logo Sign In

STAR WARS: EP IV 2004 REVISITED ADYWAN *1080p HD VERSION NOW IN PRODUCTION — Page 140

Author
Time
I feel like I am just repeated what has already been said several pages worth already, but here it is anyway. GOOD JOB, FANTASTIC WORK. I am still a purist and I can't say this is going to replace the 77 version for me, which is the only one I watch. But this is honestly what the SE and the 04 DVD should have been all along. Your changes make sense and they aren't just change for the sake of change. Too bad LFL doesn't spend as much time on this as you did. If you could achieve this, imagine what they could achieve. I like the new colors, I think I liked every change I noticed, save for the flipper. I always liked the bleeding arm, it does give the movie a little bit of an edge. But I can see the reason for removing the blood and adding a burn, but I have to agree with everyone else that the arms the way to go. I really liked the incoming fleet of tie fighters. Sure, they don't exactly match the rest of the Tie shots, but Jabba, the new dewbacks and the Rhontos never matched either. I think the tie fighters match and work just as well and better than any of the special edition additions. It would be cool if you could create some comm. chatter as a reaction. As it is everone looks like they are thinking "We screwed" and not talking so as to pay attention to their flying, which works. But if I were really in that situation and I saw scores of ties coming in like that I would be saying something like, "Guys! There they are 1 o'clock! We have incoming!" follow by a few lines of curse words expressing the fact that each and every one of us was going to die. If you really felt the need to change it and add in some exclaimations through the comm. I think it would work quite well and I am sure it would be easy enough to do. The voices through the comm. are pretty hard to place, so you wouldn't need to match it up to anyone in particular. You get it close enough and no one would notice.

Sorry, I know the place has already been flooded by a million other comments like this. I really liked it and I was very impressed. I wasn't expecting it to be anything near what it was. Did I mention I really liked the new colors? They're fantastic. I for one really liked the near monochrome walls.


Edit


Errrr... probably should have read over some of the other pages more before I posted the stuff about the ties. Just flipped a page back and saw that it is not something that is suppose to be talked about. Sorry. This thread is growing at an incredible rate, kind of hard to keep up with.

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

Author
Time
Originally posted by: adywan

Originally posted by: sunday256
Now in a very sick way, Adywan knows how George feels. There's just no way to please everyone.

You got it exactly right there. there seems to be a lot of nit picking going on which totally took the buzz i had for having finished it. the whole flipper debate just became stupid. One thing that really bugged me is that a lot of people slam lucas for using CG for things that could be created using real world items but suddenly there is enthusiasm to use a CG created flipper instead of a real item. i know totally how he feels now. damned if you do, damned if you don't. i need to finish off these dvd's, get them out and forget about star wars for a while (apart from something i'm working on For jambe) otherwise the way i'm feeing at the moment ESB is a dead project. i'm just happy that the majority like what i've done. i knew i'd never be able to please everyone, but come on.. It a bloody edit that was created at home and not a studio job. I'm not a miracle worker and there were bound to be shots that don't look like a true hollywood movie. I only started trying to do Fx work about 14 months ago and i had never even touched After effects until after that. I'm 99% happy with it so i'm not really that bothered is others want to pull it apart. . The constructive criticism i like and its that which has helped me throughout the edit, it s just the plain bashing saying shots look like shit or that have got me to the point i'm at now.


Ady, I read your comments here and felt like I had to post. Been lurking in this thread for some time now, checking occasionally on your progress with this edit. Grabbed the film from a.b.sw yesterday, and watched the movie last night. Been catching up on the thousands of posts here in the forum this morning. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for the amazing work you've done, for all the time you've spent making your vision of Star Wars a reality, and for the generosity you've shown in sharing that vision with all the rest of us Star Wars fans, as well as making so many of us here in this forum a part of your efforts. I only regret not having posted anything earlier in support of what you've done.

