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The Hobbit (M4 Book Edit) (Released) — Page 3

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Jackpumpkinhead said:

Just checking, is the newest version on your site now?

Yes, but technically no. I’m updating the link one more time this month (when I will be on spring break) so that the MKV will include built in Subtitles, Chapter Markers, and Editor’s Audio Commentary. I also got a hold of the Theatrical footage so I was able to tweak 2 or 3 transitions (Instead of working around the extended footage, I was easily able to just swap in the theatrical with no meddling, which is a nice cherry on top). So if you want that complete final package wait till then. It wil be announced on my site’s “update log,” but the one up right now is basically the newest version, for casual viewing purposes.

And for anyone else following this thread, once that “final digital version” is published, I can then work on getting the Blu-ray files up, which will take some time, but not too long. Already have the menus set up just need to build & upload. So close… Getting hyped https://i.imgur.com/ToiUIuP.png

All that said, now is the time for any final feedback, as I have yet to export the project again!

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Really impressed at the quality of this edit. I’m glad I found this as I had previously assumed that the Maple edit was the highest quality project. Well done! :]

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Kaytwo said:

Really impressed at the quality of this edit. I’m glad I found this as I had previously assumed that the Maple edit was the highest quality project. Well done! :]

Thank you, that means a lot!

Also it’s time… This week, final version with subtitles and commentary. Not gonna promise a certain day but it’ll come. Finished recording part 1 commentary so far.

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sidshady12 said:

Kaytwo said:

Really impressed at the quality of this edit. I’m glad I found this as I had previously assumed that the Maple edit was the highest quality project. Well done! :]

Thank you, that means a lot!

Also it’s time… This week, final version with subtitles and commentary. Not gonna promise a certain day but it’ll come. Finished recording part 1 commentary so far.

(EDIT) Sorry, I cannot wrap my head around this quotation system.

Back on topic; super excited to hear that I could potentially enjoy this movie with subtitles this weekend!

One thing that I wish was in the original book, so that it could also be included in this version, is the dialogue between Galadriel and Ganfalf about Bilbo and the everyday deeds of kindness. It would be truly beautiful if only the audio of the dialogue, starting with “Mithrandir… Why the halfling?”, played in the background of some mundane scene of Bilbo and his journey.

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@Milltastic I think you forgot to type your message or accidently sent that? Let me know if you did mean to ask a question or something

With the editor’s audio commentary I’m curious if anyone knows how professional movies are panned and mixed. Is it just the original 5.1 mix super quiet with the commentary only in the center channel?

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I’ve got to say this version is the best Hobbit Edit I’ve seen. I’ve been looking for the perfect edit for years, and I think I’ve finally found it. Well done!

In case anyone enjoyed the Necromancer subplot, I’d recommend looking up ‘The Battle of Dol Guldur’. It’s about 40 minutes and feels really good as a standalone feature to watch between this Hobbit edit and LotR.

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Milltastic said:

sidshady12 said:

Kaytwo said:

Really impressed at the quality of this edit. I’m glad I found this as I had previously assumed that the Maple edit was the highest quality project. Well done! :]

Thank you, that means a lot!

Also it’s time… This week, final version with subtitles and commentary. Not gonna promise a certain day but it’ll come. Finished recording part 1 commentary so far.

(EDIT) Sorry, I cannot wrap my head around this quotation system.

Back on topic; super excited to hear that I could potentially enjoy this movie with subtitles this weekend!

One thing that I wish was in the original book, so that it could also be included in this version, is the dialogue between Galadriel and Ganfalf about Bilbo and the everyday deeds of kindness. It would be truly beautiful if only the audio of the dialogue, starting with “Mithrandir… Why the halfling?”, played in the background of some mundane scene of Bilbo and his journey.

By the way the subtitles are released in the download folder. (Still need to upload the version with them combined into the mkv but that’s not really pressing, you can add them yourself with VLC for example)

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Been 2 months since an update, just wanted to follow up. The final 1080p MKV release is available with DTS audio, alternate AC3 audio, built in subtitles and chapters. There is also an alternate 720p MP4 if the filesize is too much.

