Community Focus Thread 1: The Phantom Menace — Page 9

Hahaha, feels like forever ago! Yeah, I remember even back then I think you made an excel spreadsheet for potential continuity edits. Got a glimpse of your legendary organization skills even then.

I think it shows are similar mindsets to a lot of this stuff. They are slightly different, but I prefer this approach of looking at things a month. It gives us an opportunity to brainstorm specific ideas without the weight of a massive undertaking, such as full edits of all nine saga films.

StarkillerAG said:

sirlegion13 said:

Just a quick question: does anyone happen to have The Ancient Lore by Andreas? I’d really like to see some of the radical changes he made, but I don’t think he’s been active anywhere in some time.

I have it, I’ll send you a PM.

Yo can i get a PM as well of this edit please? thanks.

EddieDean said:

Right, I’ve finished the JAR JAR VOICE TOOL.

You can find it here. Thanks again to evansj1983 for identifying all the Clone Wars clips.

The spreadsheet now contains a list of 300 Jar Jar voice lines, timecoded and marked as clean or dirty. It also contains a link to the accompanying video file (4GB, ~35 min) featuring all 300 lines in order, indexed back to the spreadsheet and also timestamped in case you want to re-source them for your own edit.

Basically, anyone should be able to now search the spreadsheet for the line, word, or sound they want, then use the video in any editing software that splits audio by track in order to play around with Jar Jar’s audio.

There’s lots of good stuff in there - many references to him supporting a Queen, discussing the Force and the Jedi, being a Senate representative, and having proper motivation and character beyond passivity.

If you notice any errors, let me know, because it’s set up in such a way that I can fix it easily.

Go play!

If you need anymore lines there is always the Disney Infinty 3.0 lines for Jar Jar. Here’s a YouTube link to all of his lines if it helps: https://youtu.be/uoGGwG4-JUU

I know wanting to dub over Jar Jar is an idea people go to, but how about overdubbing Watto to downplay the idea of being a Jewish stereotype? Instead of being deep and gravelly, he could sound more warm but cautious. It would also help with edits where Qui-Gon frees both Anakin & his mom.

I know it would potentially just swap one steryotype for another, but I think an italian accent would fit Watto like a glove. Again, I think it would work if you tone down his threatening nature and more just a guy trying to survive.

I just read this whole thread (over the course of 3 days here and there) and a big bravo to you Eddie! Fabulous idea, fabulous putting it together.

I love the invasion idea to begin the film, and identifying the core issues. I kinda want to try and tackle this now. I’m really excited about this monthly focus plan!

CaptainFaraday said:

arabian said:

I just read this whole thread (over the course of 3 days here and there) and a big bravo to you Eddie! Fabulous idea, fabulous putting it together.

I love the invasion idea to begin the film, and identifying the core issues. I kinda want to try and tackle this now. I’m really excited about this monthly focus plan!

If you started actively putting together an edit using these ideas, I think it would reinvigorate the thread for sure - plus it would be an edit I’d definitely watch!

At this point it feels like the all the big ideas have emerged and been fleshed out a bit, so it might be the perfect time to start an edit that aims to accomplish them. Maybe that could be one of the soft goals of these months, depending on whether there’s someone interested in helming each of them!

The idea I really like is the invasion at the START of the film and that’s what draws Obi-Wan and QGJ there. For my personal* ST saga, I do want to have Obi-Wan identified by name very, very early on the film (like as earliest a possible), but having the invasion early on is a great idea.

• I put the PT after TESB which basically ends with Luke going “Why, Ben, why?” about him not telling him that Vader was Anakin which then positions the PT as a very (very, very) long flashback. That way we open up on the first film with a young (identified) Obi-Wan who is essentially telling the story. Ahem, back to TPM.

