logo Sign In

The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released) — Page 620

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Just listened to Hal and Speakhard’s conversation today during a long drive and it was great! Having spent some time not messing around with fan edits too much, it was great to revisit the history and also listen to sort of a retrospective on what was accomplished with Hal’s Sequel Trilogy edits.

Speakhard, I think you had a great thought on how this need people have to add their voice to the Star Wars story reflects the franchise becoming sort of a modern mythology, which was Lucas’ goal. It is kind of ironic, because I do wonder if Lucas’ choice to make the Special Editions and not make the original unaltered trilogy available kind of sparked the idea that these films aren’t really set in stone, but can be altered.

Kind of a fun but unimportant thought, but I like to think that in-universe all of these stories exist and have been documented at some unknown time in the far future, where no one really knows how these events actually went down, and people have these contradicting myths to choose from. For example, one version of the “New Hope” text has Han shooting Greedo first (and only), while another has Han shooting second. Or in terms of EU vs Disney Canon, both versions contain a story of the son of Han and Leia falling to the dark side, so perhaps future scholars believe that fact is likely true, but the details are up for debate. Anyway, a very nerdy thought, but I think the idea would help appease fans who get their pants in a knot about what is and isn’t canon. Or maybe people believe it is all made up, just like how King Arthur likely never existed.

Also, speakhard, I think you were right on the money about how TFA Restructured turns the original movies weaknesses into strengths. Like Hal said, TFA is basically a soft reboot of ANH in many ways, but that copying or parallelism works to the edit’s advantage when it sets up saving Hosnian Prime at the climax of the film, when you expect our heroes to save the day in the nick of time just like they did in ANH. I also think NeverarGreat’s Starlight Edition of TFA builds off this idea by having Rey tap into the dark side in order to defeat Kylo Ren. It is unexpected, it provides a more complex rationale for how the untrained Rey is able to defeat Kylo Ren, and it sets up the need for Luke Skywalker to return even more, not only to save the galaxy but to save Rey from that darkness within her.

Listening to this conversation was kind of cathartic in coming to terms a little bit more with my gripes with ST. Honestly I’m kind of back and forth when it comes to my feelings on the films, so that’s not set in stone, but lately I’ve been more okay with them bringing back Palpatine (still choosing to ignore Rey Palpatine though). I think future ST edits could do more to help set his return up. I think there is still more that could done with a future TROS edit, but I’m really happy with the reception Ascendant has gotten since its release.

I’m sure I have more thoughts that I’m forgetting but I really loved the insight you guys shared! Definitely would recommend others to check it out.

Also, Hal, I think Hal 9000 is a fitting name to go by, since the act of fan editing is, in essence, rebelling against the creator.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

I also really enjoyed it for the same reasons, but just reading your thoughts there RogueLeader on the ‘modern mythology’ and catharsis, I had a little thought too-

One thing we forget - as both general Star Wars fans (who are famous for griping about Star Wars) and part of the editing community (who over-analyse everything) - is that these ‘collective stories’ are intended to just be fun. We sometimes get too wrapped up in the minutiae or the imperfections and forget that every one of these movies is a wild fun ride one way or another.

(Edit: And high five for someone else who chose their internet name a million years ago and never expected to wear it this long…)

The Clone Wars: Refocused | Andor: Movie Omnibus

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Fun? FUN?! Thinking too seriously about things that are fun is awesome!

Seriously, though, RogueLeader excels as a breath of fresh air once again. The longer I live, the more earnestly I accept the message of the real worth coming with the proverbial “friends we made along the way.”

My stance on revising fan edits.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Oh man I am so glad you all are enjoying the episode on this level, this is exactly what I was hoping for.

@RogueLeader, you pretty much sum it all up. I think you’re right – Lucas, who is fiercely controlling over his movies and his business, ironically is the one who seeded the idea that there can be multiple versions of the same film…and being indirectly responsible for the phenomenon of fan edits.

If Lucas’s aim truly was, as he’s said many times, to create a modern mythology with Star Wars…well, there’s a certain amount of collective ownership that comes along with that. Though I don’t think he anticipated things like fan edits even being possible.

It does demonstrate the malleability of the “text.” Star Wars, though designed to be a cinematic experience, really lives on as an idea. There actually is no definitive text of Star Wars – there are too many versions to choose from with conflicting depictions of the same events! (Does Greedo shoot at Han first or doesn’t he?)

