towne32 said:
I think it looks great. I think the main flaw is the somewhat obvious sound cuts that we've discussed a bit already, so no need to dwell on that more. It would be lovely to see that fix in the 16gb version, though.
As far as other editing decisions go, as you've said, everyone would probably create a slightly different version for themselves. I personally would love a copy with *no* CGI 'dinosaurs' at all (or flying droids) in addition to the rest of your changes. But, different strokes for different folks.
And I did notice the grey line in that shot. Is it only a single frame with this?
Thanks for the feedback towne32! I'm very glad to hear that you like how it looks. That's what I want to know the most, what people feel about the new colour scheme of the latest Star Wars Semi-Specialised Edition release.
As for those audio cuts on tatooine, they are noticable if you're looking for them but they are not at all jarring for me so I don't consider them flaws that need fixing. The cut that removes the swinging jawa is also cutting a piece of music so its going to be impossible to make that totally seamless. That cut worked out a lot better than I could have hoped though, seamless enough to satisfy me. The other two are scene changes where such audio transitions are common in films, even in Belbucus's Star Wars PCM audio. Both seamless enough for me. I will look into whether I can improve on what i've already done with crossfades though for the 16gb release, if crossfades make them even more satisfactory then of course that is exactly what i'll do.
If I had access to blu-ray level HD footage of the shots you're talking about without the 'dinosaurs', I'd certainly consider removing the one that walks across Luke and Ben when they're in the speeder about to talk to the storm troopers. Honestly the droids flying around don't really bother me. Hopefully Disney will release the original unaltered trilogy on blu-ray sooner rather than later so I have more options. I would especially love to have the Lapti Nek, Yub Nub and Jedi Ghosts footage in blu-ray quality to be able to reinstate them into the Return of the Jedi Semi-Specialised Edition.
Thankfully that thick grey line is only in a single frame, so its an easy fix. I'm amazed that I didn't notice it a year ago when I first released the Star Wars Semi-Specialised Edition.