I am so glad you took your time with this edit, since it seemed to be so complex from the start.
I’ve been enjoying your work since the first Mandalorian edit and can’t wait to watch Ahsoka as well, once you find the time to send me a link!
Best regards!
I’ve just watched this, and congratulations you’ve improved it no end!
I’ve got lots of positive things I could say but I feel at this stage you’re still looking for feedback to hone and improve it. You could leave it as it is and the series would have benefitted greatly from your edit but I did spot some small things that could make it even better (in my humble opinion).
There were two minor technical glitches. One, when the Lucasfilm logo fades out at the start, it left artifacts on the screen. The second was when Sabine points her gun at the rock critter and says “that tricks over” there is a momentary glitch.
There are several more subjective ways I feel the edit could be improved, and please feel free to ignore these if you disagree. Firstly, my suggestion would be to remove the ‘traffic cop’ sequence, when the two spaceships accost Sabine on the highway. It slows things down, its extraneous to the plot, and it mentions “missing the ceremony” - a ceremony which has already been cut from this edit. But most importantly it rings the bulls**t detector, as the ship pulls away from the pursuit for no reason literally within just a mile from Sabines pad. If they genuinely wanted to confront Sabine and escort her to the city they could have flown just one mile further to her destination and done so. It’s a lame moment and could very easily be removed (you can still have Sabine bombing it down the highway listening to her rebellious rawk muzak, just cut to her arriving home before the cops show up).
“Do it!.. for Ezra” my suggestion would be to keep that line in, spoken by Baylan to Sabine. It’s a cool callback to Palpatine and Anakin in Revenge Of The Sith (which foreshadows Anakins reappearance in the flashback). You also hear it whispered again later when Ahsoka investigates the scene so it really needs to be there.
Later when the troopers surround Sabine and Ezra on Peridea, maybe cut Shin ordering “fire!” as again its a lame unrealistic moment with too much time left hanging in the air before the order and any action being taken. Feels too contrived, you can improve this.
My final suggestion would be to keep Sabine’s force push to help Ezra make his big leap. Seeing as you’ve kept in her failed attempts to move the mug, this is important to close and complete her arc. She does have the force but her ability to use it has to mean something to her, to help someone she loves. That’s Sabine’s arc and again imho needs to be there.
I hope these don’t come across as negative criticisms - because they are intended as constructive feedback. You’ve done a fantastic job with making Ahsoka into a movie length format, and a massive well done and thank you are in order!
Absolutely. Feedback and discussion is what I’m looking for.
Regarding the technical glitches. I’ve gone back to my FCP project, looked at the original rendered file and the downloaded gdrive file and can’t see the glitch with the Lucasfilm logo. It fades to black as far as I can see.
The “rock critter” glitch I’ve found and fixed. That was well spotted! It was a single frame the needed taking out.
The Sabine speeder sequence is a tricky one. Cutting it was already suggested in this thread, but the bottom line is that I love that sequence (I don’t know why). As far as the opening of the movie is concerned we get an action sequence to introduce our villains, an action sequence to introduce Ahsoka and then an action sequence to introduce Sabine. It just feels well balanced given that Sabine and Ahsoka are essentially co-leads. It also lets us know a bit about her rebellious personality and provides the viewer with an insight into why her jedi training failed. We get told that she’s difficult in the Ahsoka/Hera scene, but I like to see, rather than be told. I tried the edit without that scene and it just seemed like an underwhelming introduction.
Regarding the ceremony reference. Even if I cut this scene the ceremony still gets mentioned by Azadi on the platform.
Good point about the “do it”. I’ve put that back in.
I’ve removed Shin’s “fire”. I played around with that scene for quite a while and removed Ezra’s “prisoners” chat. No idea why I didn’t remove the “fire” too… so much better without!
Sabine’s force push is another tricky one. I’m a bit more neutral on this one. The scene itself plays out much better with Sabine’s force push because it’s technically difficult to edit it out. If she had been force sensitive then I would have definitely left it in. However, she’s more “force attuned” so that level of force ability just seems too much for her. Her arc does get closed when she pulls the lightsaber to kill the night death trooper thing. I’m definitely open to putting it back in, I guess I’ll see if anyone else has got an opinion on it.
Thanks again for the detailed feedback. Its great to get it and your points were fantastic.
