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Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side (the TM edit) (Released) — Page 29

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Trooperman: I read your notes and, your notes are a lot more organized then mine. Mine consists of a lot of "Cut to", "scene plays out", and "(insert something about a line here)". I have a comment about the geonosis droid scene. I like the way that you wrote it out take or, leave this suggestion. Mabye C3PO could say "Where are you going now? That means I am in charge here. Have you no sense at all?" Or, cut it to "Where are you going now? I am in charge here. Have you no sense at all?" like C3PO is trying to take control of R2 but, fails. Though, the way you wrote it, it works. So, take it or leave it. Also, I think somewhere in LOTR Christopher Lee says something like "Kill the others." I'll look at my DVD for the chapter. Also, happy holidays.

Okay, I looked and, it's on LOTR fellowship Chapter 13 at approximatly 1 hour 1 minute on disc two. It's after the man flesh speech.

http://twister111.tumblr.com
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Trooperman, come back to us. It seems as though you're becoming increasingly isolated in that distant, locked tower you call an editing room.

Quick suggestion for the sake of reviving this thread: What do you think about giving Dooku glowing red-yellow "Sith Eyes" during the final duel? I've seen people accomplish this effect.

Like this: The Evil Eye

And as of now, Dooku is the ONLY on-screen Sith apprentice that does NOT have the Sith eyes.

What do you guys think? For it or against it? Or like John Kerry, "forgainst" it?




--InfoDroid

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Sounds tough to pull off. I'd like to see it, but I am not sure if it is the direction Trooperman is going in. Still, I think it would be awesome to see those eyes switch for just a moment as Dooku says "I'm sure you can do better" as he flashes that crazy-a$$ smile.
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Hi everyone- Happy New Year! This is the year that "Shroud of the Dark Side" comes out. Is it true that over 3000 people have viewed this thread? Or is it just the same people visiting over and over?

It seems as though you're becoming increasingly isolated in that distant, locked tower you call an editing room.

You don't know how badly I feel that I haven't been contributing to the forum lately. I've just been trying to prioritize what I need to do (plus it's the holidays and I did some traveling). The good news is that...

-I now have new microphones and a very high quality system for digital recording. I've started on the ADR already.
-I found the perfect spot for "I have a bad feeling about this." Recorded it and mixed it.
-Recorded "I'm not afraid to die...but I can never lose you again." Having trouble incorporating it into the scene, though.
-Started doing ADR on the picnic scene. Trying to find a way to edit it so that Anakin teases her about the dictatorship and then Padme jumps on Anakin and they roll around from there. This would be a deviation from original plan.
-I hope you aren't removing "Anakin's Theme" from Ep. I; I found the perfect place for the full-blown rendition- at the funeral. "I won't fail you again." Anakin rises and the theme plays- very powerful.
-Working hard on the whole Coruscant sequence; I'm using "Asteroid Chase" from ESB (different arrangement) and "The Mine Car Chase". I don't have an uncompressed version of "Mine Car", though. Redid the colors and am building the sound effects track.
-Still need to download HD Blade Runner footage somehow.
-I've added many little touches here and there, many breakthroughs I'm forgetting. One is after Obi-Wan chops Zam's arm off, the crowd is surprised; then they start laughing.
-I'im also working hard on the cinematography now, and on improving the compositions of the shots- to great effect. I'll try to posts some examples in the future.

Please know, though, that work is certainly continuing on my end. There are some things I need to know before I complete certain things, however. Such as what you'll be doing score-wise for Episode I (so I can have continuity), the voices for the Nemoidians, Jar-Jar, and the battle droids, and so on. Nute Gunray's whole agenda I need to know. MF recently posted about having acquired several obscure foreign language tracks for the entire PT- I think this is very interesting and possibly worth waiting on.

Please continue to comment on my notes, though.

"I am in charge here."

Good idea! I'll see if I can incorporate it.

Regarding Dooku's yellow eyes- I don't have the knowledge or tools to do that at the moment.

"Question: You often have competing versions of the same scene clipped together -- how do we know which one you're going with?"

Sorry...it's either because I've decided on one (but didn't go back to specifiy) or I simply haven't decided yet.

"P:I do not like this idea of hiding
A: Sometimes we must let go of our pride and do what is requested of us
P: Anakin, you’ve grown up"

Well, I was having second thoughts on this; you had made me see earlier how poor the lines and the performances are in this scene. My main concern would be that it seems to be a little bit short. I'll try it, though- either way, I'm going with a hard cut out of this scene to the departure scene, simply because of its brevity.

Thank you SO much for your patience- I don't have time to post in the "starkiller" thread now, but know that I appreciate everything you're doing there as well. May the force be with you!

