Originally posted by: Commander Courage
All that said, I would like to propose something to you all. I know most, if not all fan edits, have a certain degree of secrecy to them. General items are discussed, but the specific details are kept secret until the final release. Even on such a community-driven project as Trooperman's there is a lack of specific disclosure. Anyway, what I'm getting at is things can either stay as they are on this project with little to no progress until all the pieces fall into place, OR, I can post verbatim the exact plans and outlines for everything. There is a certain appeal to the element of surprise, but as things stand now I really don't see the harm. Starkiller Ranch is about as community-driven as you can get. Perhaps having it all out there for everyone will provide the spark to jump-start things back into motion. The only real drawback I can see to such a complete disclosure is that people would get so caught up in arguing how things should be we wouldn't get anything done (as was a problem earlier in this thread). I'm no dictator; this is a democracy, but everyone is not going to agree with everything 100%. There has to be a final say on things, and I would suggest that final say be me, as eventually, I will be the one putting all this together.
Thoughts?
The thing is, Episode II worked very well as a community thing, with everything out in the open and being discussed, because we all had the same types of ideas in mind. There was a much clearer path to excellence. But there are a million different ways to handle Ep. I, and many are valid. People are going to disagree on fundamental concepts and ideas. However, it could be terribly interesting to let everyone discuss fundamentals and make their case for each idea (as far as the main goals for the project, the character of Gunray and Jar-Jar, etc.). I was set on certain thing in Ep. II, but often in the creation I would be persuaded to do something different because I realized the idea was better. wouldn't make irreversible executive decisions yet, and seeing as this project is at a stall for the time being, there's no better time to open up the subject again.
I agree that there is kind of a leadership in SOTDS that's missing from this project (at this point). My only thought is that perhaps CC, Preston, MTH, and others will be inspired enough by SOTDS this fall that some similar ideas and breakthroughs will come about for Ep. I (similar to the breakthroughs I had in SOTDS after watching other great films outside of Star Wars). As Preston's pointed out, it does make sense to screen SOTDS before starting work on Ep I, because they are intended as part of the same series. You'll also get the general mood and the editing style.
Once you've settled on the basic concepts, however, you have to stick with them. Regarding the voice of Jar-Jar and Nute Gunray- these are both being voiced by Sluggo for SOTDS. It's up to him and to you as to whether you want to carry this over into Ep. I or not. I would prefer that you did, only because I don't want to put out an SOTDS SE with new voices.
Sooner or later, a solution will present itself with this project. Again, CC, I'd recommend multiple editors on this, because taking the whole thing on yourself takes such a big chunk out of your life- I'm not doing this type of thing again by myself. A shot by shot remake of sorts was just too much. I suggest you all discuss exactly what you're to do until SOTDS comes out, and then several designated editors view and study Ep. II to get the style of what is to be done, so you're all on the same page. Then, split up the film among the editors and then have a final editor like CC or myself (or both) that ensures that we come out with a cohesive whole.
With a project as big as this one, I think this approach would be superior to a one man endeavor... 
