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Commander Courage

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Join date
16-Aug-2004
Last activity
1-Oct-2015
Posts
724

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Post
#228956
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/228956/action/topic#228956
Time
Thanks for responding so quickly, guys. I appreciate your inputi n particular Trooperman , and I agree a group effort is the best way to go. I never intended this to be a one-man-show; I'm sure I would go crazy! The possibility of more assistance on the project is a good sign, and Sluggo cast as Nute and Jar-Jar is excellent news as well. We had been in contact with voice actors before, but that all fell through apparently. If Sluggo would be willing to provide audio for Episode I as well that would be beneficial to both projects.

In regards to disclosing all the notes on the project, I'll start out by PMing people who request it and we can go from there.
Post
#228800
Topic
Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side (the TM edit) (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/228800/action/topic#228800
Time
Trooperman!

Overall excellent job; I understand this is just a rough assembly of various things put together in the interest of showcasing some of what you've done so far. And in that respect you've done your job.

My comments are pretty much the same as everyone elses: Anakin's deep voice, blue Naboo, and red Tatooine could all use some work.

It's great to finally see the stuff we've been talking about for over a year finally coming together. Keep it up!
Post
#228796
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/228796/action/topic#228796
Time
Hello everyone. I apologize for my lack of posting of late. I've had a lot going on in life lately that's taken precedence.

This is going to sound incredibly lame, but there has been zero progress on this project. Everything is outlined and ready to be worked on, but it becomes a matter of if we will be able to actually pull off what we have in out notes. What's really holding this project back is the lack of a special effects person. There is a lot depending on whether or not many of the changes we've discussed can be accomplished. If not, much of the film (the final act in particular) would have to be revised, and frankly, I'd rather wait until we are in a position to do what we really want to do than settle for less.

All that said, I would like to propose something to you all. I know most, if not all fan edits, have a certain degree of secrecy to them. General items are discussed, but the specific details are kept secret until the final release. Even on such a community-driven project as Trooperman's there is a lack of specific disclosure. Anyway, what I'm getting at is things can either stay as they are on this project with little to no progress until all the pieces fall into place, OR, I can post verbatim the exact plans and outlines for everything. There is a certain appeal to the element of surprise, but as things stand now I really don't see the harm. Starkiller Ranch is about as community-driven as you can get. Perhaps having it all out there for everyone will provide the spark to jump-start things back into motion. The only real drawback I can see to such a complete disclosure is that people would get so caught up in arguing how things should be we wouldn't get anything done (as was a problem earlier in this thread). I'm no dictator; this is a democracy, but everyone is not going to agree with everything 100%. There has to be a final say on things, and I would suggest that final say be me, as eventually, I will be the one putting all this together.

Thoughts?
Post
#215883
Topic
.-The Matrix Hacked-..:Completed:.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/215883/action/topic#215883
Time
Great edits, Doctor M! You cut all the superfluous stuff you could and made the story make just a little more sense that it did before. I really enjoyed the Hacked sequels, well done.

You wanted to know about technical glitches:
-Extra frame at the end of the council meeting where Naobi volunteers to search for the N (I can't spell it).
-Sped up/skipping/something like that in the staircase fight with the Frenchman's goons, right before they jump off the balcony.
-Extra frame after the closeup of Mafune during a cutaway from the Zion battle (you can see Kid for a split second).
Those were the only technical glitches I could find. If there are more I was not observant enough to catch them.

There were a few transitions I thought could be done better; I'm not a big fan of the white flashes to the next scene, but maybe there was no other way for you to accomplish some of the transitions. Also, I thought the transition from the Reloaded title to the hallway scene could have been better, as the code simply fades to black. I don't know what else you could do with that, but it just seems inconsistent with what we've seen of the Matrix code before. Maybe a cut to black then to the opening scene similar to what you did in Revolutions.

Storywise, I thought you did a great job, particularly Reloaded. Having the hallway scene from M1 open the film was an excellent decision and really ties a lot of stuff together (Like when Neo says "It felt like being back in that hallway." I was confused as to what he was referring to before, but this time I knew exactly what he meant.) It also makes for a far superior nightmare than Neo having Force visions of Trinity's death or whatever. And the ending of Reloaded was perfect! That's totally what they should have done in the real version! It's a shame about the original Oracle actress dying, and all the story complications is caused as well. I think you did the best you could with what you had to work with though.

