EddieDean said:

OK, my new edit of the intro is available now. 16 minutes long, but the main changes are the first ~8 min.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT JAR JAR’S VOICE AT THE END OF THIS POST.
PLEASE READ BEFORE WATCHING.

So, this edit isn’t quite complete, but that’s as much as I could get done today, and it’s decent enough to share for feedback.

While it might sound like a fairly radical edit of the intro, this still contains the vast majority of context from the original. We don’t have the Jedi on the Neimoidian ship, but we preserve most of the context that’s relevant to the plot, and what’s mostly lost is their action scenes (but we still get three Jedi action scenes in this intro). We also don’t have Otoh Gungah, which is mainly used to justify Jar Jar’s involvement, which isn’t required with alternate voice lines.

My feeling is that this flows very logically and naturally. Specifically, taking the criticism of my first attempt to heart, I first sought out the scenes which best flowed together, then ordered them to best control the flow of information for the viewer. I think it’s now a lot clearer, and emphasises many core plotlines - Neimoidian boldness, Sidious’ influence, Amidala’s role, and the goals of the Jedi. And the tension and viewer excitement is held for longer, so the energy levels are good.

But also, on pacing, it feels a lot more like the OT - specifically A New Hope. If we compare the two, Queen Amidala is our Death Star plans, which makes Naboo (not the Neimoidian ship) our Tantive IV which must be escaped in order to start the plot properly. The Jedi must get the Queen to Coruscant = the good guys must get the Death Star Plans to the Rebellion. ANH spends the first ten minutes on the Tantive IV (with an exciting pursuit-and-capture, clarifying the core conflict, worldbuilding, and kicking off the main plot). It then spends six minutes with the droids on Tattooine for lighter jeopardy and worldbuilding, then introduces Luke at minute 16. Now, this introduction spends the first eleven minutes on Naboo (with an exciting invasion-and-chase, clarifying the core conflict, worldbuilding, and kicking the main plot). It then spends five minutes in space for lighter jeopardy and worldbuilding, then introduces Anakin at minute 16. IT LIKES’S POEMRY. IT’S RHYTHM.

Also, while you don’t want to rush through the film at all, and you want to keep it to a decent length, trimming the opening like this also achieves two things: It gets Darth Maul in play earlier, so he can hang over the plot for longer; and it helps identify the main character - Anakin. The rest are supporting cast, with enough character that we understand and care about them, but after this intro the main bulk of the film from here is really Anakin’s story, with his actions driving the plot.

Oh, and I also intend to borrow a few other nice touches from Hal’s version for this intro - removing the droid’s weird scream as it’s force pushed, and the weird ‘does not compute’ dialogue.

IMPORTANTLY-

I haven’t finished the Jar Jar voicework yet. When you watch, please bear in mind the following: Jar Jar’s motivation (whether he’s already a representative or just a regular Gungan) is that he thinks Queen Amidala is a great leader and he wants to do what he can to protect her. There’s lots of lines in TCW that support that, that I’ll work to include soon. (He’s not necessarily a competent protector and he’s still goofy, but his heart’s in the right place and importantly HE HAS A MOTIVATION NOW.)

In place of the voicework I’ll do soon, I’ve just put in some of my existing Jar Jar alternate voice lines for now, which don’t always fit the context (he knows the Queen’s captured before she gets captured, for example), but hopefully they should serve to remind y’all that different things are being said at those moments, without it being too jarring. Importantly, one thing I’ll add is Jar Jar immediately identifying Qui-Gon as a Jedi, to help the audience make the same connection back to the crawl.

Anyway, have a look, BUT REMEMBER THE JAR JAR STUFF ISN’T FINISHED

Just got a peek. My first thoughts are that the first few scenes are really dull and boring. This is one of the biggest problems I have with the political stuff for Episode I, in general, and the absence of action amplified that problem.

However, the intro started to pick up once Jar Jar arrived (Never thought I’d say that in a sentence so, congratulations), and the rest of the intro is a general improvement over the last one. I’m not sure how I feel about Amidala thanking R2 and Jar Jar’s first conversation with Padme, but that might be bias on my part. Otherwise, this one is on the right track.

