Boon, don't get me wrong, input is good. Can you give me pointers on how to fix some of what was wrong?
I didn't get anything wrong, Dr.M, it is great you want input, even if it isn't all positive. I cannot give you THE answer to what was wrong and to how-to-fix-it, most of the time it's just a feeling that you get, that something is wrong. Since we have been playing so much with sound lately, I find there a source of many things that were kind of unfitting or unsettling in your edit. When you mix two scenes, you might have to resound them from scratch, instead of mixing the audio. This is a hell lot of work, but the result can be excellent. And sometimes, when no one says the important sentences, then you may have to say it yourself (we did this a few times already and no one has yet criticized it or maybe not even really realized it, which would be even better) or find a quote from another movie (in DOOMED BY THE BOOGEYMAN it is actually Ed Harris that is shouting "nooooo" when Tim is sucked into the door). Since you are experimenting (and I love it that you said it), you should maybe try that. What you really need is a test audience. People that watch your edit with an open heart and tell you what they think. Unfortunately willing test audiences are hard to find and cannot be used more than once for the same movie. What strikes me is that I have no idea how your edit would have been for me, if I had not worked on the Matrix sequels myself for so long. I feel pain when I see the rooftop heart massage scene... and then I am far from watching open heartedly. One more thing: don't forget about the stupidity of the audience. We all want to be just entertained (at least I do). The audience does not want to think to much but wants to be told what happens, so there should be answers to almost everything. Star Wars is a good example there, you don't need a brain to understand the story, but it is great entertainment. Your cuts were sometimes very rough and it felt like plotholes inbetween, where information was required. Now if Revolutions - Hacked will be even more experimental I fear for the fun in watching it, but actually I want to see your vision. Isn't it possible to make it more of an entertainment movie?