Feel free to PM/reply any questions or if you’d like a link.

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I remember seeing the Maple Edit sometime last year; it actually inspired me to start making my own edit of the trilogy. I’d love to see your version; the summary describes some really intriguing changes! Do I have to get it from your site? (pretty new to OT.com and I’m not 100% sure how all the processes work)

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you Yoda.”
Master Fail

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DrVibble said:

I remember seeing the Maple Edit sometime last year; it actually inspired me to start making my own edit of the trilogy. I’d love to see your version; the summary describes some really intriguing changes! Do I have to get it from your site? (pretty new to OT.com and I’m not 100% sure how all the processes work)

Sounds good, and basically on this forum (and fanedit.org) you can get links in private messages so I’ll go ahead and message you the download link

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Thanks for the quick reply!

An additional question; I notice on your website that you changed some of the Black Speech subtitles. As I’d like to the same for my own edit, how do I accomplish that?

(If this isn’t the place to answer technical questions that’s fine, I also asked in the How To’s and Technical Discussions section, just thought it might be helpful to get firsthand advice)

Also I just realised you feature music from Clamavi de Profundis in your credits! I love their music and I actually had the same idea! (I used 3 of their songs in 2 intermissions)

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you Yoda.”
Master Fail

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No problem! This is fine to talk about here, there aren’t many Hobbit threads plus it relates to mine.

In my edit, from what I remember I changed 3 subtitles:

The first two were shots which already had subtitles so I had to crop them out. I upscaled the scene by the absolute minimum I had to in order to get the old subtitle off the screen. This involves moving the location of the shot (you slide it down a little bit, so only the bottom part is cut off, and upscale to remove any black spaces). Once upscaled, I tidied up the shot to make sure it still looked good by using a sharpen effect. They were only like 3 seconds long so really quick, if you handle your source files well and export at a good bitrate an audience won’t ever be able to tell that the picture quality is slightly different in a few quick shots (because of the upscale, it can reduce quality slightly), but if you do it all the time or have really detailed shots that last a long time they may start to notice. I can’t even notice myself and I made the edits lol, so don’t worry too much about quality as long as you do your best.

The other time I simply used a new shot without a subtitle and added a fresh subtitle on top so no upscaling required. It was a shot of the Orcs marching and I added Azog yelling during it, and then I could write whatever I wanted. This option is much better but can only be used in rare situations if you get lucky.

I don’t recommend redubbing entire scenes though it can get messy with the blocking if you upscale, so I tried to do it only when I had to. Also, the font is ITC Weidemann Medium and depending on which film it’s either white or greyish, then just add a slight bottom right black shadow with like 80% opacity, example https://i.imgur.com/E3oj7E5.png

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Blu-ray ISOs are finished! (And art)

Unfortunately, downloading both parts will run you up by 70GB or so, but it’s worth it to get the max HD and all the bonus content packed onto the discs. So of course, there will always be smaller digital file downloads, but I know some of you out there have blu-ray burners and like to have physical copies still 😃

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This is really fantastic! I was thoroughly disappointed at the theatrical Hobbit releases, as I absolutely loved the book. I also saw lots of the first fan edit attempts several years ago, but didn’t really care for the changes or quality. This will be my go-to version from now on as the blu rays collect dust. Great quality and you did an excellent job adhering to the book and unearthing the good movie buried underneath 3 mediocre prequels.

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iantnvol2 said:

This is really fantastic! I was thoroughly disappointed at the theatrical Hobbit releases, as I absolutely loved the book. I also saw lots of the first fan edit attempts several years ago, but didn’t really care for the changes or quality. This will be my go-to version from now on as the blu rays collect dust. Great quality and you did an excellent job adhering to the book and unearthing the good movie buried underneath 3 mediocre prequels.

Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed

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Let’s face it, your work was done perfectly. You were so attentive to all the details. Do you want to know what the best thing about it is for me personally? The way you set your goals from the beginning. You set the goal right away and followed it. You put in a great job at a great time. I will note that Peregrin Tuck and his entire story from https://www.thetolkienforum.com/wiki/Peregrin-Took did not change in yours. I love all the stories with him and am glad they didn’t change, they are the best as it is, and to me everything there is perfect. The ball is in your court! Thank you for a job like this!

