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Help: Ideas Wanted for... "Episode 3" or "What Convinced Me To Try a Re-edit"

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I’m new to the forum, and I’ve dinked around the site a bit. I’ve been here a few times before and signed the petition a few years back if I remember correctly. Seeing as Lucas seems satisfied with his latest forays into the Universe he <span class=“Italics”>helped</span> to create, Star Wars’ only hope right now seems to be the efforts of the fans. I’m currently at work on a re-edit of Episode 3 which will hopefully play more dramatically with less obviously bad dialogue and awkward acting moments; it will hopefully end darker as well to put the proper perspective on ANH.

Hopefully, this will be done by the summer (if not sooner), but I was hoping that I could get some suggestions for fan edits of Episodes 1 & 2 that feel and play more like the OT. I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about MagnoliaFan’s edits. Are these close to the feel of SW, ESB and ROTJ? Thanks for any help.

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http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=9&threadid=3886

This should do you for a couple of hours.....this is a SAGA edit that many of us are working right now to make all 6 movies flow as smoothly as possible, with most of the major major fixes going to the prequel trilogy.
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Okay, now, the title crawl will ultimately be changed, but here's a rough cut of what the beginning of my re-cut of Episode 3 will probably be.

It's a 320x240, 256k Windows Media file, so it's really just been produced for generating comments/critiques of the story flow and editing.

I think there are about 20 downloads left before they're maxed out on YouSendIt.com .

Please, share it with anyone who wants it. I don't know torrents and don't care to invest the time right now to figure it all out. All critiques (not cynical criticisms) welcome.

The link:

Episode 3 Rough-Cut Opening

edited 5/06/06: substituted hyperlink for http address
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darkhelmet,

I downloaded your clip. You've done some very interesting stuff with the beginning of the movie. I really liked how you managed to cut together footage of the space battle so we really focus on how that one star destroyer bears down on General Grievous' ship.

However, not seeing any of the rescue of the chancellor, especially the fight with Dooku, feels very strange. I understand there are many awkward moments there that have thankfully been cut, but I'd like to think some of it is salvagable.

You know of the rebellion against the Empire?

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Originally posted by: Erikstormtrooper
However, not seeing any of the rescue of the chancellor, especially the fight with Dooku, feels very strange. I understand there are many awkward moments there that have thankfully been cut, but I'd like to think some of it is salvagable.


Thanks for the critique. Yeah, the absence of Dooku might leave a hole in the story, but so much of what is important is so awkward or disappointing that I'll need to wait and see how that flows with the rest of the cut before I decide to try to cut any of it back in.

Maybe I could simply inter-cut the Obi-wan/Anakin/Dooku fight with the shots of the ship getting rocked? What do you think?
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I agree that this is some very interesting stuff you've done here, darkhelmet. I would definitely not cut the saber duel, however; this is completely salvagable. The one thing I would watch out for is multiple music tracks playing at once. I like your music from the beginning of Empire, but several times the original music comes through on the soundtrack, which is distracting. But I loved how you cut the battle footage and removed the stupidity (buzz droids and so on). Nice work.

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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Originally posted by: Trooperman
I agree that this is some very interesting stuff you've done here, darkhelmet. I would definitely not cut the saber duel, however; this is completely salvagable.

I'll see what I can do, but I've got no reason to love Dooku, that's for sure. And I'd like to make Palpatine's true intentions for Anakin seem a little, okay... a LOT less obvious. The dialogue throughout the duel is very two-dimensional and weak, but maybe there is some good left in it. (alright, enough rephrasing of various Star Wars lines; my apologies)

Originally posted by: Trooperman
The one thing I would watch out for is multiple music tracks playing at once. I like your music from the beginning of Empire, but several times the original music comes through on the soundtrack, which is distracting.


I'm not as much of an audio guy as a visual one, so thanks for that critique. I'll pay close attention to the audio tweaks I do.

Originally posted by: Trooperman
But I loved how you cut the battle footage and removed the stupidity (buzz droids and so on). Nice work.


Thank you. Thank you. Cutting out inanity (aka, stupidity) was definitely my biggest aim.

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I thought the space battle was well edited, but by removing much of the rescue footage and dialogue this seemed like one big space battle with little purpose.
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One word made me want to attempt a fan edit.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo.............

OMFG what were they thinking?
Give me the OT or give me death!
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Originally posted by: Jobel
I thought the space battle was well edited, but by removing much of the rescue footage and dialogue this seemed like one big space battle with little purpose.


I'd like to be able to come back with a self-assured "all in good time" reply, but, as the material is difficult to work with due to to the heavy-cheese factor, I can't.

I'm hoping that the brevity of the battle will heighten the drama of the opening when accompanied by the new title crawl a buddy and I are in the midst of writing.
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Originally posted by: Gorram
One word made me want to attempt a fan edit.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo.............

OMFG what were they thinking?