As for Revolutions, I know you've said it's more of a rough idea of what you'd have liked to see happen, and you've certainly made a stronger film out of it, but if I may make a few suggestions story wise:
The opening through the end of the Smith fight is great. As much as I like Agent Smith (he really was the best part of the sequels), the war is not about him. He is only an obstacle. I think we lose some of the parallelism between Smith and Neo by taking him out so early, but so be it. That's what the official versions are for.

That said, while watching your edit I had assumed you had taken out the Neo coma/train station plot entirely. I was surprised to see it where you put it, after the final battle. It didn't feel right in that spot, to me anyway. However, that got met thinking, what would you say to this order of events?:

-Your opening up until the conclusion of the Smith fight.
-Neo is in coma after fight, no one knows what happened.
-Insert that whole subplot here, and put back in Sati and her family. That was a good bit remenicent of M1.
-Then back to the main plot, with your continuation and ending except it ends with the celebration and then the final Orcale/Architect/Sati scene.
(In this order of events it probably makes more sense to have Neo and Trinity die. I think one of your goals was to NOT kill them off, so that's really up to you).
-Also, giving Neo the Matrix vision outside the Matrix, for just the Bane-Smith fight would be acceptable I think. Otherwise Neo beating him makes no sense. It can be justified as part of the connection Neo and Smith have. And I know you said you couldn't find a suitable sound clip, but a "Yes, it is" by Keanu would really make it official that when he kills Bane that's the end of Smith. The way it is now Smith sounds like an idiot.

So these are just some ideas that came to me while watching your edit. I have no idea whether they would work or not, and I obviously don't know the Matrix backwards and forwards like you do, so I'd be interested in your opinion on them. Once again great edits and thanks for undertaking such a project, it was obviously no easy task.
Post
#214424
Topic
The Phantom of the Opera Resynched (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214424/action/topic#214424
Time
I actually prefer the movie version to the stage musical (gasp!). The revelation of the Phantom's past, the swordfight, the new "Don Juan," and the flashbacks (or flash forwards?) were all nice additions that enhanced the film. Also, I have nothing against the film soundtrack either (gasp!). Michael Crawford is excellent, no doubt about it, but Gerard Butler brings something new to the role, and I like his different approach. I don't understand why so many Phantom fans are down on the movie. I think it was great and am happy to have it in my collection. That said, I look forward to securing a copy of this very interesting project.
Post
#214419
Topic
cheer up, dude
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214419/action/topic#214419
Time
I'm a huge Star Trek fan and was seriously dissapointed in Generations. Some interesting concepts for sure, but I always thought incorporating the original cast was unecessary (not to mention the lame way of killing of Kirk!). TNG could have stood on its own, as seen in First Contact (unfortunately the ONLY good TNG film). Anyway, I would be very interested in acquiring this on DVD through PIF or any other means. So if someone could PM me about it that would be great.
Post
#214361
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214361/action/topic#214361
Time
Do you mind CC if I join this discussion as an idea-concept person?
Definitely. That's what this thread is all about, no need to ask for permission from anyone!


How did you do that shot with the SSD and the DS2 you had planned for ESB? That's what orginally made the light go off in my head about the possiblity of doing this.

That was a photoshop job of still images. I didn't make them; I can't recall who did, but it wasn't me. It was just to illustrate the kind of shots we'd be going for with the final product. And no, I do not have the capability to create such special effects shots. We are on a neverending quest it seems to find a special effects person who is capable and willing. I have faith one will come along eventually, but for now we're pretty useless in the special effects department.

More discussion about the Death Star 2:
Should it be in the same location in ESB and RotJ? Cutting the cockpit dialogue about the deflector sheild would solve that possible inconsistency, and in ESB the Death Star could be in construction in secret over Mustafar (as suggested by Erik). Then in RotJ, it is above Coruscant's santuary moon of Endor, protected by a shield. In fact, this scenario has already solved the problem of opening RotJ with the Emperor arriving at the Death Star. Saving extra scenes from Vader's arrival, such as the cockpit bit, might allow for a smooth transition where before we didn't have much to work with. How does moving an "uncompleted" Death Star from Mustafar to Coruscant feel to you guys? If explained correctly in the opening crawl or by Ackbar (or both) I think it could work. Once again, this would make for back-to-back arriving at the Death Star openings, but if the general consensus is to go for it then I'd be fine with it too. But the logic of moving it when it's not even finished does seem a bit flawed. Thoughts?
Post
#214112
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214112/action/topic#214112
Time
All this editing discussion about RotJ is really the most enjoyable to me. It is the key to a cohesive saga, and if we can make it work, we'll be in business.

