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.)

Every single instance of the imperial march being played in the saga is replaced with yakety sax.

I tend to focus on the storyline more so than anything else. Empire works mainly because it was the simplest and most straightforward film in the trilogy, even with its cliffhanger ending. Empire also has the clearest beginning, middle, and end out of all the movies in the franchise. It’s so clear you can figure it out just from the locations Luke is visiting. (Act I: Luke’s on Hoth. Act II: Luke’s on Dagobah. Act III: Luke’s on Cloud City) The movie also advanced the character development of just about everyone in a satisfying way. Luke, Han, Leia, and even newcomer Lando Calrissian all go through a character challenge of some sort. And even those without character development are fascinating to watch. (Yoda comes to mind.) And lastly, the gigantic reveal at the end of the film is one of the most infamous plot twists in film history. I won’t spoil it, even though everyone knows what it is, but there’s a reason it’s still being quoted.

Maybe I’m late with this one, but I’m doing my editing on DaVinci Resolve. It’s used by professionals, it’s free, and it comes with a lot of tutorials both on Resolve’s website, and on YouTube.

Episode II: The Eyepainter Fanedit is now available

PM me for the link.

Here are the specifications for those who may need it.

Running Time: 1 hr, and 28 minutes
File: MKV lossless
Codec: H.264
Size: 12.6 GB
Resolution: 1920x820p
Frame Rate: 23.976fps
Audio Tracks: DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0

The trailer is now online

I am a little reluctant to post the link to the trailer, but seeing as I have posted links to youtube videos on this website before, I don’t think this will upset anyone:

https://youtu.be/4QuAjuR_ttc

If this link violates the rules, let me know and I’ll remove it.

THE LIST OF CHANGES

After a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and I mean literal tears this time around), I have decided to release the changes I have made so far. The list is so long, I had to sit on the couch and write 'em all down for six hours total. I’m not kidding! It’s past midnight where I live as I type this.

This edit of episode II is going to be a radical departure from the theatrical version. I have taken out major plot points and juggled the placement of the deleted scenes for quite some time now. This is my way of saying that the list is more approximate than final. Because for all I know, there’s something I’ve missed.

Just like my episode I fanedit, the list will be under a spoiler tag. Just click the expand button, and you’ll see the full list.

Also like my episode I posting, here’s what the symbols mean:
-=deleted
/=extended, shortened, or re-edited
+=added

