Eyepainter

I’m now at the halfway mark when it comes to color grading, and I like what I’m seeing so far. I will have to look back for any inconsistencies in the shots, but it’s showing some serious progress.

On some not-so-good news, I’m having trouble with the microphone. It looks like it’s working, but for whatever reason, davinci resolve doesn’t seem to notice any audio. I’ve tried all the usual tricks. I set the microphone to 48000hz. I patched it to an audio track, and it’s still not sensing any audio from the mic. I’m going to keep searching for a solution, but I’m having a hard time finding one. I could use some advice on this issue, so if you have ideas, I’d love to hear them.

As someone who is also doing fanedits of the prequels, I gotta say that those screenshots of episode II are to die for. Keep up the good work.

Make Jar Jar the central character in all 9 movies. Not exactly original, I know, but that’s an edit idea I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

The good news on the color grading just got even better.

I’ve been taking a few lessons on editing in resolve from a website called film simplified, and I just found out about the crosshairs next to the lift and gain color wheels. Using those crosshairs and clicking on the black and white areas on each clip, I’ve been able to bring out what might possibly be the best grading I’ve done so far. It looks like an LUT was put on it, but it hasn’t, and better yet, I can customize each clip so that the colors and skin tones look more accurate. I will have to test it out to see how it looks in 1080p, but I think v2 is gonna have a significantly improved image over the first version.

Just took a look at my edit of episode II again after halting work on it a week and a half ago. Overall, I think I’ve done the best I can. I will still be doing some more cutting, but a lot of what I’m changing now is the tiny, nitpicky stuff. Maybe a shot I could get rid of or something that can be removed without any effect on the film, etc.

What I’m trying to say is that the cutting stage is almost over. It’s been a brutal cutting, but all of the major cutting is done. I will probably start moving to the editing and color grading stages soon.

Now considering how crazy this edit has been so far, I must stress that the running time is subject to change, but it’s looking like the final run time is going to be 88 minutes. Yeah, it’s gonna be shorter than my episode I edit. Fine by me, though, considering how much was wrong with episode II.

As for the dedication to my mother, I have added it in after my special thanks credits, although I think I will change the font and color to something different. Sure, franklin gothic with blue works fine for my special thanks credits, but I want to try something different for the dedication. I’m trying to install the star jedi font to resolve, where I will then use that and color it yellow. Hopefully, resolve will let me use that font.

I’m slowly inching my way back after the last week or so in mourning, and I’m hoping to go back to work on Episode II soon. I don’t have a specific timetable for when I’ll be back, but I’d like to return and see the progress I’ve made so far.

This one’s been a nerve-wracker. Last time I worked on it, my brain was hurting because of how bad the plot is. I’m still not sure if I’ve ironed out all the plot holes and mistakes, but I’ve hopefully gotten most of them fixed. I’ll have to watch my edit to see how it’s doing. My main worry so far is with Cipho Dias (I think that’s his name). That entire plot device broke my brain. Even after changing so many things, and taking out a lot of major scenes, I’m still not sure the Cipho Dias thing makes any sense. I just hope the changes I’ve made haven’t made it worse than it already is.

Still, the loss of my mom has given me enough of a break from episode II, and I can look at my edit anew. I’ll see if there’s anything else I can change. For now though, I’m gonna take it easy, and work on episode II when I feel like it. I’m sure I will get back soon, but I might need to grieve a little more first.

After a rough last couple of weeks, I’ve been slowly inching my way back to episode I v2.

I mentioned a few days ago about my idea to throw in an alternate color grading version of the film, but after playing around with the nodes in Resolve, I’ve changed my mind. I found that by using three corrector nodes and connecting them to a combiner node, I could split the corrector nodes into separate color channels of red, green, and blue. This gives me full control over the colors and I can play around with the color wheels and dials to my heart’s content. It’s time-consuming, and I’m still at work on the droid control ship action sequence, but I like the results so far. It’s back to blue again, but at least it looks more professional. The only thing I’m worried about is consistency between shots. However, I’ve found that by keeping my hands off of the sat and hue dials, I’ve been able to keep the shots looking pretty well matched up.

I’m sure someone will suggest that I right-click the clips and do a color match, but I already tried that several times and for whatever reason, Resolve crashes. So, I have to match up everything manually. This is part of the reason why I think the color grade is gonna take a while. I’m confident the results will be worth it, but have some patience. Getting things right takes some time.

In other news, I haven’t installed my microphone to my computer, so I still have yet to set things up for the audio commentary. I’m getting to it, though.

So that’s where I am on v2 for now. I’ll continue updating my progress as things develop.

Anakin Starkiller said:

These two lines make the Neimoidians look like idiots, and anything to make these guys smarter is a good thing.

As for the actual confrontation with the droids, I decided to rip off the l8wrtr edit here, take out all of the droid’s indecision, and go straight to the droid saying, “You’re under arrest.” Straightforward, and to the point.

Aww, why do you have to take the fun out of everything? I like my goofy villains.

The goofiness was a major problem with episode I, and not just for the neimoidians and droids, but also because of Jar Jar and Anakin Skywalker as well. Getting rid of most of it is essential for the plot of this film.

