Eyepainter

Mrebo said:

Eyepainter said:

Replace John Williams’ score with Charles Trenet’s “Boum!” during the Order 66 montage.

This idea is so good it has been nagging at me so I slapped this together only using Boum for audio (apologies for video quality issues). I made some fast and dirty edits to get the first boum and scene changes lined up a little better, but it was halfway there on its own. The two best moments lined up without any alteration and the camera work goes so well - watch to the end. There is some natural synchronicity between the lyrics and what is on screen. This could really be finessed into something brilliant I think.

https://streamable.com/3hbfoe

Ah, the wonderful things we do in the name of fan editing!

RogueLeader said:

This might not be the right place for this, but I wanted to have a discussion with you guys regarding some thoughts I’ve had that could potentially be used for fan edits.

Something I love about the OT films, especially the very first Star Wars film, is the texture you get from 35mm film and analog music recording from that era that no longer see very much in modern cinema. With Star Wars being a used, lived-in universe, I think the imperfections of film grain and analog saturation really added to that aesthetic. When you go back and watch the films, especially the Project 4K or Puggo Grande versions, it makes the films feel almost like an artifact or a treasure from some bygone era.

It probably makes more sense to simply modernize the OT to fit a more contemporary level of quality, but I think there is something special to that old school look that I think would help make the newer films feel more like Star Wars, strangely enough.

I would really love to explore ways to “age” the other Star Wars films to be more in-line with the Original Trilogy. I could see how a film like Rogue One could benefit from this treatment, with it’s narrative proximity to Star Wars 77. But I’d also be interested in seeing how this would work with the other Saga films.

I believe Nev has made some LUTs that has some film grained added. I might be wrong. I also know snooker had made some tests with some of her prequel trilogy edits that gave them a more grainy film look, plus remixing the audio to sound more analog. She even redid some effects shots to feel more in-line FX wise with the OT. It’s kind of ironic, but I find an appeal to actually making some of the effects worse. Perhaps trying to “age” the newer films would feel inauthentic, but on the other hand, it could be a clever way to make all the films, new and old, feel more cohesive. Would love to get some thoughts on this.

You’re not alone, Rogue. I do a lot of color grading on my own fanedits to reach that angelic 35mm film aesthetic, although sadly, I do not have the ability to throw film grain on the movies (unless I manage to save up $300 on my editing software). I’ve even looked up some 35mm movie trailers on YouTube, got Puggo Grande’s 16mm edits of the OT, and even bought a few film trailers on eBay myself so that I could study and research what a “film look” is supposed to be. It’s been a frustrating experience at times, but if you want to see where my research has gone lately, I posted my latest color grading screencaps on my Episode VII fanedit thread.

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Star-Wars-Episode-VII-The-Eyepainter-Fanedit-A-WIPChanges-announcedWorkprint-released/id/90298/page/2

I should comment that I only just yesterday found a way to combine both the orange and blue film looks using a parallel mixer in Resolve. I’m not sure the results will be perfect, but I do plan to get some screencaps in when I’ve finished unpacking everything at my new place. So, if this interests you enough, stay tuned for that as well.

CaptainFaraday said:

Hal 9000 said:

Yoda is pretty tall in the prequels until his legs are cut off while dueling the Emperor.

“Mmmmm, lost my legs did I, Obi-Wan! Yours, you must give to me, hrrmmmm!”

Judge me by my size, do you?

Just removed the last three lines from Rey’s conversation with Leia about the Sith Wayfinder. Those lines being:

“Find Exegol. Find the Emperor.”
“No.”
“I don’t want to go without your blessing, but I will. I will. It’s what you would do.”

The main problem I have with it is that it adds an unnecessary subplot to the film that is quickly resolved a scene or two later. I already got rid of the other scene in the past. On top of that, I don’t think there is a need for Rey to have some antagonism with Leia, especially after what happens to Leia in this film. One surprising thing I’ve seen (but have decided to welcome) from the changes I’ve made so far is how much less antagonistic and more supportive and positive the resistance is to each other throughout the trilogy. And I think keeping Rey and Leia’s relationship on a good note before one of them has to leave for Pasaana makes things much more impactful later on.

Replace all uses of The Imperial March with Katrina & The Waves “Walking on Sunshine.”

PM sent! 😃

Anyway, moving on.

So after looking through the Crait battle once again, and seeing the changes I’ve made to the battle, I still found myself feeling like something was off. So I decided to watch the Crait battle again to monitor my emotions during the climax, and I found out that the thing setting off my “Uh-oh” sensors was

Luke’s lightsaber confrontation with Kylo.

I decided to remove a few major lines from that confrontation, and I think my issues have been resolved. I’ll have to look it over again just in case, but I think I’ve done it.

