Spence's PT Edits Round 3 (V2 of AOTC Released) — Page 2

StarkillerAG said:

But I do agree with you. At least some parts of the Yoda duel should stay as the climax of the fight, otherwise it feels like something’s missing. Spence’s trims to the Anakin vs Dooku fight were very well done, but all they did was highlight how poorly choreographed the fight was in general. I wouldn’t want the climax of the movie to end on that note.

I’ll consider it/ play with it. I personally feel like it’s just one thing too many. You’ve got to remember that there’s 20 minutes of non-stop action prior to this sequence, and having Yoda show up doesn’t serve much of a narrative purpose.

Here’s a rough draft of including Yoda at the end.

Disclaimer: I personally really dislike the scene. It’s an old man standing in front of a green screen talking to a cartoon and waving his hands around, and it feels like it. There’s very little effort put into making the scene interesting or exciting, and it doesn’t add anything to the movie beyond “oh cool, Yoda with a lightsaber” which is silly and I don’t want to keep anyway.

That being said, I’m open to giving it a try. The sound and effects on this are placeholders, but I tried to at least give the scene a little bit of activity.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JCc2Y7hMfoeg-tVP9Usn9gNYaCjEpJii/view?usp=share_link

SpenceEdit said:

Here’s a rough draft of including Yoda at the end.

Disclaimer: I personally really dislike the scene. It’s an old man standing in front of a green screen talking to a cartoon and waving his hands around, and it feels like it. There’s very little effort put into making the scene interesting or exciting, and it doesn’t add anything to the movie beyond “oh cool, Yoda with a lightsaber” which is silly and I don’t want to keep anyway.

That being said, I’m open to giving it a try. The sound and effects on this are placeholders, but I tried to at least give the scene a little bit of activity.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JCc2Y7hMfoeg-tVP9Usn9gNYaCjEpJii/view?usp=share_link

What I think would be a mild improvement: Since you already have the shot of Dooku scrambling into his ship, lightsaber ignited - I think you should cut to the shot of Yoda reaching out to catch the column from immediately after his lightsaber is deactivated. Just so there’s that visual context before cutting to the reaction shot.

As for solving the Dooku lightsaber continuity, an idea you could try: Add the lightsaber ignition sound after Yoda says “Much to learn, you still have” and then cut to Dooku’s “This is only the beginning” shot.

Dooku’s clearly in a fighting pose, and it could imply that he’s ready to fight Yoda if he chooses to follow him rather than save Anakin and Obi-Wan. I think the way the line is delivered and a few quick cuts would also hasten the moment. Add a little urgency to what’s happening rather than Dooku just calmly raising his arms again followed by a straining Yoda.

Though this could end up being time intensive for something you may not want to keep at all.

Gerry-Mandarin said:

What I think would be a mild improvement: Since you already have the shot of Dooku scrambling into his ship, lightsaber ignited - I think you should cut to the shot of Yoda reaching out to catch the column from immediately after his lightsaber is deactivated. Just so there’s that visual context before cutting to the reaction shot.

As for solving the Dooku lightsaber continuity, an idea you could try: Add the lightsaber ignition sound after Yoda says “Much to learn, you still have” and then cut to Dooku’s “This is only the beginning” shot.

Dooku’s clearly in a fighting pose, and it could imply that he’s ready to fight Yoda if he chooses to follow him rather than save Anakin and Obi-Wan. I think the way the line is delivered and a few quick cuts would also hasten the moment. Add a little urgency to what’s happening rather than Dooku just calmly raising his arms again followed by a straining Yoda.

Though this could end up being time intensive for something you may not want to keep at all.

I believe HAL’s edits masked the saber out of that shot, so if I end up including this sequence, I’ll probably just “lovingly borrow” that.

Hal 9000 said:

If you do borrow that, borrow it from L8wrtr’s edit because that’s where I borrowed it from. (No sense recompressing it twice.)

Thanks for the tip! Honestly, I’m still leaning toward cutting the Yoda bit all together.

SpenceEdit said:

Here’s the Dooku Duel. Lots of changes here, ranging from cutting sections of the fight, to using pans and zooms to get more activity out of it, moving some shots from parts of the fight to other sequences, etc. I wanted Dooku to feel scarier, and the fight to feel more dangerous. I also removed the cutaways to Yoda and Padme so we stay in the fight the whole time.

Yoda no longer appears as part of this sequence. I always felt like it was one action scene too many, and I love the idea of Yoda not using a lightsaber until he kills the two clone troopers during Order 66.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16MgaIbZE0dl0IBooHpNvWNvvI2w5eM_2/view?usp=share_link

This is what I’ve always wanted. The Dooku showdown is so embarrassing for Obi and Ani, and the way Yoda comes to their rescue just makes it worse. I agree on his complete absence in this scene.

