So I thought I might jump back into the fray after watching “Tolkieneditor’s” fanedit of the Hobbit. It looks like we made several similar editing choices along with several dissimilar ones. However the biggest drawback to his version is the poor video quality. Perhaps the 6GB will look nicer but he’s still working off a DVD rip of the first two films and a bootleg copy of the third. His version also contains a bit more CGI silliness that I thought should be removed.
That being said, I’ve gone and made a page on my website dedicated to my fanedit version: JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The idea is the same- cut all three films into one long epic that is more faithful to the book. My source media are the 1080p Blurays, so I won’t be able to edit the third film until it is released (legitimately) this spring.
Here is the link to my fanedit info page:
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
What about the extended editions of the films? They had some good content like the dwarfs being introduced to Baorn and I think some extra content with Bilbo and Smaug? Wouldn't it be better to wait until the extended edition of the third film is out and look at both versions of all 3 films for editing purposes?
I've gone through the Extended Editions for the first two Hobbit films, and did not see any scene that was imperative to add. The scene with Gandalf calling out the dwarves for Beorn was kind of funny, but it just dragged on too long.
I'm definitely going to use the Extended cut of the third film, since it was obvious that much was left out of the theatrical version (Beorn, Dain, Bard, Thorin's burial, etc).
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
Off the top of my head, from the extended editions of 1 and 2, I'd definitely include:
An Unexpected Journey
The Desolation of Smaug
Other than that, I agree that most of the EE additions don't do much to help the film(s), but all of these seem very worthwhile to me, even for a single-film edit. (Plus, Bilbo is in all of these scenes, and is the focus of all except the Beorn and Mirkwood scenes, which, coupled with cutting out a bunch of extraneous crap, helps keep the focus on ... well ... the titular Hobbit.)
Erik Pancakes said:
Off the top of my head, from the extended editions of 1 and 2, I'd definitely include:
An Unexpected Journey
- The small "feels like magic" exchange between Bilbo and Gandalf
- Bilbo seeing the Shards of Narsil and talking to Elrond about staying in Rivendell
- Bilbo and Thorin overhearing Gandalf and Elrond talking about the "strain of madness" in Thorin's bloodline
The Desolation of Smaug
- Most of the added Beorn stuff, especially if he's featured more in the EE of Five Armies - of course, since I'd probably cut Dol Guldur and most (or all) of the White Council, I'd cut the Necromancer and Dol Guldur talk from these scenes
- All of the extended Mirkwood scenes, including Gandalf's mention of a "dark enchantment" in the river
- Bilbo vouching for Thorin in Laketown
- The short bit of Bilbo, Balin and Thorin talking about the woods and birds that used to be on the hills by the Mountain
Other than that, I agree that most of the EE additions don't do much to help the film(s), but all of these seem very worthwhile to me, even for a single-film edit. (Plus, Bilbo is in all of these scenes, and is the focus of all except the Beorn and Mirkwood scenes, which, coupled with cutting out a bunch of extraneous crap, helps keep the focus on ... well ... the titular Hobbit.)
Very good I agree those scenes are well worth adding, pacing issues can be put aside a bit with fan edits, just like they were when Jackson started creating the extended editions anyway.
Don't constrain fan edits in ways other than trying to get a cut that is as pure to the book as possible, as that is what I think most people want with theses films.
lotrjw said:
Erik Pancakes said:
Off the top of my head, from the extended editions of 1 and 2, I'd definitely include:
An Unexpected Journey
- The small "feels like magic" exchange between Bilbo and Gandalf
- Bilbo seeing the Shards of Narsil and talking to Elrond about staying in Rivendell
- Bilbo and Thorin overhearing Gandalf and Elrond talking about the "strain of madness" in Thorin's bloodline
The Desolation of Smaug
- Most of the added Beorn stuff, especially if he's featured more in the EE of Five Armies - of course, since I'd probably cut Dol Guldur and most (or all) of the White Council, I'd cut the Necromancer and Dol Guldur talk from these scenes
- All of the extended Mirkwood scenes, including Gandalf's mention of a "dark enchantment" in the river
- Bilbo vouching for Thorin in Laketown
- The short bit of Bilbo, Balin and Thorin talking about the woods and birds that used to be on the hills by the Mountain
Other than that, I agree that most of the EE additions don't do much to help the film(s), but all of these seem very worthwhile to me, even for a single-film edit. (Plus, Bilbo is in all of these scenes, and is the focus of all except the Beorn and Mirkwood scenes, which, coupled with cutting out a bunch of extraneous crap, helps keep the focus on ... well ... the titular Hobbit.)Very good I agree those scenes are well worth adding, pacing issues can be put aside a bit with fan edits, just like they were when Jackson started creating the extended editions anyway.
Don't constrain fan edits in ways other than trying to get a cut that is as pure to the book as possible, as that is what I think most people want with theses films.
Indeed. I would also prefer a more faithful version. The perception of the pacing in this case is probably somewhat dependent on the viewer.
Once I have the Five Armies edited into the mix, I will go back and try to fit some of the EE scenes you mentioned. I do really like the scene between Elrond and Bilbo especially.
Here's a link to some select scenes from my fanedit that I've uploaded:
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
eldusto84 said:
Once I have the Five Armies edited into the mix, I will go back and try to fit some of the EE scenes you mentioned. I do really like the scene between Elrond and Bilbo especially.
