Had some time to check these out (1, 2, 4, at least) and I think a lot of it mostly works out. Ironically movie 4, while having the most moving around, actually has the best technical transitions; there are still a few places in 1 and 2 where I think some of the music transitions could be implemented a little better. (Though I realize these are just some of the limits of fanediting, especially with the purpose of preserving the source as much as possible.)
- New placement of original “Kassa” ending works well, but I think the music plays too long over the next scene of Syril. Perhaps you could start the track come down earlier and quieter?
- The “That Would Be Me” into “Reckoning” transition, maybe you could cut some of the empty space before Kassa enters the crashed ship? The visual momentum comes to an immediate halt while the music itself comes down more slowly. I think if you more smoothly connect the scenes’ music tracks in time // have the shots move from action to action, it would play as one transitory sequence. I would even go as far as removing that one shot where he crawls through the hole entirely?
- “Axe Forgets” ending music bleeds into the first bit of “The Eye” too long IMO. Nemik and Cass get pretty far into their conversation before the fade fully completes.
Narratively though, 1 & 2 work as well as they should. It’s not like you’re really cutting anything out, and these do the job of streamlining the focus really well. Even the few space / time jumps feel in line with what was the show’s language already.
Re: movie 4, I prefer Maarva’s death as revealed originally. The juxtaposition of Cassian finally being free to B2 grappling with what he missed worked jarringly beautifully to that end already. Vel letting Kleya know as that moment doesn’t work nearly as well, particularly since the scene initially feels too tied up with the preceding Vel scenes. It feels like she’s visiting the shop to follow through on the Mothma threads, especially since it takes a bit for Vel to get to the point about Maarva. It works much better after Maarva Is Dead has been well established. I think it could be swapped for Bix being moved and asked about Kreegyr. You could even have the shop scene moved right after Cinta views the party moving Maarva’s body, draw the line clearer between Cinta learning it and Vel reporting it. Otherwise, solid work. Like I said before, the rearrangement all works, even the more implied time jumps.
I’ll continue to keep looking at these, great job so far