Stranger Things - Film Edition (Released) — Page 6

Zagadka said:

I’m glad you’re improving your edits to create the best possible movie experience. I wonder if you come back to them after the grand finale

That depends on the final outcome of the story. But I don’t think there will be any need for a major rework, whatever the outcome. Unless Benny comes back from the dead, which I doubt. But I guess all that remains to be seen.

To be honest, I really enjoy going back to each cut and finding ways to improve it. And I think each version is better than the last. And, as always, I hope you think that as well.

ziggystudebaker said:

Love the cover art! This looks/sounds like a great project, especially being a fan of 80’s horror

Thank you!

ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello everyone. Back for some small talk.
So, Stranger Things 5 still seems a long way off, and Stranger Things Day didn’t really give us much to talk about other than those episode titles, which are always a source of inspiration for my edit titles. I admit that some of them have a very interesting ring to them, but “The Rightside Up” seems like a very fitting title for both the final episode of the series and my final edit. Although we still have a long way to go, given that this is going to be the biggest season yet, I would predict that I will end up making three film cuts out of the final season, as I did for Season 4.

Speaking of Season 4, the real reason I am posting here today is to announce yet another updated version of my “The Curse of Vecna” film cut. Come to think of it, this must be the most revised cut of my series, and definitely the most challenging one. But I think I finally got it right.

To be honest, I don’t think there is that much wrong with the current version, but there was always something about the pacing that bothered me. I realised that I was too focused on cutting down the runtime and organising the subplots that I didn’t let the film breathe, especially around the middle.

With this new version, while keeping the main story intact, I let some scenes run a bit longer and allowed some storylines to expand a little further, while making some bold decisions that affected both the overall runtime and the narrative of the film. The end result is a cut with exactly the same length (3 hours and 15 minutes), but with better pacing and a slightly more intriguing narrative.

NEW CHANGELIST

• Shorter flashback opening

In an attempt to mirror the opening scene of Season 1 (and save some time), I completely removed the Rainbow Room and Ten’s lessons. In this version, the opening scene goes like this:

1. EXTERIOR of Hawkins Lab, accompanied by children’s unnerving screams.
2. CUT to the bloody corridor right after the massacre, then CUT TO BLACK.
3. CUT to Dr Brenner waking up and finding young Eleven.

• Alternative Chrissy’s death scene

While the original scene is fine as it is, I find it a little too gruesome for the first minutes of my film and a little too telling for the rest of the plot. In this version, sticking with Chrissy inside her vision the whole time and not cutting back to Eddie’s trailer, makes both her fate a mystery and Eddie a possible suspect for her murder. The reveal of what actually happened inside the trailer comes later in the film through Eddie’s narration.

• Removed Elevens’s “1979 visions”

While I understand that these brief glimpses of the massacre at Hawkins Lab are merely a visual parallel to the Rink-O-Mania incident, it makes no sense for them to be in Eleven’s subconscious, as we later see that she has absolutely no memory of those events.

• Added back Lucas joining Jason in his hunt for Eddie right after Fred’s death scene

Firstly, to mirror Max waking up after Chrissy’s death and secondly, to gain further insight into Luca’s relations with his new friends.

• Added back Eleven and Owens at the diner

I only recently realised how important this scene is to the overall plot, as it provides an essential link between Eleven’s training and the events in Hawkins, and how unwise it was of me to remove it in the first place.

• Removed Eleven arriving at the bunker

After her meeting with Owens, we next see Eleven waking up in Hawkins Lab with her hair buzzed. This is perhaps the boldest change in this cut, and it affects this and the next instalments as follows:

1. Eleven discovers what is actually happening to her alongside the viewer.
2. Dr Brenner’s return is revealed in a more creative way.
3. NINA’s actual location remains a mystery throughout the film, which ties in perfectly with the plot of “The Monster and the Superhero” and the ultimate reveal of the bunker’s location in “The Mind Lair”.

• Spread Eleven’s journey more evenly throughout the film + Added back Eleven trying to escape + Removed ‘Buried Mermories’ montage

Over the next few days I will test the updated cut, put together the new subtitles and then announce its release.
Have a nice day!

THE NEW VERSION OF ‘THE CURSE OF VECNA’ IS NOW AVAILABLE.

I’ve also added new English subtitles and updated the list in the first comment with all the new changes and additions.

Also, I decided to remove the alternative cut of ‘The Mind Lair (The Trooper’s Cut)’ from my collection to free up some space on my Google drive. However, you can still find ‘The Trooper’ scene on my yt channel:
https://youtu.be/AHtsSjVvBRk?si=3nCssapdmSDYTMX6

Speaking of alternative cuts, I am also considering scrapping ‘The Neverending Story Cut’ of Stranger Things 3 and replacing the ‘canon’ version with a new one that includes this alternative scene of Suzie:
https://youtu.be/tJH1P6lWypE?si=AO8QScs5efHTDI0N

I’m going to sleep on it and come back to it in the future.

