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Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side (the TM edit) (Released) — Page 30

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It may find it's way to myspleen once it's finished, but that's still a long way off, right Trooperman?

Possibly I won't distribute this when I'm done, but a few copies may somehow "slip out", similiar to MF's edits. And after that point, it's not my fault if it's widely distributed

Here's an updated clip of the speeder chase for Marvolo and others: Chase

I have purposely removed the new dialogue recordings for this.

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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Trooperman,

Tasty looking clip. I only wish it were a little longer.

I was hoping to see the bit you've been talking about where Anakin stabs his saber into Zam's speeder.

You know of the rebellion against the Empire?

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Trooperman: I like the new chase scene. I especially like that it's more like a dark sky now and, less los vegasy. I was also remembering the Kamino location mystery and, it's become less clear in this version because, of the loss of the rishi maze info. I was thinking about a change of lines to the droid analysis scene to make it more clear.

"One moment please"
Machine checks on dart
"Item seems to have come from a recent trade. From the Kamino system just outside the rishi maze. Exact planet cordinates are unknown. No other information is availible."

-Or-

"It is a toxic kyberdart. Last known to be in production in the Kamino system along the outlying rishi maze. Exact planet cordinates are unknown. No other information is availible."

This could imply that Jango just bought it at a weapons store/he was there recently and, you could keep the "according to my information it should appear here. Just outside the rishi maze." bit in the library. It also, explains why he thinks it's there. If you take it out it's as though Kamino is where this dart came from, Kamino not found in archives, random place picked that has anonmilies to go to [and, wouldn't you know it, it's there!] . It also, keeps the clone information secret until he get's to Kamino. Oh, yeah and, I changed the name to kyberdart becuase, according to here that's what it was originally going to be called.


http://twister111.tumblr.com
Previous Signature preservation link

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Hello everyone! I'm very sorry about my absence, but be assured that work is progressing at a wonderful rate. In this post, I'd just like to transfer the C3PO discussion into this thread:


INFODROID:
Yeah, we've all talked about it and decided that 3PO's officially out of Episode I, although Commander Courage came up with the suggestion of replacing TC-14 on the Neimoidian ship with Anthony Daniels' voice. Which, I thought was a very interesting (while radical) idea. But ultimately, how would you explain how he conveniently ends up on the Lars' farm in II (which, in itself, never made sense to begin with)?

Of course, he could be entirely edited out of II, but that's Trooperman's call. That may be the more necessary change from a saga standpoint, however, because it never added up why a droid with 3PO's personality who spent ten years on a secluded farm with him, would not be recognized by Uncle Owen when he again conveniently turns up in ANH.

I like the idea of him saying the first line in TPM since he also has the first line in IV. So, if we go the TC-14 route and cut him entirely out of II, he'd end up being reintroduced in III as Padme's valet. But, how would you explain it on screen? I mean, wasn't he on the Federation ship when it exploded? Is there a way around it?

And if we don't go the TC-14 route, how will he be introduced in II? Trooperman, you'll have to elaborate on your ideas for this please. And anyone else who cares to chime in with a viable solution would be greatly appreciated.

.....



TROOPERMAN:
Unfortunately, all I knew to begin with was that I didn’t want Anakin to build 3PO. Looking back, it looks as if the best way to do that is to cut 3PO from Episode I.

The problem is that we need C-3PO in Episode II because he sets up what is going on with R2 on Geonosis. You may or may not remember that the ship lands, Anakin and Padme exit, and C-3PO starts arguing with R2. R2 leaves and C-3PO stays, ending with “Have you no sense at all?” Then, when Padme is stuck in the pot, R2 pops up unexpectedly and saves the day (without flying). Without the previous sequence, this would make no sense to the viewer, and I don’t want to have to cut that part of the droid factory sequence. I have to have the R2/C3PO scene to set it up, because it’s even more necessary after we’ve cut the flying (which establishes his presence). He just shows up on the pathway.

Also to clarify, in SOTDS, C3PO never enters the factory, he never loses his head, he never shows up at the arena, etc. R2 also does not show up at the arena. He just has his traditional heroic moment (in the droid factory), then disappears into the woodwork until the wedding.