I think the big challenge is gonna be how to handle the political aspects without dulling the senses. We do need to have something that gives us an understanding of the conflict, so it’s not like we can just remove it all. But at the same time, I think getting down to the planet sooner would be ideal. I’m not sure how to acheive that balance, so I’m curious to hear what others might say before I attempt anything.

stretch009 said:

You don’t have to do the 1.33 one if you don’t want to.

It’s 576p not 540p.
storage resolution = 720x576
display resolution = 768x576. 768 divided by 576 = 1.33
A user on Myspleen said 576p has 20% higher resolution than 480p.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/576p
Google - 720x576

Okay, yes 720x540 is 1.33 but PAL is 576p and what stated above is correct.

You’re close! Handbrake is saying that the file is actually 716x574. However, because of the production proxy 540p preset, the storage size is automatically reduced to 720x540, which is disappointing.

In the PM’s we exchanged, you mentioned a program called VidCoder. I’m not sure about disk space, but I’ll see if I can install that and hopefully bypass the lowered resolution.

So, after a long talk with stretch009, I’ve been given a mux of the PAL version and the NTSC audio track, which happens to be in the full frame aspect ratio.

I still stand by my statements regarding the 1.85 format being what Kubrick intended, and having a 1.33 version does not change my opinion. However, because of the controversy, and some users swearing by the full frame format, I’m faced with little choice but to take up stretch’s file. I should make a few things clear though.

#1. It’s not hi-def

This should come as no surprise, but it’s in the PAL format. So, we’re dealing with 540p. I also don’t have the money or disk space for upscaling. stretch009 has offered to make a few improvements to bump the file up some more, but I’m not sure I have enough disk space at the moment to give the file an upgrade.

#2. I’m color grading the file

Of course, I plan to color grade the 1.85 version too, as the 2007 blu-ray that I happen to own is in need of it’s own makeover. However, because I’m dealing with a 720x540 resolution file, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to try and fix it up. I may have to do separate color grades for each version, so keep that in mind too.

#3. My work has doubled

Working on the 1.33 format is basically like doing two separate edits simultaneously. I have yet to cut up this file, and apply my own changes as of this posting.

So there you have it. I still believe that 1.85 is the correct format, and if you manage to find some of Kubrick’s production notes for the film, you will most likely find that 1.85 was what he prioritized, but for those who can’t live without 1.33, there you go.

stretch009 said:

EWS fan here. What do you think of making your edit in 1.33 and 1.66 also? (or just 1.33 along with 1.85) Would it be too much of a bother?

In my super long wall of text, I said that the blu-ray I own (and consequently the source) is in the 16:9 aspect ratio and there is no official HD source that I can legally obtain that is available in 1.33 (or 1.66). I’m also not sure how well my hardware (or software) handles region coding, so unless there’s a region-free version that I’m not aware of, I’m stuck with my 16:9 blu-ray.

There are only two ideas I can come up with. Neither of them are great. The first option is to crop the sides of my Blu-ray down to 1.33 or 1.66, which I really don’t want to do lest I summon the angry spirit of Stanley Kubrick. Even if I cropped to 1.66, I’d still be panning-and-scanning the image. The second is to buy the DVD off eBay. That’s the better option, but the quality would be significantly lower. I also don’t have the disk space (or the money) to do an upscaling of said DVD. So it would be in SD regardless. Topaz ain’t cheap!

Finally, if you’re willing to do it, I recommend reading the long, boring wall of text on the aspect ratio, as I’ve given a very thorough explanation on the issues and controversy surrounding the 1.33 format, complete with sources and YouTube videos too. It’s worth slogging through.

EddieDean said:

That said, I do have a couple more ideas I might try, for cutting the Jedi on the Neimoidian ship and allowing the movie to have better momentum at the beginning:

The first idea: If we’re trimming the Neimoidian ship, and a valid criticism of my original attempt was that we flick between too many locations, then perhaps we don’t need to see the Jedi on their ship at all - perhaps they begin on the planet. That way, the first time we see them they’re in action. There’s also a natural flow into that content, as it could be preceded by the army arriving in the swamp, which could itself be preceded by the Neimoidian/Sidious dialogue about the invasion. The opening crawl could simply help place them already on mission.