G&G-Fan said:

Any ideas for how you’re gonna execute Anakin’s character and his turn?

For my edits I’m putting a lot of effort into making Anakin colder during his dark side moments and generally more reserved to match Vader’s personality from the OT.

I’m interested in seeing your unique take.

Yes, I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit actually, as that’s one of the major elements that just doesn’t land for me.

What I’d like to do, and what I’m starting with here, is making his character more reserved. He’s awkward and charming but keeps the angry side of him bottled up. He doesn’t tell Padme about the Tuskens. He doesn’t share his frustrations with Obi-Wan and the council. The only person he confides in is Palpatine. Who twists it on him.

I think I’m going to employ the vision he has of Padme dying a little more surgically in ROTS so it haunts him. Using a flash of that at the right time during the turn could make the whole thing come together.

Sounds awesome! After so many years I’m still looking for my definitive version of AotC. I like Hal’s and Caleb Gamman’s works the best, but… there’s still something that just doesn’t click for me, I don’t know…

Loved the 3PO removal/repainting btw! And the Obi/Ani scene from the Kenobi show was actually a pretty nice touch, will you be using the deepfake version that deages him though?

Very very interested!

PsyGemini said:

Sounds awesome! After so many years I’m still looking for my definitive version of AotC. I like Hal’s and Caleb Gamman’s works the best, but… there’s still something that just doesn’t click for me, I don’t know…

Loved the 3PO removal/repainting btw! And the Obi/Ani scene from the Kenobi show was actually a pretty nice touch, will you be using the deepfake version that deages him though?

Very very interested!

Yep! That actually is the deepfaked scene, the quality on GDrive probably isn’t good enough to tell though.

If anyone here is interested, I wouldn’t mind getting an opinion on a full workprint of this from beginning to end. I’m not comfortable just fully releasing it on here, but if one or two people want to take a look and give me their feedback, I’m up for it. I’m rendering a full version right now.

It’ll be in good enough shape to enjoy, but expect some of it to be a little rough, especially audio as that’s the last thing I really hone in. There’s some sound effects missing and some of the volume levels might not be 100% right.

If you volunteer, please go in with an open mind and without putting too much thought to pre-conceived notions or preferences of how this movie plays out. I’m really trying to just get a sense of if it works as movie in this form. Does the story make sense? Is the pacing working? Are character arcs clear? Stuff like that. I’m not looking for “I really think you should’ve kept this scene because I like it a lot” type stuff.

Let me know if you’re interested!

I’d be up for giving it a look!

I would be interested in taking a look at the workprint.

I got all the volunteers I need, thanks for offering everyone!

Are there any particular sections of the movie you are curious about or want to see a clip from?

A small visual change I would suggest is adding some purple and yellow sabers to the geonosis battle for some background Jedi. Then you never have to ask why mace gets a special color and no one else does while also just making the battle cooler.

hinventon said:

A small visual change I would suggest is adding some purple and yellow sabers to the geonosis battle for some background Jedi. Then you never have to ask why mace gets a special color and no one else does while also just making the battle cooler.

That’s not something that particularly bothers me, but I’ll definitely consider it.

Spence, long time, no speak. Glad to see you’re doing this.

Honestly, I like most of your changes here, brother!

I prefer Yoda not fight at all if I can throw my two cents in. I think I agree, that Yoda is one too many things going on.

I would make one minor edit to the landing platform scene. I’ve always cut, “I’ve failed you, Senator,” as it makes no sense. That’s precisely what a decoy does. Dumb writing in my opinion.

This is shaping up great! Keep it up!

mrbenja0618 said:

Spence, long time, no speak. Glad to see you’re doing this.

Honestly, I like most of your changes here, brother!

I prefer Yoda not fight at all if I can throw my two cents in. I think I agree, that Yoda is one too many things going on.

I would make one minor edit to the landing platform scene. I’ve always cut, “I’ve failed you, Senator,” as it makes no sense. That’s precisely what a decoy does. Dumb writing in my opinion.

This is shaping up great! Keep it up!

Hey! Yeah, that’s actually a good point. You could boil it down to a dying person being unreasonable with their last words, but I agree it might not make too much sense. However, cutting from before that line to Padme’s “no” might not fit right either, so I’d rather have the line if it makes the scene flow better.

I’ve got AOTC in a fully working state, which will obviously be tweaked and perfected further.

I’ve started preliminary work on TPM. I don’t anticipate that one to be as drastic as the other two, as I think TPM largely functions well as it is. The pacing is off, but the action is much better edited and kinetic than in AOTC and ROTS. Also, I’m a firm believer in TPM being, at the end of the day, a kids movie. This is before things take a dark turn in AOTC, and it should be fun, light, and appropriate for children. I’m fine with some comic relief from Jar-Jar, and I’m fine with the “boys adventure” vibe for Anakin. I’d want to trim those elements to make them better, not remove them all together.