This is why turning TC-14 in Ep. I into C-3PO would probably not work in this scenario. C3PO in Episode II has to be the real thing. Unless, of course, we turned C3PO in Episode II into a different droid, which doesn’t really appeal to me much. With that in mind, we need to figure out why Anakin picks him up if he’s Owen’s droid.


---------------------------------

Here’s an idea I’m sure you didn’t expect from me- Redub Uncle Owen. He only has two or three lines anyway; they would hardly be difficult to remove. Also, his voice doesn’t sound anything like Owen from Ep. IV anyway, and it’d hardly be a loss as he was no great actor. I also want to point out that the following is very convenient because we have a lot of footage that would otherwise be cut out and unused (like Owen’s babbling about stepbrothers and girlfriends)…

C3PO: I am See-Threepio, human/cyborg relations. At your service. So pleased to meet you, sir. I need not take the liberty to inform you that…(or some other typical 3PO ramble).

Anakin: I’m here to find my mother- Shmi Skywalker.

C3PO: Your mother! Well, the proper procedure is ….etc. etc. (blah blah blah- establishing him as a very annoying character from the get go).

Anakin: Just take me to your master.

C3PO: Oh, yes. I see. My master. Follow me, please.

CUT to EXT: Owen’s place.


Anakin: I’m Anakin Skywalker.

Lars: Owen Lars.

Anakin: It took awhile for your droid to take us here.

Owen: Don’t even get me started on the robot. He’s a protocol droid and he can’t even speak Bocce. The Jawa traders dumped him on me last month. (pause). I’ll give you 500 credits if you take him.

Anakin: Is my mother here?

Cliegg arrives and gives his little talk. “We have a lot to talk about.” He turns. We hear the sound of footsteps as they walk away.

It begins to sink in for C3PO. CLOSE-UP (CFSS)

C3PO: Sir, sir! There must be some mistake!

CUT to Beru serving drinks in next scene.

========================

The movie continues from there, except for the following: After Anakin and Padme decide to leave Tatooine, instead of “I’m not worried, R2. It’s just that I’ve never flown before,” C3PO says, “What did I do to deserve this?”

Anthony Daniels has recorded so much 3PO dialogue between the OT films, the radio dramas, the specials, and so on that that wouldn’t be a problem. And best of all, I believe that it would introduce C3PO in a much better way than it was done in Episode I, when Anakin built him. The fact that Owen paid Anakin to take him is some real humor, which might also be good for the movie at this point (we’ve removed a lot of the lame stuff and it could use a lift). Also, it perfectly sets up 3POs and R2’s first meeting and argument.

Also, I think that the new Owen lines link his character much more closely with Ep. IV, which was a weak point there had never been a way to fix- until now.

All we need is an Uncle Owen impersonator that has the time and the means to dub six short sentences. I’m not going to pull a Lucas and insist that this was part of my “original vision”, but I really like this idea that came to me today. I’ve checked the widescreen and full-screen discs, and the outline above will actually work. Please comment The good thing is that this only affects my movie; you guys won’t have to worry about it at all for Ep. I.

Sorry for the late response!



INFODROID:
Wow, TM. That's an excellent idea I would've never considered! Dubbing Uncle Owen.

Best part is, I can put you in touch with a guy who will do the recording for you. No doubt he can sound exactly like a young uncle owen. He's fast, uses his own equipment and he's good at what he does. In fact, if you send me the lines, I'll just go to him and get 'em done for you and send you the wavs (or mp3's), whichever you'd prefer.

And the most exciting part about this idea is that C-3PO is now a Trooperman problem instead of an InfoDroid problem. Muhahahaha!

Thanks, Man!



MUSICMAN:
Thanks for the welcomes, guys! I'm glad to hear the visual work is being done. Yeah, Trooperman, that may actually be my main beef for the PT. I don't think the issue was even so much a CG issue (though some sweet model work would've been nice), as a film/digital issue. A film look (IMO) is much better for Star Wars, and that'll be a big help.

And I love the idea for 3PO's introduction! I was truly laughing at the dialogue--it'll be fun hearing Uncle Owen ask 3PO if he speaks bocce in ANH after that! I hope you go with that, because it's really good. I must say, I was a little sad to hear the dynamic duo wouldn't be present for all six films with this approach, but just that bit made me feel a whole lot better about it. Very nice!