And yeah, the elegance of that TFA restructure not only makes it a better movie in general, but it creates a whole justification for all the other decisions the filmmakers made in making it a “retro” movie. The only reason to do that, it seems to me, is to contrast the few ways in which it differs from the original in order to make a point. I dig your idea about Rey tapping in to the dark side to defeat Ren – it would have made the trilogy’s whole theme of rejecting both dogmas and choosing a new path that much stronger. Alas…

@EddieDean You’re right on the money there. These movies are supposed to be fun above all else. I happen to find picking them apart and discussing them to be part of that fun (as I imagine everyone else on this board does). But the moment it stops being fun, I’ve learned it’s time for me to bow out. That’s actually a line I’ve been trying to strike with this podcast. It came about because I realized one of my favorite things about Star Wars was talking about Star Wars, and as someone who has done creative work in the past, I know that nobody sets out to make a bad movie or make a bad creative decision. It is so much more complex an endeavour. To that end, I try to foster a vibe of thoughtfulness if not outright positivity when we make critiques. I’m still trying to find that balance, and I try to “cast” the episodes with voices I know will bring certain energy to the specific topic.

Anyway, I can’t thank you guys enough for listening, and for Hal for being game to chat with some stranger on the internet.

Hal 9000 said:
The longer I live, the more earnestly I accept the message of the real worth coming with the proverbial “friends we made along the way.”

You are a very wise Jedi indeed, Hal.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

speakhard said:
To that end, I try to foster a vibe of thoughtfulness if not outright positivity when we make critiques. I’m still trying to find that balance, and I try to “cast” the episodes with voices I know will bring certain energy to the specific topic.

I noticed that while listening to a few of your episodes and I really appreciate it. A lot of fandom/pop culture podcasts either go for easy criticisms or relentless positivity, and don’t have a lot of room for nuance.

I noticed you haven’t tackled the prequels yet. I’d love to see you dive into them with someone who has the perspective of growing up with those films. My first Star Wars film in the movie theater was ROTS, and I saw the films for the first time in chronological order rather than release order. The behind the scenes features on the prequel DVDs were what made me want to be a filmmaker (and eventually got me to film school). I’ve gone on a rollercoaster from loving them as a kid, to hating on them once I was old enough to realize that was the cool thing to do, and back to having a warm fondness for them (while still recognizing their many flaws in execution). Over the years, I’ve used fanediting largely as a way to process my relationship with these films, so I could relate to a lot of what Hal brought up.

EDIT: Also Hal, where did you find that horrifying Brave Little Toaster avatar?

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Octorox said:

speakhard said:
To that end, I try to foster a vibe of thoughtfulness if not outright positivity when we make critiques. I’m still trying to find that balance, and I try to “cast” the episodes with voices I know will bring certain energy to the specific topic.

I noticed that while listening to a few of your episodes and I really appreciate it. A lot of fandom/pop culture podcasts either go for easy criticisms or relentless positivity, and don’t have a lot of room for nuance.

Thanks, I really appreciate you saying that. The vast majority of the Star Wars pods I’ve heard are either uncritically positive or relentlessly negative, neither of which I find worthwhile to listen to. So I’m trying to create the discussion that I would want to hear myself.

Octorox said:

I noticed you haven’t tackled the prequels yet.

Yes, but I certainly plan to. I’ve been trying to pick topics that roughly go in release order, combined with my own personal experience of the films. But I am slowly transitioning in to prequel era topics. On July 27 we’re releasing an episode called “Prequels 1986” where we imagine what the prequels would have been like if George had kept making a new movie every 3 years after Return of the Jedi, and I think it’s one of the best we’ve done.

Then we’re doing an episode where we discuss the famed “Fall of the Republic” fan script that was making the rounds in fan circles in the early 80s, purporting to be the real script for Episode III.

And in the same drawer that I found both the tape of my Mark Hamill interview and the Star Wars Newsletter I made when I was 10, I came across a print out of prequel rumors from various websites in 1997 that are pretty wild, and I want to do an episode discussing those. That’s all a lead up to covering Episode I and the rest of the prequels themselves.

I’m thinking I want to come at the prequels from a different angle than the blow-by-blow I did for the OT films. As interesting as I think some of those conversations are, I’m not sure if they’re enjoyable to listen to for others.

Octorox said:

I’d love to see you dive into them with someone who has the perspective of growing up with those films.

You read my mind 😉 Might you have any interest in guesting on either the TPM or a “growing up with the prequels” episode?

(@Hal, I realize I’m pulling this thread very much off topic, so let me know if you think this should split off into its own thread.)

