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Proposed project: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV show)

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Hi guys,

I have for some time been thinking about editing each season of Buffy into a movie. I realized, though, that it would be a great challenge because Buffy is such a well-written show that almost every episode in a season ties into the main story arc of that season in some way, and it may be extremely difficult to isolate those plot elements without having to introduce many peripheral demons and such that have no place in a, say, 2-3 hour movie.

So . . . I would be interested to hear any ideas any of you may have. (There's GOT to be a bunch of Buffy fans here, somehow!)
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turning every season of BTVS into a movie... dude, you are a true worker, this is the biggest project I have yet heard of. But I can imagine it, just keeping the main story... Of course this means a totally different feel to Buffy, but that does not have to be worse, although some great episodes like HUSH cannot be included. I would definetly love to see it.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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It does seem like a really formidable job. I probably won't get started on this for awhile, but it's definitely on my "hope to do" list.

Definitely episodes like Hush won't be included, but Hush is also the episode when Tara and Willow first combine their powers, which is definitely a crucial moment in Season 4 -- and that's just one example of what I mean by not being able to isolate plot elements like that. Maybe I will find a way to do it, maybe I won't. It may turn out to be simply impossible, but I refuse to believe that...
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I guess if you are going to start this project the time for a 400 gb harddrive has come.

I watched all Buffy episodes, but only once and I remember not much of it. I have the entire DVD collection (which is a nice mixup of RC1, RC2 and RC3 discs) and I wanted to watch it again anyway. Since my favorite shows (prison break, lost, 24) will take a break soon, there is the time to finally get back to good old Buffy.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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Yeah, I really should stop working with XviD source files, shouldn't I? Sigh.
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Absolutely!!!! Well,, not if you are satisfied with the result for yourself and don't care for the opinion of your "fans". When my group released Matrix deZIONized we got incredible feedback and that somehow changed my way of thinking, since I really like feedback a lot (who wonders). But our next edit was hardly recognized and a tough lesson to learn: it isn't us the people are interested in, it is only the movies. Same happened here: when I found OT, I was excited by the many people willing to talk about fanedits, but soon had to realize that they were not really discussing edits. Don't depend on feedback and outward input! People, who discuss your projects and stay truly interested are rare. I was offered help by about 50 people (not just from the OT community) and I never turned down anyone. Still not even 10% finally do what they offer to help you with. Sounds frustrated? Well, it partly is, but more it is a realistic point of view. You are the artist, you make the art, the audience watches or watches not.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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Would it not be better to try and make 2-3 films out of a season instead of the whole season as one film?

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Well my idea was to make a 2-3 hour movie of a single season, which means that only scenes essential to the central story arc of the season would be in. But you're right, two movies to a season may actually be a more reasonable task. Hmm.
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I toyed with the idea of making some films out of Angel episodes, one thing that stumped me though was finding an easy way to remove on screen credits that lead into the episode for a minute or so. You know what I mean, you want to join two episodes together seeamlessly, so you don't want credits suddenly appearing.

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That entered my mind also -- one way to do it would, of course, be to just ignore all the scenes where the credits appear, but sometimes important exposition does occur there, so the only thing I can think of is zooming in so that the credits are off screen (which would definitely detract from the quality of those segments, but I can't think of any other way to do it except hand-painting over the words frame by frame).
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I don't know just how much of a buffy fan you are, but the R4 (and probably R2) discs are widescreen. Although the widescreen versions are not the 'original' versions, they might help when trying to remove credits or other stuff from the shots.

Also, these widescreen versions, just to clarify, contain more picture not less (i.e. they are not the fullscreen episodes matted to widescreen).

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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Only widescreen from season 4 onwards though. 1-3 PAL versions are 4:3.

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Klokwerk, could you explain why using widescreen sources would make it easier to remove credits and stuff? They would still occupy more-or-less the same amount of space, wouldn't they?
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I think he's saying that it would just look more movie-like. However, I did hear that because the shots weren't meant to be framed as widescreen, that there are instances where recording equipment appear on the screen. The shows were meant to be 4:3, so stick with that.

As far as the credits...not much you can do, so just deal with it. I think zooming in would create so much artifacting, by blowing up such a small part of the screen, that it would be just as distracting as having credits appear.
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logo blurring will be the way to go there. Doesn't look perfect, but will be the best possible result.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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I actually thought about doing this for both Buffy and Angel. Nothing serious though.

Here's some thoughts.