-TM

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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Originally posted by: ricarleite
Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
Tartakovksy, would be good. So would Toei or, if I take Ric's word, Gainax.


Azuca!!!


Uh, it's "Asuka". Asuka Langley.

GAINAX doing a Star Wars-related anime?! That would be AWESOME!!!


And if Anno directed Ep III like the last two eps of Evangelion or the movies...

That would be scary in so many ways.

Sorry, just watced the last episodes and the Eva movies again. My head still hurts. But in a good way.
There's good in the Original Trilogy, and it's worth fighting for.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
http://www.myspace.com/harlock415
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TM: "Question: You often have competing versions of the same scene clipped together -- how do we know which one you're going with?"

Sorry...it's either because I've decided on one (but didn't go back to specifiy) or I simply haven't decided yet.

"P:I do not like this idea of hiding
A: Sometimes we must let go of our pride and do what is requested of us
P: Anakin, you’ve grown up"

Well, I was having second thoughts on this; you had made me see earlier how poor the lines and the performances are in this scene. My main concern would be that it seems to be a little bit short. I'll try it, though- either way, I'm going with a hard cut out of this scene to the departure scene, simply because of its brevity.

---

Okay, I'm still going through the notes, but it's all great so far.

I know what it's like to have something sound good in text, but not work in the editing. If the scene above is too short, so be it. I thought it kind of had length since it stretches right off the back of the "handing power to Jar jar" scene. It is a romantic beat (as reduced here -- seeing Padme recognize for the first time that Anakin is more than taller-- he's wiser too) -- I think I wanted to suggest keeping this since we could probably use all the romantic beats that reveal themselves.

Glad to see you pop up now and again! We're counting on you for not only SOTD, but as you suggested, for a quality control pass on the Ep I edit.

I'll post final thoughts when I finish your notes.

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Hi everyone- Happy New Year! This is the year that "Shroud of the Dark Side" comes out. Is it true that over 3000 people have viewed this thread? Or is it just the same people visiting over and over?
(late)happy new year to you too. I don't think the counter is based on an unique IP and, the number of views is effected by the number of refreshes of a page. So, yeah it just might the same people visiting over and, over.

Please continue to comment on my notes, though.

"I am in charge here."

Good idea! I'll see if I can incorporate it.


In your notes for The two towers. I see that you have Saruman saying "But my lord, there is no such force!" I think that it's actually his lackey that says that and, not Saruman.

http://twister111.tumblr.com
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Trooperman: I've read over your notes, very interesting and I'll be sure to put together an organized response when I get the time. For now though, I've been wondering how do you change the key of all those music tracks? I assume it's with some type of music orchestration program but I could be way off. Such knowledge would be beneficial to us over at Starkiller Ranch.
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Hi everyone! I am currently targeting the whole set of Corsuscant chase scenes and plan to have the whole sequence complete before long. This includes all cuts, dubbing, sound effects, music, and the new color scheme. Looking at what has been done so far, I’m very excited about the finished product.


“I know what it's like to have something sound good in text, but not work in the editing. If the scene above is too short, so be it. I thought it kind of had length since it stretches right off the back of the "handing power to Jar jar" scene. It is a romantic beat (as reduced here -- seeing Padme recognize for the first time that Anakin is more than taller-- he's wiser too) -- I think I wanted to suggest keeping this since we could probably use all the romantic beats that reveal themselves.

Glad to see you pop up now and again! We're counting on you for not only SOTD, but as you suggested, for a quality control pass on the Ep I edit.

I'll post final thoughts when I finish your notes.”


Great! Thank you. I will not let you folks down, that’s for sure. Work is really going slowly but very well on my end lately. I look forward to your comments.

“I've read over your notes, very interesting and I'll be sure to put together an organized response when I get the time.”

And your comments! Thanks. Thank you as well, Twister. I didn’t realize I had that line wrong- I’ll check it out.

“For now though, I've been wondering how do you change the key of all those music tracks? I assume it's with some type of music orchestration program but I could be way off. Such knowledge would be beneficial to us over at Starkiller Ranch.”

This is going to sound overly simple, but I don't need an orchestration program for this- I just raise or lower the pitch using SoundForge. I’ve done this both by simply speeding up or slowing down the audio, or by using a tool they have to raise or lower pitch and still preserve the duration (you have to specify, though). The latter usually works best with some post-processing afterwards, such as a subtle echo, because otherwise the track tends to sound strange. Or, you could do a combination of both those methods (as I did with “Asteroid Chase” in the Coruscant chase). I started out by preserving the duration, then for the main section I switched seamlessly to a sped up version (the quality of which is better anyway). The beauty is that it’s all in the same key.