With that in mind, here are the lines I removed from the confrontation:

The first two are “Did you come back to say you forgive me? To save my soul?” and “No.” I’m not sure what it is about these two, but they came across as redundant after all the changes I’ve made. Surprisingly, the removal of those two lines makes the beginning of the fight completely told through visual, which made it more effective. I’m still looking for a concrete reason why it works, but maybe it’ll make more sense after I watch it again.

The next line is “I failed you, Ben.” I have no idea why it took me this long to realize it doesn’t work, but it did. I think I already mentioned in the general changes list that I cut out Luke’s lightsaber bits from the flashbacks, which pretty much means that Rey was right. He didn’t fail Kylo, Kylo failed him. So now, all Luke says to Kylo is “I’m sorry.” which comes with a more plausible feel to the moment.

The last line I’ve cut out is a gigantic one. “The rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last jedi.” I had already cut out “The rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning.” in the workprint, so I don’t think that requires much of an explanation. However, I want to focus on “And I will not be the last jedi.” This goes back once again to my intention of creating a more ambiguous ending. The cutaway to Rey after that line gives off an implication that either she is “the last jedi”, or that she will bring about a new generation of jedi. This doesn’t work so well for what I have in mind. So, I’ve reduced Luke’s entire speech down to just the part that was foreshadowed during Rey’s training: “Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong.” This leads to a reaction shot of Kylo, then cut to Rey. I like this approach. It’s effective for foreshadowing reasons, and it makes the sparkle of hope that Rey will stick with the rebellion not quite as on the nose. I’m fine with offering just a glimmer of hope that she won’t join Kylo. Not a lot, but just enough to tease and foreshadow the next film. Otherwise, lessening the effect of Rey being the last jedi is good for what I want to accomplish.

Mrebo said:

Jedi fight aboard control ship.
A bunch of persnickety changes and one to suit my modified narrative. Let me know what you like, don’t like, and alternate ideas.

Daultay no longer “stunted” only “slime”

Because invasion already underway Palpatine’s line about making it legal has been repurposed in a way that is dismissive and foreshadowing.

Exterior shot of ship blows up few frames in. Lightsaber sounds a couple frames later to better match the action.

Removed “dioxin” shot / Nute telling droid to go in / droid voices. I like idea it is the Jedi who opened the door but it is quite fast. I’ve liked similar edits others have done and will have to consult them further.

Removed Nute’s interruption “what is going on down there” shot.

Trimmed exchange between Nute/Run about having encountered Jedi before.

Removed Obi-Wan’s post-slash posing.

Moved “close the blast doors” shot in a way I think flows better.

https://streamable.com/kdfus5

I think it’s wonderful. The only bit I might suggest removing is the line, “We will not survive this.” But then again, that’s just me. Otherwise, I like it.

Replace John Williams’ score with Charles Trenet’s “Boum!” during the Order 66 montage.

Octorox said:

GLogus said:

I hardly think it’s analogous to a scoop of feces. Poppasketti seems to have done a fine job with it.

I think any fanedit made by someone who hates the film they are editing is destined to fail. The best fanedits are made by those who have the ability to be critical but still have at least some respect and affection for the source material, as well as regard for the filmmaker’s vision.

This is a lot nicer than what I would have said…

As a lover of this movie, I’m going to try not to come from a defensive place. It’s fine that it didn’t work for you. But the reason to “fanfix” a film is because you feel the film has potential, and that its potential can be brought out through editing. It sounds like you don’t have respect or admiration for any aspect of this movie, so you might as well save yourself the time by just not watching it.

Wow, I didn’t expect to come back from the move to address some controversy, but I guess I need to talk about this before it gets worse.

Here’s the thing. I am not a big “fan” of the whole “if you were a real fan you would love it” line of logic. I’m sure it’s well-intentioned, but it suffers too much from the “no true scotsman” fallacy, and it raises too many questions on who or what a fan even is. If I were a Batman fan, for example, does that mean I have to like Batman & Robin in order to fix it? Let’s reverse it. If I liked Batman & Robin, but I didn’t like anything else related to Batman, does that mean I’m a “real” fan and all those other people who love the mythology of Bruce Wayne are not? I personally would say no, but that’s debatable. The point is that there is no clear definition of who does and doesn’t count as a fan, and I think it’s arrogant to assume that you know who does.

I’m not going to pretend that I’m editing TLJ because I have warm and fuzzy feelings for it (although I suppose I was being too harsh on the main topic, so I guess it needs a rewrite), but I am editing the film as a Star Wars fan, and as a fan of cinema. Personally, I think those two criteria are good enough to call this a fanfix, which is what the term means. I’m a fan, and I’m fixing it.