Season 1:
As with Angel, Season 1 of Buffy merely introduces the characters. Not much goes on here that is essential to the story since most are just standalone episodes. Perhaps the most important stuff is in the two part series premiere (which can be cut down), some development featuring the Master and the Annointed One (if the kid is even important) and some cuts to their scheming. Of course, a big focus of this is probably going to be the Buffy/Angel thing - her discovery that he's a vampire, etc. Then just skip to the season finale.

Welcome to the Hellmouth & The Harvest
Character introductions, etc. Maybe make this something like a first act.

Witch
Introduction of Amy. Not that important of a character, but she does pop up later. Otherwise, skip it.

Teacher's Pet
Skip it.

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
The Master and the Annointed One prophecy. Actually, the kid never really panned out, so maybe he's not too important.

The Pack
Skip it.

Angel
One of the more important episodes of the season. Definitely work it in.

I Robot, You Jane
Introduction of Jenny Calendar. She'll play in Season 2, so maybe keep an intro to the character if it's necessary (maybe it'll be better for the Season 2 movie)

The Puppet Show, Nightmares & Out of Mind, Out of Sight
Skip it.

Prophecy Girl
Here's your last act and climax.

Season Two. This one might be trickier since it expanded to 22 episodes this season. Definitely focus on the Buffy/Angel relationship, but also remember to include the Giles & Jenny, Xander & Cordelia and Willow & Oz relationships. Also, the animosity between Xander and Angel is fairly important t the outcome of the season as well as Willow's dabbling in witchcraft.

When She Was Bad & Some Assembly Required
These weren't exactly necessary to the season. The first one just seems to cement the finale of the last season and the second episode is pretty unnecessary. I'm thinking Some Assembly Required may include some Giles & Jenny stuff, but not too certain.

School Hard
Introduction of Spike and Dru

Inca Mummy Girl, Reptile Boy, Halloween, Lie to Me, The Dark Age
Fairly unimportant, though these do probably contain some relationship stuff. Oz's first appearance is Inca Mummy Girl (I think).

What's My Line? Part 1 & 2
Not actually too important storywise, but it does feature the into of Kendra, Dru regaining her strength & Spike losing his.

Ted & Bad Eggs
Not much.

Surprise & Innocence
Pretty pivotal stuff. Again, not necessarily in story, but in the Angel/Angelus switch. Maybe you can lump Surprise with What's My Line to make something of a plot. Also, this sets up Angel's ring.

Phases
Willow & Oz

Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
Xander & Cordy

Passion
An important episode in the whole Giles & Jenny relationship as well as Angelus.

Killed by Death, I Only Have Eyes For You & Go Fish
Not much here. "I Only Have Eyes For You" builds on why Buffy doesn't kick Angelus' ass in Innocence though.

Becoming, Part 1 & Part 2
Here's the climax.
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Thanks for your thoughts, ShiftyEyes.

I agree that the main focus of Season One should be the Buffy-Angel dynamic and the finale. I think it may be possible to leave out the Annointed One entirely, since like you said he doesn't really play a significant role in the end, other than leading Buffy into the Master's lair (which she could probably have found on her own, like she often has a knack of doing).
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...and I thought I was a fan of BTVS. Shifty, very impressive. I totally agree with your version of the season 1 movie.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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I guess the decision whether to include Amy or not depends on how far I plan to take this -- she does play an important role in season 6 in seducing Willow to the dark side, one might say (incidentally, a more convincing transformation than Anakin's!), but her inclusion would mean also including the episode "Gingerbread" from season 3, where she turns herself into a rat, which would take up a lot of screen time that could be better spent on Mayor-Faith story arc.
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This all sounds good. I might have a go at season one of Angel. Although I think that might have to be two movies for season one as Doyle dies. Or maybe he could be killed off fairly soon into the movie?
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Doyle was the reason I had to buy the first Angel season for my wife. Don't let him die to soon. She says he's cute (and I always found his way of visionizing far more convincing than Cordelia's).

But I did not want to start a new theme inside this one. Let's get to Buffy.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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Season 1 of Angel is a little too episodic for my taste (as is the last season), and may prove problematic for a movie (what to focus on?). But Doyle definitely plays too important a role in the beginning of Angel to kill off so quickly.

I'll post more thoughts on Buffy once this crazy week is over. (I've been spending far too much time on this forum already, instead of finishing the tons of work that I have to get done before the semester ends.)
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Yes, wmgan, you did, I was already about to call you Samara, because it seems, you are never sleeping.

Nothing about fanediting is easy.

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Or you can call me Sadako. =)
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Sadako, the original Samara, you are right. (although I must confess, that I enjoyed the Ring remakes far more than the original Ringus, because I just don't get the feeling for Japanese culture. Men and women behave so strange towards each other there.)

Nothing about fanediting is easy.