More later!

-TM

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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Originally posted by: Commander Courage
Trooperman: I've read over your notes, very interesting and I'll be sure to put together an organized response when I get the time. For now though, I've been wondering how do you change the key of all those music tracks? I assume it's with some type of music orchestration program but I could be way off. Such knowledge would be beneficial to us over at Starkiller Ranch.


But THIS is Starkiller Ranch

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This is my going through your notes and commenting on things I felt the need to comment on. It will be very long, and I'm sure there will be more in the future, but for now:

CROP FRAME WHEREVER POSSIBLE TO REMOVE ANAKIN’S PONYTAIL
A noble idea, but futile when it comes down to it. It's impossible to remove in every shot, and Obi-Wan's will br prominent in Episode I as well. So I would say don't concern yourself too much with this.

CUT ALL UTTERANCES OF “MOM” and “DAD”, and “BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND”

I agree, these casual references to people just don't seem right for these characters in these circumstances.

REMOVE “ANNIE” EXCEPT FOR SHMI

I think I suggested this, but maybe we both thought of it independently. Anyway, this is a MUST for the entire PT.

Conference Room Scene Suggestion:
(This is a bit different from yours. Notice Padme does not ask "Do you have any idea who's behind this attack," because Mace's answer would be total BS. Don't ask, don't tell.)
EXT. Chancellor's office - Day
INT. Chancellor's office - Continuous
Ki-Adi-Mundi: He is a political idealist, not a murderer.
Mace: You know Dooku was once a jedi. He couldn't assassinate anyone.
Palpatine: But more and more star systems are joining the seperatists. I don't know how much longer I can hold off...
Palpatine: ...I don't know how much longer I can...
Mace: If they do break away...
Palpatine: My negotiations will not fail.
Mace: If they do, you must realize that there aren't enough Jedi to protect the Republic. We're keepers of the peace not soldiers.
Palpatine: Master Yoda, do you really think it will come to war?
Yoda: The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is.
Rodian: The loyalist committee has arrived, Chancellor. They await your convenience.
Palpatine: Send them in.
Yoda: Senator Amidala. In grave danger, you are.
Palpatine: Master Jedi, may I suggest the senator be placed under the protection of your graces.
Padme: If I may comment, I don't believe the situation...
Palpatine:...is that serious? Oh but I do [your majesty].
(Rest of scene as you laid out)

Deleting the elevator scene is excellent. That of course brings us to the character of Jar-Jar. I don't think any of us have a clear idea of what we want to do with his character at this point. I do like him commenting on Obi-Wan's beard, though. The rest of the scene is great, and yes Obi-Wan SHOULD call her "Padme." A better transition between this scene and the next with Obi-Wan and Anakin might be some shots of the city (that's what MagnoliaFan did in TCW), but if the fade-to-blacks work well I say keep them as they are nice editing continuity from ANH.

We've already discussed the Ceti Alpha V Eel. It's a good concept, but if it won't blend in seemlessly I say we're best without it. Everthing regarding the Coruscant chase sounds great. I look forward to your music choices as well. If at all possible I'd really like to include "I've heard this lesson before," "You haven't learned anything Anakin." I see no problem with Zam's reference to "bounty hunter" and think it should remain. Those of Jango's profession are referred to as such in ESB.

You seem to have a very clear idea of what you're doing with the dreams. Although I would prefer some consistency in the dreams (from II to III), you've said they will be totally different in style, and I have my reservations on overlaying the dream footage with Anakin in bed, but if you say it works...

Missing Kamino Scene Suggestion:
(Entire library scene)
Jocosta Nu: If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist!
She walks off, Obi-Wan stares at computer.
Wide shot of Obi-Wan sitting at computer, Yoda (V.O.): The data must have been erased.
CUT to end of Younglings scene, continuing conversation.
Obi-Wan: But Master Yoda who could have erased information from the archives? That's impossible, isn't it?
Yoda: Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will. May the Force be with you.
(I don't see why you altered the end dialogue the way you did. The only problem I could see would be "only a Jedi..." but we're inferring it's Dooku so that won't be a problem. Also w/out that "who and why" don't make any sense. So I say leave the dialogue there as-is).

I think the order of Padme's family scene should be: Arrival, Dinner, Kitchen, Room. Maybe even delete the room scene all together. Portman's delivery is especially flat there, and there's no real appeal to the scene. The "you die if you're unable to adapt" message of course, but still I think it might be best if it was jettisoned. Also putting it before the dinner scene makes little sense as that's when they first talk to the family (at dinner). Surely they would have done so previously on the way to her room. I hope I'm making sense.

