The Last Jedi: Rekindled (Released) — Page 6

I’d definitely like the Maz scene trimmed. Luke’s milk-drinking I could go either way on.

ChainsawAsh said:
I’ll have some actual free time over the holiday weekend, so if you want another set of eyes on your edit for QC before you officially release it, shoot me a PM, I should be able to watch it and give you notes on any issues that jump out to me by Sunday.

This is so much appreciated, I will definitely try and get you something to QC in the next few days if I can!

ChainsawAsh said:
Also, if you’re working with lossless audio and want a DTS encode (though sadly not DTS-HD), I can do that for you once your audio is finalized, provided you can give me each individual audio channel as a mono AIFF or WAV file.

Also extremely appreciate offering to encode the DTS. I did do a DTS encode using ffmpeg (bitrate: 1509.75k), and it sounded good to me, but it would be great to have the extra ears. It will be included (along with AC3 at 640k) if/when I get you the file this week, and if you think your encoder would improve the quality, I would greatly appreciate it! I am using lossless audio.

Just finished watching the (possibly?) final version. I’ll post more fully-formed thoughts in the morning, but I’ll say this now:

Guys, this is really good. Definitely my go-to TLJ edit. And poppaaketti, you should definitely start a thread for this over on FE and submit it for inclusion in the IFDb.

Okay, here’s a more in-depth “review” as I promised. Bear in mind that this is coming from someone that mostly liked TLJ and the direction it took, but felt that it had some major problems that prevented it from being great.

This is a fantastic edit. Really. All of the major changes work amazingly well, and some of them even manage to fix a scene I would have just yanked out of the movie completely or otherwise altered more drastically than you’ve proven necessary. Luke’s saber toss now has emotional weight to it since it isn’t played for laughs through the music, and it feels like it was always meant to be scored that way; the “milking” scene now works as Johnson intended it to without being undercut by the bizarre shots of Luke actually drinking the milk; the over-the-top CGI nonsense of Finn vs. Phasma and BB-8 in the walker are seamlessly extracted and not missed in the slightest; and your version of Finn’s suicide run is simply perfect.

And, of course, Leia’s spacewalk - thank you so much for getting rid of the one scene that consistently takes me out of the film in such a seamless way!

Anything else that’s been taken out, I didn’t miss. There are bits here and there that I still wouldn’t have left in the way you have, but they aren’t nearly as much of an issue when those are now the worst moments, rather than being surrounded by even worse stuff. I prefer Hal’s treatment of the “prank call” moment, and I’d also have kept his removal of the “cowl” line and the line about Rey’s parents being dead, though I understand your rationale for keeping all of these things and taken in the context of your edit as a whole, they don’t bug me as much as they normally do.

I also would probably restore the BB-8 hologram deleted scene after Holdo’s “Stick to your post and follow my orders,” or stick a Luke/Rey segment between the first Holdo scene and this deleted scene plus Rose’s introduction (which might help address another issue I had that I’ll talk about in a bit), but that’s mostly personal preference and a desire to keep as much Finn material as possible with Canto Bight being mostly gone.

Technically, the edit is flawless. I noticed no harsh audio transitions, the video quality is top-notch, and all of the VFX work (both that which is new to this edit like BB-8 during the Star Destroyer escape and everything surrounding Rose’s crash and Finn’s suicide run, and holdovers from Hal’s edit like the caretaker removal) is seamless and professional. On that level, you’d never know this was fan edited at all, and that’s a massively important thing to me when it comes to fan edits.

There’s one little bit, when Leia is brought away on a stretcher after the bridge explosion, where the music left over from the “spacewalk” scene wraps up that feels a little out of place, but it’s very minor and I don’t know if that can be “fixed” anyway, so I’m not taking any points off for that one. 😉

Now, I do think a couple of the cutaways back to the fleet seem awkwardly short, particularly the one just after Luke’s first lesson, which I think would feel less choppy if it was placed immediately after the Maz scene. But I also think this is largely due to cutting Canto Bight down as much as you (and Hal) have, so it’s difficult to address this without throwing off basically everything else structurally. I think, as I said before, that restoring the BB-8 hologram deleted scene leading directly into Rose’s introduction, and placing a Luke/Rey island segment between Holdo’s first scene and it, could address this, though that means shifting every other fleet-to-Rey cutaway from then until at least Canto Bight, so I don’t know if it’s something you want to toy with for what’s really a very minor thing that might not even stand out on repeat viewings.