It seems I may have been a bit too negative in my initial response to the Coruscant in RotJ idea. It has potential, but we really need to think it all through. What turned me off to it was the idea that the Luke/Vader/Palpatine confrontation took place in the Imperial Palace, not on the Death Star. Now, ideally that's what would have happened, but to composite Coruscant outside the windows (and making it look professional as if it has always been that way) is a massive undertaking well above and beyond any fan editor. Who knows, maybe ILM could do it in a future release, but not Starkiller Ranch. Now that that's been established, I do see possibilities here. This is of a very different line of thought than I had been following do far with this edit though.

Originally moving the beginning of RotJ to ESB was to establish continuity with the 2nd Death Star and not have it come seemingly out of nowhere in RotJ. I thought this worked well, and still do. What is the general concencus on this? Would you also agree with this alteration, or prefer the Vader scene be left for RotJ?

Once that is established, an opening for RotJ can be nailed down. The first part of the film is going to be heavily resequenced, and knowing whether or not the Vader scene is going to be in there would help tremendously.

In any case, incorporating Coruscant would require some special effects work far beyond my capability. Once again I send out an SOS to anyone who could help in the area of effects. We are in dire need.

As for the story logistics of the DS2 being in the Coruscant system, that would make its existence common knowledge, would it not? This might actually help the nonchalant attitude the Rebels have towards it in the film: they've known about it for some time. Mon Mothma's speech will need to be edited, and as stated earlier, the Mon Calamari will need their own language (dubbed and subtitled). Also, assuming we're going for the "assasinate the Emperor" objective (which I really like, btw, whoever first suggested it), is it really that big a deal if they're going to Coruscant to do it? Though playing on his reclusive nature, this could indeed be the first time the Rebels have had a chance to strike at Palpatine (not being in his palace or whatever). There's much mapping-out to be done with these ideas, but it just might work. Working Coruscant into the OT is essential to making the saga flow, and this does seem like the best opportunity to do so.

Also, what did you guys think of the suggested new ANH scene with Vader and the Emperor? Any feedback on that?
Post
#213559
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/213559/action/topic#213559
Time
I have returned! Sorry for the extended absence; real life takes precedence. This is going to be a slow process, as I did not expect to have to take over the project so completely. It's a new experience for me and I hope to be able to deliver. Once again, any assistance of any kind would be more than welcome.

Now, onto the discussion of late:

DarkHelmet:
Your Episode III opening had some interesting editing choices. The space battle reaequencing has potential, but editing out the Dooku duel? I can't agree with that; it's just too important to the story. It was also my favorite duel in the movie!

Your re-editing of the Mace/Palpatine confrontation was amazing though! All the right cuts and just the right pace. If a way could be found to show Palpatine first shooting the lightning, it would really sell it for sure.

As for Padme, she should die as a result of Anakin's force choke. It's really the only way to do it. The best solution I've come across to the RotJ inconsistency with Luke and Leia's conversation is just cut Luke's "I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her." This could imply he silently recalls the same thing Leia does, then she changes the subject and they move on to a different topic: Vader.

PaulisDead2221:
The plan for lightsaber colors is that Jedi have Blue and Green, and Sith have Red (I would like them to have purple as well, but that's a discussion for another time). The one certainty is that Mace will have a blue lightsaber. As as aside, I've always been partial to yellow, and it's my lightsaber color of choice on video games. I always thought Yoda would have looked good with a yellow lightsaber. It's a shame Lucas chose not to incorptorate the variety that exists in the EU into the PT, but that's the way it is.

shanep:
Your suggestion for Coruscant on RotJ isa fanboy dream of mine. Part of me wishes Lucas would tackle this in a future Special Edition, as it would improve the story so much. Unfortunately, short of remaking the entire film, turning Ewoks into Wookies and moving Palpatine's throne room to Coruscant is simply not feasible. Especially not in a fan edit. If someone thinks it is though, please let me know. I'd love to see it but I just can't imagine it being possible.

Erikstormtrooper:
You lay out the pros and cons of such an altertions nicely. Sadly the pros seem to seriously outweigh the cons.

