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!
Give some of them blood stains on the fur around their mouths.
This is why I long for a grindhoused version of ROTJ!
I’m going back to work, which means more stress and less time to build relationships.
Not sure what your situation is like, but I managed to make a few friends on Discord, and I’ve found it immensely helpful! If you can find some people who are willing to invite or DM you on Discord, I highly recommend it! 😃
Discord is indispensable for day-to-day socializations, but our monkey brains were not meant for the Internet. We still need in-person relationships.
When you work in customer service and live in a hick town where everyone is an entitled old male Karen with a fragile ego, you don’t have a choice.
Besides, I can testify to the effectiveness of Discord because I myself found a few support groups after calling the national suicide hotline. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Discord. If that isn’t a winning recommendation, then nothing is.
I have some bad news in regards to the quality. My computer is running low on disk space, and I don’t think I can keep uploading both 1080p and 720p files at the same time. So, I’m making a painful decision and releasing my edits in 720p, starting with v3.5 of this edit. This way, I can keep my computer from running out of room.
However, I want to throw a silver lining on all of this. Back in my Episode VIII edit, I released my alternative color grade, “in glorious blue!” in a very high quality 720p file. It offered a compromise between the 10.6 gb 1080p file and the 3.8gb 720p file at 8.32gb. For a 720p file, “in glorious blue!” was pretty darn good! I hope to bring about the same result with these future 720p files! I might even switch the encoding to “high” instead of “main” just for good measure!
So yes, my apologies for the inconvenience this may cause, but I’ll do my best to make those pixels count! 😃
I’m going back to work, which means more stress and less time to build relationships.
Not sure what your situation is like, but I managed to make a few friends on Discord, and I’ve found it immensely helpful! If you can find some people who are willing to invite or DM you on Discord, I highly recommend it! 😃
You might wanna be careful with turning Luke’s lightsaber blue! The reason the lightsaber was turned to green in the first place was because it blended in with Tattooine, making it hard for the audience to see. You can see the problem in this 16mm teaser trailer:
That is true! If you look online for tests people have made, it doesn’t look as bad as you would think, except for a few shots maybe. I think desaturating the sky could potentially help. Obviously I love the green saber and glad they changed it from blue to green, but the point of this edit idea would be more of a “what if”.
Oh! Carry on then! 😃
This thread is starting to go a little silent, so how about we start talking about the big huge elephant in the room. The ewoks! I have no idea what I would do to fix those guys up beyond taking out some of their goofier moments in the climax (something like all the ewoks trying to pull the rope on the walker, for example). I would love to see what others would do to try and fix those critters!
Still getting my voice back, so I decided to fool around with the color grading for Episode II again! After completing Episode I, I decided to see if Episode II’s newest grade could be improved using the same grading ideas I got from Episode I. I’m not sure if this is an improvement or not, especially since I and II were both shot differently. Episode I was shot mostly on 35mm film (I think), while Episode II was a digital shoot from start to finish! So what might’ve worked for Episode I may not work so well on Episode II. I’m just putting that up, since I have no idea if this is an improvement or a step backward.
Here’s the current grade:
Here’s my readjusted grade:
Lemme know your thoughts! The rest is under the spoiler tag below!
While I want to think of simpler ideas that just try to improve the movie as-is without major restructuring, I think I would still like to experiment with a major overhaul and then compare the two versions.
Without getting into it, the project I’ve thought about doing is a Revenge of the Jedi edit using Puggo Grande or 35mm Grindhouse as the base source. Any edits or vfx would feel period-accurate, and not CGI. I like the idea of it being a “lost workprint” or a film reel that somehow was brought over from an alternate history where ROTJ matured with its audience a little more. It would use some ideas like Luke having a blue saber, Luke and Leia not being siblings, etc. I feel like a heavy restructuring of the film would be appropriate for an edit like this. It wouldn’t try to be “better” than what we got, just different.
