Spence's PT Edits Round 3 (V2 of AOTC Released) — Page 5

NotTheDri0ds said:

SpenceEdit said:

Here’s an extended clip from TPM. This features some 3PO removal, masking, music replacement, moving shots around, cropping and panning, etc. Pretty much every trick up my sleeve.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F89lT9WHKJ7EcEYZyW3sVW2iCcHF6Egk/view?usp=drive_link

The 3PO removal is pretty well done!

I personally would remove the jar jar antics though. At least heavily cutting it down to him getting his tongue numb. Him getting his hand stuck feels like the bit sorta dragging on far too long, with no real payoff.

So Jar-Jar is a spot where my edit is going to be a bit different than a lot of other ones. I’m keeping more of him.

I have two reasons for this.

1. He’s the comic relief in a movie that’s very stagey, stuffy, and serious otherwise. So he does have a plot function, but more importantly he has a pacing function. It was just overused in the original and a lot of it wasn’t as funny as it needed to be.

2. Him being clumsy, which he was banished for, and then helping save the day by being clumsy and rejoining the Gungans is a good character arc. So we need to see him be a mess throughout the film so his clumsiness can pay off in the battle.

I personally feel like a lot of edits over cut Jar-Jar and the Gungans. My goal is to keep enough of both of them that they have a real presence in the story and an arc, without going over the top.

Are you gonna leave TPM crawling credits the same as well? If so, might be a good ideia to at least fix the “sent two jedi knights” error (Obi-Wan was still a padawan and is only made a knight by the end of the movie).

PsyGemini said:

Are you gonna leave TPM crawling credits the same as well? If so, might be a good ideia to at least fix the “sent two jedi knights” error (Obi-Wan was still a padawan and is only made a knight by the end of the movie).

I don’t plan on making any changes to the crawls.

I actually added some stuff back into AOTC. I realized, through some of the feedback that I received, that the middle section of the movie where it bounces between Anakin and Obi-Wan was a little too choppy. I kept the same structure I had, but let a few of the scene play out a little longer. I also added back in some more of the deleted scenes, like the extended walk to the palace between Anakin and Padme and Padme’s nieces greeting them outside her family home. I think the love story is working as I wanted it to, but a little more time with the two of them helps a lot, even if it’s not “important to the plot”.

This is actually pretty common to the process for me, I tend to overcorrect at first, then realize why things were there in the first place when watching the whole thing put together.

So Jar-Jar is a spot where my edit is going to be a bit different than a lot of other ones. I’m keeping more of him.

I have two reasons for this.

1. He’s the comic relief in a movie that’s very stagey, stuffy, and serious otherwise. So he does have a plot function, but more importantly he has a pacing function. It was just overused in the original and a lot of it wasn’t as funny as it needed to be.

2. Him being clumsy, which he was banished for, and then helping save the day by being clumsy and rejoining the Gungans is a good character arc. So we need to see him be a mess throughout the film so his clumsiness can pay off in the battle.

I personally feel like a lot of edits over cut Jar-Jar and the Gungans. My goal is to keep enough of both of them that they have a real presence in the story and an arc, without going over the top.

That’s a fair look at things. I do agree some edits overcut on him, to the point where it’s a wonder why keep him at all.

I just always felt that one gag drags on far too long as “Anakin warns him not to touch the beam > He goes to pick up a tool, getting his tongue caught > Oh no, the pod’s gonna start up soon but his hand is caught > Padme helps him out, being the only person not blind/deaf enough to somehow not notice him through the entire conundrum”

Hence my suggestion to try cutting it down to “Anakin warms him not to touch the beam, or else his hand would be numb > Oh no, his tongue got caught instead! How hilarious”, or even stopping the gag as he walks away with his hand stuck, since the audience could assume he eventually unstuck it offscreen, instead of Qui-Gon and Anakin just not caring about possibly maiming him.

NotTheDri0ds said:

That’s a fair look at things. I do agree some edits overcut on him, to the point where it’s a wonder why keep him at all.

I just always felt that one gag drags on far too long as “Anakin warns him not to touch the beam > He goes to pick up a tool, getting his tongue caught > Oh no, the pod’s gonna start up soon but his hand is caught > Padme helps him out, being the only person not blind/deaf enough to somehow not notice him through the entire conundrum”

Hence my suggestion to try cutting it down to “Anakin warms him not to touch the beam, or else his hand would be numb > Oh no, his tongue got caught instead! How hilarious”, or even stopping the gag as he walks away with his hand stuck, since the audience could assume he eventually unstuck it offscreen, instead of Qui-Gon and Anakin just not caring about possibly maiming him.

I honestly agree with you, but on the other hand, I actually find this sequence quite funny. I like it enough to keep it despite your good points.

That’s fair enough reason, lol

NotTheDri0ds said:

That’s fair enough reason, lol

Yeah that’s what I’m kind of enjoying about doing these again from scratch. I don’t have as major influence from other edits, so I can pick and choose the stuff I personally want to keep. Some stuff some people might not like, but also it’ll be interesting to see how it works as a whole.

