So best case, Episode 6. Nominally defeated, but ready to reemerge.
If we’re talking about the “Very Special Edition” in which Jabba the Hutt ends up eating the Emperor, then yes… kind of.
Still waiting to see if this 2020 story turns out to mirror the ending of Star Wars Episode 9 or 3.
😕
The way I see it, the Palpatines have already won, regardless of who gets elected. If history has taught me anything, it’s that the Empire won’t stop terrorizing and murdering people around the world, even if a new puppet gets to sit on the throne. There is no lesser dark side in this scenario, just two sides of the same coin.
I’m sure someone here can do it and hats off to anyone who will!
Let’s just say that personally I’d feel slightly intimidated by it, since it’s a highly dynamic shot, consisting of roughly between 170 and 190 frames (if I did my math correctly).
Well, at least it is just one shot that may need frame-by-frame masking.
“Just one shot” makes it sound so easy… and then you look at the actual shot in question and go “Holy Funk, good luck with that!” 😄 You guys are crazy - in a good way of course!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13qxccXMr962BoO9jM1IU8uVzAha3vhCL/view?usp=sharing
Great work!
Would it be worth updating the end for this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1chnCgya32oWow, I’m actually surprised how much better that looks. Deepfakes have come a long way…
Yes, they certainly have. While previous versions of this did not do it for me, this is an overall improvement compared to the original. She still looks slightly artificial, though. Her stare is too fixated and while her voice says “hope”, her mouth seems to have doubts about that. Personally I’d try to show as little of Leia’s face as possible and cut away just before her mouth starts moving (or maybe even before her face is shown) and have her voice play over the cockpit shot. The same goes for Tarkin: the less we see his face directly (reflections are okay), the better, imo.
The suns change position in almost the same way in the theatrical, so if this is jarring it isn’t because of what we did here. I am fairly certain it’s the same footage of the suns even.
It’s a bad cut in the theatrical, too - the only thing that makes it slightly better is that there are figures in the foreground also blipping into existence so theres’ something else drawing attention to the fact the suns are just blinking around the screen. But it’s a bad cut either way. Again, it’s not “suggesting” anything, it’s just jump-cutting celestial bodies across the screen. if there’s a way to cut to something else before cutting back it’ll play better than just BLIP.
Right, this is what I’ve tried to explain before: BB-8’s movement makes the transition smoother and the suns act as background elements instead of being the main point of attention (at least until the Falcon arrives):
In the original version this edit works, because a) Rey’s silhoutte is in front of the first sun, making it different enough composition-wise from the shot before and b) BB-8 carries his momentum from one shot into the next one by rolling in front of the other sun, so the suns end up giving both characters a halo…
edit: My point is: With all these elements removed, the cut is more obvious. It would be great, albeit not easy, to find a way to compensate for that, while keeping the mood of the scene intact.
Broom Kid said:
On-topic: Has there been any discussion about moving the Chewie & the Boys chess scene to after Rey says “Rey Skywalker” but before she gets back on the ship? Because I still think that jump cut where the suns literally shift across the screen is not good. Unless that jump cut isn’t in the movie anymore (I haven’t seen the most recent workprint). I think you need a scene placed in there so it doesn’t look like a mistake in editing just occurred. Because that’s what it looks like now. I remember someone earlier saying “it suggests the passage of time” but it doesn’t really do that. It just looks like teleporting suns. That’s not suggesting anything clearly other than “we cut something out of here and didn’t put anything back.”
If nothing else works one could always try a simple crossfade (any editor’s last resort 😉 ). Not the most elegant solution, sure, but it’ll probably soften the blow.
edit: Maybe a color-adjusted shot of the Falcon (taken from one of the previous movies) might fit in?
edit2: There probably isn’t a suitable scene, though. At least I can’t think of any where it’d be just the Falcon taking off or hovering in the air, without some wild background action and/or camera movement going on.
I’m afraid everyone here is wrong. There is only one superior Tattooine ending, and it is:
Perfect!
Guess my thoughts betray me, huh.
Fine then, no more fooling internet people, especially the Force-sensitive kind.
And there I though I could fool you…
edit: It’s not my fault, though. With a father being that intimidating Grand Admiral, how could anyone not end up being creepy?
Blueffalump, thank you for joining the discussion and I appreciate your comments about the other 9000 edits. I don’t blame you for finding this thread unwieldy and jumping just straight into the workprint.
I also appreciate your feedback about the final shot, not having been enamored with it previously while it was being developed and having apparent impartiality to it regardless of whether it was studio or fan made.
I’ve gotten much more positive feedback about it than negative, and have come to love it myself, too. I never liked the original shot, less so even after learning that Rey was composited in from a shot on Pasaana. She looks thin, unnatural. I do enjoy the combination of Poe, Finn, and Chewie on the Falcon as Rey heads to Tatooine and then the main gang jets out. I don’t think our goal at any point was to show that Rey wasn’t planning to stay on Tatooine per se, but it does help make that clear. My favorite aspect is the musical alteration, rather than reusing TFA’s ending sore and the Force theme for the third time in a row.
