Collaborative Fanediting: An ROTJ Proposition (BACK ON TRACK WITH EMANSWFAN AT THE HELM--SEE POST 1488 OR OP FOR A LINK!) — Page 19

darth_ender said:

I'm sorry Ron, but to answer your earlier question, I do think it would hurt to reuse footage.  I remember watching the very visually exciting Star Trek: Generations, with its high budget visuals and the like.  Then the Enterprise manages to blow up the Klingon Bird of Prey and my first thought was, "Hey!  That's the exact same effect they used when they won in Star Trek 6!  Not cool!"  It really is too obvious and cheap.  I think if you can disguise it well you can pull it off (for instance, showing the Falcons guns shooting from ANH, but altering the outside scenery).

MrInsaneA, Here's why I feel it disrupts the flow: Ben and Luke are having a heart to heart expository conversation.  It's slow but important.  The final line builds tension a tad.  Transition to ships flying.  ZOOM!  Over in 2 seconds, then we're back to a slow introduction to a new plot setup, either including Vader contact with Luke or simply beginning on Tatooine.  They're both not quick moving, but again are rather expository in nature.  Without some way of effectively transition between the two, it feels rushed and unsatisfactory.  I really don't like it that much.

That said, I think it can be made more successful if the transition is slowed down a tad.  Follow me a moment while I ramble.  After Ben's line, "You must face Darth Vader again," intense music builds as we see Luke's x-wing departing from Dagobah.  We transition back to the Death Star from outside.  We then see Vader brooding while staring out a viewport, as he so often does when he's bored.  He turns and leaves the bridge.  He walks down the hall and gets on a turboshaft, listening to a lounge mix of Sting's "Fields of Gold."  Next shot he's in his meditation chamber and is reaching out for Luke.  Instead of immediately showing Luke, we hear Vader continuing on, but we see the planet Tatooine slowly getting larger.  Next we see an outside shot of the Tatooine cave, like this:

Vader's voice maybe continues to resonate as if reaching through space and finally we continue with Luke's lightsaber construction, etc.  Maybe such would be a sufficient spacing for the transition, but I do feel something needs to stretch these slower, plot-building scenes out a bit.

(Obviously you wouldn't use the humorous stuff, but I'm serious about the rest of this outline.)

Sounds good to me.

darth_ender said:

MrInsaneA said:

That sounds fantastic ender, especially the "Fields of Gold" bit. 

Thanks :)  There is the teensy problem that if we use this transition, we lose the popular fly through Beggar's Canyon.  But at least it's an idea.  Any others would be appreciated.

Not necessarily. Maybe while Vader's speaking, we slowly pan to Tatooine, then cut to Luke flying by Beggar's Canyon. Pretty simple stuff actually. 

Well, we could do that, but I thought the point was to have him disrupting Luke's focus while he was working on the lightsaber.  The symbolism with Vader calling out to him and Luke looking pretty dark in his robes seems important to me.  But again I'm brainstorming realtime here.  Vader keeps calling, "Luke...Luke..."  Luke's X-wing approaches Tatooine...we see him flying through the canyon...which then fades to white, then fades back to the parked ships.  Hmmm...doesn't feel very Star Warsy, though...I don't know, but I'll keep thinking about it.

darth_ender said:

Well, we could do that, but I thought the point was to have him disrupting Luke's focus while he was working on the lightsaber.  The symbolism with Vader calling out to him and Luke looking pretty dark in his robes seems important to me.  But again I'm brainstorming realtime here.  Vader keeps calling, "Luke...Luke..."  Luke's X-wing approaches Tatooine...we see him flying through the canyon...which then fades to white, then fades back to the parked ships.  Hmmm...doesn't feel very Star Warsy, though...I don't know, but I'll keep thinking about it.