Let me tell you, as I watched the clips you shared from time to time over the course of creating this masterpiece and read your posts about the problems and disasters you've had to overcome to make this thing happen, I've looked forward to seeing your edit like nothing else Star Wars I've looked forward to since Lando and Chewie flew off in the Millennium Falcon in search of Han, and I had to wait those long years in between ESB and ROTJ to find out what happened next. I sat down to watch "Revisited" last night, and I'll be damned if I didn't turn into that 4 year old boy again, seeing Star Wars on the big screen for the very first time. Saying "Thank You" can't adequately express how much what you've done means to me, and I'm sure to countless other fans who will be seeing your edit as the definitive version of Star Wars from here on out. I watched last night on the edge of my seat, with the biggest grin I've had on my face in a long time. The colors. The sound. The cantina. The duel. The Death Star. The medal ceremony. So many things you've done that just blew me away. You brought back all the joy, all the emotion, all the excitement of what Star Wars has been to me for three decades, and for that I can't thank you enough. This has truly been a labor of love, and the time and care you put into it shines from beginning to end.

Please don't let the nitpickers or naysayers get you down. What you've managed to accomplish is nothing short of the greatest thing to happen to Star Wars in thirty years, bar none. This edit is a testament to your dedication, craftsmanship, and persistence, and before you set your mind to doing it, I'm sure most of us never expected to ever actually see the Star Wars we've all really dreamed of on film. You've brought it all to life in such stunning fashion, and so seamlessly that maybe many of the nitpickers are just missing the forest for the trees. So from one true Star Wars fan to another, thank you, Ady. The blood, sweat, and tears have all been worth it, and you've earned a well-deserved place in the pantheon of Star Wars legacy as one of the greats. Looking forward with great anticipation to your next masterwork.
Author
Time
Ady,
I said it before, I'll say it again and I'll keep saying it to anyone that asks (or even doesn't ask).

This is the best version of ANH and the only version I will ever watch from now on. I am so excited to be back into Star Wars in a big way! I was only 5 when ANH first came out so I really don't remember how I reacted to it, but I can say that I feel like I'm 5 again right now, with the excitement I had watching this.

I hope you get a bunch of rest, take a lot of time away and then, only if you want to, are interested in taking on ESB. I know that there's no one esle I'd rather see take that on.
I don't have the skill or talent to the technical stuff, but I would be glad to help in any way I can.

Adywan is the man. That's all there is to it.

Phil
Author
Time
Well, I just sat down to watch it again last night, this time with my uncle. He's just seven years my senior (I'm 30), and while he's perhaps not as fanatical about Star Wars as we are, he's still quite a big fan, and I thought I'd post an "outsider's" reaction to the film.

*Side note: just before we started watching it on his new projector (100" baby!), his kids (6, 4, and 2) were in the next room watching the original ANH (Dr. M's edit) while going to bed. I sat with them for a bit and they were asking me a hundred questions, like why Luke was living with his aunt and uncle, what the Jawas were going to do with R2 and 3PO, what was going to happen to Princess Leia... it was quite cool seeing them so wrapped up in the story, and it reminded me of how awestruck and immersed I used to be when watching those films as a kid*

At any rate... my uncle and I watched the movie, and his overall impression was as follows:

First off, he was amazed that this was a fan edit. When I told him a single person (with a little outside help) did this by himself over the course of 18 months, he couldn't believe it. As for the movie as a whole, he thought it was the perfect version of the Special Edition. Although he still prefers the original '77 version over anything else, he said that this is what the SE's should have been originally, and thought the movie was a fantastic alternate version.

As for specific reactions to some of the things we've been talking about here:

- he loved the TIE figher shot, and thought it was very effective. He felt it made the Empire look very threatening, and that it gave the scene a real sense of urgency and impending doom.

- he found it a bit hard to discern what the severed arm was supposed to be. He had no idea that it was Walrusman's, let alone that he had a flipper. When I told him you were thinking of putting a human arm in there Ady, he thought that sounded like a good idea.

- other things he enjoyed were the intensified action scenes toward the end (Ben vs. Vader, the Falcon vs. the TIEs, the DS battle), and he thought it was cool that Chewie got a medal

So, all this to say once again that you've done an awesome job Ady. As someone mentioned earlier, you should try to take the nitpicking as sort of a backhanded compliment; people are critiquing this the same way they would a Hollywood-made film. You've done such a good job that it's easy to forget that this was done by a single person (well, WMX should get a nod here too for his incredible work). I also want to apologize for my part in prolonging the flipper debate; as you have proven all along, whatever you ultimately decide to go with will undoubtedly be an excellent decision.