YODA IS YOUR FATHER:
I'm still digging my version, but Trooperman's could work too. I don't think a jedi and a queen/senator would want or need 500 credits badly enough to take a rusty whiny old droid with them though. Plus it still doesn't explain why Owen doesn't remember having already owned a protocol droid called SeeThreepio when they meet in ANH.



COMMANDER COURAGE:
The redubbing of Owen has opened up all new possibilities. Without saying too much, I think everything is going to work out just fine.

And in response to YIYF, the Owen remembering 3PO thing has been an issue with fans ever since AotC came out. I've never really had a problem with it, and I don't think it's a continuity glitch in out edit either. 3PO looks totally different, and Owen never learns his name. The only interaction they had was when the droids were being purchased. I'm sure eventually Owen would have realized who he was, but things didn't go that way.



MTHASLETT:
Just chiming in to say I love TM's threepio fixes!

I think more opportunities may exist to take advantage of this new and exciting characterization of threepio. This is much more in line with the "We seem to be made to suffer" threepio we meet in ANH.

I love cutting him out of TPM and only hesitate slightly at the "500 credits" to take him beat-- I wish it could be established that Anakin or Padme have some use for a protocol droid. Otherwise, it will stick out as a strange and uncharacteristic beat.

Maybe increasing Artoo's role in this exchange would help -- i.e. they take threepio to help interpret Artoo or otherwise create a more useful arrangement of droids for their mission to save Obi Wan.

Obviously, that's an SOTD issue-- but we seem to need it solved here as well.




TWISTER:
I have a suggestion on the C3PO thing. Perhaps these lines:

C3PO: May I present two most important visitors. (mabye something else for C3PO)

Anakin: I'm Anakin Skywalker.

Owen: I expected you would come here. I'm Owen Lars that robot was a gift from my Father to your Mother. She would have wanted you to have it.

Anakin: What are you talking about? Is my Mother here?

Cliegg: (off camera) No she's not. (on camera) Cliegg Lars, (extends hand camera on Anakin) Shmi's my wife. We should head inside. We have a lot to talk about.

Sure, it's not as, funny as, the "take him for 500 credits" beat but, it might work.



C3PX:
This really isn't any contribution to the usefullness of this thread or anything, but after hearing somebodys suggestion of redubbing TC-14 with C3-POs voice, I thought how interesting it would have been had Lucas decided to make threepeo one of many droids with that same voice. It would have been just sort of a fun cameo having the droid introduce himself as TC-14 with Anthony Daniels voice. That would have been great hearing that voice speak the opening lines of the film. In Ep II the same voice could have been the voice of Clegg's droid or even just make him Padme's droid from the start. Would have been a lot better than "I'm building a droid..."

Oh, and I really think the "I'll give you 500 credits if you'll take." fits in really well with threepios lot in life. Maybe it is a little silly, but it is funny and not too over the top like most of the threepio scene shown later in Ep. II. And it isn't that Anakin and Padme need him, the guy pretty much gave them the droid so they take him. Probably Padme thinks some tech's back in the capitol might be able to do something with him. Anyway, I don't think the audience is going to be thinking "Why would they want the five hundred credits, it isn't the point. The point is to establish that the Lars family doens't want him, and with this line it is accomplished. I really like it. Actually I am getting more and more excited about the Ranch Ep 1 and Trooperman's Ep.2

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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I'm glad people seemed to enjoy the new C3PO and Owen dialogue. The reason that I like the version I had outlined the best is that it provides a genuine connection to the OT characters. I can really recognize Owen and C3PO through the dialogue. For those who think it might be silly, I think that part of what made the OT great was that it was fun as opposed to dark all the time. This type of exchange I believe would be very typical back then- it wouldn't be taken too seriously. Only now does the audience have to explain every little thing (what is Padme and Anakin's motivation for taking the droid? Why doesn't Owen just abandon the droid or reprogram it, etc.).

