Final thoughts before I put this down for a little while:
My plan is to modify opening and closing screens.
For the opening, I think I need a track with less bombast than the current one, which matches the bombastic nature of the newscaster narrator. In my edit, I’m not going to preserve him, since I get far more flexibility if I use text I can control - this gives me more flexibility in what I cut from edits so I think it’s worth doing. It also makes us take a breath and contextualise what we’re about to see. In terms of music I intend to go for a little military, a little weary, a little sadder, and let the opening text have a more somber tone. It may be that the current closing credits track is a bit more suitable, or I might go darker still.
For the closing, I’m going to redo the credits over imagery from each episode’s episode gallery / BTS gallery on StarWars.com. This’ll be much more like Mandalorian, which has those lovely bits of art.
This will be over particularly dark, ponderous music - I want us to take a beat after each episode and really digest it. I think the best track for this might be the prelude to Order 66 music which slowly builds throughout the third episode of the final arc. This would serve us nicely because it’s dark and ominous - welcome since we know the inevitable conclusion of the Clone Wars and mentally it draws us toward that end - and also because, when we later hear it in the episode itself, fuck me is it going to be tense. (And luckily, of course, the episode actually pays off that tension.) A similar one would be this: https://youtu.be/cNO3aNksUzg?t=1498
Yes, yes, and yes! Really glad to hear you’re losing the narrator (which you mentioned some time ago, but I never chimed in), both for the reasons you listed previously and above, but also because it is just so jarring, especially for someone like myself who is coming from live-action canon into this new medium, which is shocking in and of itself. The episodes I’ve watched before in trying to get into TCW have always had me tentative from the moment NewsMan starts talking. I totally appreciate the original intent to include that as a constant within TCW: it sets it apart from other media, it has a similar feel as the original Flash Gordon-esque serials of way-back-when, etc. But since the approach you’re taking with this fanedit is more somber, character-driven, and forward-looking, I think the bold choice to remove his narration is not only a boon to your creative freedom in establishing each of your episodes, but significantly aligns the entry point for each episode with the new tone you’re setting.
Again, just a dude and his unpolished thoughts. Others who have fallen in love with TCW as-is may well feel the choice is too far a deviation from the soul or gestalt of the show. I can’t say one way or the other, but as one of the few of us following along who hasn’t actually seen more than 3 episodes of TCW, I certainly am excited for your approach and think it will make a meaningful impact on the viewer experience of the show.
And yes too for all your other musical choices. SO looking forward to this!!
EDIT: One more thing – the decision to have credits over concept art is brilliant. One of my favorite things about Mando and I routinely watch all the credits solely for this reason.