I’d say TPM is just about ready for a workprint preview, if anyone is up for it.

Sure, I’d love to check it out!

Any updates? I can’t wait to see your versions of 1 and 2 especially.

Hey! So I took a little time off editing due to work, and then I wanted to finish my third SEE edit which was 90% done. Now that’s out of the way I’m focusing back on these.

Episode 1 is nearly complete and I’m putting the finishing touches on it, then it’s on to finishing touches for 2. I am still pretty early in 3. I think I’m going to release them as they’re ready, so Episode 1 should be released in the next month or two. I’d like to have them all out by the end of the year.

I’m feeling very confident in my Phantom Menace edit and will likely be releasing it later this month, after some more tweaks and testing. I don’t usually keep a detailed cutlist, but since there are so many TPM edits out there, I figured I should do one for this so you know what the differences are.

Overall:
Did a color correction on the movie to make it look a little more like a 70’s film stock without overdoing it.
Added further film grain to make it feel more in line with 70’s movies/4K77.
Many instances of sound effects and music have been completely reworked, especially the podrace introduction, which had it’s entire soundscape rebuilt for parts of it.

• Added disclaimer and “Spence Fanedits” title card
• Opening crawl is unchanged.
• Removed “as you know, our blockade is perfectly legal”
• Removed “what?! What did you say?”
• Cut a few seconds of Qui-Gon receiving his tea.
• Cut from “kill them immediately” to the ambassador ship being destroyed.
• Cut droid dialogue when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are cornered in the meeting room.
• Cut “have you ever encountered a Jedi knight, sir?” “well, no”
• Cut “they’re no match for droidekas”
• Removed some awkward dialogue between Padme and Nute.
• Cut from “can mean only one thing, invasion” straight to the army landing.
• Cut Jar-Jar’s interaction to make it seem that Qui-Gon is deliberately tackling him to the ground to save him.
• Cut “muy muy, I love you!”
• Cut “exsqueeze me”
• Cut “yousa follow me now, okey day”
• Cut Tarpals’ “yousa in big doodoo this time”
• Cut the majority of Nass’ ticks except for the last one.
• Cut “symbiote circle” line.
• Cut the dramatic delivery of “the planet cooooore”
• Jar Jar now just says “A little help here would be hot”
• Cut Jar Jar’s dialogue after being freed.
• Removed the majority of the Bongo sequence, keeping a little bit of the traveling and Jar-Jar explaining he was banished because he’s clumsy,
• Cut some Rick Ollie Captain Obvious-isms when they flee the planet.
• Cut “now there are two of them” after Maul is introduced (generally most of these cowardly moments that end Trade Federation/Sidious scenes are removed.
• Cut Jar Jar stepping in poop.
• Cut most of Jar Jar’s antics in Watto’s shop, with the exception of turning off the pit droid.
• Cut Jar Jar juggling a bunch of junk as Qui-Gon enters. This was tricky.
• Cut Jar Jar being confused which direction to turn as they exit the shop
• Cut Anakin’s “yippee”
• Cut a few seconds of Jar-Jar getting up after being attacked by Sebulba.
• Cut all scenes involving C-3PO from the film.
• Kept the Jar-Jar tongue joke, but removed his reaction after Qui-Gon lets him go.
• Removed any midichlorian discussion.
• Removed Anakin’s crappy friends being crappy to him. Kittster is the only one still hanging out.
• Removed the end of Qui-Gon and Watto’s bet, before Watto talks to Anakin. It goes straight from there to the podrace arena.
• Lots of cuts throughout the podrace.
  • Lots of the pilot introductions are cut
  • The parade is cut
  • The piece Sebulba breaks off of Anakin’s podracer is no longer visible in the next scene.
  • Cut the other pod that stalls out.
  • Cut anything that makes the scene not feel fast and dangerous.
  • Lots of tiny cuts throughout to spike the pacing.
• Cut Obi-Wan saying “pathetic lifeform” he now just says “another lifeform”
• Added the deleted scene of Anakin fighting Greedo, but cut where Greedo was called by name.
• Cut another Anakin “yippee” in his house.
• Moved the scene of the probe droid searching Mos Espa to right after Anakin leaves home, and added the probe droid deleted scene right after it.
• Cut Anakin saying he’s “tired”
• Removed Jar Jar saying Padme is hot.
• Trimmed the beginning of Padme and Palpatine’s meeting on Coruscant.
• Trimmed some dialogue from the Jedi council scene for better pacing.
• Anakin’s test now begins with Yoda asking him how he feels, removing the silly view screen guessing game at the beginning.
• There’s no more dialogue after Padme says “prepare my ship!” For a stronger exit from the scene.
• Mention of Maul joining Nute on Tattooine is removed and he is cut from all scenes until the duel. The idea is to let the audience forget about him until he makes a dramatic return.
• The scene with Ollie showing Anakin the ship controls is moved to right after they leave Coruscant, and a lightspeed effect is added to the ship windows so it matches the rest of the sequence.
• Some more Boss Nass ticks removed during the forest scene.
• Removed the scout and Anakin seeing the soldiers coming.
• Trimmed the dialogue in the planning scene to keep it moving faster and remove some questionable acting from Padme.
• Some sequences in the third act are re-ordered to stay with certain events a bit longer. I also used the famous L8wrtr structure where Anakin saves the day by blowing up the ship, which allows Padme to capture the Viceroy.
• Extended a piece of the fighter cockpit to cover Anakin’s face where I cut some dialogue.
• Trims to Jar Jar to make him more heroic, in his own clumsy way. Both he and Anakin do not do anything by accident throughout. They are purposefully heroic.
• A lot of Anakin’s reactions, like “uh oh” or “this is not good” are removed.
• Sped up the grappling hook sequence and had them enter the hallway from the window a bit faster.
• Jar Jar no longer accidentally frees all of the big bombs from the carriage, this is something he does on purpose. He just doesn’t think about the fact that they’re going to roll at him too.
• Removed sequence where Jar Jar lands on top of a tank and juggles a bomb. He is now immediately captured after the mount he’s on is hit by a canon.
• The movie after Maul’s death is more or less unchanged.