Don't get me wrong- I'm all about explaining important plot points that don't get resolved. But on the introduction of a humourous character like C3PO, I think this will be great. The problem people seemed to have was the "500 credits" line by Owen. That was off the top of my head; if you really want to get picky about it, they're not even supposed to use credits out on Tatooine (according to Watto). Anyhow, it's wonderful that there is already a man lined up to play Owen, but before I give InfoDroid the lines, I just wanted to make sure that none of you had any final suggestions or tweaking of this script:


C3PO: I am See-Threepio, human/cyborg relations. At your service. So pleased to meet you, sir. I need not take the liberty to inform you that…(or some other typical 3PO ramble).

Anakin: I’m here to find my mother- Shmi Skywalker.

C3PO: Your mother! Well, the proper procedure is ….etc. etc. (blah blah blah- establishing him as a very annoying character from the get go).

Anakin: Just take me to your master.

C3PO: Oh, yes. I see. My master. Follow me, please.

CUT to EXT: Owen’s place.


Anakin: I’m Anakin Skywalker.

Lars: Owen Lars.

Anakin: It took awhile for your droid to take us here.

Owen: Don’t even get me started on the robot. He’s a protocol droid and he can’t even speak Bocce. The Jawa traders dumped him on me last month. (pause). I’ll give you 500 credits if you take him.

Anakin: Is my mother here?

Cliegg arrives and gives his little talk. “We have a lot to talk about.” He turns. We hear the sound of footsteps as they walk away.

It begins to sink in for C3PO. CLOSE-UP (CFSS)

C3PO: Sir, sir! There must be some mistake!

CUT to Beru serving drinks in next scene.


======================

I am now working on the arena scene, having pretty much completed the basic strokes of the Coruscant sequences. Working on the arena scene meant that I had to start figuring out how to rotoscope Windu's lightsaber. Not a fun job...

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2012/image20copy9do.jpg

My technique was to pull apart the shots frame by frame, rotoscope each frame in Photoshop, and then plug the frames back into the video editor. As you can see through these video clips, my first attempt did not go well, no matter what I did with the video. Although the colors/lighting are different in each shot, the rotoscoped frames are the same.

1
2
3

Why the failure? 1. I didn't standardize the "spread", 2. The saber is probably too saturated, and 3. The saber fluctuates too quickly. It doesn't slowly pulse as it should, and it looks very active and amateurish. Now I'm asking myself some more questions before I try again- am I going for a prequel style blade or an OT style blade for Windu? The PT computer generated style would be very easy to do, but I don't like it as much. Of course, I might not want the inconsistency between Windu's saber and the other sabers. My other question is this- what color do I want the saber? Do I want the blue from the CG saber blades of the PT? Do I want the blue from Obi-Wan's saber in SW? Or do I want the blue of Luke's saber in TESB? I've pretty much settled on the last option, but these are all things I should have given thought to beforehand. How does the lighting figure in? You'll notice that Windu's hand has a purple glow in this shot- I tried to correct it but there isn't a whole lot that can be done about it. Do you have preferences on all of this?

Since I'm doing the arena right now, does anyone have any specific concerns, suggestions, shots they hated, etc.? Right now I'm going on my ideas and MTH broad ideas on who should escape first (and the training of the beast). Please discuss any further changes you might have before I lock down.

I very recently acquired some updated versions of my current software from my friend, and the whole editing process has become that much more efficient now. Not only that, but those of you who were disappointed that there would be no new 5.1 surround sound mix may be pleasantly surprised at the end.... It just became a lot more feasible for me. Maybe I'll pull a Ben Burtt and make a compressed Dolby stereo, 5.1 mix, and PCM uncompressed stereo mix- all completely different! (EDIT: That was a joke)

Anyway, things are going well now. I want to thank again all of you who are working on Episode I. It's really a delight to watch all of you transform THAT movie into a great film worth watching. And I'm sure others who are following this project are pleased that it will come out before 2007 or 2008!

-TM

P.S. I was recently watching the "Musical Journey" disc included with the Sith soundtrack, and I thought that the following was very funny (I had never realized it before). During the asteroid field track, at the moment the music explodes into the famous theme, the creators of the disc have used the Coruscant chase footage! Sure, the synch obviously isn't the same, but how remarkable is it that I made that music choice for that scene without any knowledge of what they had done? It must be an appropriate match!