Troy:
Your ideas are certainly worth discussion, and in fact have been dicussed in the thread before IIRC (Erik's ideas I believe). However, those kinds of radical changes to the OT are better suited for another project. There will be a Death Star battle at the end of Episode 4 in this edit. That is a certainty.

Sluggo:
We've talked about that kind of scenario for a while now, but I honestly don't see it working with what we have to work with.

Here is the rough plan I have for the Death Stars in the OT:

-New scene in Episode 4, in between Luke returning to Yavin and the end celebration:
EXTERIOR: SPACE -- EXECUTOR

Darth Vader's TIE fighter flies towards the Executor. (Shot of TIE from Vader regaining control at end of ANH, tilted to the side. Shot of Executor from ESB SE shot of Shuttle flying back to Executor.)

INTERIOR: EXECUTOR -- VADER'S CHAMBER

Vader walks to a large holographic communication pad and kneels. A large hologram of the the Emperor materializes before Vader.

VADER: What is they bidding my master?

EMPEROR: There is a great disturbance in the Force.

VADER: I have felt it.

EMPEROR: I have no doubt the young Rebel who destroyed the Death Star is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.

VADER: How is that possible?

EMPEROR: Search your feelings, Lord Vader. You will know it to be true.

Vader breathes in silence, pondering his master's words.

EMPEROR: This turn of events is unfortunate. We must accelerate our plans.

VADER: (Something about the death of Tarkin; altered Brock Peters dialogue might come into play here.)

EMPEROR: His death was a necessary loss. (Something about Vader being in command of the fleet now.)

VADER: Yes, my master.

Vader kneels.

So that's what I have in mind. The last couple of lines need some work obviously. And where does this leave Palpatine in ESB? That remains to be seen.

Then, Episodes 5 and 6 would have altered crawls to accomodate the new edits.

Episode 5 would now have RotJ's opening scene, with Vader arriving at the Death Star. The establishing shot would be altered to make it seem less completeted than it is in RotJ. The reference to the "Emperor coming here?" would be cut. This would wipe to the Probe droid appraoching Hoth. The movie continues as-is until the wipe to the Imperial fleet. The SE shot of Vader's shuttle approaching the Executor would be utilized here. If we can make it work via special effects, we would incorporate the Death Star in some shots of the fleet. Vader would not be shown on the bridge, his fist line being "You found something" as if he has just arrived. I've completed a rought cut of this sequence of events and it works well.

The opening of RotJ is still up for discussion. It will either be Dagobah, Tatooine, or Palpatine's arrival on the Death Star. The ESB opening was always rather weak, inspiring the Death Star arrival scenario. It's Star Wars tradition to open in space with a ship of some short, but starting 2 films with back-to-back arrivals at the Death Star may be too much though, so we'll see.
Post
#197716
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197716/action/topic#197716
Time
Originally posted by: Sluggo
That might be handy for droids, but I'd be hesitant for humans.

Right, we want it to sound organic. Like I said before, the problem with using "real" language is the lack of proper nouns. However if we can find words that sound enough like "Jedi" and "Sith," etc. that would really open up a lot of possibilities to us. We could then take dialogue from ANY Japanese film (for instance). This is definitely something to consider. Using another foreign language track would be yet another aspect of MagnoliaFan's edit that we'd be copying. So let's get on that.

Trooperman: I am of the same editing mind as you. Music is truly half the experience, and when finalizing scenes I endevour to synchronize the visuals with the audio as much as possible. Eveything flows together much better that way, and it's the best kind of presentation. Thanks for the advice on Vegas; it is best for us to use compatible software. I'll look into it.
Post
#197667
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197667/action/topic#197667
Time
The problem with Episode I is that. nothing was past the rough cut stage. Therefore, it would be best to start from scratch. I had made a rough cut in Womble for the sole purpose of putting a rough cut together, but that's not a program we'd want to constuct the final product with. Once I determine the best program for such as project, that's what I'll use to start over. That won't be too long though, I just want to know exactly what to get before I commit to anything. The editing of the video itself will not be a problem. The audio will be the greatest challenge, substituting alien voices for the Nemoidians and the Gungans. Then there's subtitles; I have absolutely no idea how to do that. Lots of musical alterations will be necessary as well. And there are quite a few SFX shots that need to be completed.