Also, any fanedit made by someone who hates the film they are editing is destined to fail? On what evidence? I don’t know what edits you’re watching, GLogus, but we aren’t watching the same ones, honey. I’ve seen plenty of edits that were made by people who weren’t “in love” with the film itself. The Phantom Editor is one notorious example that comes to mind, and he has stated both in his opening crawl and in his own commentary that he edited Episode I due to his own (and many other fans) disappointment with the film. An attitude that I’m utilizing for this version of Episode VIII.

The first stage of my move begins. I will be starting work on the move tomorrow, where I will be moving to a friend’s place. I’ll try to get my computer back up and running as soon as I possibly can (I hope to get it all ready sometime next week). Then I can worry about what to do next for the move (and keep working on my fan edits when I have the time). So yes, I will be absent on this site for a bit, but I hope to return as soon as I possibly can!

jadenkorr41 said:

lol its your edit, you can do whatever you want to it. I just see fan edits as how far are people going to close the gap between head canon and what is shown to you. Theoretically almost anything can be justified/reasoned. It’s just do you accept it or not? Sounds like you dont accept this line, so since its your edit, be gone with it! haha

Well, it’s a wonderful thing that that’s exactly what I’m doing! 😆

The first stage of my move begins. I will be starting work on the move tomorrow, where I will be moving to a friend’s place. I’ll try to get my computer back up and running as soon as I possibly can (I hope to get it all ready sometime next week). Then I can worry about what to do next for the move (and keep working on my fan edits when I have the time). So yes, I will be absent on this site for a bit, but I hope to return as soon as I possibly can!

The first stage of my move begins. I will be starting work on the move tomorrow, where I will be moving to a friend’s place. I’ll try to get my computer back up and running as soon as I possibly can (I hope to get it all ready sometime next week). Then I can worry about what to do next for the move (and keep working on my fan edits when I have the time). So yes, I will be absent on this site for a bit, but I hope to return as soon as I possibly can!

The first stage of my move begins. I will be starting work on the move tomorrow, where I will be moving to a friend’s place. I’ll try to get my computer back up and running as soon as I possibly can (I hope to get it all ready sometime next week). Then I can worry about what to do next for the move (and keep working on my fan edits when I have the time). So yes, I will be absent on this site for a bit, but I hope to return as soon as I possibly can!

The first stage of my move begins. I will be starting work on the move tomorrow, where I will be moving to a friend’s place. I’ll try to get my computer back up and running as soon as I possibly can (I hope to get it all ready sometime next week). Then I can worry about what to do next for the move (and keep working on my fan edits when I have the time). So yes, I will be absent on this site for a bit, but I hope to return as soon as I possibly can!

The first stage of my move begins. I will be starting work on the move tomorrow, where I will be moving to a friend’s place. I’ll try to get my computer back up and running as soon as I possibly can (I hope to get it all ready sometime next week). Then I can worry about what to do next for the move (and keep working on my fan edits when I have the time). So yes, I will be absent on this site for a bit, but I hope to return as soon as I possibly can!

Why opt for phone numbers when you can opt for the telegram?

CaptainFaraday said:

I love this idea. I imagine there would be heaps of Roger Corman level productions made to cash in on ANH that would just need some lightsaber blades and SW SFX added.

And they would all need to add this song too:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9mSgqMOKJho

At around the midpoint of Luke’s lightsaber confrontation with Vader in ESB, the scene freezes, and this text appears on the screen:

To find out if Luke Skywalker defeats Darth Vader, visit (insert website here).

Roll credits.

jadenkorr41 said:

My understanding for the second line when he says “look what you have made”, my initial thought was he was talking to the sith cultists whom are watching this from the stadium. Since they nursed him and are the laborers that brought about his ressurection, he was referring to that. That was my thought since the next shot is the sith cultists bowing to him while palpatine is standing gloriously to them like hes a super star lol.

Is it wrong that your explanation justifies my decision to remove it even more? 😆

At last, at long last, we arrive at the screencaps for my fan edit of Episode VII.

So, for starters, let me state what’s been changed in the color grading. The first thing I’ve done is remove the bluish tint in the black levels, as it wasn’t as accurate to a film look as I originally thought. The next thing I’ve done is pick one of the three looks that I’ve described in my last post. I wanted to apply the blue look, but due to Jakku and Artan42’s advice, I’m going with the orange look instead (Oh well, I suppose there’s always VIII and IX to play around with for that look). As you might’ve figured out, a lot of the blues have been desaturated this time around, but I think the results for Jakku, Takodana, and the Starkiller Base are sparkling. You be the judge.

As before, I have placed the comparisons under the spoiler tag below. The top image is the grade I had originally:

The bottom is the newer grade I’m considering:

Which one do you like more? Feel free to post your thoughts.