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
Could I please receive the link to your Ahsoka episode one movie edit?
Could I please receive the link to your Ahsoka episode one movie edit?
PM sent
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
For Sabine, it’s really all about how they treat he going forward. Like with Grogu, Disney wants to close arcs too quickly.
Hi smudger. Would love to check it out.
Recommended Fan Saga Playlist:
Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Jeremy M West Anti-Cheese edit)
Episode II - Attack of the Clones (Jeremy M West Anti-Cheese edit)
Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Jeremy M West Anti-Cheese edit)
Episode III.III - The Coaxium Heist (Dig_modification Solo edit)
Episode III.IV - Obi-Wan Kenobi (The Kai Patterson cut)
Episode III.V - Rise of the Rebellion (Dig_modification Rogue One edit)
Episode IV - A New Hope (Buzz Lightyear sc38 edit)
Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Adywan Revisited edit)
Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (Harmy’s Despecialized edit)
Episode VI.I - A Vergence in the Force (Smudger9 Mando edit)
Episode VI.II - Search for the Jedi (Smudger9 Mando edit)
Episode VI.III - A New Way (Smudger9 The Book of Boba Fett edit)
Episode VI.IV - Return to Mandalore (Smudger9 Mando edit)
Episode VII - Heir to the Force (Wakeupkeo Anti-TLJ edit)
I just finished watching this edit. I evaluate Star Wars fanedits less in terms of preserving canon and more in terms of simply telling a good story, so I submit my comments with that in mind.
I will start by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series. I thought the first three episodes were mediocre, the next three were pretty strong overall, and that the last two were frankly pretty bad. Through no fault of the faneditor, whose efforts are certainly impressive, this same pattern has translated into the structure of this fanedit.
As per the speeder scene that has already been discussed, I think some of the dialogue between the two pilots and Sabine is a bit too “made for TV”, but otherwise I think the speeder scene is necessary because it’s a good re-introduction to Sabine as a character.
As alluded to earlier, most of my issues come in the third act, largely covering episodes 7 and 8. I have two problems broadly, and then a handful of more specific problems.
First, I think the flow of the third act is just too slow and relaxed. We’re at the part of the movie where we should be building up to the climax, and that sense of tension just isn’t there. This is not helped by the fact that Ahsoka acts as if she’s consumed a bunch of edibles and is so zen now that nothing could possibly faze her. I feel that cutting at least some of the more egregious “I’m too high to care” moments might help retain some of the tension. Ahsoka’s only the worst offender. Sabine and Ezra come across as pretty lackadaisical themselves.
Second, I think the other problem is simply that too much dumb nonsense ends up in the third act. Any sense of tension is again obliterated when the viewer is rolling their eyes at the utter stupidity of what they’re witnessing. The zombie horror element of the undead Night Troopers reanimating, making silly noises, and then being effortlessly defeated again is the worst example, imo, but not the only one.
Despite all the trims, the length of this fanedit is still strongly felt. It loses all of its steam in the third act, and while this is the fault of the series itself and not of the faneditor, I still felt obliged to say something. Smudger is something of a miracle worker in my view, so perhaps something can still be done even though I don’t have much in the way of proposed solutions, having not played around with the source material myself.
As for specific problems, I’ve always hated when Shin force pushes Ezra during their confrontation. She pushes him so hard that it looks like it should’ve killed him, yet he’s completely fine only a moment later. It also makes him like a bit of a doofus.
Lastly, I’ll echo what someone else has said about Sabine’s force push of Ezra. It pains me to say it, because I absolutely think Sabine’s force powers are unearned, but something definitely feels like it’s missing with the way its cut, to the extent that someone unfamiliar with the series is going to be confused. With a heavy heart, I say that Sabine’s force push should probably be reinserted.
On the positive side, I would say the first two thirds are nearly perfect (or as good as they can be given the source material), and I especially like the even-handed approach to trimming the Hera subplot.
I just finished watching this edit. I evaluate Star Wars fanedits less in terms of preserving canon and more in terms of simply telling a good story, so I submit my comments with that in mind.
I will start by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series. I thought the first three episodes were mediocre, the next three were pretty strong overall, and that the last two were frankly pretty bad. Through no fault of the faneditor, whose efforts are certainly impressive, this same pattern has translated into the structure of this fanedit.
