Thank you for the replies and interest so far! Definitely some good feedback to consider.
And yes, you may use any ideas you want for your edits! Obviously, I’m borrowing heavily from others myself. The Space Leia removal has a shot I tweaked in after effects, so let me know, and I can send you that scene in prores.
Into the specifics (not really in order):
1) Finn / Rose Deleted Scene
I had considered adding the scene of Finn and Rose in the shuttle going back “where we belong”. It was not in Hal’s edit, but it is a nice moment to give that whole Finn / Rose adventure some closure and bonding time. It’s also a callback to the Finn / Poe added deleted scene. I will take another look at this!
2) BB8 running to shuttle
I would LOVE to add BB-8 somewhere in the shot of Finn and Rose running to the shuttle, even if far away. I would just need a good shot to roto him out of (and from a high angle moving away). Any ideas of a similar shot? Once roto’d, I think motion tracking him in should be relatively simple, considering how wide the shot is.
3) On Phasma
I should mention I don’t have a problem with Phasma at all. I like the character, and love Gwendoline Christie, I just wish they used her in a more interesting and believable way. I actually wish Finn would have outwitted her instead of fight her, and, either way, not during evacuation time! I also didn’t need to see Finn fully commit to being “Rebel scum” in this manner; I prefer his commitment being shown by his actions on Crait.
4) Finn / Rose crash
It’s not very obvious to me that you’re seeing two ships colliding, but maybe I can add a laser blast to help sell it. To me, it all happens so fast, and it’s great work by darthrush!
5) Finn dragging Rose back to base
Currently, this shot is cut, actually (updated first post so this is clear), so there’s nothing misleading, just missing: we don’t see Finn get back to base. We do see him survive the crash and run towards it, however. He next appears when Poe is figuring out Luke’s plan.
6) Rose getting shot down
I agree Rose is a bit missing in the end, and I like the idea of having her shot down at some point (and bringing back shot of Finn dragging Rose), but I think that might be too difficult to make it truly work. She would have to get shot down (using another crash shot?), Finn screams (doable), and then Finn continues on anyway? What about his turning off his coms when Rose says “Don’t do this?” Do we have to lose that moment? If she crashes after this, then he likely wouldn’t know she got hit. I like idea, but don’t yet see a way to execute it!
Overall, with Finn / Rose crash, I just can’t watch the movie with this included, because it’s so incredibly dangerous my brain rejects that Rose (or anyone) would do that. I realize it’s a movie, and there’s probably more improbable things that happen, but I feel cheated when the stakes are so low that characters can get away with stuff like this.
Thank you again for the feedback! Definitely some stuff to think about and see what I can do!