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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Nice to see you're experimenting with the rotoscoping. I thought clip 3 was great and if all the shots looked that way we'd be in business, but maybe I'm missing something. The purple hand is a concern, but may I suggest either adding a blue aura to it, or what I did (with this still picture) is use an "Antique" effect with a "Paintbrush" feature. I have no idea as to the specifics of the program you're using, but that seemed to work for me with a still; not sure if you can do something like that in motion. The "Antique" option seems to be better than a "Cool" option would be, because it works well with Mace's hand color and robe color. Just something to keep in mind.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/Jedi_Jackson/image20copy9do-nopurple.jpg
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I really like the one where its not bright blue but kinda teal blue. That one looked great. But are you redoing all lightsaber blades to be consitant with all six movies?
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I like it, Trooperman! Great job! I vote for option #1. But that's just my personal favorite. The teal one is interesting, but ultimately, I think it's a little off (seems weird). People may wonder why you changed his color from purple to teal.

And I'm not seeing any inconsistency with the fluctuations. I think it looks good.

--ID

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You know now that I look at them again, 1 maybe better than 3. In either event, consistency is definitely what we want to go for here. The teal color of Luke's saber in Ben's house is a special effects error, just like the white color of his saber on the Falcon. Also, the purple hand is far less noticeable in motion. I'd suggest letting it slide for now; if it ends up being too evident and distracting that can be dealt with later.
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Luke's "teal" lightsaber is an error that should be fixed in a subsequent Episode IV edit.

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I understand the desire for a fan edit of the complete saga with the Ranch thread but I would really like it if this fan edit did not directly contradict anything in the other movies. I don't want this promising version to require the Ranch edit of The Phantom Menace and be incompatible with the official and other fan edits. Still, I really find the new 3PO lines much more enjoyable and in character. Are there other things in this version that will not match up with the other five official films?

Take back the trilogy. Execute Order '77

http://www.youtube.com/user/Knightmessenger

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Knightmessenger, are you implying that ours isn't promising?



Not to worry, Trooperman is an independant soul, I think he'll eventually end up having his own final version of all of the films, or at least the first three. So that'll hopefully filter out most of our ineptitude for ya, KM.

My question is, how can you have an edit this drastic, with this many changes, and NOT contradict the other five films?


--InfoDroid

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Cool clips! I think I'd probably go with 1. I didn't really like the look of number 2.

As far as the arena (are you talking just the monster battle, or the whole Battle of Geonosis?), my biggest concern is whether or not you will be reinserting "The Arena" from the AOTC soundtrack. I think it will be great for this project to finally have the cue in its proper place, instead of being used seemingly everywhere BUT there. Maybe I'm a bit biased here, but I think one of the biggest things for the whole sequence, from the arena to the actual battle, will be the music. Once you take out Threepio, that's gonna have very possibly some of the biggest impact, to have exciting, relevant music, as opposed to the pretty blatant "this sounds cool" method used in the original. It's been a little while since I've seen the original, but I think it would be nice to have some statements of the title theme if it's appropriate. Maybe something a la "Chasm Crossfire." In Episode I, Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan were secondary characters, in Episode III, everything's going totally downhill. It seems like this would be an ideal place to musically show a sense of fun and heroism, even in the midst of danger, at least when they're really shining in battle. It doesn't have to be like that the whole time, but that's been kind of a wish of mine for a little while. I've got some other potential ideas, but that's the big stuff as far as I'm concerned. Things are looking good!
Two-Face - A Batman:The Animated Series Movie
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knightmessenger:

What you're asking is impossible, as even the edits and original versions you mention are not completely compatible with one another. If Trooperman does something different, so what? It's a FAN EDIT. And from what I understand, there are going to be quite a few differences from the original trilogy--of course, there are incompatibilities between Lucas's prequels and IV-VI...in their official versions. Can anyone say, "the scene where Leia remembers her mother?"
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To some, that's debatable; she is the daughter of a demi-god afterall.