As per the speeder scene that has already been discussed, I think some of the dialogue between the two pilots and Sabine is a bit too “made for TV”, but otherwise I think the speeder scene is necessary because it’s a good re-introduction to Sabine as a character.
As alluded to earlier, most of my issues come in the third act, largely covering episodes 7 and 8. I have two problems broadly, and then a handful of more specific problems.
First, I think the flow of the third act is just too slow and relaxed. We’re at the part of the movie where we should be building up to the climax, and that sense of tension just isn’t there. This is not helped by the fact that Ahsoka acts as if she’s consumed a bunch of edibles and is so zen now that nothing could possibly faze her. I feel that cutting at least some of the more egregious “I’m too high to care” moments might help retain some of the tension. Ahsoka’s only the worst offender. Sabine and Ezra come across as pretty lackadaisical themselves.
Second, I think the other problem is simply that too much dumb nonsense ends up in the third act. Any sense of tension is again obliterated when the viewer is rolling their eyes at the utter stupidity of what they’re witnessing. The zombie horror element of the undead Night Troopers reanimating, making silly noises, and then being effortlessly defeated again is the worst example, imo, but not the only one.
Despite all the trims, the length of this fanedit is still strongly felt. It loses all of its steam in the third act, and while this is the fault of the series itself and not of the faneditor, I still felt obliged to say something. Smudger is something of a miracle worker in my view, so perhaps something can still be done even though I don’t have much in the way of proposed solutions, having not played around with the source material myself.
As for specific problems, I’ve always hated when Shin force pushes Ezra during their confrontation. She pushes him so hard that it looks like it should’ve killed him, yet he’s completely fine only a moment later. It also makes him like a bit of a doofus.
Lastly, I’ll echo what someone else has said about Sabine’s force push of Ezra. It pains me to say it, because I absolutely think Sabine’s force powers are unearned, but something definitely feels like it’s missing with the way its cut, to the extent that someone unfamiliar with the series is going to be confused. With a heavy heart, I say that Sabine’s force push should probably be reinserted.
On the positive side, I would say the first two thirds are nearly perfect (or as good as they can be given the source material), and I especially like the even-handed approach to trimming the Hera subplot.
Thanks Glogus, your thoughts are always appreciated. There isn’t really anything I can add to your points. As you say, the series was set up for an epic finale which it failed to deliver. I had exactly the same feelings as you when I was editing… how can I speed up the pace of this final act. I cut a lot out of episode seven, removed Thrawn’s tactical withdrawals, got rid of the TIE fighter attack. However, there just isn’t anything compelling left… you can’t polish a turd! A shame really because, in this edited form, 1 love acts 1 and 2. Someone with special effects ability and the willingness to physically shoot scenes, like PixelJoker, may be able to come up with something better!
I agree the length is slightly too long. Annoyingly if it wasn’t for the costume change I could have chopped 5 mins off the Seatos approach by getting rid of the space walk and maybe save a few minutes in the finale.
Re-inserting Sabine’s force push is 2/2, so I’ll pop that back in and run a version 2 along with the other changes discussed above.
Thanks again for the feedback.
I wonder what Skeleton Crew will give us!
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
For what it’s worth: I still had a good time watching this edit start to finish. Non-ideal pacing is something I expect from a single-movie edit of a TV show and honestly, it is kind of amazing that the first 4 movies were paced as well as they were…
And let’s see… If there is a season 2 of Ahsoka (or she turns up in Skeleton Crew), maybe there is another way to cut these.I can see the third act of this easily be the first act of another movie, depending on what’s coming of course…
I cannot wait to see what you will do with bad batch btw. 😃
Requesting a link to this, please!
I just finished watching this edit. I evaluate Star Wars fanedits less in terms of preserving canon and more in terms of simply telling a good story, so I submit my comments with that in mind.
I will start by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series. I thought the first three episodes were mediocre, the next three were pretty strong overall, and that the last two were frankly pretty bad. Through no fault of the faneditor, whose efforts are certainly impressive, this same pattern has translated into the structure of this fanedit.
As per the speeder scene that has already been discussed, I think some of the dialogue between the two pilots and Sabine is a bit too “made for TV”, but otherwise I think the speeder scene is necessary because it’s a good re-introduction to Sabine as a character.