Give everyone a lightsaber. Han Solo gets a lightsaber. Boba Fett gets a lightsaber. R2 and 3P0 get lightsabers. Greedo gets a lightsaber. Chewbacca gets a lightsaber. Lando Calrissian gets a lightsaber. Give all the rebels lightsabers. Give the stormtroopers lightsabers too, and make sure they don’t know how to use them properly, so it makes sense when the ewoks take them down with their own lightsabers.

Thanks guys.

I did some fidgeting around with the color grading last night. I decided to get some advice on waveforms and scopes on youtube, and I played around with the color controls. I personally like what I’ve done so far. However, it turned out very different from what was shown theatrically.

For example, I’ve always been used to the droid control ship being tinted blue. That’s what I’ve seen since the days of VHS. However, the color grading I’ve done changed the colors on the ship from blue to gray. I like it, as it does harken back to the days of episode IV where the death star had a black, white and gray color scheme.

However, because it’s such a departure from what it was originally, I don’t feel comfortable showing it off as the official version. So, for that reason, I’m thinking of doing the regrade as an alternate version rather than as the official version. That way, everyone gets a choice on which color scheme they prefer. What do you think? Does that sound like a good idea?

cjh808 said:

Eyepainter said:

It is with great sadness that I must announce that my mom passed away a few minutes ago. I will be halting work on V2 temporarily to take care of my family. (Unless I feel up for it, which is possible.) When I go back to work on my fanedits, I will put up a dedication to my mother at the end of my special thanks credits for episode II.

Sorry for your loss, friend. Family first. Sending energy your way.

Thanks.

It is with great sadness that I announce the loss of my mom today. I will be halting work on my edit of Episode II temporarily to support my family. When I get back to work, I will add a dedication to my mother at the end of the special thanks credits for Episode II.

It is with great sadness that I must announce that my mom passed away a few minutes ago. I will be halting work on V2 temporarily to take care of my family. (Unless I feel up for it, which is possible.) When I go back to work on my fanedits, I will put up a dedication to my mother at the end of my special thanks credits for episode II.

RogueLeader said:

I hate to hear this for you man. I hope you can spend as much time with your family and your mother as you can.

I will. I just left work early so that I could spend more time with the family.

Skybatman said:

I hope you get out of this situation.

I hope so too. It hasn’t been looking so good, but I do hope so.

I currently live right next door to them in my apartment, so I am. It’s just been a rough weekend for all of us. I’m hoping for the best, but the situation is looking that bleak.

I have some bad news. Not for the edit, but for myself and my family. Last year, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. She’s been in quite a battle this year, and this weekend has been seriously heartbreaking. There’s a chance she could pass away within the next few days. For this reason, I’m going to pay more attention to my family at this time, and less attention on the edit. I will continue working on v2. But as you can imagine, it might get put on hold for a bit. I will return when I feel up for it, but I gotta work on my family life for the time being. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I have some bad news. Not for the edit, but for myself and my family. Last year, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. She’s been in quite a battle this year, and this weekend has been seriously heartbreaking. There’s a chance she could pass away within the next few days. For this reason, I’m going to pay more attention to my family at this time, and less attention on the edit. No, I won’t abandon the edit itself. But as you can imagine, it might get put on hold for a bit. I will return when I feel up for it, but I gotta work on my family life for the time being. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Pop filter has arrived. I tried plugging in my microphone today, but I think I’m incompetent, because I can’t record my voice with it. I’m gonna look into this, and I’m certain I’ve done something wrong. Maybe I forgot to enable it somewhere on my computer. I’m sure I’ll have this sorted out. For now, though, I’m about to start work on v2. Look at the opening post for more details.

I have a lot of requests. The first (and biggest one) is Adywan’s revisited editions of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The next would have to be Seciors edits of Episodes I and II. Then there’s q2’s edits of the prequels, titled Fall of the Jedi. DigModiFicaTion’s Rogue One edit, Rise of the Rebellion and Solo edit, The Coaxium Heist. Then there’s War of the Stars, the grindhouse version of A New Hope from The Man Behind the Mask.

Yeah. I have way too many requests.

Did a look through of my edit so far, and I trimmed out 8 more minutes, resulting in an 89-minute movie so far. I like what I’ve done as of right now, but I will continue to stay in the cutting stage until I’m certain it’s good.

I’ve taken out a lot of major scenes, particularly in the second half. This is part of the reason why I’m not done with the cutting stage. I want to be extra sure that everything is consistent.

Got my microphone yesterday. Now, I’m just waiting for the pop filter to arrive.

Just started on the cutting stage, and boy, does my head hurt. Not physically, but mentally. (Yeah. The movie is that bad.) I managed to cut it down to 97 minutes, but I must emphasize that it’s subject to change. I still have to look and see if I can find any plot holes that may have showed up as a result of my changes and alterations. Plus, I have to look at those painfully boring political scenes to see what lines could be left out. (Or if I can get rid of them entirely, which would make me happy.) This is turning out to be harder than Episode I. I have a hunch that I’m gonna be in the cutting stage for a while.

My microphone and pop filter are expected to arrive next week. Once they arrive, I will begin work on the audio commentary for Episode I. And yes, I will be replacing the current .mov file once I have exported the audio commentary file. (Maybe call it v2.0 or something like that.)