Salutations, all. This is an update.
So, I didn't reply way back when because I have nothing to say to the not so helpful anymore poster above me. Wonder what his problem was...
Anyways, these have slowly but surely been coming along very well, however I've decided to actually do all the films and not just prequel edits. The OT edits have still taken a long time and RotJ is mostly finished. This is pretty much what has been changed. I need to note that these edits are not an attempt to recreate the original theatrical versions but instead to create what the special editions could have been:
*Additional color correction with some scenes
*Cut a few scenes for time (almost all Endor bits)
*Cleaned up the sound mix a little bit
*The scene with the "big door" to Jabba's palace has been truncated
*Jabba's CGI bullshit band is gone (the Dug is still there but is more in the shadows now)
*Ewoks no longer have a CGI blink
*Less Ewok shenanigans in general, cutting the time down slightly and making them seem a little more vicious only when angry
*No dead Ewok - this has always been stupid, what's the point in acknowledging a casualty if the total count is a joke of "1" against Imperial forces?
*Chewie's Tarzan yell is modified and mashed up with a normal vocalization
*Little more tension and a very small adjustment to Vader's slightly more conflicted tone of voice during the "I know there is good in you" scene, only sound edits
*Once again, Vader does not say a word when his son is being shocked
*Cut down the "celebration" montage back to what it was in the Special Edition, might just cut it entirely (Jedi Temple is gone as I have no idea how it would still be standing)
*Shaw replaces Christensen (however, the eye color/eyebrow change has not been reverted, though it has been modified to be more accurate)
*"Victory Celebration" has received a subtle, additional percussion track made out of percussion samples taken from Yub Nub so that the shots of Ewoks banging on helmets and whatnot feels more in place
This is almost all done. The key thing that I wanted to ask the community was whether or not I should use the "Victory Celebration" song or the Yub Nub song that we all grew up with. It personally doesn't annoy me whatsoever, but the other piece of music is nice and possibly more fitting. Let me know what you think is better.
As for the prequels, I have mostly only changed Revenge of the Sith so far since it needs a far more minimal amount of editing:
*Super battle droids do not speak and R2 does not have his antics
*Little more tension in the Dooku execution by a little speed adjustment/sound editing that took forever but came out great
*Some scenes cut for time
*Kashyyyk scene has also been made a little more tense, mainly because it's so short, and doesn't end with Yoda being shot at
*Various dialogue cut (however, popularly cut bits like "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" have been left in to strengthen Obi-Wan's ultimately reckless, hypocritical character, as well as Palpatine's mention of midichlorians, now left vague and unexplained in the film, unlike the botched explanation in TPM which was misunderstood in ten different ways by everyone due to its writing - if I can however make a perfect cut of "influence the force to create life" then I will do that, but this has proven to be extremely difficult without screwing up the scene and Ian's greatness)
*Speaking of which, Ian's dialogue has been cut down of a couple cheesy lines since they're a complete waste of talent
*The loss of form within the Jedi order is established a little more prominently and a little less stupidly
*Vader's "NOOOO" has been replaced with a processed yell by JEJ that I cannot possibly describe and while it sounds far more appropriate, I might just make him totally silent like most edits or just go with the oft used "after the mask descends and he takes a breath" cliche, cut to Binary Sunset
I am unsure as how to tackle TPM and AOTC. One big thing that stands in the way is the image. Not only is AOTC digital, the blu-ray looks like shit. I've tried sharpening it, changing the color and adding some fake film grain like effects, but nothing seems to look right.
So, does anyone know any sort of solution for this? I do intend to cut the two together and TPM is currently looking 10x better than AOTC. If I don't do this and simply cut each one down, they both run about 40 minutes each and make absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's a shame if I can't try to form AOTC into something coherent without all the stupidity because I think machete order is a good idea. I just can't sit through AOTC as is without wanting to vomit.
Unless I can come up with a solution, I'm considering possibly abandoning both TPM and AOTC, changing the title crawl of ROTS to mention briefly Anakin's past and how the 'war' came to be.
Again, thoughts/recommendations/advice/constructive criticism would be helpful. Thank you!