As alluded to earlier, most of my issues come in the third act, largely covering episodes 7 and 8. I have two problems broadly, and then a handful of more specific problems.
First, I think the flow of the third act is just too slow and relaxed. We’re at the part of the movie where we should be building up to the climax, and that sense of tension just isn’t there. This is not helped by the fact that Ahsoka acts as if she’s consumed a bunch of edibles and is so zen now that nothing could possibly faze her. I feel that cutting at least some of the more egregious “I’m too high to care” moments might help retain some of the tension. Ahsoka’s only the worst offender. Sabine and Ezra come across as pretty lackadaisical themselves.
Second, I think the other problem is simply that too much dumb nonsense ends up in the third act. Any sense of tension is again obliterated when the viewer is rolling their eyes at the utter stupidity of what they’re witnessing. The zombie horror element of the undead Night Troopers reanimating, making silly noises, and then being effortlessly defeated again is the worst example, imo, but not the only one.
Despite all the trims, the length of this fanedit is still strongly felt. It loses all of its steam in the third act, and while this is the fault of the series itself and not of the faneditor, I still felt obliged to say something. Smudger is something of a miracle worker in my view, so perhaps something can still be done even though I don’t have much in the way of proposed solutions, having not played around with the source material myself.
As for specific problems, I’ve always hated when Shin force pushes Ezra during their confrontation. She pushes him so hard that it looks like it should’ve killed him, yet he’s completely fine only a moment later. It also makes him like a bit of a doofus.
Lastly, I’ll echo what someone else has said about Sabine’s force push of Ezra. It pains me to say it, because I absolutely think Sabine’s force powers are unearned, but something definitely feels like it’s missing with the way its cut, to the extent that someone unfamiliar with the series is going to be confused. With a heavy heart, I say that Sabine’s force push should probably be reinserted.
On the positive side, I would say the first two thirds are nearly perfect (or as good as they can be given the source material), and I especially like the even-handed approach to trimming the Hera subplot.
Thanks Glogus, your thoughts are always appreciated. There isn’t really anything I can add to your points. As you say, the series was set up for an epic finale which it failed to deliver. I had exactly the same feelings as you when I was editing… how can I speed up the pace of this final act. I cut a lot out of episode seven, removed Thrawn’s tactical withdrawals, got rid of the TIE fighter attack. However, there just isn’t anything compelling left… you can’t polish a turd! A shame really because, in this edited form, 1 love acts 1 and 2. Someone with special effects ability and the willingness to physically shoot scenes, like PixelJoker, may be able to come up with something better!
I agree the length is slightly too long. Annoyingly if it wasn’t for the costume change I could have chopped 5 mins off the Seatos approach by getting rid of the space walk and maybe save a few minutes in the finale.
Re-inserting Sabine’s force push is 2/2, so I’ll pop that back in and run a version 2 along with the other changes discussed above.
Thanks again for the feedback.
I wonder what Skeleton Crew will give us!
Specifically, I do think some of Ahsoka’s overly zen-like reactions can be removed—Like when she reunites with Ezra and giggles like a schoolgirl (I don’t know why, but that just grates on me, lol). Again, she’s acting like she just OD’d on Ambien for the latter half of the series, and it detracts from what what should be rising tension leading to the climax.
I also believe something can be done with the over-the-top zombie troopers, even if it’s just to tone down the ridiculous sound effects.
You are right, however, that you succeeded in elevating the material significantly, and you have a killer Act 1 and 2. Your BoBF edit was nothing short of magic. You elevated that material to legit one of my favorite Star Wars films. I was, frankly speaking, astonished by the potential you brought out in it. But perhaps that potential just isn’t here with Ahsoka.
Your BoBF edit was nothing short of magic. You elevated that material to legit one of my favorite Star Wars films. I was, frankly speaking, astonished by the potential you brought out in it. But perhaps that potential just isn’t here with Ahsoka.
Hi Smudger, probably not the right thread to ask but would it be possible to get a link to your BOBF edit? Sounds really good…
Your BoBF edit was nothing short of magic. You elevated that material to legit one of my favorite Star Wars films. I was, frankly speaking, astonished by the potential you brought out in it. But perhaps that potential just isn’t here with Ahsoka.
Hi Smudger, probably not the right thread to ask but would it be possible to get a link to your BOBF edit? Sounds really good…
Sure thing. DM sent.