I can't think of much that doesn't link well enough between the movies besides stuff like Chewie knowing Yoda and the quigon force-ghost disaster. Wait, Wait EDIT: I fouled up. Remember the sifo dyas thing. I need that explained to me... Well everything's looking good, TM. Just make the purple hand a blue one somehow and that'll look fine to me. Number 1 is nicest for me. Thank you for getting rid of that meaningless purple blade.

He big in nothing important in good elephant.

"Miss you, I will, Original Trilogy..."

"Your midichlorians are weak, Old man." -Darth Vader 2007 super deluxe extra special dipped in chocolate sauce edition.

http://prequelsstink.ytmnd.com/
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Hi! I don't have time to respond thoroughly right now, but I'll just say that I'm surprised that you all seemed to like the rotoscoping. Maybe I'm over-analyzing it. Anyhow, thanks for the feedback, especially from new posters here. By the way, Twister, I didn't mean to overlook your previous post- that's a really good idea for the "kyberdart" ID scene. I'll be using that. Also, CC, I should really know this, but where can the "Antique" tool be found in Photoshop? Once I figure that out, it'll be easy to remove the "purple hand" in motion.

Musicman- I'll discuss the whole arena production soon. And Knightmessenger, although this has several continuity differences with the others (another one is Padme's status as queen and the Naboo government), this probably has the least number of discrepancies. Although I really wouldn't be worried as InfoDroid and his team are going to do a FABULOUS job on Ep. I. They also have a lot tougher of a job, as the ridiculous CG imagery and costume/set design in Episode I is a lot more difficult to overcome.

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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Okay, cool. I didn't even see the purple hand in the actual clips--I had to look at the capture. It might be more noticeable in longer lasting shots, though, so it would probably be worthwhile to pursue that. It looks really good, though, I must say.
Two-Face - A Batman:The Animated Series Movie
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Originally posted by: Trooperman
Also, CC, I should really know this, but where can the "Antique" tool be found in Photoshop? Once I figure that out, it'll be easy to remove the "purple hand" in motion.

I actually don't have Photoshop, but a program called Photosuite. So I can't help you with specifics. Photoshop might not even have "Antique" per say, but I'm sure it has some tool and color you can use to similar success.
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Padme being the queen instead of senator in Ep II does not directly contradict anything in Ep 1, there's nothing in Phantom Menace that states she will not be the queen in ten years. What's going to happen to Padme in Ep III then?

Take back the trilogy. Execute Order '77

http://www.youtube.com/user/Knightmessenger

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Hi everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here and I have made some extraordinary progress. I will explain more (with screenshots and maybe video) in a couple of days, but I have removed the "purple hand", rotoscoped one or two other saber shots, made some great headway on the final duel, and dubbed and mixed the "en route to Naboo" scene. This last item I am the most excited about, as I really believe that Anakin is so much more likable now- and none of his dialogue was even changed for this scene (an exchange at the end was removed, and a couple smirks were cut out). The scene just has such a classy, better quality about it with Hayden's whiny readings removed. I've found that the scene became even better when I put lounge music in the background (the only other instance of source music is the nightclub). Of course, I'm going to do the love theme to death as the movie progresses, but since it's already being introduced at the beginning, I think it's kind of neat to change it up for this scene.

I actually came up with a different ending for the scene than I OR MTHaslett had come up with. Originally, I had had "You've changed so much." "I know." END SCENE. When I actually went to dub it and cut it, this seemed completely out of place. Now, Padme asks the equivalent of "Are you taken?" Anakin says his speal until this line, "We are encouraged to love." He smiles. Then, I've reversed the reaction shot to Anakin's deleted "I dream about you" comment, so that now, Padme is looking down, and she slowly looks up at him. I've also added a slow zoom. Cut back to Anakin, who smiles. Padme smiles. Then, I've reversed one of the opening shots, so that the camera is now pulling away from the long shot. Wipe away from scene.

With the background music and the new line readings, the scene is so much better and so much more HUMAN. There is subtext. We have less dialogue because the camera is now telling the story, along with the music and everything else that contributes to the ATMOSPHERE. I had actually recorded this scene previously, but this time through was much better; partially because of the improvements in my recording technology, and partially perhaps because I had a cold and it gave the voice a different quality. Listening to it, I'm not even bothered that the voice is mine; I just accept it as Anakin.