The second idea: This one’s a little more radical, but we could preserve some of the Neimoidian ship drama and existing plot, and build tension, if the ambassadors sent to the Neimoidians are different characters the Jedi. If the Jedi begin on the planet, getting flushed out by Trade Federation forces, then we still have the footage of a Republic ship arriving on the Neimoidian ship, and being destroyed. Plus we might be able to tie that in with Queen Amidala’s accusative phonecall.

Scene ordering might be:

• Opening crawl
• Neimoidians and Sidious discuss their hopes for the invasion
• Second set of shots of Trade Federation forces landing (this set nicely transitions from the sky to the ground)
• Jedi fleeing tanks, discover Jar Jar (a bit of new Jar Jar dialogue here might help give some key exposition)
• Jar Jar agrees to take the Jedi to Theed
• Set of shots showing Trade Federation forces travelling overground to Theed, Padmé laments at the window

Going with the second idea as well, you could put the scenes of the ambassador-but-not-Jedi ship arriving, then getting immediately destroyed, right after the crawl, which feels like it should flow OK. And Padmé’s smack talk could either come around that time - near Sidious calling her naive - or after her lament later on.

I guess between the two, I’ll pick the first one, since I feel lazy, and it’s an easier feat than the other one. Just a couple simple cuts with some crossfades if need be. The second one requires a lot of work, and I’m worried that you’d need someone who knows Blender all too well in order to pull it off.

I’m feeling exhausted due to my day job. But when I get my energy back, I’d be happy to work on the first option and upload the result like I did last time! What do you think?

Vilgefortz said:

Eyepainter said:

Reason #1: It’s my favorite film from the late Stanley Kubrick.

Reason #2: It’s everyone else’s least favorite film from the late Stanley Kubrick.

Not everyone else’s :>
I generally don’t like Kubrick, but with that one exception.

Very well then! It’s “most people’s” least favorite film from Stanley Kubrick.

Jokes aside, it’s good to meet another fan of this movie. I hope this edit does the film justice.

If there’s a Tarantino film out there that’s in need of a good editing job, it’s this one! I wish you the best of luck with this project, and I can’t wait to see it myself!

EddieDean said:

Looking forward to seeing it!

My feeling from my own rough demo was that removing the Jedi on the control ship might not be possible after all, though the pacing through the intro might still be improvable.

So I’m really excited to have someone else take a crack at this just in case!

Here’s my version of the intro! I’ve done what I could to polish up certain things, but those things that I can’t do are still incomplete. Hope it’s an improvement!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/118OZlN1IP2C3MvN-dsCAQd7AwEWqltwy/view?usp=sharing

CloakedDragon97 said:

I’m glad you’re going with the 1.85 ratio instead of 16:9. Also The Shining BD is in fact 16:9 as well.

To quote Lieutenant Frank Drebin, I knew it!

Anyway, I’m getting into the nitty-gritty stuff now. Deciding if I should remove the establishing shot of Ziegler’s place at the end, as it seems to be sticking out like a sore thumb with the editing choices I’ve made so far.

EddieDean said:

Yeah, you’re right. It just doesn’t flow at all. Oh well! Perhaps keeping the original opening is necessary for the flow.

Okay, I’ve been mulling over this alternate opening again, and I think I have an idea that could fix it up! Most of it involves cutting out the Palpatine scene. I’m gonna try this idea out and upload it when I’ve completed it!

Also, because I have a Custom Crawl Creator on Blender, I’m adding the opening crawl. It’s rendering as I type this! I’ll upload it all when it’s ready! 😉👌

Returning to the commentary track! 🥳

CloakedDragon97 said:

As good as Donnie Darko is, I felt the music was a little out of place, even for the setting.