TLJ is, like ROTS, a difficult, disjointed movie structurally, so don’t take the last paragraph as a major criticism, or as something that should prevent you from releasing this as your final version. The theatrical movie has structural issues too, and cutting stuff/reinstating deleted material only adds to the “house of cards” feeling when it comes to how the movie is put together.

As I said, these are all minor issues, and I don’t believe they should prevent you from releasing “Rekindled” as is, because as I said, it’s very very good, and I’m not sure how easily these things can be addressed, or if they even need to be. This type of thing is probably better saved for a V2 down the road after a lot more people have had their eyes on it, assuming it’s something you want to address at all. As it stands, it’s not hindering my enjoyment of this edit, just something in the back of my mind during a couple scenes.

Excellent job! Yours is now the only non-Hal Star Wars edit that’s replaced the “official” version for me. 😃

Hum… you got my interest man. Poppasketti, could you PM me a link ? Thanks in advance !

MalàStrana said:

Hum… you got my interest man. Poppasketti, could you PM me a link ? Thanks in advance !

PM sent!

ChainsawAsh,

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, and thrilled you think it’s ready for release!

I also completely respect all of the things that you would do differently. I’d have to think on them for a while, perhaps after more viewings and other feedback comes in. If anything, it might help for me to give it some time off and come back with fresh eyes!

As for the Leia stretcher music, there is a small bit of holdover music (a note of strings) from the Leia spacewalk. I tried to lead into it with some strings and an accent from “Torn Apart.” The accent has two dark bass notes that rise during the transition. Then the stretcher strings fade in. I wonder if it’s the strings coming in that sounds off to you or the bass accent? Like you said, this may be one of the things to save for a V2 down the road!

When the Eagles win (or inevitably lose) I’ll probably make a release post and update the first one. I will also make a thread on FE.org as has been suggested.

Thanks so much again to you and everyone for your help and feedback!

I’m pleased to announce the release of The Last Jedi: Rekindled!

The first post has been updated with the final cut-list and the specs. Currently there is only the Blu-Ray quality version, which is about 34gb, but I intend to make smaller versions for easier download. Right now, I foresee 10gb and 2gb versions, each 1080p with AC-3, but I’d be open to suggestions.

Edit: To clarify, if you already have a link for workprint 2, you can use the same link to find the release version.

The first post also has a new “Special Thanks” section, including everyone that Hal 9000 thanked for the The Last Jedi: Legendary, which was the base for this edit, as well as any new people who helped with Rekindled.

On a personal note, it’s been amazing and inspiring to be able share ideas in such a positive atmosphere. I’ve been following this website for many years, initially from my interest in Harmy’s Despecialized editions. When The Last Jedi came out, I couldn’t wait to see what the talented people here would come up with, and I was not disappointed.

Hal 9000’s edit is fantastic, and I always admired his eagerness to collaborate. It was on TLJ:L that I was able to make my first contribution to anything on this site: stabilizing the crate Luke sits on while talking to Leia!

I must repeatedly thank Hal 9000, not only for the amazing work he put into his edit, but for his encouragement and guidance in helping me on my own edit.

I must also thank all of you for your help, feedback, and enthusiasm, which has made the whole experience truly rewarding!

-Adam

EddieDean said:

I’d also love a link!

PM sent!

Hal 9000 said:

Congratulations! You deserve it. Glad you were able to get an edit you are happy with, since that’s the most important thing. 😃

Thanks so much, Hal! I appreciate all of your help and, of course, your fantastic work on the Legendary edit!

Way to go, poppasketti!

I’m looking forward to grabbing the 10gb version when it’s ready.

Curious, what’s the runtime of this fanedit?

The runtime is 2:20, which is 12 minutes shorter than the theatrical. There are also about 2 minutes of deleted scenes added in, so 14 minutes of theatrical content was cut.

EDIT: for clarification, credits roll at 2:12.

DZ-330 said:

I would love to have a link, do I need to PM you or will you just send me a PM? Thanks!

PM sent.

And for an update: there’s now two version posted, the 34gb Blu-ray quality version with DTS and AC-3 audio, and now a 10gb version (AC-3 only). I intend to have a 2-4gb 720p version in the next day or two, but I’m trying to find the best encoding settings. My first 2gb test looked very good, except for one shot in the film that is surprisingly difficult to encode: the first flyover of Rey walking up to Luke to give him the lightsaber. That overhead shot of the island has an immense amount of in-focus detail across the frame: the grass, the rocks, and the ripples of the water. So I’ll tinker to see if I can get that shot to look good before posting.