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
The 4K version is now uploaded. Its accessible in the same folder as the 1080 version. It’s 40GB, but in an mkv format compressed to 3GB.
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
Hello, does anyone have a link?
Hello, does anyone have a link?
Link sent
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
I just finished watching this edit. I evaluate Star Wars fanedits less in terms of preserving canon and more in terms of simply telling a good story, so I submit my comments with that in mind.
I will start by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series. I thought the first three episodes were mediocre, the next three were pretty strong overall, and that the last two were frankly pretty bad. Through no fault of the faneditor, whose efforts are certainly impressive, this same pattern has translated into the structure of this fanedit.
As per the speeder scene that has already been discussed, I think some of the dialogue between the two pilots and Sabine is a bit too “made for TV”, but otherwise I think the speeder scene is necessary because it’s a good re-introduction to Sabine as a character.
As alluded to earlier, most of my issues come in the third act, largely covering episodes 7 and 8. I have two problems broadly, and then a handful of more specific problems.
First, I think the flow of the third act is just too slow and relaxed. We’re at the part of the movie where we should be building up to the climax, and that sense of tension just isn’t there. This is not helped by the fact that Ahsoka acts as if she’s consumed a bunch of edibles and is so zen now that nothing could possibly faze her. I feel that cutting at least some of the more egregious “I’m too high to care” moments might help retain some of the tension. Ahsoka’s only the worst offender. Sabine and Ezra come across as pretty lackadaisical themselves.
Second, I think the other problem is simply that too much dumb nonsense ends up in the third act. Any sense of tension is again obliterated when the viewer is rolling their eyes at the utter stupidity of what they’re witnessing. The zombie horror element of the undead Night Troopers reanimating, making silly noises, and then being effortlessly defeated again is the worst example, imo, but not the only one.
Despite all the trims, the length of this fanedit is still strongly felt. It loses all of its steam in the third act, and while this is the fault of the series itself and not of the faneditor, I still felt obliged to say something. Smudger is something of a miracle worker in my view, so perhaps something can still be done even though I don’t have much in the way of proposed solutions, having not played around with the source material myself.
As for specific problems, I’ve always hated when Shin force pushes Ezra during their confrontation. She pushes him so hard that it looks like it should’ve killed him, yet he’s completely fine only a moment later. It also makes him like a bit of a doofus.
Lastly, I’ll echo what someone else has said about Sabine’s force push of Ezra. It pains me to say it, because I absolutely think Sabine’s force powers are unearned, but something definitely feels like it’s missing with the way its cut, to the extent that someone unfamiliar with the series is going to be confused. With a heavy heart, I say that Sabine’s force push should probably be reinserted.
On the positive side, I would say the first two thirds are nearly perfect (or as good as they can be given the source material), and I especially like the even-handed approach to trimming the Hera subplot.
Thanks Glogus, your thoughts are always appreciated. There isn’t really anything I can add to your points. As you say, the series was set up for an epic finale which it failed to deliver. I had exactly the same feelings as you when I was editing… how can I speed up the pace of this final act. I cut a lot out of episode seven, removed Thrawn’s tactical withdrawals, got rid of the TIE fighter attack. However, there just isn’t anything compelling left… you can’t polish a turd! A shame really because, in this edited form, 1 love acts 1 and 2. Someone with special effects ability and the willingness to physically shoot scenes, like PixelJoker, may be able to come up with something better!
I agree the length is slightly too long. Annoyingly if it wasn’t for the costume change I could have chopped 5 mins off the Seatos approach by getting rid of the space walk and maybe save a few minutes in the finale.
Re-inserting Sabine’s force push is 2/2, so I’ll pop that back in and run a version 2 along with the other changes discussed above.
Thanks again for the feedback.
I wonder what Skeleton Crew will give us!
Specifically, I do think some of Ahsoka’s overly zen-like reactions can be removed—Like when she reunites with Ezra and giggles like a schoolgirl (I don’t know why, but that just grates on me, lol). Again, she’s acting like she just OD’d on Ambien for the latter half of the series, and it detracts from what what should be rising tension leading to the climax.
I also believe something can be done with the over-the-top zombie troopers, even if it’s just to tone down the ridiculous sound effects.
