TFA: A Gentle Restructure (Released) — Page 20

I like Hal’s latest idea for the crawl best, because the first paragraph really can’t get any more middle-groundy, and if you gotta have some little breadcrumb about the superweapon, this is it.

I’ve tweaked the levels of the sound effects and edited the Starkiller implosion. I think it’s rather an improvement, hopefully it is to everyone’s liking:
https://vimeo.com/201216702
Password: sound

NeverarGreat said:

I’ve tweaked the levels of the sound effects and edited the Starkiller implosion. I think it’s rather an improvement, hopefully it is to everyone’s liking:
https://vimeo.com/201216702
Password: sound

NOT BAD. It’s nothing if not seamless. Even if only tiny snippets of the original explosion foley can be salvaged from the fully baked soundtrack, even that would be great. I’m thinking about how the Phantom Editor subtly weaved together original vocals and his own voice for Zam Wessel as she was giving her last words.
Don’t get me wrong; as it is now, it’s perfectly usable. I was leaning toward not going with that idea (and sticking with stitched together music and leaving the existing effects in place), but you sold me.

JEDIT: It’s only after doing a direct comparison to the original that I notice what you mean by removing cheers. I thought you clipped a shot, but no, you replaced the audio seamlessly and I didn’t have a clue. 😃

Hal 9000 said:

lol, maybe the crawl should be mostly, “They’ve somehow built a hyperlightspeed weapon built within a planet itself. Not a laser canon, but something on a scale difficult to describe. Not another Death Star, but STARKILLER BASE. IT’S BIG.”

Nice to see that someone took out the cheers when they arrive. Hal, would you be interested in my Hologram Snoke for your edit? I also have Kylo hooded and helmeted in every scene that I use.

bromeo said:
Psssst… the Rathtar scene… give him the Rathtar scene too. 😉

HA! I’m not sure Hal wants to change that much of the movie from what I’ve read. I’ll be releasing soon so you can get your minuscule portion of rathtar elsewhere 😉

The hologram seems to be inline with these recent additions to the edit though.

Haha, well, I plan to stick to the plan by limiting this edit to the Starkiller Base subplot restructuring. That’s not to say I can’t dub off my own side copy with a few other tweaks, though.
If you wouldn’t mind posting clips of the two Snoke hologram scenes with helmeted Ren, I can look them over and see whether the way in which you repeat shots would work for my second Snoke scene. (I.e., if your second Snoke scene only works by reusing shots from the first scene that I’m already moving to that scene… that wouldn’t work.) Unless it’s seamless and awesome, even in the order I have things, I would really prefer to have him unmasked there.
And the Snoke hologram thing, cool as it is, doesn’t really belong in this particular edit either.

JEDIT: Like the rest of the world, I wouldn’t mind seeing what you cooked up for the rathtar scene, even if I wouldn’t be incorporating it myself.

Hal 9000 said:

NeverarGreat said:

I’ve tweaked the levels of the sound effects and edited the Starkiller implosion. I think it’s rather an improvement, hopefully it is to everyone’s liking:
https://vimeo.com/201216702
Password: sound

NOT BAD. It’s nothing if not seamless. Even if only tiny snippets of the original explosion foley can be salvaged from the fully baked soundtrack, even that would be great. I’m thinking about how the Phantom Editor subtly weaved together original vocals and his own voice for Zam Wessel as she was giving her last words.
Don’t get me wrong; as it is now, it’s perfectly usable. I was leaning toward not going with that idea (and sticking with stitched together music and leaving the existing effects in place), but you sold me.

JEDIT: It’s only after doing a direct comparison to the original that I notice what you mean by removing cheers. I thought you clipped a shot, but no, you replaced the audio seamlessly and I didn’t have a clue. 😃

Thanks, I’m glad it works! I played around with the 5.1 audio for the implosion in Audacity for a while, and if there’s a way to extract any of the explosions from the music without making sound like it’s underwater, it’s beyond my abilities. Some of the sound effects earlier in the scene benefit from being between musical notes, hence why I was able to keep them, but here the music saturates the effects.

Hal 9000 said:
And the Snoke hologram thing, cool as it is, doesn’t really belong in this particular edit either.

^fair enough 😃

NeverarGreat said:

Thanks, I’m glad it works! I played around with the 5.1 audio for the implosion in Audacity for a while, and if there’s a way to extract any of the explosions from the music without making sound like it’s underwater, it’s beyond my abilities. Some of the sound effects earlier in the scene benefit from being between musical notes, hence why I was able to keep them, but here the music saturates the effects.

Gotcha.
And, hey, it’s pretty great. In the interest of making it even better…
Could there be a ramp clattering and steam release sounds dropped in as Rey and Chewie head into the Falcon, perhaps? Also, and this might just be how it has to be to work, the music does a sing-song refrain of itself after the wipe back to the Resistance base, the second half of which is gone now. The second half of the sing-song thing occurs right after the first shot. Hope that makes sense.