Hal 9000 said:

A new Phantom Menace fan edit in 2023! I feel like I am going insane. (But once I release the final update to my own later this year, hopefully, I can recover and kiss the ground.)

SpenceEdit said:

• Some sequences in the third act are re-ordered to stay with certain events a bit longer. I also used the famous L8wrtr structure where Anakin saves the day by blowing up the ship, which allows Padme to capture the Viceroy.

Fixed that for you. 😉

Fixed!

Yeah I know it’s overkill, and there’s so many great edits of it that already exist. I just feel like I’ve gotta do my versions.

So my plan changed again. I got on a roll working on ROTS and it’s nearing completion, so I’m just going to release all of these at the same time, which will be by October at the latest.

Part of the reason I want to wait that long is I’m using some footage from Mando and the Obi-Wan show to expand on Order 66 (very sparingly, mostly in the Jedi Temple), and there could possibly be some usable footage in Ahsoka. Plus there’s rumors we’re going to see some Anakin flashbacks that could be usable.

I wanted to mention that I’m using this footage to strengthen what I view to be weak points of the film. I’m aware that they don’t 100% match in style to what Lucas did on the prequels, but I don’t particularly mind that. If they’re scenes that, had they existed when those movies were made, would’ve been used at the time, I think it’s worth using them.

HAL 9000’s edit has the best ending for Revenge of the Sith. It’s worth using his ending for your edit.

CourtlyHades296 said:

HAL 9000’s edit has the best ending for Revenge of the Sith. It’s worth using his ending for your edit.

I love his edits, but I have a different plan.

In mine, we aren’t going to see Vader again once the helmet goes on.

G&G-Fan said:

That’s a shame. The “nooooo” scene is cheesy but the scene where he walks on the Star Destroyer next to Palpatine is my favorite scene in the whole film.

Honestly, for ROTS the differences between my version and HAL’s aren’t huge and it would still fit with my episode 1 and 2 edits.

The changes in 1 and 2 are much bigger and different. ROTS is a pretty functional movie with some trimming and the deleted scenes added back in.

SpenceEdit said:

G&G-Fan said:

That’s a shame. The “nooooo” scene is cheesy but the scene where he walks on the Star Destroyer next to Palpatine is my favorite scene in the whole film.

Honestly, for ROTS the differences between my version and HAL’s aren’t huge and it would still fit with my episode 1 and 2 edits.

The changes in 1 and 2 are much bigger and different. ROTS is a pretty functional movie with some trimming and the deleted scenes added back in.

Does this mean the shot of Padme holding Leia on Alderaan is in this edit?

CourtlyHades296 said:

SpenceEdit said:

G&G-Fan said:

That’s a shame. The “nooooo” scene is cheesy but the scene where he walks on the Star Destroyer next to Palpatine is my favorite scene in the whole film.

Honestly, for ROTS the differences between my version and HAL’s aren’t huge and it would still fit with my episode 1 and 2 edits.

The changes in 1 and 2 are much bigger and different. ROTS is a pretty functional movie with some trimming and the deleted scenes added back in.

Does this mean the shot of Padme holding Leia on Alderaan is in this edit?

No.

Here’s an extremely rough preview of some things I’m playing with for the Order 66 scene. I have done barely any audio editing on this so far.

• Everything plays as normal till the speederbike crash.
• Yoda sequence moved to after the Jedi Temple but before Bail Organa arriving.
• Padme overlooking the flaming temple moved to here. C-3PO removed from the shot.
• Used footage from Obi-Wan Kenobi, Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian to add more carnage inside the temple.
• Scene of Anakin explicitly murdering Younglings removed.
• Shot of Anakin looking at the Younglings moved to the end of the sequence to imply he’s looking over what’s happening.

https://streamable.com/23tgc1