You are right, however, that you succeeded in elevating the material significantly, and you have a killer Act 1 and 2. Your BoBF edit was nothing short of magic. You elevated that material to legit one of my favorite Star Wars films. I was, frankly speaking, astonished by the potential you brought out in it. But perhaps that potential just isn’t here with Ahsoka.
I think when you’ve been working so long on an edit and looking at the same sequences over and over again you can lose sight of what else can be done. I’ve made the alterations discussed above and I think I’ll leave it as is… for now.
I’ve moved back to my episode I to add in the new series logo and crawl style, upgrade it to 4K and maybe tighten it up a touch. Then I’ll come back and have another look at the final act along with any further feedback I get from this round of viewings and do a proper V2.
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
I just finished watching this edit. I evaluate Star Wars fanedits less in terms of preserving canon and more in terms of simply telling a good story, so I submit my comments with that in mind.
I will start by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series. I thought the first three episodes were mediocre, the next three were pretty strong overall, and that the last two were frankly pretty bad. Through no fault of the faneditor, whose efforts are certainly impressive, this same pattern has translated into the structure of this fanedit.
As per the speeder scene that has already been discussed, I think some of the dialogue between the two pilots and Sabine is a bit too “made for TV”, but otherwise I think the speeder scene is necessary because it’s a good re-introduction to Sabine as a character.
As alluded to earlier, most of my issues come in the third act, largely covering episodes 7 and 8. I have two problems broadly, and then a handful of more specific problems.
First, I think the flow of the third act is just too slow and relaxed. We’re at the part of the movie where we should be building up to the climax, and that sense of tension just isn’t there. This is not helped by the fact that Ahsoka acts as if she’s consumed a bunch of edibles and is so zen now that nothing could possibly faze her. I feel that cutting at least some of the more egregious “I’m too high to care” moments might help retain some of the tension. Ahsoka’s only the worst offender. Sabine and Ezra come across as pretty lackadaisical themselves.
Second, I think the other problem is simply that too much dumb nonsense ends up in the third act. Any sense of tension is again obliterated when the viewer is rolling their eyes at the utter stupidity of what they’re witnessing. The zombie horror element of the undead Night Troopers reanimating, making silly noises, and then being effortlessly defeated again is the worst example, imo, but not the only one.
Despite all the trims, the length of this fanedit is still strongly felt. It loses all of its steam in the third act, and while this is the fault of the series itself and not of the faneditor, I still felt obliged to say something. Smudger is something of a miracle worker in my view, so perhaps something can still be done even though I don’t have much in the way of proposed solutions, having not played around with the source material myself.
As for specific problems, I’ve always hated when Shin force pushes Ezra during their confrontation. She pushes him so hard that it looks like it should’ve killed him, yet he’s completely fine only a moment later. It also makes him like a bit of a doofus.
Lastly, I’ll echo what someone else has said about Sabine’s force push of Ezra. It pains me to say it, because I absolutely think Sabine’s force powers are unearned, but something definitely feels like it’s missing with the way its cut, to the extent that someone unfamiliar with the series is going to be confused. With a heavy heart, I say that Sabine’s force push should probably be reinserted.
On the positive side, I would say the first two thirds are nearly perfect (or as good as they can be given the source material), and I especially like the even-handed approach to trimming the Hera subplot.
Thanks Glogus, your thoughts are always appreciated. There isn’t really anything I can add to your points. As you say, the series was set up for an epic finale which it failed to deliver. I had exactly the same feelings as you when I was editing… how can I speed up the pace of this final act. I cut a lot out of episode seven, removed Thrawn’s tactical withdrawals, got rid of the TIE fighter attack. However, there just isn’t anything compelling left… you can’t polish a turd! A shame really because, in this edited form, 1 love acts 1 and 2. Someone with special effects ability and the willingness to physically shoot scenes, like PixelJoker, may be able to come up with something better!
I agree the length is slightly too long. Annoyingly if it wasn’t for the costume change I could have chopped 5 mins off the Seatos approach by getting rid of the space walk and maybe save a few minutes in the finale.
Re-inserting Sabine’s force push is 2/2, so I’ll pop that back in and run a version 2 along with the other changes discussed above.
Thanks again for the feedback.
I wonder what Skeleton Crew will give us!