Again, THANK YOU ADY! It's becoming cliched to say it, but you really have given us something far beyond what I think anyone could have expected. As I said before, as soon as the DVD versions are released, your edit will be inhabiting the current SE DVD case, and the official DVD will be quietly tucked away to collect dust.

So sit back and, for the moment, focus only on enjoying the fruits of your labours... I know I am

* * *

To Mojo_LA
Regarding the suggestion of adding a wobble to the TIE shot to simulate camera movement, I don't think it would work. I assume you're referring to that kind of jerky movement seen in Battlestar Galactica (or even AOTC). If so, while it definitely works in some cases (it's terrific in BSG which, if you're involved in that, kudos), I don't think it's the kind of thing that would fit in properly with ANH. It would be the only shot like it in the film, and personally I found the few shots like it in AOTC to be distracting. As for the blurring issue, I didn't notice anything one way or the other, so I can't comment on that.

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

Author
Time
I'm one of those fans that enjoyed the SE when it came out. Yes, even I have nitpicks about it but I've accepted the fact that George replaced the OT with the SEs. But I also agree with folks here in that the OT should be available in a pristine format like the SE is today. But there's no getting over the fact that we fans, well some of us, have just gotten too dang picky. You're right in that a lot of people hate the CGI, especially in the prequels, the "lame storytelling" and all that jazz. As soon as you ruin someone's interpretation and expectations you all of a sudden get a lot of backlash. I feel sorry for George in the respect that people don't give him enough credit for making his OWN movie. Not some fanboy's version of his movie. For crying out loud...he's the one to tell the industry to take a hike. He did it his way. And dang that took guts to put all his money on the line like that. The man is a philanthropist and a family man as well. Sure he makes a lot of money and irks us to no end sometimes, but he's not a bad guy.

Adywan, you've done an excellent job with this edit. And yep, people are going to nitpick just like they do with George. It just comes with the territory of being a Star Wars fan. You give it, and you get it. Try not to take too much to heart. We still appreciate the work you've done. We do want to see more from you in the future.
Author
Time
Originally posted by: adywan

Otherwise, the way i'm feeing at the moment, ESB is a dead project. I'm just happy that the majority like what i've done. I knew i'd never be able to please everyone, but come on..


Now thats just plain wrong, don't take the criticism that hard man. I have done alot of stuff that has gotten the same type criticism on other websites ( non starwars related ). I knew right away when following this project that you would get criticism; however, I didn't expect it to be effects related. With what content you have shown us during your progress, it looked to be a virtually error free reedit, and for the most part it is, and beyond. Mainly what you have are just a few FX shots that are getting some heat. Nobody is going to think less of you for keeping them as they are, and it wont effect me either way if you choose not to change them.

I'm really happy to see that virtually everybody ( including me ) really enjoy what you have done story wise, ( bens hubble, end battle ect.. ) George Lucas should take some serious notes from your release. And about ESB, that should be a cake walk for you. You would manily be taking out some of the SE shots and changes that didn't need to be in it in the first place, it's nothing near the shape A New Hope was in. I say forge ahead, and finnish the classic trilogy, it is your destiny......








Venerable member of the “Red Eye” Knights

Author
Time
Ady, you did an excellent, excellent job. Please know that.

The rest of you, in particular those that are caught up in the details: Beating on a dead horse for a while, and then a few hours later going, "Oh, btw, nice work Ady," doesn't really make a person feel good. Jesus Christ people. The arm is something that was kind of up for debate, but my God, pages and pages and pages. You guys drool over this thing for over a year, and this is the first major response!? Damn.