Yeah, but sometimes different is good.

darth_ender said:

As for the space battle, I wish I could continue to be a big contributor here.  I would honestly be willing to do a hand illustrated storyboard to show my ideas.  Perhaps someone else might be willing to do so.  I still am rooting for the Victory Star Destroyers, and I think they still fit with Imperial uniformity.  I just love their design and I really don't like the Venator.  I'm not a GL basher like many here, but it annoys me that Lucas included the Venator and not the Victory in the PT.

I found this interesting website on how to construct a Victory SD.  Obviously it's not quite a movie quality model, but if the creator had the ambition to add more texture and it were used mostly in distance shots, it could be very passable.  For closeup shots, perhaps it could be enhanced a tad with CGI, given lights and a bit of texture and the like.

If we do include some sort of DSII plans stealing scene, it would need to involved new footage as Angel said.  I also think it would be best not to have Vader.  The Bothans are supposed to succeed after all, but only after many deaths.  If we include any such scene, we need to show this very thing: success at their mission with high casualties, and enough ambiguity to allow it to be part of the Emperor's master plan.

The model on this site is obviously much smaller than a studio scale model so you really couldn't have a lot of close ups without then improving the shots with cgi (though pretty basic stuff that could possibly be done mostly in photoshop). 

That said if you use it for fairly distant shots and choose your angles carefully you could probably get pretty good results.  If you are considering using physical models of a smaller scale then it would be a lot easier and cheaper as there are loads already available.  Also I have a lot which I have been trying to build up over the last year or so with a possible fan film style scene in mind so I would be happy to help out with those.  The only downside is I have a really good camera, but no video camera so stills would be fine but motion could be an issue.  If nothing else though they might be useful for a photo style storyboard?

Oh and I meant to add I could probably make a few models following the guide on that site without too much difficulty.  They would have to be physical models though as I know next to nothing about 3D computer modelling.

Johannus said:

darth_ender said:

As for the space battle, I wish I could continue to be a big contributor here.  I would honestly be willing to do a hand illustrated storyboard to show my ideas.  Perhaps someone else might be willing to do so.  I still am rooting for the Victory Star Destroyers, and I think they still fit with Imperial uniformity.  I just love their design and I really don't like the Venator.  I'm not a GL basher like many here, but it annoys me that Lucas included the Venator and not the Victory in the PT.

I found this interesting website on how to construct a Victory SD.  Obviously it's not quite a movie quality model, but if the creator had the ambition to add more texture and it were used mostly in distance shots, it could be very passable.  For closeup shots, perhaps it could be enhanced a tad with CGI, given lights and a bit of texture and the like.

If we do include some sort of DSII plans stealing scene, it would need to involved new footage as Angel said.  I also think it would be best not to have Vader.  The Bothans are supposed to succeed after all, but only after many deaths.  If we include any such scene, we need to show this very thing: success at their mission with high casualties, and enough ambiguity to allow it to be part of the Emperor's master plan.

The model on this site is obviously much smaller than a studio scale model so you really couldn't have a lot of close ups without then improving the shots with cgi (though pretty basic stuff that could possibly be done mostly in photoshop). 

That said if you use it for fairly distant shots and choose your angles carefully you could probably get pretty good results.  If you are considering using physical models of a smaller scale then it would be a lot easier and cheaper as there are loads already available.  Also I have a lot which I have been trying to build up over the last year or so with a possible fan film style scene in mind so I would be happy to help out with those.  The only downside is I have a really good camera, but no video camera so stills would be fine but motion could be an issue.  If nothing else though they might be useful for a photo style storyboard?

Could not the exact same format be used to make a larger model?  Obviously not a studio model six feet in length or anything, but still of a respectable size to create a decent illusion from a distance?  And like you said, we could enhance it with CGI.

I can't seem to find a decent commercial Victory-class Star Destroyer anywhere.  They are a distinct design from those in the films, and I like them for their differences.