Depends on which version you’re watching. I own the 3-disc blu-ray set, which contains both the theatrical and director’s cut of the film. I prefer the theatrical cut all the way, and the music is one reason. The director’s cut decided to change the music up, and I have no idea why. The music was just fine in the theatrical release.

Stanley Kubrick. The very name brings nearly messianic feelings in the hearts of cinema fans. With films such as Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket, there’s no denying the impact that Kubrick has had on both cinema and popular culture. Some would even go so far as to say that a Kubrick film is untouchable.

So, why have I decided to do a fan edit of Eyes Wide Shut? After all, it’s Kubrick. It should be untouchable, right? Well, I have two reasons:

Reason #1: It’s my favorite film from the late Stanley Kubrick.

Reason #2: It’s everyone else’s least favorite film from the late Stanley Kubrick.

Eyes Wide Shut is a film that is often said to be more of a whimper than a bang for the end of Kubrick’s filmography. And while the film does have its fans (myself included), there are plenty of folks out there who feel that it has some issues.

My approach to Eyes Wide Shut

I think a lot of the reasons why people tend to look down on Eyes Wide Shut is because of its vague structuring. With many of Kubrick’s other films, the structuring is so clear, it’s ridiculous. Dr. Strangelove has a clear three-act structure. So does 2001. Ditto for A Clockwork Orange. Same with The Shining. Full Metal Jacket? Okay, that one’s unusually structured, but yeah, I can still make out what Kubrick was going for. Eyes Wide Shut? Ummmm… That’s tough. I’m not even sure what counts as the film’s beginning, middle, or even end. Was Alice telling Bill about the sailor the official foray into the 2nd act? Or was it when Bill meets Nick Nightingale at the Sonata Cafe? Likewise, it’s hard to figure out what the climax of the film is. Was it the infamous Somerton scene? Or was it when Ziegler talks to Bill about the conspiracy? Or maybe it was when Bill finally told his wife the truth? It’s hard to make out what the structure is, and I think I know why. I have read Walter Murch’s In The Blink of an Eye, 2nd Edition, and I’m currently reading Edward Dmytryk’s On Film Editing, and both books have this particular editing rule: When a movie is too long, the best place to start is to cut out the subplots. Considering the film’s 159-minute running time, I think that rule is worth applying here.

There are two subplots in particular that I think are responsible for mucking up the structure. The first one that comes to mind is the Domino subplot. The second, and more heartbreaking one, is the Marion subplot. Currently, I have cut out both subplots, and I think the movie is much stronger (and shorter) without them.

I also want to be as respectful to Kubrick as much as possible. This means I’ve had to pay extra caution by comparison to my other fan edits. I’ve had to make some of my editing choices by individual frames! I have to assume that every cut must appear seamless. To do otherwise would be disrespectful to Kubrick.

However, I also want to honor the direction that Stanley was going for at the time he made this film. Some of you may or may not know this, but Kubrick was very close friends with Steven Spielberg in his later years, and he wanted to make more Spielberg-ian films at around this point in his life. A.I. Artificial Intelligence, was his next project, and it was going to be his personal attempt at Spielberg. But that never happened because he died during post-production on this film (Still, it says a lot about their friendship that Spielberg took the director’s chair for A.I. following Kubrick’s death). I have a theory that Eyes Wide Shut was supposed to be a bridge between the dark, cerebral tone of Kubrick and the fantasized, sentimental tone of Spielberg. That is my theory, but one that makes sense enough given the behind the scenes material, documentaries, featurettes, and interviews I’ve seen regarding this movie. So, I will be making certain editing choices with this Kubrick-Spielberg compromise in mind as well.

Changes list

Currently, my edit is sitting at a nice running time of 124 minutes. I must state that this is all subject to change for the time being (until the edit is released, of course). “-” means deleted. “/” means changed. “+” means added.

