InfoDroid:
Your clip of Ben's Hut was fantastic and is in some ways reminscent of what I'd like to show when I get to ROTJ in my project. I agree with MTH that showing the mechanical hand was pure genius at that point. Too cool to be believed. I may not agree with all the content, but the way you put it all together was very well done.
I also like the concepts of what was shown in the duel clip you showed us. Very interesting indeed, and it does help to tie things together thematically. It may have been a bit rough, but the ideas show through very well and make things more interesting, I think.
Your clip of Ben's Hut was fantastic and is in some ways reminscent of what I'd like to show when I get to ROTJ in my project. I agree with MTH that showing the mechanical hand was pure genius at that point. Too cool to be believed. I may not agree with all the content, but the way you put it all together was very well done.
I also like the concepts of what was shown in the duel clip you showed us. Very interesting indeed, and it does help to tie things together thematically. It may have been a bit rough, but the ideas show through very well and make things more interesting, I think.
Yes, as much as I disagree with flashbacks and the like, you did a great job and accomplished what you were going for. The mechanical arm was also my favorite bit. I'm very open to whatever works at this point, but I must insist on no flashbacks. You mentioned TM's II and III having them, but those would be dream sequences, not actual cuts to footage from the other films.
As for restructuring Ben's Hut scene, putting Leia's message first was exactly what I was going to suggest. This was the way the scene was originally shot, but Lucas thought something wasn't right about them receiving such an urgent message and then sitting around and discussing the past instead of getting a move on. While that decision has it's merit, I think the original flow of the scene will work best in our edit. There is one line in Leia's message that we might need to tweak: "Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars." Not exactly. And hey, while we're at it, what do you guys think about de-pluralizing Clone War in Luke and Leia's mentions of them? There was only one after all.
And I said where the duel clip came from: Darth Qui-Gon at the Jedi Council Boards at TF.N (yes I do lurk there from time to time). I'm looking forward to your version InfoDroid, but may I reiterate a couple of points from my original post?
1-The part with the really slow fencing and stabbing should be cut entirely.
2-The shot of Vader saying, "You should not have come back" should be reversed (his chestplate is backwards). This also means it needs to be moved to later in the duel to account for his position on the other side of the hallway. I think this is good because it will break up the dialouge more.
Finally, thanks for all the input, TheDemonHunter. Your project is equally ambitious, and I especially can't wait for the "migraine maker."