Author
Time

speakhard said:
You read my mind 😉 Might you have any interest in guesting on either the TPM or a “growing up with the prequels” episode?

I’d be honored! I’ll send you a private message as to avoid clogging up Hal’s thread any further.

Author
Time

Hello Hal ! I was wondering if is possible to do a FanEdit of Rise of Skywalker, were Rey is Luke’s daughter.
It’s just idea, and I want know what do you think about that.

Author
Time

Djalucca said:

Hello Hal ! I was wondering if is possible to do a FanEdit of Rise of Skywalker, were Rey is Luke’s daughter.
It’s just idea, and I want know what do you think about that.

There are two editors working on that right now, I’m not sure if it’s possible but the test shots are looking pretty inventive…

Promote your own Fanedits on the worlds largest fanediting database MRDb here: https://www.moviesremastered.com/

Invite link to MR Discord: https://discord.gg/EBdQVXhDUh

Author
Time

There are two editors working on that right now, I’m not sure if it’s possible but the test shots are looking pretty inventive…

Where I can find these FanEditors and what is the name of these 2 FanEdits?

Author
Time

Enjoyed the podcast discussion!

Hal, can I get a link for rey-nobody version please when you get a moment.

Author
Time

Djalucca said:

Where I can find these FanEditors and what is the name of these 2 FanEdits?

That’s what I’d like to know.

“The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.”
-Sheev Palpatine, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Author
Time

I want to invite anyone who wants… to adapt subtitles for any of my projects (prequels, originals, sequels, and Rogue One) into other languages. Right now most of them aside from Ascendant have just English, French, and Spanish. I can adjust sync, but without speaking the language it’s rather difficult to reliably get new languages onboard.

Why, you ask?

Because schorman13 kindly showed me how to create gorgeous PGS subtitles that closely mimic the format of the burned-in alien subtitles. It makes for a much more pleasant viewing experience if you use subtitles. I’m enamored with them and want to add them to my current projects.

The .sup format they use, however, can’t be added to the player (at least not VLC) and need to be muxed into the file itself. So, whatever interest anyone may have in adding a language to any of these, it’s better to do it now.

Feel free to respond here or PM me if you’re interested in doing so. Don’t wait until finished, as I’d like to be aware so I can wait if need be. I’ll post this in both TROS and COD’s threads.

My stance on revising fan edits.

Author
Time

Here’s how they’ll look for the prequels. There’s a different style for ANH and ROTJ. I’ll use these for the OT and ST, so they’ll look and feel extremely close to the familiar burned-in alien subtitles from the OT.



My stance on revising fan edits.

Author
Time

Could I get a link, please?

I’m not really that much of a movie purist. I really should’ve thought my name out a bit more.

Author
Time

Love the look, Hal! This is much better, without the big black bars you typically get with .srt files.

Just curious, in the third frame, is showing two languages at once something these .sup files make possible? Or was the english a burned-in line that was always there (sorry it’s been so long for the prequels for me)?

Author
Time

I have alien dialogue hard coded in, so I moved those to be above them. I don’t want to sacrifice the burned in subs that I worked to make perfect, or introduce a potential hurdle for viewers to have trouble getting to work.

Turns out this is only possible for mkv files and not mp4s, so this will only apply to the maximum sized releases.

My stance on revising fan edits.

Author
Time

Djalucca said:

Hello Hal ! I was wondering if is possible to do a FanEdit of Rise of Skywalker, were Rey is Luke’s daughter.
It’s just idea, and I want know what do you think about that.

I made a tweak in this scene, I always wanted Rey to be Luke’s daughter, so this is the closest I could get hehe:
https://youtu.be/i693oPlutz8

Author
Time

Just came back to watch the Rey Nobody version (I know it’s been out for a while but life is busy and I have an on-and-off relationship with Star Wars). I have to argue with the “editor’s opinion” that it doesn’t hold up as well as the primary version. It is pretty seemless, although it makes for a slightly less dramatic film.

All in all, it’s still possibly the greatest fan edit of all time, although combing through the change list one more time, it’s more like a special edition than an edit, with all the amazing FX and audio work that went into it, and all the subtle changes that just take this film to another level.

One thing I don’t get (sorry if it’s been addreseed) - in Rey Nobody version, why isn’t Kylo’s hangar line canged to “We’ve become a dyad in the Force"? from “We’re a dyad in the Force?”

Author
Time

The answer to that is that the Rey Nobody version of the scene already has a great deal of sentence mixing, so I wanted to avoid pushing our luck with a viewer.

Glad you enjoyed it, man!

My stance on revising fan edits.