Bottom line is that I’m not about to undo this change, though your visceral, honest feedback is helpful in vetting it.
And that’s… a pretty creepy icon. Hope you stick around!
Well, it was worth a shot, but I understand.
Thanks for the warm welcome, Hal! About my icon: That kinda… happened, one thing led to the other and… bottom line is: I’m not quite as creepy in real life 😉
Sorry, but I feel like it’s too late for us to change our minds about the new Tatooine shot. It’s an edit that was first thought of months ago. The hard work of two amazing VFX people on here was used to make the shot, and in my opinion it really improves the movie by removing any doubts about whether Rey is going to stay on Tatooine. It also gives the saga an ending that fits the adventure spirit of the western movies it’s based on, with the heroes riding off into the sunset in the last shot of the movie. I’d hate to see it removed, since it’s one of my favorite changes in this version.
Thanks for your perspective. I do get the western motif, it’s neat. I simply feel that the original ending shot is superior in terms of aesthetics and tone. I’d like to find out if others here feel similarly and I think it is a discussion worth having. Maybe you’ve all had this exact conversation before and in that case I apologize as I don’t want to belabor the point.
Trust me, even though I’ve never done any real 3D modelling/animation, there was enough camerawork, editing an 2D animation that I can relate to all of the hard work that must have gone into these few seconds. But I’ve also had situations in which I had put countless hours into making something work and then coming to the realization that it would be better to do it all over or to cut it completely.
Of course it’s always possible for someone to make an alternate version.
Hi everyone!
I’m new here, so let me give you a quick introduction:
Long ago, in a galaxy far far away, I’ve done some “professional” video editing and a bit of After Effects animation. So when I saw The Last Jedi I remembered my past life and realized that yes, with a bit of trimming here and there, this could be turned into a decent movie. So I made a rough cut, just for myself. But I became frustrated with the process, since I had neither the appropriate hardware nor a software I felt comfortable with. Luckily I found out that others had been attempting to do the same. And so one day I stumbled across Hal’s edit of said movie. With the exception of THAT milking shot, which I would’ve cut, and the ironing joke, which I would’ve kept, this was exactly what I had in mind. Quickly I became enamoured with the other Hal cuts, especially the ones for prequels.
For those wonderful versions I want to thank all of you, Hal and the community who’ve helped to make them possible!
Fast forward to the The Rise of Skywalker. There’s some good stuff in there, but I found it mostly overblown and exhausting. So after watching it once I did not feel the need to do so again. However, I was aware that this community was hard at work trying to improve TROS. So I casually checked in to see how far along you’ve come. Finally I gave the 4th workprint a go. And while I don’t have much of a vivid memory of the original version (it’s mostly a blur), I still can say with confidence that this new edit flows much better. Good job everyone!
Personally, I don’t like how most of Leia’s shots go into uncanny-valley-territory, not to mention the Luke and Leia flashback, which kinda works, just until their faces are shown, ugh. But I suppose it wouldn’t be easy to make the movie work without those shots?
There was one shot in this edit however that I found odd, namely the very last one. I immediately realized that this felt a bit jarring. So I watched the original version and I have to say that I found the latter far superior. The main problem with the new version is the edit that happens between the last two shots. We’ve got BB-8 rolling off the screen with the two suns in the background mirroring his shape (“it’s like poetry”). The next shot starts kinda similarly but now the two suns are bit further appart. It’s basically a jump cut. In the original version this edit works, because a) Rey’s silhoutte is in front of the first sun, making it different enough composition-wise from the shot before and b) BB-8 carries his momentum from one shot into the next one by rolling in front of the other sun, so the suns end up giving both characters a halo (again: “poetry”, hehe). It’s not subtle, but a it is a very beautiful shot.
I know a lot of effort went into the new version and I’ve got nothing but respect for that - from a technical standpoint it looks really good. But at the same time this feels like a “Special Edition”-situation, like a too apparent over-correction by using cgi where it wasn’t exactly needed. I also prefer the music-only approach of the original, while the added sound fx break the atmosphere a bit for me. The original shot is also much calmer, which I found more fitting for the end of a trilogy (or even a whole saga). And this being the last shot I think it carries more weight than most other shots in the movie. Which is why I’d like to encourage you to “kill your darling” in this instance and go back to the original shot. (Or maybe you insert a different shot between the two, if there even is one that feels appropriate)
Forgive me, you’ve probably been through all of this already, but what was the reason for this change in the first place? My guess is that you wanted to convey to the viewer that Rey does not stay on Tatooine? In that case I will admit that the newer version doesn’t leave any doubts about that. On the other hand, in the original it is never stated or shown explicitly that Rey has intentions to stay. She very well could just be taking a well-earned break, enjoying the view, before continuing to do whatever she wants to do next. It leaves enough room for the viewers to decide for themselves.
Sorry for the long post. I just felt it would be rude to come in here complaining without a proper introduction. Also, I know the chances of me of changing your mind(s) are pretty slim, especially this late in the process. And if you disagree with my criticism, I will still consider this project a damn fine effort. 😃