This is why we can't have nice things.
Author
Time
Ady,
I have yet to see this edit of yours, PC troubles,

But I used to take criticism badly for the things I made and people didn't like or wanted to change, as I got a little older and wiser I came up with a little quote for them "If you don't like it make it yourself" knowing damned well that the people giving the criticism didn't have the first clue where to start. Just saying keep up the great work and don't let the jerks who don't like what you have done get you down
Author
Time
I have just FINALLY finished watching this great movie, and all I want to say is THANK YOU ! I saw my name in the closing credits of a Star Wars movie, now I can die in peace

I usually don't write things like this, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. And now the bad part

I have a couple of questions about this edit, I apologize if you answered them already, I simply don't have the time to read every day 10 new pages of this thread

1) The "thin and sharp" laser blasts look really distracting, especially on a white background, like in the Tantive IV sequence. Is it too late to do something about it ?
2) Didn't you plan to change Obiwan's line to "I wanted you to have this when you're old enough" ?
3) Are Greedo's subtitles correct or only "approximate" ? The font, the size, the position, the text, the start and ending frames ...
4) During the last battle there are many scenes where R2's panels are BLACK. I don't know if you didn't notice it, or it was hard to change, but basically it's in all scenes where we see Luke in the front of his cockpit and R2 behind him.

Again, sorry these questions where answered before

BTW I would give a LOT money for the chance to see this in a movie theatre, on the big screen, with huge theatre speakers. Does anybody from you guys own a private cinema ?
Author
Time
Hey Darksaber - long time no speak!!
I came up with the same quote to reply to the fanfilm-haters!
Author
Time
Originally posted by: pittrek
Does anybody from you guys own a private cinema ?


My brother-in-law does. It's where I host my annual film festival. 24 powered recliners, totally stylin'. I've been considering screening ANH at one of my festivals ever since Darth Editious's edit came out, but I decided to wait for Ady's. But of course I won't be waiting until September to put it up on the big screen.

Ron Moses

Avoid infestation. Rotate.

Author
Time
Hey Ady,
I emplore you to keep your head up. I so don't want you to get discouraged and not do ESB & ROTJ. Having the Revisiteded versions is the next best thing to having new movies come out. You keep the fun of Star Wars going for us! THANKS A MILLION!
--------------------------------------------
Jason Collier
- Access Hollywood's Ultimate
Star Wars Fan Winner
Author
Time
Originally posted by: adywan
Originally posted by: ron2112
Ady, are the Death Star interiors somehow more desaturated on the Xvid than they will be on the DVD? I just started noticing this last night on my third viewing (someone else mentioned it pages ago, but I can't find the post). Most of the interior shots appear to be desaturated all the way to grayscale. So it's like a black and white movie in the background with maybe a few faces and panel lights in color. Vader almost always appears in total monochrome, with the exception of his lights.

Now... this could easily be my video card, I could be seeing it wrong. And I didn't notice this at all my first couple of viewings. But once I started seeing it, I had a hard time *not* seeing it in a high percentage of interior shots, and even during the DS battle (which is so awesome I rewound it three times... again!). Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

At least I didn't mention either flippers or TIEs!

Ron Moses

The interiors aren't all the way down to monocrome, there is still a hint of blue, but i always wanted the interiors to be grey .When doing the colour correction i tried bringing the blue down so it would match shot to shot but it created more problems. Some areas were so oversaturated that when i got parts to look the way i wanted there would be blue patches here and there and it also created video noise. Also some shots were almost monocrome when removing the blue tint so i had to set a medium and the only way to get it looking to what i wanted it to was to remove the blue from the walls so no patches existed. So inevitably some of the subtle blue tints were lost ( not that they were even there in the first place in some scenes due to the horrible colouring of the 2004 DVD). I mentioned about this before when i explained about the monocrome cockpits in shots during the Death Star trench run. I like the more monocrome look and thats all that matters to me
Originally posted by: sunday256
Now in a very sick way, Adywan knows how George feels. There's just no way to please everyone.