Are you really a skilled model builder?  That's awesome!  I personally think models would fill an important niche in our edit.  I'm sure there would be times when stills would suffice, though motion ability would be nice too.  Perhaps you will ultimately obtain a video camera (purchased or borrowed from a friend), or perhaps you could carefully package and mail a couple of your models to someone else.  I think this would be a fantastic way for you to contribute.  I was prepared to do this myself, but I doubt I'd do a very good job and as I've said repeatedly, busy life starts this Monday.  If you'd be willing to build these models, I would love you forever...in the most professional way imaginable of course :)

Victory Star Destroyer:

Imperial/Imperator-class Star Destroyer (the one we see in the movies:

Size comparison:

If you do build it, I suggest you look online for more pictures to get a decent idea of the full design, but this at least gives you a superficial comparison of the differences.  Let us know if you're willing to give it a shot :)

fishmanlee said:

Sail Barge Assault Alternate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSIG6oSCmJY&feature=channel_video_title

Curse Fox!!!

fishmanlee said:

Try watching it again, it should work.

Never been a fan of the alternate, but it's still cool to watch how it would've played out.

I take the point about not "re-using footage" as a complete dismissal, I have been re-using footage to convey my ideas as I am not the best artist, and It would seem that instead of anyone who can do descent art saying I see what you mean but how about this because you are re-using footage.... It seems that people who are not doing the CGI are putting alot more effort and thought into this project and exploring more ideas with little or no visualising going on.

Thats how I feel about it frankly

Anyway with reference to the Vader Luke Duel on DSII...... Vader says "Obi-Wan has Taught you well" but Yoda has basically taught Luke much more atleast in this version so would it be worth inserting an audio clip of luke saying "Yoda" after this line to serve as a correction to Vader.... A bit more of a battle of words, and a revelation that Yoda was still alive atleast at the begining of the movie.

It bugged me when I did my re-cut but had not thought of it again until just now...

Ronster said:

I take the point about not "re-using footage" as a complete dismissal, I have been re-using footage to convey my ideas as I am not the best artist, and It would seem that instead of anyone who can do descent art saying I see what you mean but how about this because you are re-using footage.... It seems that people who are not doing the CGI are putting alot more effort and thought into this project and exploring more ideas with little or no visualising going on.

Thats how I feel about it frankly

Anyway with reference to the Vader Luke Duel on DSII...... Vader says "Obi-Wan has Taught you well" but Yoda has basically taught Luke much more atleast in this version so would it be worth inserting an audio clip of luke saying "Yoda" after this line to serve as a correction to Vader.... A bit more of a battle of words, and a revelation that Yoda was still alive atleast at the begining of the movie.

It bugged me when I did my re-cut but had not thought of it again until just now...

Bold and underlined.  Strong feelings for sure.

I wouldn't mind keeping the Obi-wan line in the cut.  It is a good reminder that the old story was Obi-w and and Vader/Anakin.  Besides, it may be viewed that Vader may not have known Yoda was alive, but that Vader understood that Ben had indeed become one with the force and had become more powerful than Vader had previously imagined.    If such is the case, it isn't a big stretch of the imagination to think Ben was training Luke.

Sluggo said:

Ronster said:

I take the point about not "re-using footage" as a complete dismissal, I have been re-using footage to convey my ideas as I am not the best artist, and It would seem that instead of anyone who can do descent art saying I see what you mean but how about this because you are re-using footage.... It seems that people who are not doing the CGI are putting alot more effort and thought into this project and exploring more ideas with little or no visualising going on.

Thats how I feel about it frankly

Anyway with reference to the Vader Luke Duel on DSII...... Vader says "Obi-Wan has Taught you well" but Yoda has basically taught Luke much more atleast in this version so would it be worth inserting an audio clip of luke saying "Yoda" after this line to serve as a correction to Vader.... A bit more of a battle of words, and a revelation that Yoda was still alive atleast at the begining of the movie.

It bugged me when I did my re-cut but had not thought of it again until just now...

Bold and underlined.  Strong feelings for sure.