Due to various constraints, we've had to cut a couple of plot points we were hoping to change: Qui-Gon talking to Anakin through the Force, and Nute going back to the control ship and dying in the explosion. There are simply no quiet shots of Anakin in the cockpit which could be used for him listening to Qui-Gon. He's always talking or looking around very fast. A "flying back to Naboo" shot also proved nearly impossible to create, and that would also be necessary for the Force-talk. Maybe in the inevitable Special Edition we can work out a way to accomplish that, but for nw unfortunately it's a no-go. Also, the killing of Nute required a couple of SFX shots that could have been completed, but we could never resolve Padme's plot line to our satisfaction. Ideally there would be a shot of her and her group entering an empty throne room and a line "We're too late. They're gone," but it just doesn't exist. Without some kind of major reworking of the Padme/Nute throneroom scene, which is beyond our ability, this would end Padme's plotline at "Put down your weapons. They win this round." That's just not a satisfactory conclusion. So Nute will live an be captured as per the original version (which will make subtle things in II and III work much better).

Going back to the alien dialogue, InfoDroid had planned to use voice actors. I suppose we could still go this route, but personally I think we'd be much safer using a foriegn language track. Japanese would be the preferable language, as it's almost unrecognizeable. That would work for the Nemoidians anyway. The Gungans are a huge dilemma, any thoughts on them would be welcome. The idea behind using a foriegn language track and not dialogue from say, "The Passion of the Christ" (which I thought worked great in the clips ID posted), is that we could use proper nouns like "Jedi," "Sith," "Amidala," etc. This is also possible of course with voice actors, but again, I'm hesitant to use fan voices. Grievous/Maul being the only exception, and yes, that IS happening in this edit. He has only two lines in this Episode I, both coming in the hologram report scene.

As for special effects shots that are necessary:
-Possible new opening shot, something other than a pan down to the Republic cruiser (suggestions welcome).
-Grievous's Shuttle from Episode III, serving as Nute's shuttle here, approaching Theed. This will serve as a transition to Nute and Rune departing the shuttle (which has been moved to later in the movie).
-I'd LOVE to have to shot of the Royal Starship IN hyperspace. I'm not sure if this can be accomplished (suggestions welcome).
-The Royal Starship approaching Tatooine. An example of this shot can be seen in a screenshot posted by TJ. This utilizes the first shot of ANH flipped upside down, though I think it best if the moons were painted out so it's not instantly recognizeable as been cut-and-paste from ANH.
-Grievous/Maul talking to the Nemoidians via hologram. G/M would be sitting in the chair, matted over Sidious, with his original hologram painted out. TJ completed an early test of this which looked promising and was very effective.

With the removal of the two most complicated plot points requiring a lot of special effects, that's about it. Not too much, but what's there certainly isn't easy
Post
#197625
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197625/action/topic#197625
Time
Under the circumstances, I will be taking over Starkiller Ranch.

Can I handle this project? Yes, but I will need your help. I have the commitment, the drive, and the time to be sure. I am a novice editor, but I'm coming along well. I now have an external hardrive which makes disc space no longer a problem for me. I'm currently using Womble, but am "in the market" for first class editing software. Any input on what program(s) to get would be greatly appreciated.

Audio mixing is a key area where I will need help. Perhaps Musicman can step up and take over this department of the Ranch.

Special Effects is an area where we now have nothing. I've made various inquaries about this in the past to but to no response. This aspect of the project is ESSENTIAL, so if you or anyone you know or could contact would be willing to contribute, it would make all the difference.

This is a team effort, but at the same time everything cannot be up for committee, and excecutive decisions will have to be made. I am confident in my ability to "run" Starkiller Ranch, but your assistance will be essential to the completion of this project.

Thank You,
Commander Courage
Post
#197281
Topic
April Fools SW Stories
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197281/action/topic#197281
Time
I remember a few years back TheForce.Net had a story about Lucas announcing pland for Episodes 7-9. It had a link to a CNN news story and everything. The article was looking good until about half way through, at which point it got completely ridiculous, and it clicked that it was April Fool's Day. I haven't fallen for an internet April Fool's prank since.
Post
#197280
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197280/action/topic#197280
Time
I agree with you, Erik. 1 and 2 are my favorites as well. The purpose of 2 would be to make sense of the rather nonsensical plan of Han's rescue.