EDIT:
A couple of days later and I think I have come up with another way to scrap my alternate cut of Stranger Things 3 and at the same time fix an important problem in the ‘canon’ cut regarding Suzie.

So my problem with the Neverending Story scene was always that it kind of disrupted the pace and momentum of the Season 3 finale. However, the complete removal of that scene raises a serious question about the overall story of the film and Dustin’s character: Is Suzie even real? Has Dustin been lying to his friends all this time?
Hence the need for an alternative cut, which I am trying to remove from my collection.
By including the above alternative scene in the film, Suzie is legitimised as a character and the singing part is no longer a problem, but the aforementioned pacing disruption remains a problem. So I came up with the idea of re-porpusing Dustin and Suzie’s scene from the first episode of Season 4 as the ultimate reveal of Suzie’s character as part of the finale of Stranger Things 3, like this:
https://streamable.com/64qg2h

Does this change solve the problem I mentioned above? I think it does, but it also creates a new one. Dustin looks a little older than the rest of the film, which I suppose is something that can happen with young actors and could be justified by the three month time jump. He is also wearing the same outfit as in Stranger Things 4 beginning (his Hellfire Club t-shirt is mostly hidden), but I think this is just a small continuity error.
Ultimately, fanediting is about trying to solve larger narrative or structural problems while letting the smaller ones go.

I’ve also added the updated version of Stranger Things 3: The Mall Rats I was talking about, with Suzie’s alternative reveal, plus a new version of Stranger Things 2: The Mind Flayer, with an extra scene of Billy almost running over the boys while driving home with Max, in an attempt to reinforce his character through his abusive behaviour.

LukasSkiwalter said:

What a cool project. With the announcement of the Season 5 dates (November/December this year) I was looking for some shortened version to rewatch and found this. Would really like to check it out!

Thanks, mate!

Karkarsam said:

Hey! I’d love to watch these films, how do I get to view them?

 
Reading the opening post of the project thread is usually key - ThanosM clearly states how to acquire the project:-
 

ThanosM. said:

All fanedits are available through PM.

If you haven’t yet taken the time or effort to look around the site to see how things work on here, the following may be useful…
 

In general, simply sending a PM is the default way of asking for fan projects on here (unless indicated / instructed otherwise in the project thread)…

❕ I have found a Fan Edit / Preservation I am interested in - but I don’t know how to get / acquire / download it? ❕

These may be of some use below… please note that cluttering up the project threads with ‘link request’ posts is not only poor form - but is also against the rules & guidelines here - the reasons for which can be found below…

ATTENTION NEW MEMBERS: “Link begging” posts will be deleted without notice - in Announcements

Along with…

❕ Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within ❕ | About | Help | Announcements

❕ ‘How Do I Do This?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + member FAQs ❕ | Site Rules | Fan Project Rules
 

Good luck with it. 👍
 

Karkarsam said:

hey! I don’t have the ability to PM yet, as I just made this account!

You read the above information - and that’s the thing you came up with? Despite it clearly stating…

Jay said:

We’ve had an influx of new members signing up to request fan project links within project threads and then disappearing without participating further.

From now on, unless the owner of the project has explicitly instructed members to post requests for project links within their project thread, any link begging posts will be deleted without notice.

Yes, we know you can’t send PMs as a new member. That’s kind of the point. Think about it. However, you can read PMs sent to you by other members, so if they want to get in touch with you, they can.

Repeated violations of link begging will result in a ban.

Karkarsam said:

There are many people doing the same thing I am

So you are aware yourself and others are also breaking the Site Rules and Guidelines, annoying the creators and members here with endless & unnecessary link request posts that have disrupted conversations on the projects themselves - queries, feedback, reviews, exchange of ideas, suggestions for future versions etc - to the point where a number of creators and members have left the community here because of it… and come up with the inept attempt at justifying making more ‘link request’ posts with… ‘other people are doing it too’.

All instead of simply waiting seven days and then sending a PM - and using that time to participate and engage with the community here.
 

Good luck with that. 👍
 

hausofdoobie said:

Hi! I just created my account im not sure how this website works, but is there any chance anyone has a “California & Hawkins Only” cut of Season 4, with the whole hopper & joyce russia subplot cut? i wanna rewatch the season but that subplot is so boring

Hi there! I will spend you a PM with instructions.

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well.

With November just around the corner and the final season about to begin, I’d like to share some thoughts and predictions. Not about how the show is going to end — there are already plenty of fan theories around — but about how I am going to tackle the monumental task of concluding this project.

Let’s start with some facts:

We know that Volume 1 will be released on November 26 with Episodes 1–4, followed by Volume 2 on Christmas Day with Episodes 5–7, and the finale on New Year’s Eve. We also know the runtime of the first four episodes:

Episode 1: 1 hour and 8 minutes
Episode 2: 54 minutes
Episode 3: 1 hour and 6 minutes
Episode 4: 1 hour and 23 minutes.