 

I wouldn't mind keeping the Obi-wan line in the cut.  It is a good reminder that the old story was Obi-w and and Vader/Anakin.  Besides, it may be viewed that Vader may not have known Yoda was alive, but that Vader understood that Ben had indeed become one with the force and had become more powerful than Vader had previously imagined.    If such is the case, it isn't a big stretch of the imagination to think Ben was training Luke.

Keep the Obi-Wan line Luke says after the line Yoda to correct him....

I have quite alot on my plate right now... I need to file my Tax return or face £1000 fine and move house relativly soon so I don't have much time on my hands until the end of February - March realsitically so I won't be doing any more rough cuts or Visualizing for quite a bit...  I'll pop in from time to time but I won't be keeping up with this as activly as I was.... So I'll just leave it as this for now and if I find the time to make any contribution then I will do, but is unlikly at the momment

darth_ender said:

Could not the exact same format be used to make a larger model?  Obviously not a studio model six feet in length or anything, but still of a respectable size to create a decent illusion from a distance?  And like you said, we could enhance it with CGI.

Are you really a skilled model builder?  That's awesome!  I personally think models would fill an important niche in our edit.  I'm sure there would be times when stills would suffice, though motion ability would be nice too.  Perhaps you will ultimately obtain a video camera (purchased or borrowed from a friend), or perhaps you could carefully package and mail a couple of your models to someone else.  I think this would be a fantastic way for you to contribute.  I was prepared to do this myself, but I doubt I'd do a very good job and as I've said repeatedly, busy life starts this Monday.  If you'd be willing to build these models, I would love you forever...in the most professional way imaginable of course :)

If you do build it, I suggest you look online for more pictures to get a decent idea of the full design, but this at least gives you a superficial comparison of the differences.  Let us know if you're willing to give it a shot :)

Yeah it could be used to do a similar thing to any scale but to be honest I just don't have the space for big models.  I have lots of the little models already so knocking out something of a similar size would be relatively quick and easy and wouldnt take up any extra space, however, I have one larger kit of the RotJ shuttle (which could potentially be of some use) and to be honest it is just such a pain to store without damaging it.  If I had the room to spare I would gladly offer to make these larger though. 

I do know one guy who is studying film making so he would have access to decent cameras (though I don't know if he would have time to help but its worth a try).  The problem is space again though, if its still shots I can just use a lightbox and get the angle right, whereas for moving shots I would need lots of space, several lights, and rigs to move the camera and the pieces along their paths.  It is something I would again love to do but I just don't see it as being very achievable right now. 

However, if you wanted to knock out some ideas for specific new scenes or additions to existing scenes within the space battle, I could try to make some test shots and we could take it from there.  At least everyone would have a clearer idea, and then if the chance to film in motion does come along, then at least we would know what we are doing right away.

I can't remember exactly which models I already have but I think it is most of the larger ships, but no star destroyer, so I have a super star destroyer, a mon cal ship (possibly home one), a death star (though rather annoyingly not a brilliantly accurate one but might be ok for distant shots or as a placement for a cg one to be added later).  I also have loads of the smaller fighters but the detail on those is not as good so its up to you how you want to go with those.  And if memory serves I have a few tantives and PT ships so if you wanted to add some of those I might be able to help there too.  In the meantime I can make the Victory model and then like I say just give me some scenarios to create it in and I'll knock up some examples.

Oh and I made this very crude mock up for the opening scene showing the Bothans arriving at an imperial planet and stealing the plans.  It would require a lot of work but it is just to demonstrate the idea of how it could use, and also show some examples of shots that could form the basis for new shots after a lot of editting. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_v8vGWtXT8&feature=youtu.be

perfectlovehere said:

You could try building a realistic replica but I think there are premade ones on ebay you can buy. Try checking there for star wars replica ships. Good luck.

Well a lot of the ones I have are the premade miniatures, but like I said they are small.  You can get much bigger more detailed versions but they cost a lot.  Making them is far more realistic if you want enough for a lot of variation.