I still think replacing "Sypho-Dias" with "Qui-Gon" would be a neat way to do things if appropriate readings by McGregor could be found. Then at the end of the film it could be inferred that Dooku ordered the clones in his former apprentice's name. Too complicated? Maybe. But much more intriguing than the current strategy.

Yes, cut the hair-combing scene in III and utilize the dialogue for the balcony/fireplace scene.

Nute Gunray: we need to establish what exactly we're doing with this character. Is he going to die in I? I'm still not convinced of the logistics of that. That will obviously have a major impact on where we go in II with either him or his brother Carl.

Voice of Qui-Gon: The repeated clip of "Anakin!" is very obvious. Either plug in a different, more subdued reading in the place on the fist one, or just cut it down to one "Anakin!" As for the "No!", in Narnia the Beaver yells "No!" and although it's not Neeson I couldn't help but think how much it sounded like him. That's the best source for an alternate "No!" here I've heard. It would be a shame to have to wait until an official DVD to utilixe it or any of the other great dialogue Neeson has as Aslan...

We've discussed the Battle of Geonosis to death, so I think we've got all that down pretty well.

The ending scene between Dooku and Sidious must be extended one way or another. Establishing who ordered the clones and erased the files if we can. Then there is of course the possible Greivous construction scene. Still in need of greater discussion.

Everything else we've either talked about so much I'm in total agreement or I just dont care anymore.
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Commander Courage: I think the order of Padme's family scene should be: Arrival, Dinner, Kitchen, Room. Maybe even delete the room scene all together. Portman's delivery is especially flat there, and there's no real appeal to the scene. The "you die if you're unable to adapt" message of course, but still I think it might be best if it was jettisoned. Also putting it before the dinner scene makes little sense as that's when they first talk to the family (at dinner). Surely they would have done so previously on the way to her room. I hope I'm making sense.
----

Reading your notes, Commander, I had to reiterate my suggestions for this sequence -- the problem with this movie is how forced an unnatural the romance feels. Any chance to create a sense of maturity and adult connection between these two needs to be taken advantage of.

The bedroom scene coming after the family stuff feels unnatural-- what are they doing? Packing. Why? To move on to the next sequence-- it's just convenient business for their dialogue -- which, coming after dinner, has no story value since the family sequence is already over.

But when you return home to pick something up, do you wait until you're about to leave to get it? Or do you pick it up first? Make sure you don't forget? It's more natural and mature for Padme to show Anakin around by herself-- revealing things about herself BEFORE he meets her family. Then the dinner scene can have subtext: he knows her better now, he knows something about her family life now. Now meeting the parents has weight.

The appeal of the scene is that it's a window into Padme. Unfortunately it has no subtext on its own. It cannot work after dinner. But, looking at real human behavior, it works fine before dinner and adds subtext to the otherwise flat dinner scene.



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The elevator scene is a tough one.

I personally don't have a problem with it, in fact I thought it was one of the better scenes between Ewan and Hayden. We don't see much of their "Friendship" and this scene really tries and I think suceeds in letting us know they are in fact friends. By cutting this, what other scenes really show this -"and he was a good friend". Everything else is pretty much teacher and student.

Trim it, but don't cut it. IMO
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I actually like the content in that scene. What kills it for me is how fake Obi-Wan's beard looks. Since it was a pickup shot, Ewan had to wear a fake beard. Never looked quite right.

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I'm sorry for the lack of an update. Thank you for your breakdown, CC!

A noble idea, but futile when it comes down to it. It's impossible to remove in every shot, and Obi-Wan's will br prominent in Episode I as well. So I would say don't concern yourself too much with this.

I will avoid doing this if the framing suffers at all. It's just an image thing. Can you picture Luke or Han Solo with a ponytail? It's a personal distraction to me to be reminded of this in every shot, and in some cases it's quite easy to crop it out.


Conference Room Scene Suggestion:
(This is a bit different from yours. Notice Padme does not ask "Do you have any idea who's behind this attack," because Mace's answer would be total BS. Don't ask, don't tell.)
EXT. Chancellor's office - Day
INT. Chancellor's office - Continuous
Ki-Adi-Mundi: He is a political idealist, not a murderer.
Mace: You know Dooku was once a jedi. He couldn't assassinate anyone.
Palpatine: But more and more star systems are joining the seperatists. I don't know how much longer I can hold off...
Palpatine: ...I don't know how much longer I can...
Mace: If they do break away...
Palpatine: My negotiations will not fail.
Mace: If they do, you must realize that there aren't enough Jedi to protect the Republic. We're keepers of the peace not soldiers.
Palpatine: Master Yoda, do you really think it will come to war?
Yoda: The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is.
Rodian: The loyalist committee has arrived, Chancellor. They await your convenience.
Palpatine: Send them in.
Yoda: Senator Amidala. In grave danger, you are.
Palpatine: Master Jedi, may I suggest the senator be placed under the protection of your graces.
Padme: If I may comment, I don't believe the situation...
Palpatine:...is that serious? Oh but I do [your majesty].
(Rest of scene as you laid out).