And you're right, the opening of ESB is not set in stone. I think we can both agree that opening both ESB and RotJ with arrivals at the Death Star would be repetitive, so it's either one or the other. And as I mentioned before, there is no landing shot of Palpatine's shuttle. The original shot of his arrival is a squadron of TIE Fighters flying by the hangar, cutting to the shuttle sitting in the hangar full of troops. So the transition from the shuttle flying in space to the shuttle in the hangar would be too jarring. Even taking a shot of the shuttle flying IN the hangar from Vader's arrival doesn't seem to work. Also, I really think an Emperor scene would be most effective after Obi-Wan's final line, "...they could be made to serve the Emperor." That would have to be either this scene, or his second scene referening the fleet (which it wouldbe way too early for IMO).

Moving Luke's arrival to the beginning of the Rebel briefing works, with him hugging Leia then cutting to Han talking to Lando. There is then the problem of Luke not BEING at the meeting, and "I'm with you too." I'm not sure how to deal with that. One crazy idea I had would be for Luke to go BACK to Dagobah after Han's rescue and talking to Obi-Wan. Then would come the Emperor's second Death Star scene, followed by the Rebel Fleet scene and the movie would continue on from there. But I suppose that wouldn't make a lot of sense, would it?
Post
#197259
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197259/action/topic#197259
Time
I edited together a sequence with RotJ opening with Palpatine's arrival and it doesn't look like it's going to work. Not only would it be very repetitive of ESB's new opening, it doesn't flow quite right from then on. On a positive note, I think the flow of the Jabba scenes staring out with Boush and Jabba might work with the right subtitles. C-3PO would have to be painted out of a few shots that can't just be cut; that wouldn't be easy. So looking at everything, there are several ways to edit the beginning of Rotj:

-Dagobah: Yoda's Death
-Dagobah: Luke/Obi-Wan
-DSII: Emperor's Arrival
-Tatooine: Droids through Escape (original flow)
-DSII: "Move the fleet to the far side of Endor."
-Rebel Fleet
(Original flow from then on)

OR

-Dagobah: Yoda's Death
-Dagobah: Luke/Obi-Wan
-DSII: Emperor's Arrival
-Tattoine: Musical, Boush, Han de-thawed, Han and Leia captured
-Tatooine: Droids, Captured
-Tatooine: Luke arrives through escape (original flow)
-DSII: "Move the fleet to the far side of Endor."
-Rebel Fleet
(Original flow from then on)

OR

-Dagobah: Yoda's Death
-Tattoine: Musical, Boush, Han de-thawed, Han and Leia captured
-Dagobah: Luke/Obi-Wan
-DSII: Emperor's Arrival
-Tatooine: Droids, Captured
-Tatooine: Luke arrives through escape (original flow)
-DSII: "Move the fleet to the far side of Endor."
-Rebel Fleet
(Original flow from then on)

OR

-Tattoine: Musical, Boush, Han de-thawed, Han and Leia captured
-Dagobah: Yoda's Death
-Dagobah: Luke/Obi-Wan
-DSII: Emperor's Arrival
-Tatooine: Droids, Captured
-Tatooine: Luke arrives through escape (original flow)
-DSII: "Move the fleet to the far side of Endor."
-Rebel Fleet
(Original flow from then on)

The first one would be the easiest obviously, and what we would do if we couldn't figure out a way to make the more complicated Tatooine resequencing work. Of all the complicated scenarios, the second would be my preferance. Feedback?
Post
#197093
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/197093/action/topic#197093
Time
A great alternate opening for the original ESB would have been a pan down to the fleet of Star Destroyers, with the Super Star Destroyer flying in overhead. I think if we had that shot with a Death Star in there, that would be perfect for our edit of ESB.

Yes, this might be answer. Mangrove's great pictures (thanks for those) would come into play not in RotJ, but in ESB. Instead of cutting-and-pasting the entire opening from RotJ to ESB, we's used this kind of altered opening to ESB, moving the big fleet scene to there, and inserting the Death Star in the background. Then we see Vader's shuttle heading towards the Death Star (as per Mangove's picture) with the following scene of him and Jejerrod. This would establish the fleet is stationed around the Death Star, which makes sense. Also with this maybe we wouldn't have to add the shot of Vader's shuttle flying back to the Executor, and leave him on the bridge as per the original version. It could be assumed Vader would be going back and forth from the DSII to the Executor, as he does in RotJ.