Ronster said:

I take the point about not "re-using footage" as a complete dismissal, I have been re-using footage to convey my ideas as I am not the best artist, and It would seem that instead of anyone who can do descent art saying I see what you mean but how about this because you are re-using footage.... It seems that people who are not doing the CGI are putting alot more effort and thought into this project and exploring more ideas with little or no visualising going on.

Thats how I feel about it frankly

Anyway with reference to the Vader Luke Duel on DSII...... Vader says "Obi-Wan has Taught you well" but Yoda has basically taught Luke much more atleast in this version so would it be worth inserting an audio clip of luke saying "Yoda" after this line to serve as a correction to Vader.... A bit more of a battle of words, and a revelation that Yoda was still alive atleast at the begining of the movie.

It bugged me when I did my re-cut but had not thought of it again until just now...

 Don't be too hard on them.  Everyone has personal lives.  I know Aalenfae has plans for when he gets back to his better computer.  But I think I will probably make today my last big posting day for a while, and hopefully I can spur everyone and get things rolling more independently.  I do feel like my energy has largely kept this moving, but soon it will have to move without me.  I know others contribute greatly as well, but clearly I've organized a great deal of this to give it direction, and unfortunately I just can't anymore.  I will have to try to give everyone one last big shove to hopefully keep things moving for a while without me.  But I'll save that for a separate post.

As for the Vader line, it never bothered me.  Vader references Obi-wan multiple times throughout the three films, obviously assuming that he did all the training.  I find your idea of Luke correcting with a "Yoda" line, but I'm not sure where it would go or how well it would fit.  You'd probably have to include it in one of your mockups.  If he were to correct him, it would seem to require additional dialogue because Vader would certainly be surprised to learn that Yoda was still alive.  It could spur a whole conversation, so I'm not sure it would be worth a correction.  But when you are able, and I know life's busy, maybe find a place to insert it and who knows, it may work great!

Good luck while you are away and busy.  We hope to see you frequently.  You too bring a great deal of energy to this thread as well as a number of ideas.  Hope to see you soon.

Johannus said:

darth_ender said:

Could not the exact same format be used to make a larger model?  Obviously not a studio model six feet in length or anything, but still of a respectable size to create a decent illusion from a distance?  And like you said, we could enhance it with CGI.

Are you really a skilled model builder?  That's awesome!  I personally think models would fill an important niche in our edit.  I'm sure there would be times when stills would suffice, though motion ability would be nice too.  Perhaps you will ultimately obtain a video camera (purchased or borrowed from a friend), or perhaps you could carefully package and mail a couple of your models to someone else.  I think this would be a fantastic way for you to contribute.  I was prepared to do this myself, but I doubt I'd do a very good job and as I've said repeatedly, busy life starts this Monday.  If you'd be willing to build these models, I would love you forever...in the most professional way imaginable of course :)

If you do build it, I suggest you look online for more pictures to get a decent idea of the full design, but this at least gives you a superficial comparison of the differences.  Let us know if you're willing to give it a shot :)

Yeah it could be used to do a similar thing to any scale but to be honest I just don't have the space for big models.  I have lots of the little models already so knocking out something of a similar size would be relatively quick and easy and wouldnt take up any extra space, however, I have one larger kit of the RotJ shuttle (which could potentially be of some use) and to be honest it is just such a pain to store without damaging it.  If I had the room to spare I would gladly offer to make these larger though. 

I do know one guy who is studying film making so he would have access to decent cameras (though I don't know if he would have time to help but its worth a try).  The problem is space again though, if its still shots I can just use a lightbox and get the angle right, whereas for moving shots I would need lots of space, several lights, and rigs to move the camera and the pieces along their paths.  It is something I would again love to do but I just don't see it as being very achievable right now. 

However, if you wanted to knock out some ideas for specific new scenes or additions to existing scenes within the space battle, I could try to make some test shots and we could take it from there.  At least everyone would have a clearer idea, and then if the chance to film in motion does come along, then at least we would know what we are doing right away.

