The new intro includes the Dudley Redemption scene with green screens replaced. To accomplish this, I used Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI to upscale the footage to 4K and to smooth out some of the pixelation from the low res footage. This allowed for better masking of the green screen in some parts as well as allowing me to crop some of the green screen areas out completely.
Good stuff, I say. 😃 Great work on “replacing” the green screen. My only comment would be that it (the Dudley Redemption scene) seems just a tad on the pink side (a switch from the greenish when we first see them all walking to the car); most noteably Harry’s face for the closer (first?) shot seems too toward magenta. Putting that mention aside, big thumbs up to your work on this!
I know that for some the intro will be way too long and the “flow” of it will have been broken by this addition. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, including whether to like this change or not.
The point of a fan edit project is for the editor to use whatever resources that are out there to create your vision of the film as it calls to you, make all the alterations that call to you. This opening is obviously where your heart and mind currently are with it, and it all feels well produced and seamless, so with those two check-boxes ticked, yeah, go for it, do this, it’s cool! Indeed, if people want an opening more like the theatrical or your previous version then those are already there.
I also added sound effects when Hermione does the Obliviate spell as her pictures are removed from the frames. Some minor color tweaking was also done.
Nicely done!