Dazman

Hey guys! I’ve been posting here (very rarely) for years and I got excited about fan editing by following all the great projects around here. Now I got around to uploading one of my own so this is my first published fan edit.

I always had a few problems with the second Avengers movie that could be edited out to make the movie more enjoyable so that’s what I’ve done here. The base for this fan edit is kk650’s regraded version of the movie instead of the blu-ray, removing the yellow tint found on original and saving me some work. Also ”The Norn Cave” -deleted scene from the blu-ray is used.

The goals of the edit were:

-No Natalie & Bruce romance
-Less quipy Ultron
-Trimming the farm house time
-Thor’s extended cave trip

The Romanoff & Banner romance is the biggest issue for me as I just don’t find it believable at all. She’s a hard boiled agent so why she would fall for the sensitive guy actively trying to avoid any action? It feels so slapped on. This edit switches the dynamic to her being more motherly towards Banner which I think works way better and at least so far still fits with the rest of Avengers movies. This also let me shorten the farm house time that takes the momentum out a little too much in the original cut. Nick Fury’s monologue to the group at hawkeye’s home is slightly trimmed too.

The quirkiness and quips of Ultron seriously undermines the threat he gives off to the viewer so his lines are shortened for a menace effect. I wasn’t able to get rid of as much as I initially hoped because his quipiness is so integraded to his dialog, but I think it is better now nonetheless. I also tried to tinker his voice a little to make it more metallic in parts that sounded too human for my taste.

Also Thor’s cave trip was shortened way too much in original cut, so I have combined the original and ”Norn cave” - deleted scene. The used parts of deleted scene are color corrected to match the rest of the movie to the best of my ability and I somewhat boosted the lightning effects by emphasizing the color highlights. The stereo sound of the deleted scene is expanded to 5.1 sound (or 5.0 really) to match the rest of the movie. Now the scene makes more sense and lets Chris Hemsworth stretch his acting muscles more in the movie itself.

I slapped together a little trailer, not representative of the edit picture quality,cuts or effects wise 😉 :

https://vimeo.com/317691958

Pass: a2edit

This edit is not the first one I have done but the first one I feel has a merit to be published. I have learned some skills along the way and I think this fan edit is quite seamless to watch, considering the material available.

Original run time: 2 h 21 mins
New run time : 2 h 17 mins

If someone is interested, the link for the 10,3 GB MKV version of the movie is availableas as dlc file or separate links, just ask me a link via PM. I can also upload 21,4 GB version MKV if someone want’s it.

Jackpumpkinhead, it’s like you read our minds about the need for this crawl creator! Please PM me the link to the files!

I really should have written this review as soon as I was done watching the edit but was kind of busy. Skimmed through it again so here goes: 
 
The edit is very professional feeling as Siliconmaster claims, at least for my eyes. I didn’t notice any rough cuts and you notice something was missing form theatrical cut only if you stop to think about it. And how the Jedi get caught on the Invisible Hand is absolutely the way to go! Gets rid of the ray ”plot device” shield. 
 
The Palpatine speaking during the scene where Anakin broods before turning has never bothered me but the scene is a bit more atmospheric without the voiceover and just the music playing.  
 
I would have liked to see more silly droid sounds removed like when Obi & Anakin enter the Invisible Hand  and fight the first battle droids, that was great. But maybe that would have broken the seamless flow Siliconmaster was aiming for. And i dislike the buzz droids since they only pop up in this scene and are not seen in any other movies.  
 
I have always disliked the Ep 3’s ”hold the viewers hand to Ep 4”-ending as if every piece fell into its place on the same day for Ep 4 and then nothing happens in 20 years in between. Some things can be left to imagination. Unfortunately this edit does not fix those issues for me and even ads one (Dagobah). I would like to see at least the ”Vader looking at Deathstar”- scene go as it just oozes unnecessary fan service out of every crack. But I understand this depends on your personal taste. As I like a more radical edit, I’m not sure why Siliconmaster chose to revert back to ”Padme dying in birth” like in the original cut, didn’t Hal9000’s  edit use The Other boylean girl- clip to make her survive? Maybe it was some other edit, not sure.  
 