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Well I don’t know if any fan edit is ever truly perfect but if you really mean that then thank you - happy to hear you enjoyed.

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Hi again! Watching your edit has provided me with some wonderful inspiration for my own work, and we’ve turned out to have very similar ideas for some areas (especially the wordless prologue and the placement of Bard taking out the Black Arrow). I love that stuff like this can be made and shared.

I’m returning to this thread as I had a few more questions pertaining to editing, which are pretty specific to this edit.

There are two things you made in your edit that I would love to be able to do for my own as well: the new credits and the VFX ‘Intermission’ title.

How do you go about making an all-new credits sequence? Are there templates you can get somewhere, do you replicate it from the original films, or do you just have to do the entire thing by hand?

What programs would you recommend for learning basic VFX to make that ‘Intermission’ text? You don’t have to put a full tutorial for the effect down here, that could get complex (though some starter tips wouldn’t hurt 😃)

On another note, would it be possible to re-use some of the custom VFX shots you have in this edit, and if so whose permission will I need to ask for? (I mainly aim to use this edit for private viewing, but if it turns out well I might end up sharing it.)

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you Yoda.”
Master Fail

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DrVibble said:

How do you go about making an all-new credits sequence? Are there templates you can get somewhere, do you replicate it from the original films, or do you just have to do the entire thing by hand?

Here’s what I did for the new credits, and since you’re so nice and I’m bored at work I’m going to give you full rundowns on everything:

  • For the main starring list, this is easy, just type the names in the same font and place them in your timeline all evenly spaced out with proper fade length (I believe from black -> fully faded in to name was about 3-6 frames I forget but you can check just go frame by frame and count), so that way you can type all the main cast that showed up in your edit (If your edit is similar to mine you can just copy that, The company, Thranduil, Bard, etc)

  • For the scrolling credits this took a bit more work. Take screenshots of every scrolling credits from all 3 movies, or just open the movie and pause at the scrolling credits. Go movie by movie, one by one, and list every single person shown in the credits, can just use notepad or something

  • You can ignore/delete all the repeated names obviously, so by the time you get to BOTFA you can easily skip over gandalf the dwarves bilbo etc

  • Delete characters that were not present in your edit. For example, random Hobbit from market scene played by whoever, just google this character and see what they look like. If you remember they were only in that market scene and if you cut out that scene, then you can delete them to be realistic. It was a long process but I think I got it down so I included every single character that made in appearance in my edit. Although be careful, in that example I think some of the hobbits show up in the last shire scene. I definitely remember I removed Radagast and Sauron from the credits without having to even check because I know they didn’t even appear at all.

  • Order them in whatever way you want, I tried to put them in somewhat chronological order of appearance

  • This is the fun part, then go into photoshop and make a large image that’s 1920 pixels wide and probably at least 2000-3000 pixels high, because remember it’s going to be scrolling.

  • Type out all the names and use those screenshots from earlier of the official credits to match the font, color, and size, it doesn’t have to be 1:1 accurate just as long as you think it’ll blend in with the official credits. Useful: https://www.theonering.net/torwp/2014/06/26/90498-the-lord-of-the-fonts-a-guide-to-fonts-in-the-hobbit-and-the-lord-of-the-rings/1/

  • Crop your image if you made it too big you don’t want unnecessary black space at the top/bottom, then export as PNG and load that into your software. If you are editing in 1920 x 1080 you’ll need to add the black bars at the top/bottom for the correct aspect ratio, but for me I edited in 1920 x 800 (no black bars) so I was fine.

  • Position your credits down below off the screen. Then, find the very first frame where you see the scrolling credits pop up at the bottom of your screen, match your image to that spot with a key frame. You’ll need to do some math and I was able to figure it out without any prior knowledge of doing this but try to calculate how fast the credits move up, like see how long it takes for the original “cast” word to move up to the last frame on the top before disappearing and make a key frame for your credits there at the same spot, then subtract how far the distance was, then just make another keyframe that same distance but added on etc etc not sure how to explain maybe a better way of doing it but I figured out this way.