Very good tweaks to this- this is in my script now.

Deleting the elevator scene is excellent. That of course brings us to the character of Jar-Jar. I don't think any of us have a clear idea of what we want to do with his character at this point.

That's the whole issue- Jar-Jar in SOTDS is really dependent on what is possible for Ep. I. That's why I'm so happy and thrilled that InfoDroid is doing Episode I at the same time so that everything works continuity-wise.

We've already discussed the Ceti Alpha V Eel. It's a good concept, but if it won't blend in seemlessly I say we're best without it.

I have no problem with posting my revised version so that you can see if it is indeed seamless. I guess the issue is that it doesn't move as smoothly in the close-up as in all the other (CG) shots.

If at all possible I'd really like to include "I've heard this lesson before," "You haven't learned anything Anakin."

So would I. However, I'll have to find a way to extract Obi-Wan's line from the trailer-without the background music. Anakin obviously isn't an issue. But if worst comes to worst, I could always go with the extremely short "Next time, try not to lose it." "I try, master." After all, they're trying to catch the assassin, not bicker in front of the club.

I see no problem with Zam's reference to "bounty hunter" and think it should remain. Those of Jango's profession are referred to as such in ESB.

OK- this was never a personal problem for me, but I did it after reading this complaint on the "top _ reasons to hate Ep. II" list.

Missing Kamino Scene Suggestion:
(Entire library scene)
Jocosta Nu: If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist!
She walks off, Obi-Wan stares at computer.
Wide shot of Obi-Wan sitting at computer, Yoda (V.O.): The data must have been erased.
CUT to end of Younglings scene, continuing conversation.
Obi-Wan: But Master Yoda who could have erased information from the archives? That's impossible, isn't it?
Yoda: Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will. May the Force be with you.
(I don't see why you altered the end dialogue the way you did. The only problem I could see would be "only a Jedi..." but we're inferring it's Dooku so that won't be a problem. Also w/out that "who and why" don't make any sense. So I say leave the dialogue there as-is).


Good ideas- the only thing I have reservations about is using too much of the dialogue overlap from one scene to another. It seems like a more modern technique. The removal of the files was another "Top _ reasons to hate Ep. II" item. His complaint was that Yoda puts this info out without explaining why it would take a Jedi to erase the files. Why not just a good computer hacker? I don't really care one way or the other.

Everthing regarding the Coruscant chase sounds great. I look forward to your music choices as well.

Thank you- I'll have a lot more to say about the chase later on...


I still think replacing "Sypho-Dias" with "Qui-Gon" would be a neat way to do things if appropriate readings by McGregor could be found. Then at the end of the film it could be inferred that Dooku ordered the clones in his former apprentice's name. Too complicated? Maybe. But much more intriguing than the current strategy.


Especially since Lama-Su is being redone anyway. That's very interesting. It makes a little less sense, but it is definitely making more sense. Speaking of Lama-Su, I was browsing through that "Master Edition" website and actually found some very good ideas for Lama-Su dialogue. I've used the basic ideas...

Lama-Su: This army is for the Republic. Master Syfo-Dyas/Qui-Gon has informed us of everything, Master Kenobi, so there is no need for discretion.

-------------
Lama-Su: Oh, we keep him here. We required new samples of blood for the cloning. As Fett is one of the last remaining Mandalorians in the galaxy, he was an ideal host.

Obi-Wan: Curious.

Lama-Su: Yes...he has extraordinary physical strength and stamina, even for a Madalorian. A wise choice for the operation.



Soon, I will have finalized the dialogue and Nanner Split can begin the ADR.

Yes, cut the hair-combing scene in III and utilize the dialogue for the balcony/fireplace scene.

You mean the music? Absolutely.


Nute Gunray: we need to establish what exactly we're doing with this character. Is he going to die in I? I'm still not convinced of the logistics of that. That will obviously have a major impact on where we go in II with either him or his brother Carl.


I'm not sure. I have to say that if it would work, the idea of killing him off in I and his brother trying to avenge him in II/III is very interesting, particularly since I've cut the scene with Queen Jamilla in SOTDS. But I'll leave this to InfoDroid- it won't affect me as much one way or the other.