Specifically, I do think some of Ahsoka’s overly zen-like reactions can be removed—Like when she reunites with Ezra and giggles like a schoolgirl (I don’t know why, but that just grates on me, lol). Again, she’s acting like she just OD’d on Ambien for the latter half of the series, and it detracts from what what should be rising tension leading to the climax.
I also believe something can be done with the over-the-top zombie troopers, even if it’s just to tone down the ridiculous sound effects.
You are right, however, that you succeeded in elevating the material significantly, and you have a killer Act 1 and 2. Your BoBF edit was nothing short of magic. You elevated that material to legit one of my favorite Star Wars films. I was, frankly speaking, astonished by the potential you brought out in it. But perhaps that potential just isn’t here with Ahsoka.
I think when you’ve been working so long on an edit and looking at the same sequences over and over again you can lose sight of what else can be done. I’ve made the alterations discussed above and I think I’ll leave it as is… for now.
I’ve moved back to my episode I to add in the new series logo and crawl style, upgrade it to 4K and maybe tighten it up a touch. Then I’ll come back and have another look at the final act along with any further feedback I get from this round of viewings and do a proper V2.
I have a loose idea regarding the whole series.
Maybe you can leave ambiguous the Grogu’s decision, leaving it as a cliffhanger in Episode III.
Then, make Ahsoka episode IV instead of V.
And then Mando s03 could become the fifth episode. In this case, it takes one more movie to keep the suspense of Grogu’s decision. Also, in this order, we have some nice introduction of Ahsoka in eps II and III before the movie centered on her in EP IV.
Also, the Moff Gideon reveal could be moved to the episode III end (for ex) as a cliffhanger as well.
Or to Ahsoka’s film since they’re discussing the Thrawn’s return there.
For ex. You could add the scene where the old Asian X-wing captain discovers that Moff Gideon probably escaped as the last scene of the episode III.
Then in Ahsoka’s movie (as ep IV) include the scene of the shadow council discussing Thrawn’s return. It could be even cool to make a transition from Gideon asking sarcastically “where is he?” to the scene from “Ahsoka” that introduced the grand admiral.
It could flow really well this way and would make all the films more “connected”.
Hi,
first post here. yay.
I would like to also watch this.
Currently I am in the middle of wathcing the four series Mandalorian/Boba Fett edits. Love them!
Best regards,
Sebastian
I just finished watching this edit. I evaluate Star Wars fanedits less in terms of preserving canon and more in terms of simply telling a good story, so I submit my comments with that in mind.
I will start by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series. I thought the first three episodes were mediocre, the next three were pretty strong overall, and that the last two were frankly pretty bad. Through no fault of the faneditor, whose efforts are certainly impressive, this same pattern has translated into the structure of this fanedit.
As per the speeder scene that has already been discussed, I think some of the dialogue between the two pilots and Sabine is a bit too “made for TV”, but otherwise I think the speeder scene is necessary because it’s a good re-introduction to Sabine as a character.
As alluded to earlier, most of my issues come in the third act, largely covering episodes 7 and 8. I have two problems broadly, and then a handful of more specific problems.
First, I think the flow of the third act is just too slow and relaxed. We’re at the part of the movie where we should be building up to the climax, and that sense of tension just isn’t there. This is not helped by the fact that Ahsoka acts as if she’s consumed a bunch of edibles and is so zen now that nothing could possibly faze her. I feel that cutting at least some of the more egregious “I’m too high to care” moments might help retain some of the tension. Ahsoka’s only the worst offender. Sabine and Ezra come across as pretty lackadaisical themselves.
Second, I think the other problem is simply that too much dumb nonsense ends up in the third act. Any sense of tension is again obliterated when the viewer is rolling their eyes at the utter stupidity of what they’re witnessing. The zombie horror element of the undead Night Troopers reanimating, making silly noises, and then being effortlessly defeated again is the worst example, imo, but not the only one.
Despite all the trims, the length of this fanedit is still strongly felt. It loses all of its steam in the third act, and while this is the fault of the series itself and not of the faneditor, I still felt obliged to say something. Smudger is something of a miracle worker in my view, so perhaps something can still be done even though I don’t have much in the way of proposed solutions, having not played around with the source material myself.