What programs would you recommend for learning basic VFX to make that ‘Intermission’ text? You don’t have to put a full tutorial for the effect down here, that could get complex (though some starter tips wouldn’t hurt 😃)

I used After Effects CS6 for the intermission text, I actually found a tutorial on youtube for adding noise to words and it was actually not too hard even though the tutorial wasn’t related to LOTR at all, I started following it but then halfway through by just some one of the basic noise effects adjusted it turned out that was all I needed. It’s a very simple effect all you need to make sure is you have the goldish glow color. Once you export and load into premiere, you can always color correct it more and speed up the layer to make the “shiny reflections” faster, that’s at least what I did. I could potentially check exactly what I did later.

On another note, would it be possible to re-use some of the custom VFX shots you have in this edit, and if so whose permission will I need to ask for? (I mainly aim to use this edit for private viewing, but if it turns out well I might end up sharing it.)

Yeah sure, as long as you give credit wherever you share the edit. They were made by my friend eric1894, who I’ve added to the editors section in the end credits along with myself. If you google my hobbit edit and check youtube there is a VFX reel posted by him which has a download in the description for all/most of the VFX without any of my color grading or film grain. But preferably, you wouldn’t use those VFX as promo or in any trailers etc., as they were made for my cut and would be a little unfair for his work to be used as promotion for someone else’s unrelated edit, although I know you wouldn’t do that anyways as I’m sure you understand - just clarifying.

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Thanks for the reply! Despite being an amateur editor, I really hope to make my edit as complete as possible, and the technical prowess on display in your and other Hobbit edits has been a great inspiration. If you don’t mind further questions, I’ve a couple more things to add (if this is getting too off-topic for this thread feel free to redirect me):

I edit with DaVinci Resolve, and only the free version (my budget is limited), and I’m still relatively inexperienced with it; I can comfortably use the Cut and Edit pages and I’m now teaching myself how to colour grade, though I’ve never touched its Fairlight and Fusion sections (sound design and VFX). Never used Photoshop, Premiere or After Effects; this edit is the first and only video editing project I’ve ever made (jumping in the deep end, I know, but up till now I’ve been able to do everything I’ve needed to; just this more technically complex stuff that’s beyond me).

Regarding your advice for making the credits, I can understand it all until the last part, as I’m not familiar with using key frames. Though I’ve so far got by fine by just fiddling around and teaching myself Resolve’s functions, I’ll look up some tutorials for these more specialised functions. Also, while that covers the scrolling cast section, what should I do for the rest of the crew credits? Since it seems a hell of a task to go through and write out every individual crew member, is the rest just nabbed from one of the films?

I have zero VFX experience, and Adobe software has a pretty steep price tag; I could try to do what I need to do within their one-week free trial, unless you can recommend any free alternatives?

Thanks for clarifying about the VFX permissions; I’ll have a look at those links, and if I ever take this edit more public, I’ll be sure to give eric1894 credit.

Thanks so much for your help so far! Again, if these technical questions are too off-topic for this edit’s thread, I’ll stop.

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you Yoda.”
Master Fail

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Just one more question, if it’s alright: having just got my hands on some Blu-Rays of The Hobbit and LOTR (don’t ask how, but up till now I’ve only had the 4K Blu-Rays and DVDs), so I intend to rebuild my edit from the ground up in HD. That being said, I’m having trouble figuring out what audio format to encode it with.

To get the video file I rip it from the Blu-Ray with MakeMKV and then encode it using HandBrake, but I’m not sure whether to encode it with Stereo or 5.1 audio. For the DVD it was just Stereo, but now I’m not sure what’s best. Since we’re likely working off similar discs, what settings did you use?

Sorry if the repeated questions are bugging you.

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you Yoda.”
Master Fail

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DrVibble said:

Regarding your advice for making the credits, I can understand it all until the last part, as I’m not familiar with using key frames. Though I’ve so far got by fine by just fiddling around and teaching myself Resolve’s functions, I’ll look up some tutorials for these more specialised functions. Also, while that covers the scrolling cast section, what should I do for the rest of the crew credits? Since it seems a hell of a task to go through and write out every individual crew member, is the rest just nabbed from one of the films?