You might wanna be careful with turning Luke’s lightsaber blue! The reason the lightsaber was turned to green in the first place was because it blended in with Tattooine, making it hard for the audience to see. You can see the problem in this 16mm teaser trailer:
The only thing is, though, with the whole “he was training on Dagobah the whole time” idea, it doesn’t make any sense for Luke to wait a year to get clarification from Yoda and Obi-Wan about Vader being his father, or for them to wait that long to tell him. You could technically cut those parts, but that’d only work for a chronological saga edit (which is my preferred way of viewing the saga, but that isn’t universal) and you’d lose crucial character moments. I’d hate to lose, “There is still good in him” and “He’s more machine now then man, twisted and evil.” I at one point considered having a timeskip in which there would be an opening that took place right after ESB, Luke lands on Dagobah and confronts Yoda and Obi-Wan about the truth. Then it timeskips to a year later with the Vader death star arrival. But I realized timeskips don’t work for the style of Star Wars, as talked about in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD2G0D-nyLA) and would make it not feel like a Star Wars movie anymore. So really, to me, the only way it makes sense is to just keep it the way it is (except for rearranging the Tatooine scenes so Leia’s plan is first, then Luke’s, which clears up basically all the odd decision making) and have it so Luke is a more self-taught Jedi, lose Yoda confirming Vader is Luke’s father and the Obi-Wan conversation (unfortunate but doable) or just accept the idea that the Jedi masters refused to tell Luke more about his past and his family for a year (which just doesn’t feel right).
I already said this, but I think if the Jabba the Hutt sequence and the Dagobah sequence were switched around, it would improve the film structurally. For me, the Dagobah sequence sets the plot in motion and takes the film into Act II. I personally don’t think cutting Dagobah out would do any good for ROTJ. More likely, it would make it worse.
I wasn’t expecting to be as impressed with this grade as I am. Everything looks a lot more real, a lot more natural, a lot more OT.
This is the kind of reaction I love hearing! I have nothing else to say about the color grading other than “that’s a wrap!”
Just made it through Season 7 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia! Overall, it’s not as memorable as seasons 3, 4, and 5, but it’s good enough. I have high excitement for future seasons (Especially since I’ve heard good things about one particular episode), and I hope to see what messed up shenanigans the gang will go through next!
While I’m waiting for my voice to make a full recovery, I decided to make one last last LAST idea for the color grading. I was looking through some more 35mm movie trailers on YouTube, and I loved the film quality of this trailer for the 1991 film, Black Robe!
So, naturally, I want to try and get my color grades to look more like that! I decided to go back and rework my previous black level adjustment. I ended up having to lower the contrast for this reworking, so if that’s a concern for you, keep that in mind while looking at the comparisons.
Here’s what the color grading is like right now:
And here’s my reworked black level readjustment:
And yes, I’m still planning on sticking with the original grade for now. However, I like exhausting all possibilities first, so if you think this newer readjustment is better, feel free to speak up about it! As always, you can find the rest in the spoiler tag below:
Got a little bad news on the audio commentary. I lost my voice this morning, and I think I’m coming down with a cold. This means I’ll have to delay work on the commentary track until my voice comes back. Sorry about that! I’ll do my best to get well as soon as possible!
I dislike the idea of chocolate Easter Eggs. It feels to me like consumerist nonsense and corrupts the true meaning of Easter.
Well, aren’t all holidays consumerist?
i think is too green but it works in the naboo scenes
A lot of 35mm and even 16mm film has that sort of green tint, so it is intentional. Here’s one 35mm film trailer I dug up which has a faint but noticable example of the green:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ezX-jxblFqc
Here’s another trailer that shows it a little more:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5nasuYdPAuw
And here’s one that definitely has it:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ReGqmIJT6gc
If it makes you feel better, I will most likely release 3.5 with the previous grade when it’s complete. However, I came up with this newer grade a couple days ago, and I figured it would be interesting to see what others think about it before I stick with what already worked.
I’m still reading through all the discussion here (ROTJ is my favourite OT film, so I’m excited to pick it apart), but a tiny note: the subtitle font for the aliens is Franklin Gothic Demi Bold.
And if that font isn’t available, try Franklin Gothic Demi Cond as an alternative! I used that font for my prequel edits, and it looks almost identical to most Star Wars subtitles! Just a heads up for any other fan editors having this problem.
I don’t have 4k at my place, so it’s Harmy’s despecialized editions for me! I also have a soft spot for Puggo Grande’s 16mm preservations if for no other reason than to see a close approximation of what the trilogy looked like in a theatre. Plus, I like researching film prints and seeing what the colors actually looked like on film (or might have due to deterioration of the print).
Okay, I’ve just come up with one more crazy idea for the color grading. I’ll probably decide to stick with what already works, but I like this other idea enough that I figured I’d share it, even if I may be going too far in a few places.
The most basic thing I did was adjust the black levels to a more teal blueish color. That’s pretty much it. The only other thing I did was amp up the orange look even further when the teal started taking up most of the film. I think this one might be the most cinematic looking grade I’ve come up with to the point where it might be too much. But out of curiosity, here it is.