Some trims for pacing and line delivery are expected, and I’ll probably remove the whole planet core scene, but otherwise this won’t be as drastic of an edit, probably less drastic than HAL’s as far as what is kept vs. cut.

The question is, do I release these out of order as they’re completed, or do I wait and release them all together when I finish the trilogy? I’m leaning toward releasing them all together.

EddieDean said:

Do you have a (tentative) changelog for AOTC? Very curious!

Uh, not really. I’m really bad at doing that. Here is a rough one, no timecodes or anything though:

Overall goals:

• Make Anakin and Padme’s love story more natural and remove the heavy focus on the “forbidden romance” element. The whole story of the prequels hinges on their romance being believable.
• Anakin is no longer creepy or leers at Padme, he’s just a little awkward but charming.
• Anakin no longer whines about Obi-Wan or the council, but it’s still clear he is bothered by them.
• Adjust the awkward editing throughout the film. Long silences, odd framing, or scenes that move at a slow or unnatural pace are all adjusted.
• Tighten up the action editing for more thrilling sequences. Added a lot of zooms, crops, camera movement, and combined shots to accomplish this.

More scene specific stuff (this isn’t every change, barely two minutes go by without some sort of edit or effect, but this is the big noticeable stuff)

• Speed up the landing platform sequence, removing unnecessary dialogue or shots. Also add zooms and camera movement to make the sequence more exciting and dangerous.
• Add in the senate deleted scene, with some trims for pacing.
• Add in the Anakin/Kenobi duel flashbacks from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with adjusted color timing and music to help it blend into the film better.
• Many cuts made to Anakin and Padme meeting again, making it a less awkward exchanged. Oddly, this sequence has the most new VFX shots to get it to function correctly out of the whole thing, and it’s just people talking.
• Remove Jango/Zam scene, so the first time we see Zam is when they load up the assassin droid.
• Many cuts to Anakin and Kenobi’s dialogue while Padme is sleeping for pacing. Cut the odd “intoxicating” dialogue from Anakin.
• Lots of action and pacing editing to the coruscant chase, slimming down the banter to the best parts.
• Lots of trims to the Dexter’s Diner sequence.
• Reordered a lot of the back and forth between Anakin’s story and Kenobi’s story to keep the focus where it needs to be longer.
• Add in the dinner with Padme’s family, with some trims.
• Remove the scene with Yoda and the Younglings and Yoda/Kenobi/Mace discussion in the temple before Kenobi leaves.
• Replace that scene with an edited version of the Mace/Kenobi landing platform scene.
• Removed the second half of the meadow scene and the fireside confession from the love story. The focus is now more on Padme slowly falling for Anakin as opposed to “we can’t be together!”
• Padme no longer stops the kiss, and we now crossfade to Anakin standing on the balcony in the morning. It avoids an awkward transition back to Kamino and also insinuates that they may have had… aggressive negotiations.
• Lots of cuts and trims to the Jango fight for pacing and intensity.
• Removed the Jango/Kenobi space battle. I love the sonic bomb things as much as the next guy, but we really don’t need another action scene here given the way I’ve recut things.
• 3PO is no longer in the film, and I intend to remove him from TPM as well so he doesn’t show up until he’s serving Padme in ROTS. Remove him with a combination of careful edits and cropping and some masking.
• Cut Anakin and Padme’s dialogue as he’s leaving to find his mother. The moment feels a bit more epic without the dialogue.
• Removed the iris in transition from Anakin killing the tuskens to Yoda, it now smash cuts to Yoda. It feels a bit more violent and upsetting.
• HEAVY trims to the droid factory sequence. It’s not a particularly good action scene, but it feels a little awkward without it.
• Reinstate the meeting with Dooku and the sentencing deleted scenes to slow things down for a second before we hit the last act of the movie, which is basically non-stop action. I also wanted to show Padme attempting to resolve things peacefully as I think that’s important to her overall character.
• The “Across the stars” scene is heavily edited. It now goes:
  “Don’t be frightened”
  “I’m not afraid to die. I love you. I truly deeply love you, and before we die I want you to know”
  Kiss, then into the arena.
• Basically from here on out it’s major cuts, zooms, extra camera movement, reordering of scene, etc. to get this action as exciting as possible.
• I made a lot of alterations from when the Clones show up through to the Dooku fight so that we more or less stay with Anakin/Kenobi/Padme through most of it, keeping the focus a little tighter.
• Lots of cuts to the Dooku duel, especially when he fights Anakin. It’s a lot shorter, but also a lot more intense, and Dooku comes off as a more serious threat.
• Yoda no longer shows up at the end of this sequence. I had to mask him out of a couple of shots when Padme arrives.
• After that it’s basically the same, except for removing 3PO and R2 from the wedding scene.