I didn’t touch the crew members haha that would take wayyy too long. As you saw in my edit the credits had the black background, so I didn’t use the BOTFA credits I spliced in the Unexpected Journey credits instead, and so since it was a trilogy all shot together (like LOTR) I think it’s good enough to just use their credits. I only changed the cast because it was more noticeable. Also, you don’t even have to modify the scrolling cast it’s just an extra touch, but if you do yeah don’t worry about the crew.

For keyframes, I would suggest just looking up a tutorial on youtube for how to make a scrolling credits in your software I am sure there is a way, there might even be an easier way than I described, youll just have to make sure the speed at which the credits scroll is the same.

I have zero VFX experience, and Adobe software has a pretty steep price tag; I could try to do what I need to do within their one-week free trial, unless you can recommend any free alternatives?

That would work. If you want you could just rip the intermission from my edit and use it in yours if you want, also the maple edit has a similar one you could probably do the same (as long as you give credit if sharing)

To get the video file I rip it from the Blu-Ray with MakeMKV and then encode it using HandBrake, but I’m not sure whether to encode it with Stereo or 5.1 audio. For the DVD it was just Stereo, but now I’m not sure what’s best. Since we’re likely working off similar discs, what settings did you use?

You’re going to want to encode into Waveform (.wav, and set it at 24 bit), this is uncompressed and lossless so it is best for editing! You won’t lose any quality.

With handbrake, that means you have the video track all good to go. If I were you, when you converting I would just uncheck the audio and ignore it.

Take your original MKV, unaltered, and drag it into Audacity. Then, export each track as a mono wave file.

I’ve made a tutorial for the whole process I use, actually, so if you want it’s here: https://youtu.be/Y-u3F3Jhwrg?t=119

That way, you load in your video and audio separately, but since they are the same length it doesn’t matter they will line up. The audio doesn’t need to be attached to the MP4

Start the tutorial about 2 minutes in, when using MakeMKV, you can make it so it only gives you the main DTS HD MA audio track and not the others. If not, you’ll have all the audio tracks and when you load into Audacity you need to choose the audio track but it doesn’t tell you which is which, I reckon just click the top one. Then follow the tutorial to about 7 minutes in for the process with Audacity. I think this tutorial is good for setting up 5.1 in your software https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ30eAFgjMQ but you can experiment. Research how to load 6 WAV files into 5.1 set up

Sorry if the repeated questions are bugging you.

Not at all!

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Thanks so much! It’s honestly a blessing to get first-hand help; I would never have put that together about the audio. Funnily enough, I’ve spent nearly all of today fiddling with Handbrake’s encoding settings to get functioning audio, but now I realise I only needed the video xD

Thanks for clarifying about the credits, I’ll check some tutorials to put it all together.

I already have Audacity, and though I haven’t used it much, I’ll be sure to check out that tutorial.

Though I did consider it, nabbing the intermission from your or the Maple Edit wouldn’t quite work for mine, as my intermissions are longer (they’re both a bit over 8 minutes as I use songs from Clamavi de Profundis). As I also intend to make similar CdP musical intermissions for the LOTR Extended Editions, for which the text would need to be blue rather than brown/gold, it’s probably most effective to learn the effect myself. I’m sure there are free VFX programs (I think Blender is free?) that I can find sufficient tutorials for.

Thanks a lot for all the help! I’ll start getting myself some good uncompressed 5.1 audio.

“I don’t believe it.”

“That is why you Yoda.”
Master Fail

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Yeah, I think you should be good to go on everything. Takes time to learn but I think you can figure it all out, in terms of audio/the credits. The one tricky thing left is of course, the intermission text. For now you could just write it out in the LOTR Aniron font and put it in white, then worry about coloring it later. Also, actually it wouldn’t be too hard to make it blue even if it’s already gold, colorizing tools have that capability.

If I get the time I might actually make them and improve upon the one I already made, and release them at several colors here (gold, brownish, blue, etc.). We’ll see, but no promises as of right now.