-Helen’s babysitter
-Nick Nightingale’s conversation with Bill at Ziegler’s
-Most of Bill’s phone conversation (Since the Nathanson subplot no longer exists)
-Three of the four visions of Alice mating with the naval officer (Once is enough)
-The fratboys
-The Marion subplot
-The Domino subplot
+The uncut and uncensored Somerton scene 😁
-The coffee table scene
-Bill deciding to leave his job early
-Bill’s second visit to Somerton (and 2nd warning)
-Bill calling Marion’s family
-Spinning hospital entrance shot
/Moved Bill’s return home to before the big “talk” with Ziegler
-First shot of the mask in the climax (For surprise’s sake)

A word on the aspect ratio

Because of the controversy surrounding the aspect ratios of Stanley Kubrick’s films (especially with this being one of his final three), I think it’s fair that I talk about the aspect ratio as it relates to my version of Eyes Wide Shut. I decided to do some online research about this subject beforehand, and what follows is my conclusion.

Let’s begin with the full frame 1.33:1 ratio, because there are some out there who believe that Kubrick’s true intentions were for his films to be released in 1.33. Part of the defense for this ratio is the extra head space combined with the tallness of the image when any of Kubrick’s films (post-2001, of course) are shown in the academy ratio. However, there are lots of problems with this argument. The first problem is that there’s almost nothing proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Kubrick wanted this. The second is that the argument originated from his assistant director, Leon Vitali, who’s been proven to be unreliable when it comes to Kubrick’s aspect ratios. This article from high-def digest does Vitali dirty, and shows an example where he got the aspect ratio for Barry Lyndon wrong:

https://www.highdefdigest.com/blog/barry-lyndon-aspect-ratio/

It’s best to ignore what Vitali says. Third problem is that, like many open-matte films of the past, there is a tendency for too much information to appear in 1.33. Kubrick, being the perfectionist that he was, mostly managed to avoid this trap in the academy format, but one famous goof can be found in the opening credits for The Shining. If you watch the bottom-right hand corner, there is a shadow of a helicopter in the 1.33 version. You can see the goof in this link:

https://youtu.be/5a-MS-lB8gM?t=71

But when this same shot is cropped for widescreen, the goof is gone:

https://youtu.be/9spGH0YMkj8?t=56

This tells me that Kubrick probably didn’t want his films to be in full frame. At the very least, it indicates that The Shining wasn’t supposed to be in 1.33. I doubt Kubrick would make such a simple mistake like that unless his intentions for the film were for it to be cropped later on by a projectionist.

Reason four revolves around The Criterion Collection. The fine folks over there have released five of Kubrick’s films, and just about all of them (Excluding Spartacus in 2.35:1) have been released in the 1.66 ratio, not 1.33:

https://www.criterion.com/films/27751-the-killing

https://www.criterion.com/films/27522-paths-of-glory

https://www.criterion.com/films/28822-dr-strangelove-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bomb

https://www.criterion.com/films/29008-barry-lyndon

Knowing Criterion’s obsession with getting it right as often as possible, it sounds like 1.66 was Kubrick’s preferred format, at least, for his earlier films. Some may argue that Dr. Strangelove was shot in multiple aspect ratios, and that the 1.66 format robs the film of that, but I don’t believe that makes a lot of sense given my own experiences looking at open matte 35mm film prints. Many shots of special effects are often cropped down to 1.85:1, while non-special effects shots are open matte, either at 1.37:1 or 1.19:1. This 35mm trailer for Big Top Pee Wee was supposed to be cropped with a 1.85 gate when projected in theaters, but when uncropped, you can see a lot of similarities to the varying aspect ratio effects of Dr. Strangelove’s 1.33 format.

https://youtu.be/VmKr_KvRfJU

The point is, it’s odd to me that Kubrick would want people to see those varying aspect ratio effects for Dr. Strangelove. Why would he want that? Did he really intend for people to see the nuclear warhead stick out of frame at the end of the movie? I’m not so convinced that Strangelove was supposed to be seen this way.

So, my long story short is that 1.33 is the wrong format for Eyes Wide Shut, despite some praise for the format.

But that leads us to the million dollar question. If it isn’t supposed to be in 1.33:1, which aspect ratio is it then? Is it 1.66? 1.85? 16:9? It’s a tough question, so let’s do some unpacking!