I can't remember exactly which models I already have but I think it is most of the larger ships, but no star destroyer, so I have a super star destroyer, a mon cal ship (possibly home one), a death star (though rather annoyingly not a brilliantly accurate one but might be ok for distant shots or as a placement for a cg one to be added later).  I also have loads of the smaller fighters but the detail on those is not as good so its up to you how you want to go with those.  And if memory serves I have a few tantives and PT ships so if you wanted to add some of those I might be able to help there too.  In the meantime I can make the Victory model and then like I say just give me some scenarios to create it in and I'll knock up some examples.

 Wow, this still sounds terrific, even with your understandable limitations.  Whatever motion shots we may require I don't imagine would need to be too fancy.  I imagine only brief shots mostly from the distance.  Here, let me sum up my thoughts:

When seeing the Star Destroyers from a distance (i.e. "It's a trap" or "I wonder what those Star Destroyers are waiting for."), it would be good to see a few smaller ships dotting the fleet.  This of course would require only a still shot from the front and digitally inserted in a few places.

When the two fleets are actually engaging each other, even then it wouldn't require much.  Imagine a point like when the guy in the Y-wing yells, "I'm hit!" and spins into a Star Destroyer--perhaps we could replace that Imperial-class with a Victory.  A couple of distance shots could be useful if we show more capital ship exchanges from a bit of a distance (which I hope we do, because while I love the starfighter focus of ROTJ, I'd love to see more balance with the big vessels as well).  For instance, perhaps we could see two Rebel cruisers and two Victories pass eachother from an above view, exchanging broadsides along the way.

Maybe a couple of closeups would be useful, mostly just quick flybys that focus on the fighters.

Those are my thoughts, and in reality none of them require much motion or lighting, the most being the broadside shot.

Let me tell you that I am grateful we have you on our team.  You have a super star destroyer?!  That's awesome too.  We've been discussing enhancing the Executor's death so it is more dramatic, a la...

Your model may help with the actual crash.

Perhaps everyone can think of other ways to involve your other models.  The Mon Cal cruiser I'm sure would be valuable, especially if it's Home One, and I'm trying to think of a good way we could use the shuttle.  I'm sure we could make use of it somehow.

Would you be willing to upload some pics of your models for us?  It might give us an idea of how close we can get in our special effects.  Thanks for your contributions thus far, and if you don't mind, I'd like to add you to our list of involved team members in the first post.

Johannus said:

Oh and I made this very crude mock up for the opening scene showing the Bothans arriving at an imperial planet and stealing the plans.  It would require a lot of work but it is just to demonstrate the idea of how it could use, and also show some examples of shots that could form the basis for new shots after a lot of editting. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_v8vGWtXT8&feature=youtu.be

This is an interesting combo of Ronster's and timdiggerm's ideas.  Of all the ideas we've given serious thought to, I imagine this would be the hardest sort to pull off.  It's interesting and both ideas were very close in the votes and should be discussed further.  I still worry most about how hard some of these things would be to pull off, but if it simply involves editing existing footage from other films to the point where it's not too obvious, I'd have to defer to the special effects team on how doable it is.  It looks interesting, as did both Ronster's and timdiggerm's ideas.

Lots of comments today, but just to inform everyone, I updated the votes to reflect a couple MrInsaneA's change of heart and an accidental missed vote by emanswfan.  Also, TheoOdo only got half his votes to me because the other half was cut off so I feel in all fairness he is welcome to submit the other half whenever he comes around again and I will adjust the scores.  The only change from the above two fellows is that now we have a preference for Lando appearing to die (at least for a few more moments) but surviving.  The score is 6 to 4 to drag out his exit long enough to make us fear more for his life.

The Assignments Post:

Final post for now to hopefully give some assignments.  Yes, some of you volunteered your services, and I don't want this to be a perpetual ideas thread.  We actually want to turn these ideas into a movie.  I'm going to call you guys out on the carpet and encourage you to utilize your skills but set your own goals.  I will update the name of the thread to reflect these assignments and goals.  I know we all have personal lives, and I have no idea how long some of these things would normally take anyway, so I will leave that to you.  But please, everyone who gets an assignment, let us know what you think, how realistic it is what I will ask of you, and a timeframe when you hope to have something accomplished.  This will hold everyone accountable to themselves and the rest of the group, and we can then start seeing things coming together.  Please don't take offense at my doing this, but I just hope we can see some progress.

