Originally posted by: DaystromX
A hard cut, I agree with you. But a wipe makes it feel natural-- what feels weird is to basically tweak all our Main Character's nerves and then jump over to some other part of the story that could have been wrapped up already. These two groups of scenes are related in space only. They have no thematic connection and thus no benefit from being rubbed onto each other. They just slow each other down.
And, I think by dividing Coruscant into a Padme segment and a Qui-Gon segment actually reduces the emphasis on Qui-Gon. If we follow the order I listed below, I think we keep more focus on Qui-Gon throughout.
We're cutting the scene where Anakin looks for Padme, which leaves us with nine scenes. We can't mess with the order to much, because of the light (one of my favorite parts of the movie, actually). But if we can find a shot of the Senate Building during sunset, then we can put them in this order:
Landing
Qui-Gon telling the Council about Darth Maul
Palpatine talking with Amidala
Anakin's test
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan talking
The Senate scene
The Council deciding not to train Anakin
Amidala deciding to go back
Leaving
Sidenote: The order of the Coruscant sequence should stay as-is. Having ALL the Senate stuff then ALL the Jedi stuff is too much of the same thing continuously. Let them break each other up.
I agree. The lighting in the various scenes makes it difficult to envision the scenes together. We'd have to go through a full day with Padme, then go back, and watch the same day again from Qui-Gon's point of view (or the other way around). That just doesn't feel right.
...and it's not accurate. The Senate meeting exterior shot is the same time of day as the first Jedi council shot, so there's no discrepency to worry about that way.
Plus, cutting straight from Qui-Gon in front of the Council to either Qui-Gon talking with Obi-Wan or Anakin in front of the council seems weird.
I agree. The lighting in the various scenes makes it difficult to envision the scenes together. We'd have to go through a full day with Padme, then go back, and watch the same day again from Qui-Gon's point of view (or the other way around). That just doesn't feel right.
...and it's not accurate. The Senate meeting exterior shot is the same time of day as the first Jedi council shot, so there's no discrepency to worry about that way.
Plus, cutting straight from Qui-Gon in front of the Council to either Qui-Gon talking with Obi-Wan or Anakin in front of the council seems weird.
A hard cut, I agree with you. But a wipe makes it feel natural-- what feels weird is to basically tweak all our Main Character's nerves and then jump over to some other part of the story that could have been wrapped up already. These two groups of scenes are related in space only. They have no thematic connection and thus no benefit from being rubbed onto each other. They just slow each other down.
And, I think by dividing Coruscant into a Padme segment and a Qui-Gon segment actually reduces the emphasis on Qui-Gon. If we follow the order I listed below, I think we keep more focus on Qui-Gon throughout.
We're cutting the scene where Anakin looks for Padme, which leaves us with nine scenes. We can't mess with the order to much, because of the light (one of my favorite parts of the movie, actually). But if we can find a shot of the Senate Building during sunset, then we can put them in this order:
Landing
Qui-Gon telling the Council about Darth Maul
Palpatine talking with Amidala
Anakin's test
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan talking
The Senate scene
The Council deciding not to train Anakin
Amidala deciding to go back
Leaving
I am totally open to discussing this, especially since you point out the emphasis has to be on Qui Gonn. I love the arranging of Qui Gonn and Obi Wan talking BEFORE the test! But what does the rest of this order of events do to keep that emphasis? It interrupts Qui Gonn's story twice instead of never with the very involved story that Amidala's wrapped up in.
My take is that Amidala's story is so involving that it needs to be handled to a decent conclusion before getting into Qui Gonn's head. This happens by putting them in this order:
Landing
Palpatine talking with Amidala
The Senate scene
Qui-Gon telling the Council about Darth Maul
Anakin's test
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan talking
The Council deciding not to train Anakin
Amidala deciding to go back
Leaving
This order really energizes the Senate scene in a surprising way. It really is its own little sub story that ends when Amidala goes ahead and votes "no confidence."
With that out of the way, the Jedi stuff can totally breathe-- which is great because it's the heart (as opposed to the head) of this picture. This way, Anakin's test is energized, the talk on the balcony sets Qui Gonn up for a big fall and he gets it right away (after a few excellent shots of the sun setting)
I don't know-- I understand the attraction to intercutting, but I wonder what it really accomplishes better than letting the two sequences play out. I only see things get deminished.