We’ll begin with my official copy of the film. It’s the unrated US blu-ray, which features a copyright from 2007. That’s an old blu-ray, but it happens to be the only physical copy in HD that is available here in the states, as they never re-released it since. The box claims that the aspect ratio is in 1.85:1, but that’s a lie. The blu-ray is in 1.78:1 (or 16:9, if you want to use that). This is a consistent problem with a lot of Kubrick films in the Warner Bros. catalog. I have the blu-ray of Full Metal Jacket and it’s also in 1.78 despite the box claiming to be 1.85. I’ve also heard that the blu-ray for The Shining suffered a similar fate. However, I can’t confirm anything since my copy of The Shining is the crusty old DVD with the 1.33 aspect ratio. Still, if The Shining blu-ray is in 1.78, I wouldn’t be surprised. When it comes to the aspect ratios of Kubrick’s films, take them with a grain of salt. They’re all 16:9, plain and simple.

So, with that out of my system, it’s worth asking: Did Stanley Kubrick intend for us all to see his films in the 16:9 format? It’s hard to know, since Kubrick isn’t available to ask, but my educated guess is no. Keep in mind that Warner Bros. Studios have released most of their 1.85 films in 16:9, not just Kubrick’s. So it’s fair to assume that many of Warner Bros. films in the 1.85 format have been reframed slightly to the 16:9 format. What’s worse is that this problem goes back to the DVD era as well! I own a 2-disc special edition DVD of the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon. That movie was released in the 1970s, where 16:9 barely was a thing (I hear 1.75:1 existed back then, but I’m not going to confirm what I don’t know). So, my educated guess is that Dog Day Afternoon was filmed with 1.85 in mind. But my DVD is in the 16:9 aspect ratio, not the 1.85 ratio. So if a film like Dog Day Afternoon can be improperly framed (however slightly), then so can Kubrick’s films.

So, that leaves us with two options: 1.66 and 1.85. Granted, Kubrick loved the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, but I think that once the 1980s rolled around, 1.85 became the standard, and Kubrick most likely caved in. So, my educated guess is that 1.85 is the correct aspect ratio for Eyes Wide Shut (and Full Metal Jacket, while we’re at it).

And just to prove even further that this is correct, here’s a link to a video that goes in-depth about the aspect ratio controversy, and I think it proves that 1.85 makes the most sense. There is a bit of mean language in the video below, so don’t play it in front of the kids, but if you’re a fan of all things Kubrick, I doubt you care. The admins might, though:

https://youtu.be/epNlWA_hNk8

So, there you have it. My conclusion is that Eyes Wide Shut is intended to be seen in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and my edit will honor that conclusion.

1.85:1: The aspect ratio for my edit

In preparation for this fan edit, I ripped my source file off my blu-ray and through the power of Handbrake, I cropped the image down from 1920x1080 to 1920x1036, which is approximately 1.85:1. Currently, I’ve cropped the top and bottom, but I’m tempted to go back and just crop the bottom instead, since the top of people’s heads might be a teensy bit more aesthetically pleasing that way. I’ll update this part if I decide to re-crop the file.

UPDATE (05-11-23)

The commentary track is now complete! I will now be prepping the edit up for release, which should take a lot less time than the commentary track did. I’d like to issue a special thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this edit a reality (including the folks who helped me on fanedit.org). Stay tuned. The edit is almost ready for release.

EddieDean said:

That’s better across the board.

I went to the Skywalker homestead back in 2009 when on holiday in Tunisia, and your grade is much more accurate to how it actually was. The walls are white paint, not off-white. Picture.

Wow! I didn’t expect to get the walls right, but that’s remarkable! I think that’s a good sign that I don’t need to play around with the color grading anymore.

I’m gonna work on the subtitles and sound editing next, and once those are done, I think v2 will be ready for release!

Making one last hurrah with the color grading. Seeing if I can push the grade just another step forward. Here’s the grade as it currently stands:

Here’s the readjustment:

The rest can be found in the spoiler tag below! Let me know what you think!

