The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released) — Page 657

Hal 9000 said:

Fair points, and I tried to minimize throwing in AI stuff that didn’t address existing problems. Leia’s lack of on-point dialogue being one of them, sorta.

What do you think of Poe’s AI lines in the briefing? I hope that to an unsuspecting viewer it would read as ADR that maybe wasn’t a dead match. Like an older movie. Like Star Wars even. Ultimately it serves a more important plot issue we created. And after a while it’s hard for me to guess how it’ll sound to someone who wasn’t agonizing over it in a NLE.

I agree with others that the delivery is a bit off, the A.I voice sounds a bit softer and higher pitched, though like you say the value it serves of reframing the Sith Fleet and introducing the underbelly cannons makes it a worthwile tradeoff. It’d be nice if it could be improved though, and RogueLeader’s tests are looking promising. His new Poe lines sound a lot closer to the original delivery.

The original AI Kylo line which mentions a clone sounds like 90% there now:

https://youtu.be/_jqCt9AEKIc?si=wNtouPpATk2eFLEx

Since it sounds so close to his other lines we could also replace “What could you… give me?”

As for why this is necessary, I am of the opinion that the vat of clones is easy to miss for a first time viewer. I had to go back and point it out to those watching with me. Also, it’s not really as if Kylo is breaking the fourth wall here and “reading the script”. He’s literally seen the other clones, and can put two and two together to make things clearer for the audience.

Jar Jar Bricks said:

The original AI Kylo line which mentions a clone sounds like 90% there now:

https://youtu.be/_jqCt9AEKIc?si=wNtouPpATk2eFLEx

Since it sounds so close to his other lines we could also replace “What could you… give me?”

As for why this is necessary, I am of the opinion that the vat of clones is easy to miss for a first time viewer. I had to go back and point it out to those watching with me. Also, it’s not really as if Kylo is breaking the fourth wall here and “reading the script”. He’s literally seen the other clones, and can put two and two together to make things clearer for the audience.

That’s significantly better. It matches more with the delivery of the line afterward. That being said? I’m thinking now the clone part is a bit much. I get the thought process but visually the film shows off the clones in a way that’s pretty clear. Maybe you can play around with different wordings like “You’re a ghost from a bygone era.” or “You’re a withered relic.” or maybe use a word like “shell” in place of clone.

Yup. Also, using phrases like “rotting shell” and “withered relic” makes it sound like the kind of needlessly complicated dialog Lucas made back in the day. Which isn’t present throughout the rest of the movie. Imo it would just make the line stand out more and scream: “this wasn’t here originally and is AI”

Hell, I would even make the argument that the clone line makes the vat of Palpatines unnecessary given that Kylo spells out in a very literal way what his deal is. “Your a ghost… in a rotting clone” He is the spirit of Palpatine in a cloned body that’s failing him.

With that in mind, I think it would be more useful to have the vats of Snoke restored considering that the line “I made Snoke” is much more ambigious. You don’t know if he means that figuratively or literally until you see the vat of Snokes.

I know many won’t like this but I think that if we’re looking to be clear, it’s the best way to go. Just my two cents.

Kylo Ren as a character has always said things in a very direct and matter-of-fact way throughout the entire trilogy.

“The map to Skywalker. We know you found it. And now you’re going to give it to the First Order.”

“I feel it again. The pull to the light. The Supreme Leader senses it.”

“I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it”

“Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you were meant to be.”

“You’re a ghost. In a rotting clone. What could you give me?”

I dunno, it just fits.

That’s a fair point and to be fair, it works now with the tweaks to how the line sounds. I think it’s more a personal preference thing.

Hal 9000 said:

The Snoke vat is too silly to keep.

Why is he continuing to make Snokes? Why make more than one to begin with? Did Exegol have makeup artists or surgeons that carve up his scars?

Perhaps there might be a compromise in there? Have the Palpatine clone be front and center but maybe have one of the background clones be Snoke? Of course it doesn’t matter either way, leaving the question ambiguous was honestly the best way to go since if the point was he made Snoke then it would’ve made more sense to have a single Snoke clone in a vat and not the pile of them.

If we want to get really goofy I’d still love to see Luke’s severed hand floating in a tank somewhere lmao.

RogueLeader said:

I’ve been wanting to experiment with some techniques for voice cloning, so I played around with some new versions of the lines under discussion. I haven’t watched V3 so I can’t recall how they compare to the current ones, but I tried to get it to match as close as possible to the surrounding dialogue.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15GjpiX28aV-o9IX9cEWnyjWi008w7dFQ

That “family’s saber” line is excellent. I believe that’s the sentence I’ve wanted her to say since what like, Dec 2019? Hopefully it fits well.

Do you have a Finn by any chance? I’m dying for a Finn.

Jar Jar Bricks said:

The original AI Kylo line which mentions a clone sounds like 90% there now:

https://youtu.be/_jqCt9AEKIc?si=wNtouPpATk2eFLEx

Since it sounds so close to his other lines we could also replace “What could you… give me?”

I wasn’t sold on this before but now I’m really digging it. I think you’re right that replacing the whole thing is probably best, it’s so close that that’s probably going to be easier than fiddling with EQ levels to get a match.