I think that probably cinched it for me; the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I was already straining under the 2 tons of animal stall muckings that were Episodes 1 and 2. Here's hoping my edit will at least give Star Wars a clean stall to live in.

If all goes according to plan, the ending will be quite dark, making "A New Hope" the powerful next chapter it should be.

This goes way beyond what I was envisioning, but has anyone done Prequel edits for 1 and 2 that try to hide Darth Sidious' dual character so that it becomes a dramatic revelation by Episode 3?

I always thought that, if the movies are actually to play in order from 1 through 6, Palpatine and Sidious should be separate characters in the audience's mind so that even they feel betrayed by Palpatine's duplicity.
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Originally posted by: Trooperman
One thing I would watch out for is multiple music tracks playing at once. I like your music from the beginning of Empire, but several times the original music comes through on the soundtrack, which is distracting.


Something I didn't think about last night when I originally replied:

Is there a thread that you know of where I can learn what software and procedures I need in order to separate audio channels from the original mpegs in order to get rid of music but keep the sound effects?

Right now, I'm doing simple audio editing with the original audio as captured in .AVI form.
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Originally posted by: Master Qui-Gon
There is a way to seperate the audio channels:

HERE!

But most of the sound effects are played on the same channels like the music.


Thanks for the thread link, Qui-Gon. I may not like it, but I'm gonna need to look into it. This re-cut is gonna require EVEN MORE work than just fixing the silliness. Oy...
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Get it while it's hot! 3 more days until the link expires. Click below to download my rough-cut of mr SW: Episode 3 re-edit.

It's a 320x240, 256k, 15 MB Windows Media file, so it's really just been produced for generating comments/critiques of the story flow and editing.

Please, share it with anyone who wants to check it out. I don't know torrents and don't care to invest the time right now to figure it all out. All critiques (not cynical criticisms) welcome; post here, or PM me.

The link:

Episode 3 Rough-Cut Opening
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one thing that put rots firmly into OTSE terratory for me is the padme losing the will to live bollocks. P-lease!!!! someone needs to slap Lucas for that. He just couldn't bring himself to have the Anakin character be solely responsible for his own wifes death so he came up with a lame idea like that, which mirrors perfectly the pathetic way he had greedo shoot first in the OTSE. Sometimes I wonder if he does this shit deliberately, if not he needs to see a shrink.

Anyway this needs removing.
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Originally posted by: eros
one thing that put rots firmly into OTSE terratory for me is the padme losing the will to live bollocks.

Yeah, pretty lame. She should've lived and gone into hiding from her crazy husband.

Sometimes I wonder if he does this shit deliberately.


I've had the same thought. I think it's probably more true than we know.

[T]his needs removing.


Point taken. I'll see how it works without it.
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Yeah, like your children aren't reason enough to live - selfish bi-otch!

Does she need to be killed off at all, could she have given up the kids for their own safety even though it pained her to do so like sending your kids away from the blitz?
Give me the OT or give me death!
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Or, if he had wanted to remain consistant with what was said in Return of the Jedi, he could have made her give up Luke and go to live on Alderaan with Bail and his wife, then Leia could have remembered her real mother. Palpatine had no way of knowing she was really dead or not, everyone could have just said she was dead while she lived out the rest of her days hidden on Alderaan. But of course consistancy was hardly George's goal.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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If you can make that close up of Padme's hands during her funeral work so that her hand moves, you'd set up that she actually faked her death. I considered this but it was too much damn work for my limited skillz.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
If you can make that close up of Padme's hands during her funeral work so that her hand moves, you'd set up that she actually faked her death. I considered this but it was too much damn work for my limited skillz.


That's a nifty idea, it would have to be ever so subtle and people would have to rewind to see if the're seeing things.

I really like that!!
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Now if only you could edit the film so that it doesn't star Natalie and Hayden......

BAM!

Also....You know who would have made a MUCH better Mace? Avery Brooks. Loved him in DS9.


http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/8584/mace3eh.jpg
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2739/lukesig029ku.jpg
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Now if only you could edit the film so that it doesn't star Natalie and Hayden......

Somebody's doing that in a fan edit, changing their voices.
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Originally posted by: Gorram

Does she need to be killed off at all, could she have given up the kids for their own safety even though it pained her to do so like sending your kids away from the blitz?

Originally posted by: C3PX
e could have made her give up Luke and go to live on Alderaan with Bail and his wife, then Leia could have remembered her real mother.


Yeah, I always hoped it would've been more like you both say. Would've been much more dramatic; heart-wrenching.
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Originally posted by: eros
Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
If you can make that close up of Padme's hands during her funeral work so that her hand moves, you'd set up that she actually faked her death. I considered this but it was too much damn work for my limited skillz.


That's a nifty idea, it would have to be ever so subtle and people would have to rewind to see if the're seeing things.

I really like that!!


Thats an amzing idea. Send that to the Ranch edit thread too.