Voice of Qui-Gon: The repeated clip of "Anakin!" is very obvious. Either plug in a different, more subdued reading in the place on the fist one, or just cut it down to one "Anakin!" As for the "No!", in Narnia the Beaver yells "No!" and although it's not Neeson I couldn't help but think how much it sounded like him. That's the best source for an alternate "No!" here I've heard. It would be a shame to have to wait until an official DVD to utilixe it or any of the other great dialogue Neeson has as Aslan...


Unfortunately, unless there's no music or other extra noise on the track at that time, we probably wouldn't have access to a center speaker track from the 5.1 until the DVD.

I think the order of Padme's family scene should be: Arrival, Dinner, Kitchen, Room. Maybe even delete the room scene all together. Portman's delivery is especially flat there, and there's no real appeal to the scene. The "you die if you're unable to adapt" message of course, but still I think it might be best if it was jettisoned. Also putting it before the dinner scene makes little sense as that's when they first talk to the family (at dinner). Surely they would have done so previously on the way to her room. I hope I'm making sense.

That does make sense. I actually never loved this scene anyway- it seems very forced. I can do my best with that in the ADR, but this is also going to be cut down a bit because we cut to the dinner scene right afterwards. But I do think if it's included at all, it should come before the dinner scene.

Thank you very much, CC! That was a great help and much appreciated.

The elevator scene is a tough one.

I personally don't have a problem with it, in fact I thought it was one of the better scenes between Ewan and Hayden. We don't see much of their "Friendship" and this scene really tries and I think suceeds in letting us know they are in fact friends. By cutting this, what other scenes really show this -"and he was a good friend". Everything else is pretty much teacher and student.

I agree. I also know about the false beard added when this was filmed in post. I realize why it was filmed (that's the tough part); to establish Obi-Wan and Anakin as having a good relationship. However, in thinking about it, I remembered that a main point of this movie was that Anakin is irritated at Obi-Wan from the very beginning. He won't let Anakin go back to Tatooine ever again. He knows his mother is in pain and this irritates him. Therefore, the humour and the "buddies" tone doesn't really work anymore with the new scenario. Also, I used one of Obi-Wan's lines from that scene in the following scene that I am keeping.

Thank you though! I'd love to hear more from you...

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I just want to say how floored I still am that InfoDroid has audio dub tracks for all of the Nemoidians already! I feel badly because I'm not keeping up with his insansely wonderful pace. But things are moving. One of the greatest things I've discovered is that I have the capability not only to do zooms at any speed on a static image, but on moving video as well. This is almost as good as directing the movie. I can redo the compositions however I'd like, zoom in or zoom out for dramatic effect, alter the lighting and the colors...it's absolutely wonderful. When I started, I had no idea that I'd be able to do this type of thing so easily and with so much detail.

Also, I'm experimenting with a bit of compositing chroma-key work...and it may be possible to make the "Anakin/Padme receive message on Tatooine scene" into a sunset scene by replacing the blue sky and adjusting the colors appropriately. I'll keep you posted on that as well...

And finally, work is still continuing on the Coruscant sequence of scenes. Color work, music work, and sound effect work. Here's a little example:

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/4357/ship2a5az.jpg
http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/8119/ship2b2tv.jpg

I have also made a fascinating (to me, anyway) change to the scene, which as always began as an experiment. When I got done, I had...

Anakin: If you'll pardon me...

Anakin jumps onto Zam's speeder below. No free fall. He zooms into the distance.

Obi-Wan: I hate it when he does this.

Anakin pulls out his saber immediately, getting a grip on the handle. CUT to Zam, who looks up in fear and shrieks! (my sped up female Wilhelm scream). I love this because this is a classic thing where you don't know what she's frightened about until you see the next shot. Anakin ignites the saber and stabs it into the cockpit, as the music erupts. We hear the saber, the sparks, and some more fainting screaming as well.

I changed this for many reasons. One is because I felt like we were losing momentum and dragging things out too much with all the scrambling on the ship. Second, because even with the color changes, the CG still looked incredibly bad, which is unusual. Thirdly, because this is the first time we see Anakin in action against a set foe. Particularly, the person that’s trying to kill Padme. The one that Anakin desperately wants to kill. So he says, “Pardon me,” jumps onto her ship, pulls out his saber, and shatters the cockpit as she screams. Absolutely no mercy or fooling around. Watching it all with the music, it really feels like classic SW. You don’t mess around with the future Darth Vader.

I can't wait until I'm finally done with this. One big problem has been that what started out as a slightly smaller project has extended into a huge reworking of every aspect of the film. It's incredibly time-consuming, and I only hope that mine will be finished in as timely a manner as Ep. I. But once it's done and viewed alongside InfoDroid's Ep. I, I honestly think that fans will be slack-jawed watching these for the first time. Maybe we could even get Lucas or McCallum to watch! They watched the Phantom Edit, after all. I will post some video clips as soon as I get to a PC with high-speed Internet.