StarkillerAG said:

I really like the idea behind the “clone” line (I think we need an explicit confirmation of how Palps survived for the movie to make sense), and the AI voice is literally seamless. But still, I get why a few people are put off by the specific phrasing. In my opinion, it isn’t the presence of the word “clone” that makes it feel awkward, but how it’s used. Putting it at the end of the sentence just feels awkward somehow, like it doesn’t really flow poetically.

So, as an alternate suggestion, how about this:
“You’re a clone, in a rotting body.”

It’s just as terse and Kylo-esque as the original, and gets the clone info across just as well, but somehow just “feels” better to my ears. Your mileage may vary, though.

The issue is that that means a different thing. The implication should be that this is the Palpatine we know, transferred into a new body. Change the wording too much and it just seems like he’s a straight up copy (and maybe that’s what you want, but personally I like the other way).

DominicCobb said:

That “family’s saber” line is excellent. I believe that’s the sentence I’ve wanted her to say since what like, Dec 2019? Hopefully it fits well.

Yes! Your idea has been in my mind all this time. I put it alongside the rest of her lines and it seems to fit well, at least to my ear.

Do you have a Finn by any chance? I’m dying for a Finn.

I have not made one yet but I’ve already planned to. Lmk if you have something particular in mind, because the type of sample you make depends on what you want him to say.

Regarding the Kylo clone stuff, you also have to keep in mind how we all felt back in 2019. A lot of people felt how Palpatine survived wasn’t really explained well. Just visually, I think some people even assumed he was in his old body, since he is still old and has missing fingers. Early leaks even suggested this may have been the case at one point, strangely enough. So seeing the Palpatine clones helps a lot. And I do think this one line conveys a lot of info. It double-confirms that he is a clone, but also that his spirit is inside the clone, and the clone is rotting away. Back when the movie released, I feel like audiences would’ve been less confused by his return with this clarification, plus it feels like a pretty natural line. I felt similarly about earlier versions of Kylo saying “clone”, but I feel like JarJar nailed with his most recent test.

And speaking of tests, I messed around with Poe’s lines a little bit more and came up with a different variation. The AI model was struggling with getting Poe to say “dreadnought cannons”, and the deliveries I managed to get still sound awkward to me. So, I did a version where he says, “and each ship has been upgraded with fleet-killing weapons”. Poe calls the dreadnought a “fleet-killer” due to its cannons in TLJ, and uses the phrase planet-killing in this film. That makes it feel more like something Poe would actually say, and that term gives the audience a clear indication of their power-level. These aren’t planet-killing weapons, but they can destroy any planetary fleet that opposes them.

I personally like the first version the best. But you also could trim here and there or mix and match depending on which phrasing you prefer.
Version 1: They have an enormous stockpile of Star Destroyers from the Old Empire, and each ship has been upgraded with fleet-killing weapons.
Version 2 and 3: An enormous stockpile of Star Destroyers from the Old Empire. Each ship upgraded with fleet-killing weapons.
I also put them alongside Poe’s dialogue from that scene just to get a sense of how it blends with rest as of now.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wnW_tIWTN2Xq3mU4Bo-29oWtdL6iXYKp/view?usp=drivesdk

Yeah, it sounds completely seamless. I don’t have any particular preference on wording, but fleet-killing weapons does sound less MacLunkey than Dreadnaught tier laser cannons.

Although, one thing I’ve noticed through doing the AI lines this way is that it’s always significantly quieter than whatever you’re trying to match. Hopefully some adjusting can fix that.

Luke sounds absolutely AMAZING. Here is a way we can reintegrate Leia having known about Rey’s struggle with the dark side:
https://youtu.be/70vGJBB7YMQ?si=cK7ZOptoAtGYwtbD

And here is a line to give Leia some closure with the Jedi that makes sense in canon:
https://youtu.be/QM-xl2GirK8?si=QiRJpNAiBfeDP8-R

I’m using default TROS for both of these examples just for ease of use. v4 is shaping up to be pretty epic though.

Jar Jar Bricks said:

Luke sounds absolutely AMAZING. Here is a way we can reintegrate Leia having known about Rey’s struggle with the dark side:
https://youtu.be/70vGJBB7YMQ?si=cK7ZOptoAtGYwtbD

And here is a line to give Leia some closure with the Jedi that makes sense in canon:
https://youtu.be/QM-xl2GirK8?si=QiRJpNAiBfeDP8-R

I’m using default TROS for both of these examples just for ease of use. v4 is shaping up to be pretty epic though.

Good God that Luke line is completely seamless. I’m so glad the tech just keeps getting better and better.

I’m of the opinion that Leia needs to have a very specific reason for abandoning her Jedi path in order for it to be satisfying. Plus, this way she is explicitly following in the footsteps of her mother, Padme.

DZ-330 said:

Jar Jar! Sounds great! Very funny we posted the Luke stuff at practically the same time LOL. As for the “Leia knew it too.” replacement, how about something like:

Luke: "Because you’re a Palpatine? I wanted to help you; I told Leia.

Rey: “She didn’t tell me. She still trained me.”

Luke: “Because she saw your spirit, your heart. Rey, some things are stronger than blood.”

I already suggested that to Hal when we were coming up with ideas for this scene last time around. He doesn’t like the idea that Luke can know everything and tell anyone he wants this divine knowledge.

We also didn’t want it to make it seem like Rey is destined for darkness. So a “dark calling” is also off the table. I landed on what I did because it implies a struggle but something that she can overcome.