As for specific problems, I’ve always hated when Shin force pushes Ezra during their confrontation. She pushes him so hard that it looks like it should’ve killed him, yet he’s completely fine only a moment later. It also makes him like a bit of a doofus.
Lastly, I’ll echo what someone else has said about Sabine’s force push of Ezra. It pains me to say it, because I absolutely think Sabine’s force powers are unearned, but something definitely feels like it’s missing with the way its cut, to the extent that someone unfamiliar with the series is going to be confused. With a heavy heart, I say that Sabine’s force push should probably be reinserted.
On the positive side, I would say the first two thirds are nearly perfect (or as good as they can be given the source material), and I especially like the even-handed approach to trimming the Hera subplot.
Thanks Glogus, your thoughts are always appreciated. There isn’t really anything I can add to your points. As you say, the series was set up for an epic finale which it failed to deliver. I had exactly the same feelings as you when I was editing… how can I speed up the pace of this final act. I cut a lot out of episode seven, removed Thrawn’s tactical withdrawals, got rid of the TIE fighter attack. However, there just isn’t anything compelling left… you can’t polish a turd! A shame really because, in this edited form, 1 love acts 1 and 2. Someone with special effects ability and the willingness to physically shoot scenes, like PixelJoker, may be able to come up with something better!
I agree the length is slightly too long. Annoyingly if it wasn’t for the costume change I could have chopped 5 mins off the Seatos approach by getting rid of the space walk and maybe save a few minutes in the finale.
Re-inserting Sabine’s force push is 2/2, so I’ll pop that back in and run a version 2 along with the other changes discussed above.
Thanks again for the feedback.
I wonder what Skeleton Crew will give us!
Specifically, I do think some of Ahsoka’s overly zen-like reactions can be removed—Like when she reunites with Ezra and giggles like a schoolgirl (I don’t know why, but that just grates on me, lol). Again, she’s acting like she just OD’d on Ambien for the latter half of the series, and it detracts from what what should be rising tension leading to the climax.
I also believe something can be done with the over-the-top zombie troopers, even if it’s just to tone down the ridiculous sound effects.
You are right, however, that you succeeded in elevating the material significantly, and you have a killer Act 1 and 2. Your BoBF edit was nothing short of magic. You elevated that material to legit one of my favorite Star Wars films. I was, frankly speaking, astonished by the potential you brought out in it. But perhaps that potential just isn’t here with Ahsoka.
I think when you’ve been working so long on an edit and looking at the same sequences over and over again you can lose sight of what else can be done. I’ve made the alterations discussed above and I think I’ll leave it as is… for now.
I’ve moved back to my episode I to add in the new series logo and crawl style, upgrade it to 4K and maybe tighten it up a touch. Then I’ll come back and have another look at the final act along with any further feedback I get from this round of viewings and do a proper V2.
I have a loose idea regarding the whole series.
Maybe you can leave ambiguous the Grogu’s decision, leaving it as a cliffhanger in Episode III.
Then, make Ahsoka episode IV instead of V.
And then Mando s03 could become the fifth episode. In this case, it takes one more movie to keep the suspense of Grogu’s decision. Also, in this order, we have some nice introduction of Ahsoka in eps II and III before the movie centered on her in EP IV.Also, the Moff Gideon reveal could be moved to the episode III end (for ex) as a cliffhanger as well.
Or to Ahsoka’s film since they’re discussing the Thrawn’s return there.
For ex. You could add the scene where the old Asian X-wing captain discovers that Moff Gideon probably escaped as the last scene of the episode III.
Then in Ahsoka’s movie (as ep IV) include the scene of the shadow council discussing Thrawn’s return. It could be even cool to make a transition from Gideon asking sarcastically “where is he?” to the scene from “Ahsoka” that introduced the grand admiral.It could flow really well this way and would make all the films more “connected”.
Those are some of the changes I would love to see as well to make the set of movies flow closer as a unit.
Hey Smudger9! I’d be most appreciative for a link. Thank you!
Around 1:59 when the ships take off, there seems to be one ship flying sound too much in the end.
Around 1:59 when the ships take off, there seems to be one ship flying sound too much in the end.
Ahh yes. Well spotted thanks. Easy fix and I’ll update the files accordingly.
Current Project:- Bad Batch EP3: Shadows of Tantiss
I’d love a link to the edit when you have a chance. Thanks!
Id also love a link to this when you can.