Until then!

-TM

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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I also want to recognize Erikstormtrooper's extremely generous offer to host any Shroud of the Dark Side material along with the Ep. I stuff. There'll be an FAQ, a large picture gallery, and eventually he might even host the movie trailer. Thank you so much, Erik!

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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Here is part of the Coruscant chase: Chase

Here's the original for your reference: original

It comes with the usual disclaimer (the sound effects have not been finalized or put into stereo yet, and I haven't replace Anakin's voice for this clip).

Here's an example of how the zoom can be used on the video. The zoom is very effective. The actual content and sound is different from what I'll change it to, but I just wanted to give you an example:
Zoom

And here's my crazy idea (which may or may not work) to change the funeral or the Anakin/Padme receive message scene into a sunset scene: sky

As you can see, I actually decided to end the Obi-Wan scene with a shot of the Geonosian creeping out, as the music builds. You know Obi-Wan's in trouble by the time we cut away. I actually think this increases the tension in the tunnel later on, because you know that these bugs made short work of Obi-Wan previously. Otherwise, you don't know how Obi-Wan was captured. Then, you realize that they're worse than stormtroopers in the droid factory. They fly around with guns but they never even get an opportunity to use them.

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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NICE! This is what we need to see, Trooperman!

Great job on that chase, feels like a whole different scene! And that arrangement of the Asteroid Chase music, sounds excellent.

The coloration looks good.

One suggestion about the Raiders clip in the Zam scene... I like it, but it may be too recognizable. Most people are as familiar with Raiders as they are with the original Star Wars. Maybe you can keep it, but tweak it a bit, because it does work well in that scene dramatically.

Anyway, amazing work! Seeing this builds a lot of excitement. Can't wait to see it!


--InfoDroid

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Very nice, TM. The chase had some much needed 'oomph', although I'd prefer a different musical cue. Something similiar, but not necessilary that. I guess I don't want to be reminded of AOTC while watching Empire. But I trust your judgment.

And it is time for my quarterly reminder about the wilhelm and the com-link static for the clones. I don't know if I have mentioned before, but Judy Garland's 1950 movie "A Star is Born" has a clear, uninterrupted wilhelm (wasn't the wilhelm yell originally called 'man being eaten by a crocodile? or am I confusing it with the Monty Python sketch?) during a musical number. I have a rip of the audio of it here:
http://s14.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=02A2J5PX68M3Q1KRN7ES5JPC36
With a baby wilhelm as well.

And TM, where did you get the "female wilhelm" that you mentioned a few days ago?
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TM:

-I'm glad you like my revised dialogue suggestions and hope you incorporate them in your final edit.
-Sifo-Dyas/Qui-Gon: The logistics of this will have to be hammered out, but if you're open to the idea I hope we can find a way of getting it done. This will tie into the extended ending with Sidious and Dooku, as that's where an explanation will be needed.
-The Lama-Su dialogue is good. I don't know if you'd had a chance yet but I'd again suggest checking out "The Island" to see if there's anything you can use on the Obi-Wan end of the cloning discussion.
-My final opinion on Padme's bedroom scene: cut it entirely.
-I love what you'ce done with the chase.
-Shmi's funeral at sunset: brilliant! It would be great if you could accomplish this all the way through. I would suggest a wipe transition between Geonosis and Tatooine though. And obviously Cliegg's dialogue will need to be muted.
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TROOPERMAN!!!

Those clips are tantalizing in the extreme. First, the speeder race is outstanding. What an improvement! I can easily see it as a highlight of the movie now with the new sounds, cooler dialogue, better pace, color, and that THEME! I think this is how the Saga should work -- musical themes should recur in appropriate places much more often. I think connecting this sequence to the asteroids is a great idea -- essentially showing how Anakin could effortlessly fly ways that Solo found challenging.

Second, the Raiders music fit the Zam scene perfectly to me (sorry again to disagree with another post). There are inevitable moments for everyone to have to "unlearn" previous associations with any cannibalized material. I vote that if it works, use it and let us get used to seeing a better version even if it takes us aback the first time we see it. I seriously doubt that most fans know the Indiana Jones music as well as they do Star Wars. I certainly do not.

Lastly, the bug threatening Obi Wan is perfect and inspired and the sunset change is ESSENTIAL. I nearly jumped when I saw the sunset colors disappear in the last frame -- a close up of Clieg -- it looked so lame compared to the new sunset stuff. Also, music was doing major work for us -- and the cut "eulogy" made the scene actually poignant.

I can not wait to see this thing.