My least visually favorite part of the film is the big battle at the end of the film because it looks so horribly CGI’d faked. I understand of course how amazing it was at the time, but lordy, it looks so fake. I was wondering if it would be possible to cut parts of that to act as part of the invasion, darken it to look like night to kinda cover the fakeness of it a bit, dirty up the fight up to beat them up, and do quick cuts, flashes, etc. like almost a montage of a fight. And, NOT use the Gungans in it there at all, and simply use just a small snippet of it later with the Gungans to the swamps (as suggested earlier) as a decoy.

I dunno if that’s possible. But basically, as a way to deal with making that battle at the end less fake-looking, using as little of it as possible, remove a BUNCH of Jar-Jar silliness from that battle, and take away one of the too many (4) plots going on at the end.

EddieDean said:

That all sounds great. Both of those major points are very important to me. Perhaps, if it feels like this could become a reality, we should consider sources? And importantly, to not do this in ignorance of the other vital edits that came before. For me I’d definitely look to both Hal’s and L8wrtr’s for a base, as well as some of the more recent releases here.

Oh, absolutely. None of this I think could possibly be done without the brilliant work that has been done over the last 20 years by some of our frankly, beloved, fanedits that have given us so much inspiration and so, so very much to work with.

Knight of Kalee said:

• I do think TPM benefits from going immediatly from meeting Jar Jar to the arrival on Theed, but I’d hate to lose the visuals of Otoh Gunga. At least the Submarine breaking down and the second pair of fish could be excised seamlessly.

Theoretically, you could still include the visuals of Otoh Gunga by placing them later in the film, once our group comes back to Naboo. After Obi-Wan tells Boss Nass that what happens to the Naboo will affect the Gungans, cut to a shot of Nass either stern or contemplatively stroking his chin, wondering what to do. Then, cut to the Naboo & Gungans meeting on the surface.

EddieDean said:

• Mrebo on these forums recently had a good idea about using Anakin’s conflict with Sebulba as the party’s (and the audience’s) introduction to him, and then changing Anakin’s subtitles to have him explain why he’s brought them to Watto’s shop. This made our first introduction to Anakin one where he’s driving the plot and standing up for himself. And while it requires the shot of Jar Jar spitting a frog onto Sebulba, that element might be softened by the new context that “It’s the will of the force that we met”, though perhaps that’s a bit of a stretch.

You could soften that scene further by changing the subtitles between Jar Jar & the cook he steals from so Jar Jar’s less of a jerk:

COOK: “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
JAR JAR: "I can pay for it!
COOK: "No, I mean the meat’s raw!
JAR JAR: “The meat’s raw?!”

The scene is more palatable, & you keep Anakin’s intro scene as a plot driver.

Speaking of Anakin driving the plot, I’ve been thinking about L8wrtr’s Episode 1 edit, how Anakin blowing up the control ship saves the day for Padme & the Gungans. However, the Jedi & Sith subplot is still disconnected from this, so how can we connect the threads and make the ending stronger?

The answer lies in Episode V, how Leia’s able to sense Luke’s presence on Cloud City, & apply that to Maul & Obi-Wan. After we see Anakin blowing up the droid ship, Maul senses that, the tide turning in favor of Padme & the Gungans. Obi-Wan senses it too, & uses Maul’s distraction to cut him down. The music should also cut when Obi-Wan slices Maul, to show Maul regaining his senses after it’s already too late.

That second idea is pretty cool because it is sort of a reversal of ANH’s climax.

So in that version of TPM, Anakin Skywalker blowing up the space station is what gives Obi-Wan the push to defeat the bad guy. And then in ANH, it’s Obi-Wan that gives Luke Skywalker the push to blow up the space station and defeat the bad guys.

RogueLeader said:

That second idea is pretty cool because it is sort of a reversal of ANH’s climax.

It’s like poetry. It rhymes.

It’s almost crazy that wasn’t the ending to begin with. It makes perfect sense to frame it like that. And finally would “justify” why Maul just stands there like an idiot being jumped over.