DAMN, you guys are awesome, coming out of the woodwork to spruce this thing up. I feel like I should be able to draw on a metaphor from fiction about this, something about people showing up out of nowhere to repair a broken house or something. I only embarked on this project because I wanted the end result to exist. Despite what you might infer about me from my behavior, editing is painful for me to do at times! I’m like Captain Kirk from that episode where his inner aggressive, decisive side was separated in a transporter accident. You all are my Spock and Bones.

DigMod said:

Hal 9000 said:
And the Snoke hologram thing, cool as it is, doesn’t really belong in this particular edit either.

^fair enough 😃

I wasn’t a big fan of having an unprecendentedly convincing hologram just for the sake of a very mild surprise at the end of it’s very first scene, either. But, in this project, it wouldn’t really be on target.
I’m trying very hard to buckle down and let TFA:R be a stairstep DOWN from having to edit new Star Wars movies as soon as they come out, and never really have the sort of enjoyment of them that I want because of it. A tradition since 2002.

Hal 9000 said:

NeverarGreat said:

Thanks, I’m glad it works! I played around with the 5.1 audio for the implosion in Audacity for a while, and if there’s a way to extract any of the explosions from the music without making sound like it’s underwater, it’s beyond my abilities. Some of the sound effects earlier in the scene benefit from being between musical notes, hence why I was able to keep them, but here the music saturates the effects.

Gotcha.
And, hey, it’s pretty great. In the interest of making it even better…
Could there be a ramp clattering and steam release sounds dropped in as Rey and Chewie head into the Falcon, perhaps? Also, and this might just be how it has to be to work, the music does a sing-song refrain of itself after the wipe back to the Resistance base, the second half of which is gone now. The second half of the sing-song thing occurs right after the first shot. Hope that makes sense.

DAMN, you guys are awesome, coming out of the woodwork to spruce this thing up. I feel like I should be able to draw on a metaphor from fiction about this, something about people showing up out of nowhere to repair a broken house or something. I only embarked on this project because I wanted the end result to exist. Despite what you might infer about me from my behavior, editing is painful for me to do at times! I’m like Captain Kirk from that episode where his inner aggressive, decisive side was separated in a transporter accident. You all are my Spock and Bones.

You know, I just noticed the ramp sound effect in the original after rendering the latest version, so I’ll see if it can be put back in. As for the refrain, I think I know what you’re talking about, but I’m pretty sure all the notes are there. I shortened the first shot of the Resistance base but the second shot is the same length, and I overlaid the music over that so nothing should be missing.

Totally understand about the editing fatigue. I am doing this now because I need a break from the Technicolor project, but also because it’s a brilliant idea that makes the film better 😃

Glad it’s only a couple of things 😉

I’ll take another stab at it, but keep in mind most of the sounds are replacements and it will only be an approximation.

https://vimeo.com/201235779
Password: sound

Okay, I’ve addressed the following issues:

• I think you can probably do a bit of a crossfade when Rey cries over Finn between the existing music and the new (rather than simply dropping out the existing music entirely)
• missing the sound as Rey drops on Finn
• bit of a rough audio edit when we cut to the closeup of the cockpit
• when they’re running to the Falcon, missing the sound of the Falcon door opening (and then the hiss when they’re boarding)
• missing the sound of the Falcon revving up when Finn is placed on the med bed
• also notice in the film how the sounds of the destruction of the planet slowly start to become louder as the Falcon takes off - rather than begin loud immediately at the start of the shot
• also the explosion sounds are sort of overpowering the music here, careful with that (explosions were definitely secondary to the music in the film’s mix)

The Falcon ramp sound doesn’t make much sense in its original placement, since I doubt Chewie would take the time to close the door behind him just to open it up moments later - after all, time is of the essence. I’ve placed it inside the Falcon, so presumably Rey is closing the door behind her. Since she is now at the door, it doesn’t make sense to have the Falcon revving sound since nobody is in the cockpit.
I’ll probably try to incorporate a bit more of your suggestions before final render as well.

Since I just noticed the sound on the last few viewings, I have the opposite reaction. It seems out of place to me.

I wonder if the uncomfortableness comes from there being only a wind sound and music in that place instead of sounds of planetary cataclysm. Perhaps a strong steam exhaust effect would also help. It aint over yet. 😃

DominicCobb said:

One last suggestion:

Episode VII
THE FORCE AWAKENS

Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire.

Failing to convince the New Republic of this emerging threat, General Leia Organa mobilizes a brave RESISTANCE as the First Order prepares a secret weapon that will secure their return to power.

Desperate for her brother’s help, Leia has sent her most trusted pilot on a daring mission to Jakku, where a clue has been discovered to Luke’s whereabouts…

Best one yet. I’d replace ‘prepares a secret weapon’ with ‘completes a secret weapon’, implying that (1) its threat looms over the plot, and (2) that it’s only recently been completed, so unlikely to be known yet.