I have other comments -- first, I see a missed opportunity if you simply cut the elevator scene when we intro Anakin and Obi Wan. THe dialogue in there has Anakin feeling antsy and Obi Wan saying "calm down!" I believe using the establishing footage of this scene and restricting the action to just that interchange will do lots of good. It won't be clear what Obi Wan is coming down on Anakin for. It establishes that Obi Wan is a hard-ass, all over Anakin. It establishes that Anakin is not comfortable in his skin yet. It puts their relationship in the foreground for the next sequence which, as rewritten, is about Obi Wan taking point and making Anakin follow his lead. Just starting upstairs leaves all these opportunities behind and focuses things on Padme (about whom, we really don't care yet and we never get into her head here).

Lastly, I have to speak up once more about how short sighted I believe it would be to cut the bedroom scene. This is a romance movie without romance. That scene is a functional, important chance to see Padme reveal herself to Anakin. What other scene does that? None. When a girl takes you to her bedroom, even if it's just to pack a couple things, she's taking you into her confidence. She didn't tell him "wait in the living room, I'll be right back." The scene has subtext, if it's placed properly. That's what this movie sorely lacks.

More later. Love what's been happening. Take care!

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Hi, everyone. I just wanted to check in....

I'm glad people liked those video previews. Thank you for your feedback. You haven’t even begun to see the Coruscant sequence, though From beginning to end, I am absolutely thrilled with the sound effects, the flow of the music, the synchronization, and the excitement. I never get sick of watching this sequence. I have pretty much completed Zam’s first appearance up to the Anakin/Obi-Wan talk in front of the nightclub. I’m still trying to figure out how to separate Obi-Wan’s dialogue from the trailer music in the cut exchange. One thing I’ve added is this- right before Anakin and Obi-Wan do the nosedive in the chase with Zam, Anakin says, “I hope you like flying.” After the chase (and the Asteroid Field theme from TESB), Obi-Wan says, “I don’t mind flying, but what you’re doing is suicide.” Rather than a lengthy exchange with a bad quip at the end (You know I don’t like it when you do that. Sorry master, I forgot you don’t like flying. I don’t mind…etc.) , we have the chase in between the comments. It seems more breathless and exciting. I’ve also recut the action during the last part of the chase, sometimes using horizontal flips and other tricks, so that the speeder is in the upright position necessary to use the footage of Obi-Wan. It works very well. However, I want to preserve the surprise at this point and not reveal any more of that.

Thank you for the recording, Sluggo. I actually had recordings of the Wilhelm: takes 1, 3, and 4. I created a “female Wilhelm” simply by speeding them up and thus raising the pitch. I love the effect because it gives the scene a much more brutal quality, along with Anakin’s action. It shows that Anakin is out to get her. I also love the fact that right before Anakin jumps, she takes off her mask and smiles in boredom. Anakin jumps, she looks up, and there he is pulling out his lightsaber. She hadn’t counted on that!

I actually hadn’t intended for the Raiders music to play during the questioning scene- it was a temp track until I make the new recording for that scene. However, it does work well dramatically. I’ll have to think about this.

“Sifo-Dyas/Qui-Gon: The logistics of this will have to be hammered out, but if you're open to the idea I hope we can find a way of getting it done. This will tie into the extended ending with Sidious and Dooku, as that's where an explanation will be needed.”

That’s the issue. I can’t finalize the Lama-Su dialogue until I figure out what the plan is for the possible extended ending. This will probably depend on what is being done on Ep. I. In the meantime, I have plenty of other things to work on

“The Lama-Su dialogue is good. I don't know if you'd had a chance yet but I'd again suggest checking out "The Island" to see if there's anything you can use on the Obi-Wan end of the cloning discussion.”

I still need to do that….

The sunset funeral: I really love the idea myself. However, I’m worried that if I do it myself, it could come out sub par, as I’m not that great at the compositing. I do hope this is possible, though.

My dilemma with the elevator scene and the bedroom scene is that the concepts are good, the plot embellishment is good, and removing them leaves something to be desired between the characters. But the overall design, the way they were shot, and the delivery is just awful. Not just Anakin (which I can fix), but Obi-Wan and Padme as well. There isn’t even a full-screen version of the bedroom scene that I can play with. If there is a way to bring these up to the rest of the movie, I will find a way. Otherwise, I just cringe through these scenes and even if they wind up in the release cut, I’d probably just cut them for myself.

Right now, I’m trying to make some headway on the Kamino material. Just wanted to check in,

-TM

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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Could someone please repost the clips that were put on here recently of the chase scene? I missed them and the link has expired.


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It may find it's way to myspleen once it's finished, but that's still a long way off, right Trooperman?