Puppet show looks AMAZING! I fully support the idea to extend it with a zoomed in shot.
I’ve suggested ways to emphasize it even more, like having Palpatine’s voice sometimes be layered with multiple echoing voices. Like all the Sith are speaking through him.
So I have been playing with this idea for the past little while, trying to make it work. This is still rough, but I think it’s in a position that I can show it for feedback. I really wanted the “I am all the Sith” thing to lean into the “I am Legion” idea of the Sith literally possessing Palpatine’s body, so this is my attempt at conveying that. I’ve used Sade’s PHENOMENAL re-ordering of Palpatine’s dialogue, ending on “No match for the power in me”.
Now, I had seen people on here mention that the pregnant pause in dialogue in this cut was unfortunate, and some wishing that it ended on “You are nothing” so that it’s clear that Rey is responding to THAT specifically. So I let the Sith voices do the talking during that pause. Honestly, I’m pumped about how this is going, but I need everyone’s ears. Does this rule? Or does it suck?
Hmm…I don’t know. Maybe it’s just because I’m used to the singular Palpatine voice, but I think it’s a little distracting to me, hearing the echoes on Papa Palpy’s voice.
And for the echoing “nothings” in the pause, it feels kind of…opposite to me? Like, okay, at this point, Rey is partway through her line “I am a Jedi.” The camera is doing a dramatic push in, the music score is rising up and crescendoing…to me, this pause is almost like Rey is “charging up” to unleash her final Jedi move on Palpatine. It’s a moment that should be building in hope and strength, not trying to tear Rey down more. So those “you’re nothing” whispers kind of work in opposition to what the scene seems to be trying to convey.
However, the idea of the whispers is interesting, and I almost wonder what it would be like if the Jedi were the ones whispering to Rey in this moment? “Hold firm.” “Strength in the Force.” “Mmm! Grab the second lightsaber, you must. Palpatine’s weakness, it is.” Hyping her up, lending her strength before the final push.
I say this all as someone who has no issues with the pause here. The score fills the moment just fine, for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