Book 3 Update! I have a working draft completed and am beginning the full watch through --> bug fix phase.
Has this most recent episode given you confidence in being able to put together a decent edit for this season?
This episode was exactly what I expected it to be. Getting back on track, but unable to solve the larger issues of the season as a whole in and of itself. I was initially planning on making 2 films out of Season 3 (before it started…), but now I believe it’ll just be the one. And yes, I do have confidence in what I will be able to transform it into. If you have seen my old BoBF edit (Book 5), I believe this will be similar to that edit where I have to MASSIVELY restructure a huge number of scenes in order to tell a new narrative. I am looking forward to getting into this season’s content and starting to work through the maze of scenes soon.
I watched Book 1 and Book 2 last night. Oh. My. Word! These are phenomenal. Absolutely fantastic work, and does exactly what I was hoping for; to blend BoBF & Mando perfectly.
I love the restructuring to the first part of Mando’s story, the arc between retrieving Grogu, handing him off and then rescuing him after the prison break works so well! The flashback work is inspired and perfectly reflects the parallels in their histories. The only cut that felt a little awkward to me was Kuill collecting IG-11. It’s a very short sequence that felt a bit out of left-field when I was refocused on Din after the prison break. Chronologically it makes sense where it is now, but thematically maybe it should follow on from the farewell on Arvala before cutting away to Din on Nevarro? Or maybe something of a post-credits thing? I’m honestly not sure exactly where I’d put it, but I just wanted to be honest with you on that one.
Thanks for the review. So glad you enjoyed the new presentation. I’d love to use something else for the IG-11 scene, but there are barely any “travel” scenes in the season that work to bridge a passage of time. Do you think it would feel less awkward for it to be a jump-to-hyperspace immediately followed by a jump-out-of-hyperspace? I typically hate to do that as it feels like a teleport instead of a journey, but I also hate awkward/distracting alternative scene placements.
While Book 1 is practically perfection, Book 2 is even better in my opinion. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about so much of Sorgan being cut, but it’s absolutely spot on! The two series are beautifully blended together and the feeling that they’re ships in the night is great. Boba’s characterisation is much closer to what you’d expect from the character, brilliant stuff. I’ll be honest, I did miss the rite-of-passage making the gaffi stick, but completely understand why it’s been cut to maintain the characterisation and pacing; the lizard trip was a bit strange in the original material, and it’s hard to see a way to keep the rite and keep it all thematically sound.
Wow! That’s awesome to hear. Book 2 was very difficult to make! EddieDean and I reviewed at least 3 full drafts with different scenes and story orders before settling on this final cut, so that’s amazing to see that it worked out for you. Getting all those events paced out to work narratively was like figuring out a 1,000 piece puzzle haha. I agree, missing out of the gaffi stick carving was my hardest cut to make as well. I wrestled with that one quite a bit, but ultimately it didn’t fit the pacing and this film needed something left on the cutting board for the greater good. Sometimes that happens and if this were a DVD it would definitely be in the “Deleted Scenes” section!
I’m really stoked to see what comes in Book 3 and beyond. I’ve enjoyed Mando Season 3 overall so far, but I was also concerned about how some of the content would fit into a cut like this. Watching the new episode last night has definitely grounded it all a bit for me, and I’m really interested to see how you blend the new content. Overall this has definitely become my definitive way to watch this content on repeat, and it’ll only be new season releases that I watch through D+.
That’s quite the compliment, thank you very much. As I said above, once you watch my coming Book 5, I hope it’ll give some hope for what I may be able to do with Season 3 content. I’m excited to get the last episode soon and start experimenting in the lab.
So I finally sat down to watch the remaining of Book 1. I specially love how the action scenes flow so much better. Mando was such a badass by the end of it. The fight with the droids at the prison was so damn cool!
Thanks so much! I put an absurd amount of time into touching up the action sequences haha. Frame by frame by frame. Every fight. I think it makes a huge difference though.
Those are my only nitpicks:
1 - I really liked having the prison episode here, but maybe trim down even a little bit more the secondary characters? Maybe the chit chat at their introduction, or they walking the corridors? idk, felt like we spend too much time with such expendable characters.
If the film dragged on, I would probably agree with you here, but it’s under 2 hours before the credits so I don’t feel it’s necessary to chop the length any more. We’re going to spend a good 45 minutes with those characters (and one comes back later in the series) so I don’t feel bad about some talking segments here. Plus, it gives us a look into the daily life of a bounty hunter. Din has probably taken dozens of jobs like this and it’s a cool look into his life.
2 - 1:42:28 that cut was VERY abrupt. Maybe a classic wipe transition would help a lot?
However, IMHO, how about moving that scene to just after mando leaves arvala-7? 'Cause we haven’t been with Kuiil for pretty much an hour, so it’s really weird and confusing when he just randomly pops in for a 40 second scene that doesn’t even pay off (in this Book 1, of course) after that.
Yes, a spiral wipe would probably work well here, and I addressed the IG scene above if you have any further feedback.
3 - Din giving Grogu the little ball thing was perfect for the closing moment, however… just the next scene and it’s back at the top of the lever, which kinda completely ruins the moment lmao.
Well that scene takes place in hyperspace, and the next scene where the ball is re-attached takes place once landed on Sorgan. That is many hours-days seperated. Din usually puts the ball back on each time Grogu gets it for a while.
Anyways, onward to watching Book 2, and anxious to getting Book 3! As always, outstanding work! Wish I could be that good of an editor…
Awesome, hope you enjoy the sequel! Book 3 is coming very soon. You can definitely learn, I’m nothing special 😉 YouTube videos can teach you as much as any degree if you are self-motivated.
Sorry for being late here,
but can i please have the links to the books ?!Kind regards,
Little Darth Niederlander
Of course, sent!
Thanks for the support and feedback everyone. So many messages between here and in DMs that are much appreciated.