You got it exactly right there. there seems to be a lot of nit picking going on which totally took the buzz i had for having finished it. the whole flipper debate just became stupid. One thing that really bugged me is that a lot of people slam lucas for using CG for things that could be created using real world items but suddenly there is enthusiasm to use a CG created flipper instead of a real item. i know totally how he feels now. damned if you do, damned if you don't. i need to finish off these dvd's, get them out and forget about star wars for a while (apart from something i'm working on For jambe) otherwise the way i'm feeing at the moment ESB is a dead project. i'm just happy that the majority like what i've done. i knew i'd never be able to please everyone, but come on.. It a bloody edit that was created at home and not a studio job. I'm not a miracle worker and there were bound to be shots that don't look like a true hollywood movie. I only started trying to do Fx work about 14 months ago and i had never even touched After effects until after that. I'm 99% happy with it so i'm not really that bothered is others want to pull it apart. . The constructive criticism i like and its that which has helped me throughout the edit, it s just the plain bashing saying shots look like shit or that have got me to the point i'm at now.


Adywan,

Man, I beg you to not make any rash decisions right now. Anybody who doesn't absolutely LOVE what you have done can go fuck themseleves. Adywan, you my friend are fucking light years ahead of what 99% of the people on this forum could do....and the work on SW Revisited shows it.

It just stupid and sad that people have to go and ruin what should be a refreshing fun time for you.....I say fuck anybody that has a problem with your edit....they can go and try editing the movie for themselves then.....

Please don't listen too hard to the complainers....listen to your heart. You know you did an awesome job and so do the majority of people who have seen it.





I love everybody. Lets all smoke some reefer and chill. Hug and kisses for everybody.

Author
Time
Ady,

I just wanted to make a quick post to offer you encouragement(as I've been doing since the beginning) and to tell you that you shouldn't listen to anybody when it comes to this edit. It's your baby and you should do with it whatever makes you happy. Sadly, now you see how shallow and hypocritical a lot of SW fans are. They bash Lucas and tell you how great you are one minute, then when they don't agree with one of your changes they do the same thing to you they've been doing to George all these years. Screw 'em, dude!!! You've singlehandedly done the best SW edit and possibly the best fan edit EVER so if people can't appreciate that they don't deserve to watch your work in the first place.
Author
Time
I knew I would take heat for "bashing" the TIE fighter intro, but I want to clarify where my comments were coming from...

Ady and his small team have done incredible, very professional work. It's 95% to the same standards we work towards on prime-time TV shows. I was very serious when I said that Ady could use his edit as a resume and get a job at probably any effects studio in Hollywood. I know I would hire him!

With that in mind, I just would love to see EVERY shot in his cut held to the same standard. I know it's a matter of taste, and I know a lot of people think the shot is fine, and maybe it's because I am used to seeing things with the utmost scruitiny, but in my view that is one of the only shots in the edit that holds it back from being perfect, and I have so much adoration and respect for what Ady has done I WANT to see it perfect!

I know it's very arrogant and presumptuous of me (welcome to my reputation), but I am confident that if presented with some alternatives Ady (and I think most of the community) would see what I mean. [And no, I don't mean to introduce hand-held style camera; Star Wars is not the place for that. By simply having the TIES moving faster and having the camera slowly panning with them from the outset, the shot would feel considerably more dynamic.]

And I'd love to help him fix that Death Star background!
Author
Time
@ Mojo_LA: Don't worry about it dude, If you have something to say then say it. Ady is not going to hate you for it. I feel pretty much the same way about the TIE shot. If Ady decides to change it then great, if not then I wont feel any different, I hope you would do the same. Don't look a gift hourse to close in the mouth.

Venerable member of the “Red Eye” Knights

Author
Time
Edit, to Mojo_LA who just posted while my writing this: I put a big post in response to yours, a few pages back. (I get the sense you didn't see it as you refer to "a small team" doing Ady's CG for that shot when it was only "a guy")

... a few FX shots that are getting some heat. Nobody is going to think less of you for keeping them as they are...
Just cause I feeling like chatting some more here about this stuff. Nothing heavy, not being defensive.