Then we get to RotJ, leaving the opening of that as-is for the most part (because Palpatine wouldn't travel to the DSII in the Executor, which is Vader's Star Destroyer). The only difference is it would continue onto Emperor's arrival instead of Vader's arrival. The transition from the shuttle in space to the shuttle in the hangar will be tricky though; there are no shots of the Emperor's shuttle LANDING, it's just sitting in the hangar. So a cutaway will be necessary, but all the bits with the officers will have to be in ESB. I'll experiment with this stuff and see what I can come up with.

Btw, although I'm not the offical editor on this project, I have been experimenting with a lot of scenes I'd like to share on this thread. The problem is the files are HUGE. I'm currently using Womble, and was wondering if anyone knew how to compress the files or save them at a lower resolution (so I could upload them to the web). There is probably an obvious answer to this I'm overlooking, and I'm sure I could figure it out eventually, but I figured someone here would be in-the-know.

As for the chronology of the project, Erik is correct in that it's best to work on all the films at once (to an extent). While at the moment we are physically working on Episode I, conceptual work on all the films is ongoing, and in fact that is the purpose of this thread. It was pretty dead in here for a while, but hopefully this kind of discussion can be ongoing, regardless of which film is being worked on at the time.
Post
#196856
Topic
EU Movies
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196856/action/topic#196856
Time
A Clone Wars-style animated series of Shadows of the Empire would be perfect. And though it would be acceptable to not have the original cast members provide the voices, I don't why Hamill and Daniels wouldn't, and could even see Fisher and Jones coming on board. Ford wouldn't be a problem since he's in carbonite the whole time.
Post
#196852
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196852/action/topic#196852
Time
I understand it, ANH and ESB will now have a SD flying overhead for the opening shot...correct? So what will the opening shot be for ROTJ? I guess I just don't like the idea of having the "star destroyer flying overhead" shot for two back-to-back episodes and NOT for the 3rd...did that make sense?
That is correct. The back-to-back Star Destroyer openings had not occured to be before, but they are both different enough to not come off as repetitive.

Besides, the Star Destroyer openings are only a big deal if we choose to make it that way.

Exactly. There will be some "tradition" (for lack of a better word) thrown out in this project. This is not to say we don't care about it, just in the best interests in the best possible saga somethings will be altered, re-editied, or removed entirely.

This brings me to: what to do about the opening of RotJ? A pan down to Dagobah isn't exactly the most exciting way to start off the movie. The Emperor's arrival at the Death Star has been suggested, but most of the footage we'd need for that to work is to be used in ESB's opening. So I want to go back to a point mentioned WAY back when RotJ was first brought up in this thread, the arrangement of the Jabba scenes. It had been suggested that the Boush/Chewbacca scene start off the Jabba stuff, with C-3P0 edited out. This intrigued me as it would make the plan for Han's rescue make a lot more sense. However, my attempts at making that kind of re-ordering work were unsuccesful. Any ideas on how to make that work would be welcome.

Status of Episode I: Early rough cut phase. We've had to change some things that just didn't work out in the editing process. Special effects shots are still being finalized, and the sound/music mix is starting to be put together. We've got the framework for the film, but now comes the hard part: refinement.
Post
#196478
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196478/action/topic#196478
Time
Originally posted by: Sluggo
CC: They don't know their mother by name, so a reaction wouldn't be expected. Could Luke be edited to show up right before the meeting started and the "I'm with you too" just stays off screen.

I've always assumed they knew their mother by name. It would be a silly thing to keep her name from them. I'm sure Luke knew Anakin's name; we just never heard it until RotJ. Same thing w/Padme. Also, "Padme once thought as you do," is a potential line change for Vader. It would preferably be "your mother," but unless we can Vader-ize other JEJ dialogue, "Padme" will have to do. But that's an entirely different issue that we've addressed before in this very thread.

Having Luke show up before the official meeting starts and everyone sits down could work. I'll experiment with it and see what I can come up with. Also, it would be a lot of work to insert him in somewhere during the meeting, but it would really help to "sell it". That's something else to consider...
Post
#196465
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196465/action/topic#196465
Time
Originally posted by: Sluggo
I'm liking all of this. I believe I mentioned it before, but if the briefing is being dubbed, a mention here of Padme and the beginnings of the Rebellion would be nice here.