All in all a very good solid edit, although I prefer a more radical cut of the film.

DominicCobb said:

Yeah, no. Lightsaber is definitely brighter than Palps’s mood lighting. I don’t think it makes sense to ever see a lightsaber shadow.

^ This. Also realistic physics aside you know the shadows are from prop blades so they take you out of the moment, IMO. Anyway I don’t mean to start a new convo about it more than this, I just hope Ady considers removing them because they are more distracting in Jedi that in other two (haven’t spotted them in them)

This might be redundant being so obvious but I forgot this flat saber shot:

Guess they had difficulty painting the blade on the prop as the scene is so dark.

oojason said:

Very cool logo Dazman - nice work, and very much with a Star Wars vibe 😃

Thanks oojason! Can’t take the full credit for the design though, it’s a mod from one of the logos in the add campaign. I just don’t understand why they didn’t use one of those as they are better than the final one.

I’m more exited about this edit than the previous installments, because RotJ contains many of my favorite moments of the saga and the weak parts deserve to be elevated to make this movie even better!

As I’m not as eagle eyed as some of you or Ady, I’m sure he already knows about most of the issues I bring up but just in case…

This shot when the sail barge explodes looks way too modely, it needs new flames that don’t give the small scale away and some bodies laying around on the deck. Skiff could use some touching up too:

Another thing I noticed in a ”hero shot” of the Falcon:

And there are a number of issues in the lightsaber fight besides the terrible saber colors and Luke’s face being out of focus in the end in couple of shots:

I’m pretty sure the blade is supposed to be above the railing here:

RRS-1980 said:

SilverWook said:

Does anyone else miss …

There are more important things missing.
Title crawl discussion aside, why didn’t we get the STAR WARS logo itself?
This film deserves it more than anything filmed during the previous ~20 years…

The other thing about the opening logo is that it’s not very appealing to the eye. The letters are too thin. It would help if they where filled with the yellow color instead of just outlines.

I think they didn’t have anything set for this new title format because they probably assumed they were going to go with the basic logo – crawl combo. Then pretty late into production it was decided to omit the traditional opening so they had to throw something together in half a day. And that logo can be done in half a day using After Effects (and some vector work in Illustrator), there is a tutorial easily found on youtube.

Using the tutorial I managed to change the logo into this which I think works a lot better but is still it’s own title style:

Ady I’m late to the party but congrats for finishing ESB! I have taken a quick look at it and it looks really amazing. Holding off the whole viewing for R1 & OT marathon later this month/year. I haven’t watched the OT in years now so it should be as fresh as possible.

Q: I’m a little unclear about the BD – version: Will we have one BD-25 image for the movie itself and extras/making-of on the other BD-25 /DVD or all in one BD-25? I would prefer former way so you could maximize the picture and sound quality of the movie itself. Of course if the making of is mostly still pictures or SD video quality then it would probably not take that much space on the BD-25…

Worst director choice IMO. Good business decision for Kathleen cause they are in a hurry with this but terrible artistically.

Some of us loathed The Force Awakens for it’s lack of originality (and major plot holes) and some worried people are asking Rian in Twitter if Ep 8 is going to be Ep5 all over again. The first trailer at least didn’t have any shots resembling anything really new except for Luke’s lines. A good studio president would keep her ear to the ground about these things and hire people with some artistic vision and let them carve out something new. But no, she hires the One trick remake- man again.

Colin maybe had some original ideas and didn’t see the point directing something so closely aping old movies but Kennedy might have an exhaust port narrow view of ”what is Star Wars” so he got fired?