I can assure ya'll that Ady would've been very happy if I gave him a "Guess what I did!" for the DS surface for that shot, a detailed-ish anim in HD for that composite layer, but that simply was/is not going to happen (without a big upgrade in resources of some sort). To do that in CG (of course making a miniature of that and really filming it is out) with anything less than a decent render farm would be insaneness. Even with very low-poly versions of the tile meshes, we'd still be talking many millions of polygons to render in the end.
(I know you know Auggie, but everyone else -> ) Think about what we're talking about rendering here: a solid mile+ of very greeble-covered surface! Even if I could use tricks to cut the rendering materials down a third for the near-same end result, or even further, that's still just not worth it to attempt with my amount of resources (one computer, low experience). I would probably trick it right back down to looking like mush again.

Just saying that it's not a matter of not feeling like giving the elements a boost now. I would love to throw those tiles down and duplicate them a thousand of times over and render them them out in a couple of days to give to Ady for an upgrade for that shot, and I'm sure he'd love to receive such a thing, but there is simply no way to do that on my end here/now. It would take not days, but many weeks to output that, and he doesn't want to wait that long -- and I don't want my 3D computer off limits to my creative playings for that long (putting aside my electric bill! ) But it is cool seeing people thinking that we have/had the capability to just wantonly produce such things as a square mile+ of Death Star surface from scratch for a shot.

Edit2: Whether Ady would welcome other contributors to create such composite layers for him is, of course, his call.
Okay, shutting up now.

LightWave = fun times with gfx for me 😃

Author
Time


But it is cool seeing people thinking that we have/had the capability to just wantonly produce such things as a square mile+ of Death Star surface from scratch for a shot.

Edit2: Whether Ady would welcome other contributors to create such composite layers for him is, of course, his call.
Okay, shutting up now.


Actually I had an idea about that, what about a cheat? Example: you have the shot of the Tie-fighters, what if the Deathstar is a digital mat painting? I don't see why that wouldn't work.

Blade Runner: The Complete Collection

Author
Time
Originally posted by: focuspuller

Actually I had an idea about that, what about a cheat? ... what if the Deathstar is a digital mat painting? I don't see why that wouldn't work.
I suppose one could render just three frames of the modeled surface and stitch them together for a map, then place that map onto a simple plane of the right shape, and the "animation" then would take a brief amount of time as it's only rendering a simple textured plane/disk rather than all the details each frame. My problem is just getting that initial rendering of the DS surface set-up. I don't even have LW versions of the tiles!

LightWave = fun times with gfx for me 😃

Author
Time
I loved this edit. Sorry for ADYWAN that others want to dissect every little bit. All I want is a DVD cover so I can share this with some friends.... Anyone got one?
Author
Time
I know of a few that are in the works.
Author
Time
WXM:

Did you get my PM?

I let you know that if you can send me the scene file and objects (geometry compresses really well), I *DO* have an incredibly fast render farm at my disposal. I render 5 million poly scenes at 5 minutes a frame.

I would be happy to create a few alternate versions of the TIE shot and I am sure one of my Lightwave friends would be happy to come up with a solution for the Death Star. We could probably fake something in 2D, no need to create a monster model.

It's up to you and Ady. We are offering.

PM me.
Author
Time
I agree wholeheartedly with vbangle. Ady, if you don't want to do ESB anymore, I understand. But if it's because of a bunch of nitpicking whiners, you should give them the finger and press on. I'm behind you - but you knew that already. There are a lot of others behind you too.

nohandluke
"I turned it off! I don't wanna talk to her!"
Author
Time
Originally posted by: Mojo_LA
WXM:

Did you get my PM?

I let you know that if you can send me the scene file and objects (geometry compresses really well), I *DO* have an incredibly fast render farm at my disposal. I render 5 million poly scenes at 5 minutes a frame.

I would be happy to create a few alternate versions of the TIE shot and I am sure one of my Lightwave friends would be happy to come up with a solution for the Death Star. We could probably fake something in 2D, no need to create a monster model.

It's up to you and Ady. We are offering.

PM me.


Dude, I would take this offer. It'll make an already perfect movie even better.
Author
Time
Mojo_LA if you ever make any CG stuff for a starwars fan edit, please let me know! I would love to participate. I always wanted to replace some existing scenes with cooler, computer generated ones.
View my 3D Portfolio