive comments have helped me to grasp the continuity issues and color-correction. Sometimes, a signature touching upon the issue can sum things up.  :)    

ben_danger said:

very radical idea for rotj - i was thinking it would be cool if mon mothma in rotj could be replaced by a padme-alive, but has been in hiding character perhaps, but that would require some scene of her being reunited with leia and luke and explaining vader to them (cool, but impossible). - and of course scenes alluding to her death being cut.

i'd love it to be the show down between mother and father aswell to some degree.

   A stray thought for reducing ROTS trajedy.

   Move some of the meddroid-Obiwan footage to after the birth and have the droid say the only hope is to place her in carbon-freeze, though she would be much too weak to ever revive.

  It would mean an entirely different voice for the droid in a fan-edit.

   Stray thought.

   It looks like I missed my show. I wanted to catch an old smokey noir pic based upon 'THE CATCHER IN THE RYE'. I was going to see if it was an influence upon the OT.

    I better finish up ROTJ and ESB instead.

    Snootles! They took that simple form, went to work, and when we got our ALF back she was great animation. The only part I don't care for is when the muppet jumps forward and tries to swallow the camera. Maybe stay on Jabba or the singers to cover that bit?

    In the ROTJ star battle, I was interested in creating a sense of great peril for our main characters. I imagined interior shots of the Bothan spy ship and dialogue like: ENGINEER "HYPERDRIVE IS BEYOND REPAIR!" COMMS "INFORMATION IS ENCODED!" CAPTAIN "TRANSMIT NOW!" Then the ship is destroyed. Just something to make us care about their struggle-But not too much. That would require building a bridge and maybe part of an engineering section to LFL '82 production values and hiring a crew of actors. I see fan-editors are doing some wild things- So I thought I'd just throw that out there :) 

    In the ESB star battle, 'Great damage and then jump to hyperspace with a SD jumping after it' was the original "Fate Unknown." I think it could work either way.

    The ESB rad edits: Cobble some Fisher audio and pipe it over Luke's scout comm to show her having concern for Luke at the outset. Something like "It will be dark soon Luke, hurry back."       Take a cut from 'The closing of the doors', change the lighting and background somewhat to show Leia gazing at Luke's speeder launch.           Take a cut from first sight of the CC where Leia is looking up from a console, change some elements and show Leia reacting to Luke's name being called over the comms during the walker battle.            If usable 'Cloud City Lounge' shots of Han and Leia expressing concern for Luke become available....     Heck, at this point, I'd settle for "Hey Luke, your shoe's untied." (I was floating my more "tame" trial balloons back in the ESB:R thread. Sorry 'bout that 8-/ )

      About my last post in the ESB:R thread,  I had the sense that I was communicating with a few serious fan-edit types. People who would immediately and fully comprehend my meaning in "Kersh is truly brilliant." I'd want any casual passing viewers to understand my comprehension. I know that creating such an exquisite masterwork, the greatest monochromatic film ever shot in full color, to make it so deeply moving without giving it a conclusion, to craft it so it can stand alone....

    I was trying to make everyone happy in this thread. It seems like people here are divided into camps in ways I can't begin to understand. 'SPLINTER' is about all I know of the EU. I was trying to respond to various posts, in kind, to deal with the concerns of others. I know what it means to have favorite icons and sequences. If I stepped on any toes, it was only because I was moving in great darkness, very early in the morning or when I was rushed, and with no idea where the toes were. Sincerest apologies!

    Thank you for all you are doing for the films I loved so much when I was young!

    BEST WISHES AND MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU :)                     

^Amazing Vid!

    I forgot to add something to the interweave thing. In the remake outline, I used some old screenwriting techniques. Breaking exposition into two blocks and seperating them in time, and back and forth between exposition and something else. GL built 'AmGraf' around variations of those methods.

   Anyway, initially I thought to have Leia duck out at the start and interweave that with 3PO's tale. Ben could be placed at the end, or vice-versa. I don't know what would be best for a fan-edit. Both?

   I wouldn't have a clue how to proceed at this point, or at all, without the stunning work done here and on the 005 blog. I made a point of avoiding "Technical stuff."

   Next on the list, the fleet briefing. I don't know exactly what has been proposed before. I can be precise about my concerns and what might be done about them. I like the hokey, a little over the top expressions and dialogue in the OT. Then there is behavior that is light-years beyond the way any human being would react. If my best friend, and then the woman I love more than anything in the galaxy, told me they were coming along on a suicide mission, the very last words to describe my expression would be "Goofy grin ;)." It seems like the WWII British and American propoganda features. It also kills the tension they built with "Suicide Mission."

    If, after Chewie volunteers, cut away the frame before Han starts to smile (draw out if nec.) cut back in with Leia's "General..." cut out the frame before Han grins (draw out last frames if nec.) then Luke. No grinning.

    It's been mentioned before that Lando-Han is too hokey. Maybe cut out "Your the...." so it looks like Lando's reacting to "I ain't..."? (I hope I'm not repeating exactly) 

   I thought about things for ANH and ESB. Most could only be achieved in a remake. Anyway, there's ANH:R, and ESB:R is on the way- What's the rush? :)

..... As I was saying,

    I tried to post last night. I've been getting rides because I don't have a pick up truck, so I tried to turn in early.

   Anyway, the Yoda-Luke-Ben-Luke talkfest  always seemed too long. Ben-Luke is repeating and elaborating upon Yoda's exposition. Also, I've thought that the "Twins" reveal came too early. The 3PO "Toss out some key names and pretend your telling an epic tale" bit was a snag for me, as well. 

   My thought was to interweave the Ben-Luke tale with 3PO's tale to create the impression that two epic sagas are being told concurrently. After viewing the scenes carefully and seeing the Ben's hovel 005 blog idea, I think this might be adapted to a fan-edit.

   Yoda-Luke might be cut after "I can't do it Artoo." 'Luke ducking out of the hut' might be moved to before the start of 3PO's tale. "I can't go on alone." might be inserted outside the hut. Luke might duck underneath a branch ( Fighter-cannon) or stay on Ben and cut out Luke's duck. Then back and forth between Ben-Luke and 3PO. I suspect that 'Mixed emotions' was the idea for Leia-Luke at the fleet, after watching it slo-mo. I don't suppose moving all that to Endor would be an easy trick.

   For extra credit: Cut out the "Sister" bits. Make it just "Your twin" and make it uncertain whether Luke knows the identity of his twin. Find a way to transition Luke and Leia to sitting while cutting out all the 'Sister' bits there. Then just cut out at "Hey, what's..." and cut back in as Han passes Leia's head (?). Replace "come on, tell me" with "Hey, what's..." Then cut out "I can't..." and shorten Leia's choking on words. Then "But you could..." Then change Vader's lines to suggest that he senses the truth and might be revealing to Luke that Leia is his sister. Then find a way to insert "Like" "Luke is... my brother." and shorten Han's reaction. It's sort of a climactic revelation. 

   'Color-correction' will have to wait. I'm going to pretend I can fall asleep. :)