Thank you all for you PMs and interest!

ChainsawAsh said:

I also would probably restore the BB-8 hologram deleted scene after Holdo’s “Stick to your post and follow my orders,” or stick a Luke/Rey segment between the first Holdo scene and this deleted scene plus Rose’s introduction (which might help address another issue I had that I’ll talk about in a bit), but that’s mostly personal preference and a desire to keep as much Finn material as possible with Canto Bight being mostly gone.

…

Now, I do think a couple of the cutaways back to the fleet seem awkwardly short, particularly the one just after Luke’s first lesson, which I think would feel less choppy if it was placed immediately after the Maz scene. But I also think this is largely due to cutting Canto Bight down as much as you (and Hal) have, so it’s difficult to address this without throwing off basically everything else structurally. I think, as I said before, that restoring the BB-8 hologram deleted scene leading directly into Rose’s introduction, and placing a Luke/Rey island segment between Holdo’s first scene and it, could address this, though that means shifting every other fleet-to-Rey cutaway from then until at least Canto Bight, so I don’t know if it’s something you want to toy with for what’s really a very minor thing that might not even stand out on repeat viewings.

For what it’s worth, this did not stand out on a repeat viewing. I’d still like to see the Finn/BB-8 hologram scene restored, but it’s not essential and does require some FX work to get rid of the puppetry on BB-8, so it might not be worth it anyway.

This is the one I have been waiting for! Could I get a witness!? I mean a link 😃

HyperDown said:

I’m looking forward to grabbing the 10gb version when it’s ready.

Ready now! Pm sent.

jrs81 said:

This is the one I have been waiting for! Could I get a witness!? I mean a link 😃

Ha! Pm sent.

ChainsawAsh said:

For what it’s worth, this did not stand out on a repeat viewing. I’d still like to see the Finn/BB-8 hologram scene restored, but it’s not essential and does require some FX work to get rid of the puppetry on BB-8, so it might not be worth it anyway.

That’s good to hear, ChainsawAsh. Still could be worth looking at if I decide to make a V2. I rewatched that Finn hologram scene, and it is a real nice moment (and I got a genuine laugh from it). There is some FX work needed, but I think it’s small enough and only in 1-2 shots. Not sure exactly where it would fit, but it’s something to think about!

poppasketti said:

That’s good to hear, ChainsawAsh. Still could be worth looking at if I decide to make a V2. I rewatched that Finn hologram scene, and it is a real nice moment (and I got a genuine laugh from it). There is some FX work needed, but I think it’s small enough and only in 1-2 shots. Not sure exactly where it would fit, but it’s something to think about!

I’m pretty sure the only place it can fit is right before Finn packs his bag to sneak onto the escape pod, before he meets Rose.

ChainsawAsh said:

poppasketti said:

That’s good to hear, ChainsawAsh. Still could be worth looking at if I decide to make a V2. I rewatched that Finn hologram scene, and it is a real nice moment (and I got a genuine laugh from it). There is some FX work needed, but I think it’s small enough and only in 1-2 shots. Not sure exactly where it would fit, but it’s something to think about!

I’m pretty sure the only place it can fit is right before Finn packs his bag to sneak onto the escape pod, before he meets Rose.

Good point, after rewatching that section, it can only fit between when Holdo tells off Poe and Finn packing his bag. I think it could fit there nicely, but I also noticed there’s more FX work needed than I thought. The background in the first medium shot of BB-8 rolling up is very rough. There’s a strange mask edge around BB-8, most noticeable in the engineering equipment in the background. It would need to be recreated and tracked with a lot of rotoscoping. You could also just cut the shot entirely and work around it, but I’m not sure how well that will flow.

Update: There are now 3 versions!

1. 34gb 1080p Blu-ray quality with DTS and AC-3

2. 10gb 1080p version with AC-3

3. 4gb 720p version with AC-3

I had originally hoped for a 2gb 720p but I could not get the Ahch-To flyover shot to look right at that bitrate. It’s unfortunate, because the 2gb encode looked very good otherwise (even had much of the grain preserved). If anyone has any recommended ffmpeg X264 settings, I would be happy give it a try!

Hi, long time forum lurker here (a couple of years maybe longer!)

Could I please get a link for the 4Gb version? Checked out Hal’s edit recently and really liked it but I think yours might fix the few remaining issues I had (BB8 walker for one).

Thanks