Yep - I've edited a whole lot more of Deleted Magic, my deconstruction
of Star Wars ... and I'm trying to get it all posted on the web for you.
My connection is very slow, so this has been slow going at best, but I
am uploading a LOT of videos - parts 4, 5, 7, Treadwell, Jabba/Bast and
the revised parts 1, 2 and 3 - all will be available for you very soon.
This is gonna be good, folks.
With many thanks to Russ Wagus, Rowland Wafford, Ruben Ortiz and Mark Johnson.
Okay, let's start it off --
http://orangecow.org/videos/deletedmagictreadwell.mov
The Treadwell Scene ("Sparkle in the Sky") ...
Luke's deleted first scene, this was in black and white and soundless
on the Behind the Magic cd-rom. This is my edit. Ruben Ortiz created the "sparkle in
the sky" animation, and Mark Johnson created the edit that inspired this
(with the help of Brad), and provided the sound files and Treadwell
sounds.
Apologies for the quality of the video in the Treadwell scene - I am still
hoping to get better media for this scene, and other CD-ROM scenes. I
have gotten in better media for the Biggs scenes, though, with many
thanks to Russ Wagus.
http://orangecow.org/videos/deletedmagicpart5.mov
DELETED MAGIC: PART 5 -
"The Search for R2"
There is a part 4, but as I type this, it hasn't been uploaded yet, so I'll
just show you part 5.
Beru's 1977 voice and dewbacks start us off, but this clip is mainly a
reconstruction of the deleted "Search for R2" scene. You saw this in Empire of Dreams
- shot using rear projection, it didn't look very good, and was cut. I've
used audio from the radio drama to recreate the lost scene as best I
could. Mark Johnson provided the sound files, and the still pictures, and
the general idea.
http://orangecow.org/videos/deletedmagicpart7.mov
DELETED MAGIC: PART 7 -
"Ben's Hut" (alternate edit)
I have skipped part 6 for the moment and gone straight to part 7.
In part 7, we see an alternate edit of the scene in Ben Kenobi's hut -
reedited to match the way it was shot. As you may know, the Leia
Hologram originally came at the beginning of the scene. In the original
cut, we get this urgent message and then Luke and Ben sit around
talking. In the final cut, Luke and Ben sit around talking, before getting
an urgent message - and then have to do something about it. Makes for
a very different scene.
And .... and it's about to finish ...
a test version of the hardest and most insane thing I've done in this
entire edit .... something that took me an entire night to do ...
a widescreen edit of a scene that doesn't actually exist in widescreen.
a widescreen edit, made from scratch ...
of Declan Mulholland as Jabba the Hutt.
It's the Jabba/Chief Bast extravaganza!
http://orangecow.org/videos/deletedmagicjabbabast.mov
DELETED MAGIC:
Jabba the Hutt and Chief Bast
Together at last, the Hutt and the Bast! I've done brand-new edits of
Declan Mulholland as Jabba the Hutt, and a little scene with Vader and
Chief Bast (from the Holiday Special, courtesy Rowland Wafford).
What I've done with the Jabba the Hutt scene is completely insane
actually. It took me all night - I haven't slept yet.
Basically, it was bothering me that no version of the Declan
Mulholland as Jabba the Hutt scene existed in widescreen. Short clips of
it existed in widescreen, but the scene as we know it is only in Pan &
Scan.
So, I've created a widescreen version. From scratch.
I've taken the CGI Jabba the Hutt from the new DVDs, and painstakingly
painted him out of the widescreen frame, and pasted in our friend, the
late Declan Mulholland.
I had to pull out every editing trick I know to do this. I was pasting
over as many as 12 separate layers to make the shots look presentable.
And cheating a lot.
But the result is crisp, and DVD quality. The Declan Jabba scene has
never looked this good, ever. Very proud, I am.
It's still a work in progress. I only did the scene up to the closeup of
Chewie, and then reverted to an old, less well made edit seen at T'Bone's site. This is because
most of the clips I need to use are only on an old CD-ROM, Making
Magic. For this test version, I've used very poor quality copies of these
shots - but I'm hoping I can get better quality media in for this and make
the edit perfect.
Well, that's enough for now. But at the moment I'm uploading the
following:
Deleted Magic Part 4 - "The Homestead" ... A lot of jawas, Luke, Owen,
Beru and her voice, and a lot of malfunctioning droids.
Revised versions of Part 1 (with the Treadwell scene included), Part 2
(with more commentary in the "Leia gives R2 the plans" scene, and a
better quality Biggs scene provided by Rowland Wafford), and Part 3 (with
more commentary in the 3PO/R2 desert scene, and another better
quality Biggs scene provided by Russell Wagus).
Hope you like the clips! Lemme know what you think ...
Incidentally, if you've been emailing me at ggilchri@usc.edu, that's my
USC account, which has now been shut down. Within a few days, I won't
be able to access that email at all. So please email me, from now on, at
ocpmovie (at) lycos.com.