That's an interesting suggestion. However how would Leia or Luke respond to a reference to their mother? And where would that even fit in? Here's another issue to tackle: Luke arriving late at the meeting. This is a flaw of moving Dagobah to the beginning of the movie. Any thoughts on that? (On a similar note, it's also odd that as soon as he shows up the meeting ends. I think that was on the "50 Reasons I Hate RotJ" list.)

And Sluggo, the opening of RotJ is becoming the opening of ESB. It's not at the end of the film it's at the beginning. But we do have 2 takes of the same scene to work with here, and it's always nice to have options.
Post
#196403
Topic
The legendary "Starkiller Ranch" Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196403/action/topic#196403
Time
Maybe if Jedi starts with the emperor's arrival, there'd still be a star destroyer at the beginning? The whole second death star thing is a pisser. "Spreading it around" like this is cool, and could help. Maybe it wouldn't feel like such a re-hash if the briefing scene is somehow re-cut to grimly emphasize that this time it's an ASSASSINATION. Killing the emperor is the goal instead of another death star graphic, another "knock out the main reactor blah blah" speech...
Well the way I'd envisioned it was the Emperor arrving on the DSII after Luke's conversation with Obi-Wan. "They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor..." wipe to Palpatine's arrival. Also, the entire opening of RotJ (Star Destroyer and all) would be used in ESB, so there wouldn't be an available establishing shot for the Emperor scene as the first shot of RotJ. On the other hand, if we wanted to go that route, it would be a lot more complicated, but we could rethink the openings of both movies, altering RotJ's to transition into Palpatine's arrival, and reference his visit to the DSII in the last paragraph of the opening crawl.

The idea of an assassination is brilliant! It would definitely make the Death Star attack seem fresh and not ANH-Redux. Looking at the conference scene, it would appear the only way to get this point across would be to re-dub and subtitle Admiral Ackbar. I know his voice is a fan favorite, but it would match with the now heavily-subtitled prequels as well. In fact I think almost every alien race would speak their own language, which makes sense. How can they understand each other? Who knows, it's sci-fi/fantasy. Also the cult line "Many Bothans died to bring us this information" would best be cut to smoothly transition from Mon Mothma's announcement of the Emperor to Ackbar's assassination speech.

EDIT: Over in the General Star Wars section there's an interesting debate happening about the actual timeframe of the movies, i.e over what length of time do they each take place? The most problematic film is ESB - how long is Luke training for? How long does it take Han and Leia to get to Bespin? Irvin Kershner says it takes place over a period of a few months, yet the characters don't even change their clothes. Are there any plans to address this issue in the Starkiller edit? (not the lack of a change of clothing, but just the ambiguity of the passing of time). Apart from a caption reading '2 months later' I can't think of any ideas, but maybe you guys can.

Who's to say they just didn't wash and re-wear their clothes over the time span? Seriously though, we wouldn't use a caption card or anything like that. That would not fit at all. Could alternate dialogue somewhere help out? What and where I have no clue. This is definitely something wort addressing though. Obi-Wan trains for 20 years, Anakin for 10, and Luke for (what seems like) a week? I don't think so.

Also, now that we're talking about briefing scenes, is there any chance of replacing the DS graphic in the ANH briefing? I'm half cringing as I type this just from being used to it (and they are kinda cool in an old school way), but given the quality of the graphics in AOTC and ROTJ, the only explanation I can see for them looking like that is the status of the Rebellion at that point. They were just winning their first big battle, so that could definitely go for the explanation, but if you don't want to go with that and if it's feasible, it might be something worth looking into.

I really liked what DarthEditous did in his "Partially De-Specialized" ANH. Even though the graphics were still Atari quality, at least the weapon's array is now in the correct place (in his version). It boggles the mind that Lucas did not see the need to correct this GLARING error in the Special Editions. So at the very least, we'd go for what DE did with the graphics; anything more than that may stick out (assuming we could even accomplish anything more extensive).
Post
#195995
Topic
Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side (the TM edit) (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/195995/action/topic#195995
Time
Unfortunately it will have to be assumed Obi-Wan contaced the Larses before dropping Luke off. Some set up of the Obi-Wan/Owen animosity would have been nice, but we have what we have. Owen being Anakin's step brother was a clever move by Lucas to actually make him Luke's uncle (the poor kid had enough lies in his life) without giving Anakin any siblings which would no doubt complicate things. Owen being Obi-Wan's brother is a ridiculous idea that never made sense to begin with.