At lest I can have a twisted satisfaction of JJ trying to come up with explanations to his own mysteries he set up. It has been revealed recently what I suspected, that they had no plan about the story beyond 7. Jar jar just threw bunch of crappy mysteries to EP 7 and bailed leaving the others to sort it out. But now he has to deal with some of it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he just copped out of them by ignoring some of the mysteries or answering them as vaguely as possible.

Only interest for me at this point in the new trilogy is seeing if they give Luke some badass scene using force in new big way. I’m not sure it’s in TLJ and I have no hope that JJ delivers that in 9.

If this sequel trilogy continues to play it super safe it has NO merits of it’s own.

KK, I too have been enjoying your regrades greatly since I found them a couple of years ago. Not finding your work again was my main concern when TehParadox went down, so I’m glad you are still active on this forum. I would also be grateful for PM once you have a new base. Thank you!

Wampa looks amazing as has been said. Somebody just has to wear it long enough to lunge at the camera with hands raised and continuity works looks wise.

So…http://i.imgur.com/DWruVly.jpg

About the X-wing engines : I remembered to watch for them the second time I saw Rogue One and on Eadu research planet when it’s quite dark they are red but on Scarif when it’s bright daylight they are pink. So I would hope that Adywan follows that logic, that way we can have it both ways and more people would be happy with the result. (Yes I like red more) =)

Smithers said:

If you do the snow speeder chase, I’ll try to improve the special effects in it and add some music, it could turn out really good

I second this, because the snow speeder chase is the most interesting and fresh thing resembling a complete scene in these DSs. Amazing work xxtelecine 7xx!!

Jackpumpkinhead said:

Also something I might include in this little package

This is just a test so it is really rough

If you could do that scene in HD, it would be a huge service to future edits. Those other Jedi are totally useless! Could you do that with original purple sabre too, please?

You are facing a mountain of work though, I think. I have tried to play around with that scene and rotoing mace out of the same colored robes in the background is a nightmare to get looking right. Maybe you have more rotoscoping skills than me though.

Nope, it's all from the movie.

I am too perfectly happy with standard def behind the scenes features so that custom set looks very good and comprehensive to me. PM sent!

Now if someone would do the same for mission impossible 4's best buy exclusive extras I would be even happier. These exclusives are ridiculous for movie buffs, especially with retailers that don't even exist outside north america. These efforts are therefore much appreciated if/when paramount keeps pulling this crap on us.

aalenfae said:

Hey guys! I know I said I wouldn't be posting, but I managed to get a hold of some software to do tests while I'm abroad.

http://vimeo.com/77598556 
Here's some random ideas I had for RotS.
Pay special attention to the beginning of the video, where I've edited the scene in such a way that we don't need the awful "ray shields!" scene. And Keep in mind that if I went this route, the battle droids and Grievous would be redubbed. 

That elevator scene is pure freaking genius! I hope you are ready for it to be borrowed for future edits (credit to you, of course =). That rayshield scene is such a lazy writing, heroes need to be captured so there's a random shield system installed into ceiling to capture them. Yeah sure...

I did some inspired editing and I think R2 being captured is pretty easy to solve: https://vimeo.com/77981391

Yeah, some HD source would be ideal. And I suggest you start with the villain change to see what can be done about that, because as someone who has been learning to do some effects work, I know that it's gonna be a lot of work for you. Looks like you are planning some ambitious changes!

I would be interested in seeing an not-so-predictable-cut of the movie, but I actually enjoyed this one in it's original form a lot for it's scenery, score and atmosphere. It was a positively surprising slow building movie amongst this summer's ADD - tent pole movies.

aalenfae said:

bobgarcia74:
Well, Bob - I  think this is probably the next best option. However... it still doesn't explain why Anakin seems troubled over his actions. If he's cocky and gloating when he kills Dooku - which you nail perfectly in your clip - it's a little strange that 1 second later, he looks like he regrets it. It's okay for him to regret it later, but he should at least have a little transition time.  The suddenly-feeling-remorse-in-the-next-shot feels too awkward. The sudden remorse only works in the original context, and in a heat-of-the-moment context, I think. 