Here's a link to some select scenes from my fanedit that I've uploaded:
I think you need a better transition from the troll hoard to the Rivendell cave. Way it is now, almost makes it seem like the trolls are squatting on Elrond's front yard.
I think you need a better transition from the troll hoard to the Rivendell cave. Way it is now, almost makes it seem like the trolls are squatting on Elrond's front yard.
Hmm, I could just remove that short bit with Dwalin saying "I cannot see where the pathway is, do we follow it or not?" So as not to suggest that the back of the troll cave leads to Rivendell. I believe one of the fanedits has done something like that and it worked out pretty well.
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
In preparation for the March 24 release of Battle of Five Armies, I decided to start making my box art for JRR TOLKIEN'S THE HOBBIT. Here's the direct link to the image:
http://www.maple-films.com/uploads/3..._dvd_cover.jpg
I scanned and modified the 1966 leather-bound edition of The Hobbit novel for the design here. If you'd like to read my blog post as well, here is the link to that. Let me know what you think!
http://www.maple-films.com/the-hobbit-fanedit
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
eldusto84 said:
In preparation for the March 24 release of Battle of Five Armies, I decided to start making my box art for JRR TOLKIEN'S THE HOBBIT. Here's the direct link to the image:
http://www.maple-films.com/uploads/3..._dvd_cover.jpg
I scanned and modified the 1966 leather-bound edition of The Hobbit novel for the design here. If you'd like to read my blog post as well, here is the link to that. Let me know what you think!
http://www.maple-films.com/the-hobbit-fanedit
what about BluRay?
what about BluRay?
Not to worry, I'm also making the Bluray cover art and will have it up soon. I'll probably just resize it and swap the DVD/Bluray logos, nothing else major.
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
Ah cool I see.
I'd say "Eldusto84's Fanedit of Peter Jackson's Adaptation of The Hobbit" is a more appropriate name.
TheHutt said:
I'd say "Eldusto84's Fanedit of Peter Jackson's Adaptation of The Hobbit" is a more appropriate name.
Good grief, that's such a long and cumbersome title! It could use some editing, just like these films. Ha, get it?
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
eldusto84 said:
TheHutt said:
I'd say "Eldusto84's Fanedit of Peter Jackson's Adaptation of The Hobbit" is a more appropriate name.
Good grief, that's such a long and cumbersome title! It could use some editing, just like these films. Ha, get it?
At least it is true.
I'd like some opinions on this clip. I realize the scene of the company finding the secret door is pretty close to how it was in the book. But after watching it over and over, I felt like it could be condensed without losing too much, so a 7-minute scene was then cut down to 2 minutes.
I'm honestly undecided whether I want to keep this altered version in my fanedit or not, so let me know what you think. Trimming a scene like this means I'm not completely adhering to a "book faithful" version of the film, but at the same time the film's pace is more consistent with the other cuts I've made.
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
I quite like that clip. It strikes me as mildly (!) odd that Bilbo reacts so strongly and emphasizes the word "last," but that is probably only due to my prior familiarity with the source material.
However, the way it plays out here suggests they expected the sun but immediately found it was the moon that did it.
I'd strongly suggest to remove JRRT's name from the title. It's prepostrous.
eldusto84 said:
I'd like some opinions on this clip. I realize the scene of the company finding the secret door is pretty close to how it was in the book. But after watching it over and over, I felt like it could be condensed without losing too much, so a 7-minute scene was then cut down to 2 minutes.
I'm honestly undecided whether I want to keep this altered version in my fanedit or not, so let me know what you think. Trimming a scene like this means I'm not completely adhering to a "book faithful" version of the film, but at the same time the film's pace is more consistent with the other cuts I've made.
I think this cut is too much. The core of this scene is the dwarf losing their faith and Bilbo restoring it. Your cut omitted the climax of that scene, which resulted in an odd viewing experience.
I like your other cuts, though. Especially the way you resolved the Smaug scene. I think it's the best one I've seen so far.
I just updated the video clip last night...was that the version you watched? It's somewhere in between the original scene and my initial cut. The URL should be the same.
At any rate, I just felt that it took too long for the company to actually get inside the mountain. The fact that the dwarves get discouraged so quickly and start to head home kind of bothered me.
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
Yeah, that's the one I saw.
This will probably come off as preachy and anal, but a scene usually consists of beats which build the scene. Every scene has an antagonistic force that causes the heros problems. The hero in this scene is Bilbo who wants to bring the Dwarfs into the mountain. What causes him problems is the locked door and the Dwarfs impatiance. This is shown in beats like Dwalin destroying his axe and builds to the moment, whenthe Dwarfs are leaving, which is the lowpoint of Bilbo. But he then overcomes those antagonistic force by being more persistent and his committment to help the Dwarfs. It's because of Bilbos characteristics that the Dwarfs are going into the mountain.
That's why it feels odd to me to remove the climax of the scene. But then again, it's your cut and if it works for you than go ahead.
The Battle of Five Armies was released on Bluray today, and I have already begun working on it. I did some test edits on a digital copy in the weeks previous, just to see if some ideas of mine would work. So! With that being said, here is a list of my planned edits for the third and final Hobbit film. I expect to be done with this in the next few days and will have something to share very soon. Stay tuned!
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
Wow, I didn't realise the US got this on BluRay already! Bizarrely, my preorder in the UK says April 20th! I was hoping to get cracking on my own edit. Oh well!
The fanedit is complete! If you are interested in viewing it, PM me for the link.
JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