More later, and I'm sorry for those who have requested video clips. They will come eventually!

-TM

P.S. This whole project as it stands now is being backed up on disc today.

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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Sounds great, TM! Work is progressing on our end as well.

Can't wait to see some video clips/stills, etc!



--ID

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http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4248/image3copy2zb.jpg
Rotoscoped Saber

The first shot in this clip was changed from green to blue, to fit the new sequence of events. Obviously the music is temp. I think that this saber looks better than my first attempt; I did a couple of things differently. However, this is too short a clip to judge it at this point.

Here's another interesting little thing: 2 in 1. This was a point in the editing when I wanted to remove the closeup of Obi-Wan, which was sandwiched in between two shots with Anakin's two sabers. I didn't want to have to choose between them. Out of curiosity, I put the two shots side by side, just to see if the editors got lazy, used the same take for both shots, and also started the second shot right at the point that the first one stopped at. Sure enough, with a 2 frame chop to the beginning of the second clip, they joined together perfectly, creating one shot. I can't believe it was possible to do that.

I'm still struggling a little bit with turning the funeral and the scene where Anakin and Padme leave into a sunset/dusk scene. Particularly irritating is the reflective surface of their ship in the last shot. Not only that, but the color work in the last shot is causing some thin, dark matte lines around the outside of the ship. They're not really noticeable in motion, but it's probably not ideal. And on top of all of that, I had to take out the shadow of the ship. If it was nighttime, there wouldn't be enough light to cast a shadow. I don't want to post screenshots of that now, because it's very much a work in progress at this point.

As I said, the "en route" scene is quite a wonderful one now; however, I couldn't post clips without ruining the surprise of the voice. I foresee a trailer coming pretty soon....

Regarding the music for the arena- I do want something adventurous and heroic, a la the original SW, but I also want it to have some tension and some drama involved. As nice as the Episode II "march" is, I don't think the first part of it has this drive. What I have so far is...

1. Anakin and Padme arrive in arena. Original Episode II love theme.
2. Dooku arrives. "Uranus" theme, which melds into
3. The Monsters Come out, which is scored with some Bernard Hermann. Anakin and Padme escape.
4. Obi-Wan is attacked. Clueless until the Jedi arrive. Need ideas.
5. Jedi arrive. Famous Jedi fanfare.
6. Jedi attack. Sail barge alternate, Giacchino, "Mars" from the planets, etc.

I need something that has excitement and also dramatic ups and downs that I can cut the action to. Also, here's another problem I'm having. After taking a good look at the Clone War footage, I'm realizing more and more that it's kind of awful. There's no direction or drama to anything. We could've had clones in trenches, human workers for the Trade Federation, spies, snipers, thermal denotators being tossed back and forth. Instead, we have a lot of stupid CG machines, awful camera work, and no point or purpose to anything, other than to look "cool".

I know you've all heard this complaint countless times, but the difference here is that I'm curious if anyone knows of any footage in ANY movie that could be spliced in here to give us a better vision of what the Clone Wars were like. Of course the footage can be color corrected, I can easily add laser blasts...I might even be able to matte some ships in. But I was just wondering if any of you had ideas on what to do about this.

Thanks, and talk to you soon!

-TM

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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The clips look fantastic! Great work!

Those look like cool choices for the Arena. As far as balancing adventure and drama/tension, "Sail Barge Assault (alternate)" is definitely good for that. I also think it would be very possible to insert the Rebel Fanfare and/or Luke's Theme (or is it the Skywalker theme now?) at strategic points, and cut to more dramatic music when appropriate, and so on. I'll have to think about the Obi-Wan attack part.

I'm helping InfoDroid with the other Starkiller Ranch stuff, and if you want any help, I'd be more than happy to help lighten the workload.

I'm trying to think about battle footage. Is there anything usable in Lawrence of Arabia, do you think?
Two-Face - A Batman:The Animated Series Movie
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TRooperman, I think you are right on with the Clone War battle being kind of heartless. The deaths of the Jedi in Episode 3 might have meant something more if we could have seen some meaningful action in Episode 2. If any action is created for SOTD, it needs to include the Jedi. I don't know how ou would do this, but I think it is a step in the right direction.