If there was somehow a way to get a transition period like... "My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count," then he kills Dooku. As Dooku crumples to the floor, Anakin lets out a spiteful, nonvocal laugh and gives a "See how awesome I am?" look to Palpatine before realizing what he just did, and feeling some remorse. 

But other than that... it would seem strange. Unless there's a better way to make Anakin kill Dooku in the heat of the moment.

Have you tried speeding up the shot of Dooku's saber landing on Anakin's hand? Maybe the next shot too where Dooku falls on his knees. Then they lock eyes and cut Dooku's scared stare little shorter than in original cut. Anakin cuts his head of and after that use Palpatine's line "You did well" but cut it before "...Anakin" so we don't see Anakin starting to turn too much towards Palpy. Then you show the remorse shot and cut to the space battle. That might work.

emanswfan said:

Well, after a long time, I've decided to start work on individual edits of the prequels.  My goal is this is create really good versions of the films without having to butcher the films to the point of making it not Star Wars length like previous edits have done.  I will acheive this using new music, drastic rearragement, and some new vfx to acheive certain edits.

Right now I am in the rough stages of my version of Episode II: The Seperatist Rise. My goals are very similar to other edits, apart from:

• More Deleted Scenes added (hugely improved HD quality, shhh...)
• Less cut (only bad dialogue and stupity cut)
• New arragement (Opening with Kamino, etc.)
• Lots of new music from Clone Wars, The Old Republic, etc.

 

Preview Clips:

Fireplace Scene: https://vimeo.com/51874671 (audio cuts still being worked on)

Obi-Jango Fight Scene: https://vimeo.com/52621993 (new soundtrack only.  cues still being modified.  movie audio still being processed)

I don't believe that the fireplace-scene can be saved with any editing. It's horrible in every way and the worst scene in AOtC, maybe in the whole PT. I squirm in shared sense of shame every time I see it.

I think that thing is just best cutted. AOTC is the longest of the films and if you are incorporating deleted scenes you still have plenty of running time. Also the info in that scene is somewhat communicated in other scenes so it's not irreplaceable. 

Have fun with the edit! 

After initial HOLY F**k reaction this might not be so bad. If fox has the rights to the existing movies and Lucasfilm keeps operating as independent unit then these excellent projects on this site probably can continue, which is the main priority to me out of anything SW-related.

As for new movies, the universe is large enough to tell new stories and it's interesting to see minimal Lucas influenced movies. Could be good. I don't think there is need to follow EU that closely though. I read the books up until first NJO trilogy when I was younger and never cared about them that much. Didn't they have like 3 new Death Stars in books. New republic was still using the same ships as rebellion. The EU didn't seem to have enough of it's own life. And lizards blocking the force..I think they should do their own thing with Ep. 7.

Is there a version of RotJ that is colour corrected and includes the 04 end celebration and music combined with original Anakin ghost? I also like the beak on Sarlacc.

I really like the SE celebration as it widens the scope from just forest party with bears to interplanetary scale. But otherwise 04 version is unbearable. I currently don’t have a version of Jedi I like to watch.

This has probably been answered somewhere but I can’t find info about it after some searching.

Hey guys, have you seen this? Probably will resonate with many people here. Pretty funny:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/the-star-wars-that-i-used-to-know-gotye-parody_n_1633747.html

Hey guys, I've been following the conversation here and decided to register and give my two cents. I don't think this has been mentioned but cockpits seem to be transparent again in Hoth fight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsF6norzNg8&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

How can that be? They fixed that for the 97 SE but now it's there again. Is that because it wasn't fixed in the film which 04 master was made from? Or did they fix only part of the shots in 97? 

97 changes didn't bother me back then but the 04 dvds truly where sub bar. Something is horribly wrong when you grinch during some shots that used to be just fine. And really unnecessary changes as we all know. I could live with 97 version (if effects updated) but it has gone really messy now.