At the present we simply want to see some pieces, not a finished product, obviously.  Based on our conversations, these are assignments.  Everyone can feel free to volunteer or even opt out for the present, but at least we're seeing something.

CGI modeling/animation and other special effects:

Aalenfae - I know you don't have access to your good computer, but could you provide us with a mockup of any special effect of your choice?  It doesn't need to be perfect, but simply an idea.
Jaitea - You've not joined the conversation yet, but you told me in a PM you'd be willing to help.  After reading through my script and/or this thread, is there anything you'd be willing to do?

Physical models:

Johannus - When do you think you can complete a starship model?

Background/mattes:

Angel - Do you think you could composite in some new mattes in an actual moving scene?  I'd love to see this.

Music composition:

timdiggerm - I'm still not sure if you said you were willing or able to compose music, so I'd simply love to know if you are able.  It's really too early to know how to implement it yet.  It's also too early to do any other sound editing.
fishmanlee - I'd also like to know if you can get your music composing friends to join the team.  Perhaps they can help implement the alternate cues when appropriate.  I'm wondering if when you're done with those, we should have a vote on the new or old cues.

Scriptwriting/editing:

darth_ender - I'm going to be busy, but I'm not going away.  I will try to set a goal for a modified script based on the votes that were decisive.  I'm thinking two weeks.  I know it's a long time for a relatively little thing, but it takes more time than you know, and I kid you not, I'm going to be busy.  Due on Jan. 21.

Film editing:

ben_danger - I haven't seen you around here much lately, but you agreed to be willing to do some editing.  Once I get an updated script, could you provide us with a rough edit including deleted footage, at least of the parts of the film we've suggested altering (i.e. the order of the film)?  This is a lot to ask, but the way I see it, if we get a complete film with the pieces we already have, we can better see how to implement the new material or update the existing stuff.  Say we completed this early edit, and Angel completed a shot with new matting.  All we'd have to do is replace the old shot with the new one and we're one step closer to a complete movie.
Angel - I've already asked you to do the matting, but if you want to do some editing instead, it would also be appreciated.  What I'm thinking is that it's too much work to do the whole movie at this point, and some parts are not changed significantly.  Perhaps we could split the load.
Calling volunteers - Since editing the film might be a large task, I'm asking for volunteers to do this if ben_danger and Angel cannot.  Also we could simply split it up.  Someone could take the early scenes and someone could take the later.  Again, most of the special effects are not done, but I would like to see an early edit so we now how/where to place certain parts.  Please let us know if you are interested.

Deleted scene restoration:

emanswfan - This has also got to be a big job, but how long do you think it would take for you to provide us with a fixed up deleted scene?  It doesn't need to be perfect, but we'd at least love to see your progress.

I truly wish to emphasize one more time, I AM NOT SETTING DEADLINES FOR ANYONE.  HOWEVER, I HOPE YOU WILL DO SO FOR YOURSELVES.  This will keep everyone motivated and keep the energy alive.  It's not the end of the world if you can't make it, but please try to keep us all up to date on your progress.  Please put your deadline here, and I will update this post to reflect that deadline.  I will also include a link in the first post.  Or maybe I'll just include the deadlines in the first post.  Who knows?  Anyway, it will keep everyone on task.  I hope this is a fair thing to ask, and I hope no one takes offense.  I really want to see us make a spectacular edit, and I believe if we all keep some focus, we can do just that.  We're all busy with real life, but at least we'll be moving forward.

Finally, let me just add that it is a real honor working with all of you, from the most active to the most imaginitve to the lurkers who I frequently see reading this but never commenting.  You are a great team of folks and I know we can see this thing through!