Spuffure said:

Eyepainter said:

Spuffure said:

Fun in Balloon Land is still the absolute worst movie I’ve ever seen (if it even qualifies as a movie) and probably will never be beaten, so it’s probably the worst movie I ever will see.

Oh God! I’ve only seen the Cinema Snob’s review, and even I can tell: That is one movie I don’t want to touch with a stick the size of a football field!

On a side note, I’ve watched IHE’s review of Manos: The Hands of Fate, and I can safely say that Manos is the second worst film I’ve ever seen. Still doesn’t beat FIBL, if that even qualifies as a film!

I’ve seen MST3K’s infamous episode of Manos, and boy, I felt the same way as Mike and the gang when watching that one!

EddieDean said:

Here’s a very ROUGH AND GLITCHY example of that idea, to give a feel for how the intro would feel if it played out that way.

I don’t know. For me, it suffers from, uh, every single image having so many things going on. At only 5 minutes, we’re constantly going back and forth between the invasion of Naboo, the Neimoidians, and the jedi, which makes this opening even more complicated than the original. For all of its flaws, at least the original opening placed most of its focus on Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, so it wasn’t too hard to follow (You could argue that this was done for eye candy, but the point remains).

I’m not sure if it’s doable, but I think the best way to fix this issue would be to make this opening longer or slower paced. This way, we can catch up with it a little more easily. Is there an extra scene or two that can be added in to slow things down?

JackNapier said:

That really helps. Thank you

You’re very welcome! 😃

I’m not sure if it works for everything you’re planning on, but I use DaVinci Resolve for editing. It’s free unless you want to spend $300 for the studio version (which you might if you want to add film grain).

If you want to go Adywan-level, I’m not gonna lie. That’s a challenge! But I suppose you can always start by installing and learning Blender. I’m a fan of Blender Guru’s YouTube channel, so here’s a link to lesson 1 of his Blender 3.0 tutorial. I hope you find it useful:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nIoXOplUvAw

JackNapier said:

I’m feeling emotionally empty, none of the people I’m talking to on my dating apps stir anything in me, my faith in my job is non-existent and I don’t feel at all enthusiastic about my search for grad school.

Not sure if this helps your situation, but I’ve found this helpful for my anxiety, so I figure it might be worth sharing!

I believe that a lot of what makes people miserable is that they’re searching for some form of control. They want to keep this situation in control or that situation or the other situation! They’re afraid that things will erupt into chaos and that things will go beyond their control, even if keeping things the way they are is a bad idea.

But the problem is that life itself is chaotic! Always is. Always has been. There’s a reason for the saying, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” So rather than try to keep things in control, I suggest this instead: embrace the chaos! Embrace, don’t fear, how out of control things can be. Embrace the unexpected things that life may or may not throw at you. Embrace the reality that nothing is ever certain. Do this, and you’ll gain peace of mind in any situation!

Or to make it short, the Joker was right, Batman was wrong!

I talked with him a few weeks ago, and he’s got a lot of life stuff going on right now. I don’t know the details, but that’s the reason why his presence on OT.com has diminished a lot recently. I hope life gets easier on his end and for his return, because this forum isn’t the same without him!

GMatias said:

Eyepainter said:

Got my voice back! My illness is getting better! My lungs are hurting, but otherwise, I’m recovering. Time will tell when I’m ready to come back to the commentary track, but I believe that it will be soon, possibly within a day or two! 🥳

Glad to hear you’re on the mend!

Thanks, GMatias!

I guess I’m in the 6 or 7 range, too, although my thoughts are a little more complicated. I haven’t seen Predator on blu-ray, so I can’t make an opinion on the grain issue, but in general, I’ll take a filthy, grainy image over a clean, plasticky image in most cases. Maybe my opinion would change if I saw an example where the grain interferes with the movie, but I’ve never experienced it.

Got my voice back! My illness is getting better! My lungs are hurting, but otherwise, I’m recovering. Time will tell when I’m ready to come back to the commentary track, but I believe that it will be soon, possibly within a day or two! 🥳

Hal 9000 said:

Give some of them blood stains on the fur around their mouths.

This is why I long for a grindhoused version of ROTJ!