We’ll start with the present grade:
Then, we have the black level adjustment:
As you can see, the two are very different from each other. I will most likely stick with the previous grade anyway, but if you feel this new adjustment improves on perfection, feel free to chime in and change my mind. It’s interesting enough that I’m willing to consider it. The rest is in the spoiler tag below:
I don’t have as many ideas for how to “improve” ROTJ, but one simple idea I have in mind is to restructure the first half hour or so. In a nutshell, I would do a bit of a sequence rearrangement like this:
Sequence 1: Vader landing on the second death star
Sequence 2: Luke on Dagobah
Sequence 3: Jabba the Hutt
This would give the film more of a beginning, middle, and end, as the basics and rules of the plot are really explained on Dagobah. Starting the film off with Jabba the Hutt was not the best decision, because that entire episode had almost no set up for the rest of the film. The Jabba episode is better as a part of the second act, not the first.
The only issue that concerns me is how to explain Luke’s talk with Han in the X-Wing after the Jabba sequence ends. This is because the scene is a prelude to the Dagobah sequence, so getting it to transition to the rebel base could be tricky. Other than that, I think it’s an improvement.
Insert the Grass Skirt Chase music from Spongebob Squarepants when Han and friends are trying to get away from the Empire fleet in ESB.
As someone who has read almost every screenwriting 101 book out there (From Syd Field to Robert McKee to Blake Snyder), and as someone who has read Aristotle’s Poetics, I’m a strong believer in the phrase, “less is more.” For every movie that’s too short, I could name a dozen or so other films that suffer from being too long.
In all fairness, I believe that when you force a movie into a certain runtime, there’s a greater chance that the movie will be less than the sum of its parts. But not every movie that is three hours in length is automatically The Godfather, and while I’m about to generate some controversy for saying this, I have to say it. Not every Star Wars movie should be two hours or longer. In fact, I think this is what’s making Star Wars movies less interesting as of late. If you look at each trilogy and ignore the special editions, the original trilogy that is so highly revered is also the shortest one, with the longest movie being 132 minutes and also the weakest. The sequel trilogy on the other hand, is arguably the longest of the three trilogies and one of them is a whopping 2 1/2 hours!
Too many movies nowadays are bloated, and while there’s always a movie or two that gets away with a long running time (such as Avengers: Infinity War), I honestly wish more movies were shorter right now. Finding a movie that is only 90 minutes today is becoming an increasing rarity.
Eyepainter, your regrades are all getting really nice. You’ve got a real talent for this. Are they each a single universal regrade that you apply to the entire film, or are you doing it scene by scene?
Most of the time, I do it universally. Once in a blue moon, however, continuity does become a problem and I’ll fix the issue by clip. I had one continuity issue at the end of Anakin and Padme’s droid factory infiltration where the blues conflicted with the reds due to my own changes on the breaking of Anakin’s lightsaber. I went into clip mode and changed the blue tint to red, fixing the continuity error.
Other than that, the grade is on the whole timeline.
I think it’s time to discuss the color grading for my Episode II edit, as I think it’s in need of a boost! The last one wasn’t bad, per se. But comparing the color grading of this edit with the other Star Wars edits I’ve done, it’s beginning to stick out like a sore thumb. The color grade that is currently released is somewhere in one of my hundreds of USB flash drives, so I’m gonna be lazy instead and leave the link to my Episode II trailer, which features the same color grade:
In the trailer, you’ll notice that the grade is extremely yellow, and overly desaturated. This was my sad attempt to give Episode II a more cinematic look. Fortunately, I’ve gotten to that point where I’m close to perfecting the cinematic look that I want (If I haven’t perfected it already). I think v2’s color grading is gonna be a real nice change from v1. While I can’t get screencaps for v1, I can get screencaps for the blu-ray, so I will be comparing my latest grade with the blu-ray instead. If you want to compare v1, go watch the trailer in the link up above. It’ll give you enough of an idea.
Here’s my 2011 blu-ray:
…And here’s my latest grade:
Much like v3.5 of my Episode I edit, Episode II is also getting both the S-Curve treatment as well as the orange look. And I think it’s even more appropriate for Episode II because it’s such a warm movie, especially when we get to Tattooine and Geonosis. I’ll let the screencaps speak for themselves. You can check them out in the spoiler tag below:
I dislike that its still not available on a modern high definition format in its original form after all these years .
I know, right? On the bright side, though, there’s always Harmy’s Despecialized Editions on this forum. That, and Puggo Grande’s 16mm preservations for those who love seeing movies in a filthy film state. 😏
Happy to hear! All that’s left for me to do is work on the audio commentary, and I think Episode I will be ready! 😃