Found the time! Now, before I show the actual comparisons, I feel it’s wise if I talk about what I’ve been researching in regards to 35mm color. If you want to skip the boring stuff, the screencap comparisons will be in my next post, which will be posted very shortly.

I found out a few weeks back that there are a bunch of 35mm scans for movie trailers on YouTube. Since that finding, I’ve been watching a bunch of these trailers and analyzing color schemes and tints. I then managed to find a way to analyze these trailers with the scopes I use for color grading in DaVinci Resolve thanks to a little Linux program called VLC Media Player (Don’t worry. I’m not gonna steal anybody’s work. This was done for research purposes and research purposes only. I will not export the files online, I promise). I only got to study them in 1080p, but it’s the closest I’m gonna get to analyzing a 35mm film. Unless by some coincidence I’m able to create my very own Gugusse Roller, like this very talented individual did:

http://www.deniscarl.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start

Still, that’s one expensive toy, and I can’t afford to make one. So this is the best I can do for now.

Okay, that’s enough talk about what I’ve been doing. Here are my findings.

Over the course of what I’ve researched, I’ve found three different film looks. The orange look, the blue look, and the pale violet look. I was surprised to find that I could get the looks of all three simply by adjusting the RGB values of the gain feature in the SDR color wheels on DaVinci Resolve. Let’s break down all three individually.

Before I begin, let me state that the trailer links you will find below are from the original creators and YouTubers themselves. I will never post or share what I’ve been playing around with online (or on my own YouTube channel, for that matter) as a means of respect to the original creators.

Also, in case some confusion occurs, yes, most of these trailers have a combination of some or all of the three looks. However, the trailers themselves often have a bias towards a particular look. So, keep that in mind.

The first look I’m going to tackle is the orange look. I was able to create this one by raising the red levels and lowering the blue levels in the RGB section of the gain feature in Resolve. Here are some 35mm film trailers that are geared more towards the orange look:

Star Wars Episode I (Czech trailer):
https://youtu.be/MZ5535zw73A

Strange Days
https://youtu.be/vK3KZiJSFHs

Inspector Gadget
https://youtu.be/ld4cYRaxVFg

Power (This trailer is mostly black and white, but the titles and credits are tinted towards orange. I checked)
https://youtu.be/qX4dhN0Oh3Q

Next is my favorite. The blue look! This one was achieved (sort of) by doing the opposite of the orange look. I lowered the red levels and raised the blue levels in the RGB section of the gain feature in Resolve. Here are some trailers that are (mostly) the blue look:

The Golden Child
https://youtu.be/buGu93tmBqY

Judgment Night (This one’s got a lot of the orange look too, but the blue scenes are a good approximation of what I’m aiming for)
https://youtu.be/TPqsPcT-gVQ

Star Wars Episode I (US Trailer. You can watch the Czech trailer for a good comparison between the two looks, although I will agree that the orange look wins in this comparison)
https://youtu.be/RnhqwRQf04A

George of the Jungle
https://youtu.be/UXoAn6a8zt0

Darkman
https://youtu.be/W8oGHvO2RgU

Finally, we stumble on the lesser known look. I call it the pale violet look, because that’s kind of the effect it brings when I see it. This one is rarer than the other two, but a few popular movies in the past did use it. Mostly in the sci-fi genre. This look was achieved by raising the red levels and lowering the green levels in the RGB section of the gain feature in Resolve. Here are two trailers that mostly took this unusual route:

The Matrix (Before it got the green color grading applied to it)
https://youtu.be/8GdG4Ryt9ro

Galaxy Quest
https://youtu.be/WwzeYUhGpB0

So there you have it! Now you have an idea of what I’m hoping to achieve with the color grading of Episode VII. Come back in a bit and the screencap comparisons will be posted.

PsyKovic said:

I heard The bad things About The 4k Transfer.

Whats The Best Transfer out there?

Good question. Most transfers of T2 on blu-ray are, sadly, not up to snuff. I already did my own fanedit from my 2009 Skynet Edition, and I’ve heard that it’s the best transfer here in the States (I’m not sure about anywhere else, though). Even with that, I still did my own color grading to fix some of the issues with the transfer.

I’m not sure there is a “perfect” transfer out there for T2 in HD, and it’s sad because it’s a film that deserves a great release at worst.

Cut out two more Palpatine lines. “You will be empress. We will be one.” The word “empress” got repetitive in my edit, so I cut it out.

The other line is “Look what you have made!” after he’s restored to full strength. Looking back, that line doesn’t make any sense. Neither Rey nor Kylo consented to getting their life force sucked out of them, so if anything, Palpatine telling them they made this is dumb (either that, or he’s just being an abusive psychopath. Either way, it doesn’t make much sense to keep it in, especially since it sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon).