After watching the film again, a couple times actually, I have decided this: The Rey interrogation scene I am keeping, but both Kylo rage scenes are most definitely being removed.
If you want to keep Kylo’s face as a reveal, you could re-work the scene so that the same dialogue occurs but he doesn’t take off his mask
That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I really want to keep his face as a big reveal of Han, so I’m not sure how I’m going to do it. I may not be able to, but we’ll see. I am excited though to start my other edits.
~The original trilogy is my life… kind of~
Welp, time for me to buy a copy of the movie from Amazon so I can get started.
Going back to my decision to replace all the music in the film, I thought I’d accompany this piece from a Quentin Tarantino interview about my decision.
https://youtu.be/vXGUEjYCybA?t=6m25s
It skips to the part of the interview I’m talking about.
Music is supposed to drive the film and really build a connection with the scene it accompanies. With The Force Awakens, I think this is universally agreed on, while the soundtrack itself isn’t bad, or even it’s pretty good, it’s use in the film is awful. It’s hardly audible. It’s not present in the movie at all. There isn’t one scene in the film where the music really helps it. It’s a bland movie because of it’s mis-use of it’s otherwise pretty good score. That’s why I want to go forth with making my own sound mix. I could just upscale the sound of the already existing score, but the way the score is being used already doesn’t work. The music just doesn’t fit with what happens in the movie. The goal here in my edit, which I am hoping a lot of people enjoy, which is why I’m sharing the project, is the newly added music is to really help drive tense action sequences or serious dramatic moments.
~The original trilogy is my life… kind of~
That_OT_Ruler said:
It’s hardly audible. There isn’t one scene in the film where the music really helps it.
The music just doesn’t fit with what happens in the movie.
What about the scene where the Jakku Village is attacked? What about when Rey is going down that sand hill and her theme plays for the first time? What about the scene where she is abducted by Kylo Ren? Lastly, what about the Han death scene?
Though I agree with you in general there are exceptions.
Welp, time for me to buy a copy of the movie from Amazon so I can get started.
Going back to my decision to replace all the music in the film, I thought I’d accompany this piece from a Quentin Tarantino interview about my decision.
https://youtu.be/vXGUEjYCybA?t=6m25s
It skips to the part of the interview I’m talking about.Music is supposed to drive the film and really build a connection with the scene it accompanies. With The Force Awakens, I think this is universally agreed on, while the soundtrack itself isn’t bad, or even it’s pretty good, it’s use in the film is awful. It’s hardly audible.
You might want to hold off on that decision until you get the blu-ray. the mix in many theatres was horrendous. But the Blu-Ray has a much better mix, with the music clearly audible ( as it was on a couple of showings in a different theatre i went to see it at)
I wonder if the music from ANH used when Rey wields Anakin’s lightsaber has been remixed. I saw the movie in its original version (but same issue with the dubbed version) in theater and this piece of music sounded weird, like it had been over-mixed. Would be a very welcome correction.
Having just watched the film on blu-ray, I must say I really am very happy with it the way it is. One of my few complaints is about the score. And by that I just mean I think it should be much louder at times. Unlike a lot of people here, I think the score itself is fantastic.
One thing that did catch my eye, though, is the line in the crawl: “With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE.” Is that really the case? The relationship between the two was admittedly ambiguous in this film. And that’s something I’m less critical about after considering that the state of the senate is similarly mostly glossed over in the first Star Wars film.
However, the deleted scenes and novelization and various other canon sources were painting a picture of the Resistance operating below the Republic’s radar. And in fact, the Republic was well on its way toward corruption to the point that Leia considered it too dangerous to visit the senate in person. So I had to re-read that crawl line twice to make sure it didn’t say “Without the support of the REPUBLIC,”. What gives? Were they just trying to simplify things?
towne32 said:
One thing that did catch my eye, though, is the line in the crawl: “With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE.” Is that really the case? The relationship between the two was admittedly ambiguous in this film. And that’s something I’m less critical about after considering that the state of the senate is similarly mostly glossed over in the first Star Wars film.
Today is the end of the Republic!
The end of a regime that acquiesces
to disorder! At this very moment,
in a system far from here the New
Republic LIES to the GALAXY while
secretly supporting the treachery of
the loathsome Resistance. This fierce
machine which you have built, upon
which we stand, will bring an end to
the Senate! To their cherished fleet!
All remaining systems will bow to
the First Order! And will remember
this… as the last day of the
Republic! - General Hux
I think this tells all about the relationship.
Yes, that’s a great point. Though I wasn’t necessarily talking about whether or not the support was public knowledge as much as the fact that the Republic has been painted to be on its way towards corruption and seemingly refusing to listen to Leia. Most likely, the Resistance has the support of some powerful members of the senate, but not the Senate/Republic as a whole.
I think this is probably why some people were confused about what exactly the role of the Resistance was. It seems pretty reasonable to assume at first that they are an official special ops type group based on the crawl and lack of other information (until Hux’s line).
Welp, since I have no life, I spent all day working on sections of my edit. I will be making a separate topic page for it soon. Got my copy in the mail finally. Spent literally all day converting the files over to m2ts and getting all the audio channels from the 7.1 mix. Unfortunately, for my edit in particular, it’s going to be hard to replace all the music, as I’m going to have to go in manually and edit the dialogue and sound effects, as the music is present in pretty much every channel. You’d think by 2016, the music would be part of its own channel. God, that’s annoying. The sounds in the Blu-ray mix is definitely an improvement. The sound effects of the lasers and ships flying are fantastic, but the music still doesn’t sound that great. But way better than when I saw it in the theater.
So, because I have no life, I managed to quickly pull up these two preview clips, showing off the types of changes I will be making throughout. It also showcases the yellow color correction I was talking about a few days ago.
THESE ARE VERY VERY VERY EARLY TEST CLIPS. THE AUDIO IS NOT NEAR FINISHED.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42wipg
X-Wing Assault on Starkiller Base - The Phantom Menace Music
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42x58s
Battle at Maz’s Castle - The Empire Strikes Back Music
All suggestions and comments are appreciated. Thank you, and enjoy!
~The original trilogy is my life… kind of~
That_OT_Ruler said:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42wipg
X-Wing Assault on Starkiller Base - The Phantom Menace Music
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42x58s
Battle at Maz’s Castle - The Empire Strikes Back Music
Music doesn’t work as well in this scene though and I still don’t like the idea of making Finn absolutely pitiful at using a lightsaber when he already sucked at it in the first place. If I know I couldn’t swing the thing I would not use it against a Dark Side Warrior at a later time. Especially when I can grab a blaster.
Also as soon as you do the music for the opening scene, the scene in the Forest where Kylo Ren captures Rey, and Han’s death post them because those scenes are where the original soundtrack was at it’s strongest in my opinion. And I know this edit doesn’t exactly seem like my cup of tea seeing as how I liked TFA but I’m kind of looking forward to seeing your take on it.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42wipg
X-Wing Assault on Starkiller Base - The Phantom Menace Musichttp://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42x58s
Battle at Maz’s Castle - The Empire Strikes Back Music
It’s already an improvement over the original material. I wasn’t sure about the music but it works well. If you cut most of Finn weird scenes ("I don’t want to kill" and then "LASERSABER KILLING !!!") and all of Kylo Ren going Donald Duck (and all of Snoke incredibly stupid scenes), you could achieve with Ep VII what Hal and others have achieved with the PT: making highly flawed movies watchable and, why not, good enough.
I still would advise against cutting all of Kylo Ren’s rage scenes just like I would advise cutting all of the dialogue in which Luke whines in STAR WARS and ESB. It would hurt the arc of the characters assuming of course Kylo matures throughout the trilogy like Luke it.
But Luke is not the representative of an interstellar threat. He’s not in charge of an army. Kylo Ren is. Both characters are so different you can’t compare.
But Luke is not the representative of an interstellar threat. He’s not in charge of an army. Kylo Ren is. Both characters are so different you can’t compare.
We can if we let go of this double standard we have on heroes and villains having to be on completely different wave lengths. Also we also need to acknowledge what type of villain Kylo Ren is in TFA so that when he evolves in the later films we can relish the change in his temperament.
“Long before we had this title, the idea of The Force Awakens was that this would become the evolution of not just a hero, but a villain,” Abrams said. “And not a villain who was the finished, ready-made villain, but someone who was in process.”- JJ Abrams
But does it mean the unfinished vilain is to be an idiot ? If JJ wanted to show Ren as an idiot, he succeeded I guess. I just think the whole idea to be… well… stupid. And why would Snoke choose leaders that are so incompetent ? Tarkin and Vader were assholes but efficient and competent assholes. They ultimately fail because of unpredictable bad luck (a gifted pilot out of nowhere - a simple farmer when the movie begins - who got help by an old wise man - presumed dead when the story begins - and by a smuggler who decided to take side for the first time of his life: what are the odds ?). Ren and Hux fail because they are incompetent and are surrounded by incompetent people (Captain Phasma…). No one takes them seriously. Snoke seems as bright as Kim Jong II in Team America.
But does it mean the unfinished vilain is to be an idiot ?
How does him getting mad make him an idiot? Immature yes but idiotic? No. The Dark Side feeds on passionate emotions like anger, hatred and fear and since Kylo hasn’t completed his training yet he hasn’t mastered the subtleties of keeping his anger in check so it can be used as a time that would benefit him the most.
And why would Snoke choose leaders that are so incompetent ? Tarkin and Vader were assholes but efficient and competent assholes. They ultimately fail because of unpredictable bad luck (a gifted pilot out of nowhere - a simple farmer when the movie begins - who got help by an old wise man - presumed dead when the story begins - and by a smuggler who decided to take side for the first time of his life: what are the odds ?).
Technically had Vader gotten the information on where the Rebel Base earlier in the film Yavin IV would have been destroyed. At least Kylo was successful in one of his mind probing scenes. As it pertains to Hux he did fail at getting the droid but it was his idea that the Hosnian System would be destroyed and not Snoke’s. And unlike Tarkin, General Hux had the smarts to get out of dodge before Starkiller blew up. Also shouldn’t have Vader sensed Han and Chewie coming?
That OT Ruler
Your work so far is done with perfection, audio wise. With that in mind I absolutely love your first clip with TPM music. I thought it fit perfectly! The second one was again executed to perfection it’s just I still prefer the scene left untouched. You have made me have a change of heart about your edit idea of rescoring the movie and I want you to know I am extremely excited!!
Wow, thank you all so much for your kind words! I may make the fight with the TR-8R trooper a little longer, but I still want Finn to suck at using the lightsaber. (For me, it’s kind of like Yoda using a lightsaber. He should’t have been using one in the first place) . If you liked this, you’ll enjoy my immolation scene music and a few other edits.
Also, in another thread, I read an idea for an edit where the destruction of the Republic planets would take place at the end of the movie, right when Han dies. After looking at the film again, that actually wouldn’t be too hard to do. The only downside is, you’d probably have to cut out Hux’s speech.
~The original trilogy is my life… kind of~
I’m going to sound like a dumbass, but how do you imbed images on here? How do you post pictures?
~The original trilogy is my life… kind of~
I didn’t have a problem with the music in TFA but I gotta say that clip with TPM music was pretty badass.
I may make the fight with the TR-8R trooper a little longer, but I still want Finn to suck at using the lightsaber.
Think about it…what did Finn really do to the TR-8R trooper? Not much. He didn’t do much to Kylo either (with the exception of the lucky hit) and he could have been defeated within 8 seconds.
For me, it’s kind of like Yoda using a lightsaber. He should’t have been using one in the first place
Not unless they have to which is the case here or if they get actual training. I think it would be interesting for a sword master who’s not Force Sensitive to combat a trained Force Wielder. Could add another layer to Star Wars.
Also, in another thread, I read an idea for an edit where the destruction of the Republic planets would take place at the end of the movie, right when Han dies. After looking at the film again, that actually wouldn’t be too hard to do. The only downside is, you’d probably have to cut out Hux’s speech.
Sacrifices must be made sometimes but it sucks because Hux’s speech was a standout moment for me.
I’m going to sound like a dumbass, but how do you imbed images on here? How do you post pictures?
I really have very small interest in TFA fan edits because I know they’ll mostly just cut out stuff I love, but there are some small quibblies that I’ll probably have to sort out for myself at some point.
For instance, and it’s strange no one’s mentioned this, but the Kylo speaks to Vader scene doesn’t really work. I mean, as a scene, by itself, it totally works. But it’s placement within the film just seems… random? It’s right in the middle of the sequence of the heroes at Maz’s castle, but it’s only about a minute long and doesn’t really have anything to do with that. So just a very short and unrelated detour, which sort of ruins the power of the scene a bit.
So I see two options to fix.
A) Make the scene more relevant to Kylo’s storyline. Solution: move the scene right after Snoke’s “We shall see.”
or B) Make the scene more relevant to the heroes storyline. Solution: move the scene right after Han and Leia talk about Kylo.
Very cool idea!!
So this is my attempt at re writing the crawl to better explain the political situation of the film. It’s a bit rough, but I just wanted to get people’s thoughts on it.
EPISODE VII
THE FORCE AWAKENS
Following the Battle of Endor, the Empire has collapsed, and the Sinister FIRST ORDER, inspired by the principles of the Empire, will stop at nothing to seize power from the newly formed NEW REPUBLIC, who refuses to take the threat they pose seriously.
Taking matters into her own hands, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE. She is desperate to find her brother Luke, who went missing many years ago, and gain his help in defeating this newly risen enemy.
Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where an old ally has discovered a clue to Luke’s whereabouts…
Decent crawl but it doesn’t mention that the New Republic is secretly supporting The Resistance.