Total runtime of Volume 1: 4 hours 31 minutes

Although the lengths of the remaining episodes have not yet been released, I estimate that they will be around 1 hour each, with the final episode being between 2 and 2.5 hours long, as it has been confirmed that it will also be released in cinemas. So, in total:

Volume 2 + finale = ~5 hours 30 minutes

This means that the total runtime of Season 5 will be around 10 hours.

Now, let’s compare these facts with the lengths of previous seasons and my process behind these fanedits:

With Season 3 having a total runtime of 7 hours and 24 minutes, I managed to put together a roughly 3-hour film cut, trimming and cutting several plotlines, of course.

Furthermore, Season 4 had a total runtime of around 13 hours, resulting in three film cuts totalling approximately 7 hours and 30 minutes, without actually removing much footage.

The key difference when comparing Season 4 with both Season 3 and, I would guess, Season 5, is the multiple plotlines spread across various locations. While this enabled me to split the season into three parts — with ‘The Monster and the Superhero’ allowing both ‘The Curse of Vecna’ and ‘The Piggyback’ to have a more concise runtime — I don’t think this will be the case for Season 5 also, as all the events appear to take place in one location: Hawkins. Another guess would be that there won’t be many filler plotlines to cut or present in as ‘standalone chapters’. This is the final season. Every second counts.

So, to summarise:

Assuming the final season’s total runtime ends up being around 10 hours, I’d be happy to complete my film collection with two 3-plus-hour film cuts, cοvering Episodes 1-4 and 5-8 respectively. I still don’t know if that’s a realistic approach, but I know I’d hate to have to split this season into three parts as well, especially if the first two end on a cliff-hanger. I guess time will tell.

But to be clear, it will be a long time before I get to this point. As soon as the finale hits, my first action will be to review every previous film cut for any inconsistencies or mishandlings, given the full story. This will determine how much work I might have to do before moving on to Season 5. In fact, I am already working on a new treatment for ‘The Vanishing of Will Byers’ after having an interesting conversation with a viewer. But even if everything works out fine and nothing needs to be changed in my current film collection, I still won’t rush things. Those of you who have followed this project from the beginning (for whom I am very grateful) will know that each film cut has had multiple versions over the years. Frankly, I don’t want that to be the case with the final instalments. I want to be completely satisfied with my final work before sharing it — or at least as satisfied as a faneditor can be. This includes coming up with the titles, as well as putting together the posters and subtitles.

Having said all that, I’m very excited for the last season and looking forward to working on these new episodes. Although balancing family life and work commitments is going to be extremely challenging over the next months…

That’s all for now. See you in the Rightside Up!

TheStudioPro said:

Thanos, thanks for all of your hard work!!! Once I can DM this collection is going to be my first request.

What software do you use to make your video edits?

Do you use different softwaee for audio edits?

Whats your final export software for your final renders?

(Sorry for all the questions, I’m just new here and excited for this community in general.)

I may be in a very small minority of faneditors who use Shotcut for their edits. It’s a free, open-source software that’s very lightweight, which is perfect for my old shitty laptop. It certainly has its limitations, but I feel comfortable editing with it and have developed a workflow that allows me to work faster.
When it comes to audio, Audacity has become a good friend of mine over the years, and more recently so have VocalRemover and ElevenLabs.

submachina said:

Any way dull Lucas and insufferable Max gets excised from S5? Please?

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas about approaching Season 5, but excising Lucas and Max is definitely not one of them.

Ponds124 said:

Hello! I, like many others, was preparing for the latest season and realized just how much fluff and inconsistencies there has been throughout this show. The Duffers truly did not think in the long term for so much of this series. I was intrigued by the cuts you described for your edit of the series. I love the idea of more solidly making the story about Will and El and allowing that “kids on bikes” horror theme to really shine with the added context from the recent seasons.

Hi there!
While I enjoy finding ways to present the series with tighter, faster-paced storytelling, I also appreciate the extensive fluff throughout the series. While they may not contribute significantly to the overall narrative, they are well-suited to the original episodic format. However, when adapted for a film, many of these elements unfortunately have to be removed.

Ponds124 said:

I am curious to know what you plan to do with s5 and how that will recontextualize the first season especially. They have already (kinda) retconned quite a bit and have added a lot to the Will story in connection with the Upside Down. I hope you will give us updates once this season is done in regards to what steps you are taking. Also I disagree with another poster, I think Lucas and Max have the potential to be a deeply compelling part of the story and inhabit a lot of the heart that the 1st season had.
Hope to eventually watch through all of your edits and see the whole series as a more cohesive whole! Thank you for your work!

Oh, I have lots of thoughts and ideas about Season 5! In fact, I have already started working on my current vision for the season, although I don’t know if that’s wise not knowing how the series will conclude. However, I’ll have to wait before sharing any details of my process. Rest assured, though, that I’ll be posting regular updates whenever everything is on track. I quite enjoy it, actually — I see this thread as my personal journal for this project.