/opening crawl
-several shots of the ship landing
-“Senator, we’re making our final approach into Coruscant.” And “very good, lieutenant.”
-“We made it. I guess I was wrong. There was no danger at all.”
-“My lady. I’m so sorry. I failed you, senator.” And “No.”
-“I shouldn’t have come back.” And “This vote is very important. You did your duty, Corde did hers. Now come…”
-“We’re keepers of the peace, not soldiers.”
/Subtitle change: “The Loyalist Committee has arrived, Your Honor.” to “The loyalists have arrived, Your Honor.”
-“Seeing you alive brings warm feelings to my heart.”
-“I will have Obi-Wan report to you immediately, my lady.” and “Thank you, Master Windu.”
-Jar Jar meeting Obi-Wan and Anakin, including his announcement to Padme.
-“…Grown more beautiful, I mean. Well, for a senator, I mean.”
-Obi-Wan and Anakin’s bickering over finding the killer
-Jar Jar, Obi-Wan, and Anakin’s conversation
-All shots of Zamm’s face for the first half of the speeder chase to add mystery
-Zamm’s conversation with Jango Fett
-“She covered the cameras. Heh. I don’t think she liked me watching her.”, “What is she thinking?”, and “She programmed R2 to warn us if there is an intruder.”
-“You’re using her as bait.”, “It was her idea. Don’t worry, no harm will come to her. I can sense everything going on in that room. Trust me.”, “It’s too risky. Besides, your senses aren’t that attuned to mine, apprentice.”, “And yours are?”, and “Possibly.”
-Zamm sending the droid
-“…Just being around her again is… Intoxicating.”, and “Be mindful of your thoughts, Anakin. They betray you. You’ve made a commitment to the Jedi order. A commitment not easily broken. And don’t forget. She’s a politician and they’re not to be trusted.”
-“Are you alright, my lady?”
-A few shots and trims of Obi-Wan holding onto the droid for pacing
-several pointless CGI shots
-Zamm seeing Obi-Wan with her goggles and pulling out her rifle
-Zamm getting into her speeder
-“With the open cockpit, and the right speeding capabilities.”, “If you spent as much time practicing your saber techniques as you do your wit, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman.”, “I thought I already did.”, and “Only in your mind, my very young apprentice.”
-Anakin’s pulling up the speeder at the last second
-“You know I don’t like it when you do that.”, “Sorry, Master. I forgot you don’t like flying.”, “I don’t mind flying, but what you’re doing is suicide.”
-Anakin and Obi-Wan flying through the fires and getting zapped without somehow dying
-“Where are you going? He went that way!”, and “Master, if we keep this chase going any longer, that creep is gonna end up deep-fried. And personally, I’d very much like to find out who he is and who he’s working for…”
-Removed Zamm leaving the tunnel to remove a continuity issue when Anakin jumps out of the speeder
-Zamm taking off her veil
-“…He went completely the other way. Once again, you’ve proved…”
-Most shots of Anakin falling to make the jump more plausible
-“I hate it when he does that.”
-Anakin using his lightsaber, losing it, and Obi-Wan grabbing it
-A shot of Zamm’s speeder landing
-“Sorry, Master.”, “He went in there to hide, not to run.”, “Yes, Master.”, “Next time, try not to lose it.”, “Yes, Master.”, “This weapon is your life.”, “I try, master.”, “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?”, “Don’t say that, Master. You’re the closest thing I have to a father.”, “Then why don’t you listen to me?”, and “I am trying.”
-“Go and find her.”, “Where are you going, Master?”, and “For a drink.”
+Subtitle added: “Bounty hunter… From Kamino… Called…”
-“Anakin…”
-“…And don’t use registered support. Travel as refugees.”
-Scene where Obi-Wan talks to Mace Windu and Yoda on how Anakin’s skills have made him, well, arrogant
-Scene where Padme packs up her bags while Anakin talks about how overly critical Obi-Wan is
-“It’s not me, my lady. I worry about you. What if they realize you’ve left the capital?”, and “Well, then my jedi protector will have to prove how good he is.”
-“I’ll get to the bottom of this plot quickly, my lady. You’ll be back here in no time.”, “I’ll be most grateful for your speed, Master Jedi.”, “It’s time to go.”, and “I know.”
-“Don’t worry. We have R2 with us.”, “I do hope he doesn’t try anything foolish.”, and “I’d be more concerned about her doing something than him.”
-Dexter Jettster and his stupid diner
-Obi-Wan having no luck finding Kamino in the archives
-“Hey you! No droids! Get outta here!”
-“You’re exactly the way I remember you in my dreams.”
-Those pesky younglings
+Deleted scene: Obi-Wan and Mace Windu discuss how Anakin has a strong emotional connection to Padme
+Deleted scene: Anakin and Padme’s extended conversation at Naboo landing
-Scene where Anakin and Padme meet the Naboo queen
-“There it is, R4, right where it should be. Our missing planet Kamino.”
-Shot of Lama Su and Obi-Wan being introduced shortened
-Shot of Anakin and Padme getting out of boat
-“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft… And smooth.”
-Shot of Anakin and Padme looking at the lake
-“Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing: an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn’t it?”, “Unaltered?”, and “Pure genetic replication. No tampering with the structure to make it more docile, and no growth acceleration.”
-Anakin’s romantic ride with a CGI creature followed by Anakin and Padme’s frolicking around
-“Really?”, “I was recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden.”, and “Curious.”
-Anakin and Padme’s romantic dinner table scene
-Anakin confessing his love for Padme, Padme saying it won’t work because she’s a senator, Anakin talking about keeping it a secret and blah blah blah…
+Deleted scene: Padme’s family
+Deleted scene: Anakin and Padme discuss Padme’s past in a relief group
-“R4, scramble code five to Coruscant, care of the old folks home.”
-“…If you are to discover the real villains behind this plot.”
-“Yes, Master. I will report back when I have him.”, “Blind we are if creation of this clone army, we could not see.”, “I think it is time we informed the senate that our ability to use the force has diminished.”, and “Only the dark lord of the Sith knows of our weakness. If informed the Senate is, multiply our adversaries will.”
-Anakin waking up from his nightmare
-“Don’t go.”, “I don’t want to disturb you.”, “Your presence is soothing.”, “You had another nightmare last night.”, “Jedi don’t have nightmares.”, and “I heard you.”
-“I’m sorry. I don’t have a choice.”
-Second half of Obi-Wan/Jango Fett confrontation on Kamino
-Shortened establishing shot of Tattooine
-“Wait right there.”, and “Okey-dokey.”
/Subtitle change: “What? What do you want?” to “Hey! What do you want?”
/Subtitle change: “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.” to “I didn’t do it!”
-Removed Watto’s cartoonish bouncing tool
-“Hey… Maybe you could help me with some deadbeats who owe me a lot of money.”
-“Ooh, long way from here. Some place over on the other side of Mos Eisley, I think, mmm…”, “I’d like to know.”, and “Eh, sure. Absolutely! Let’s go look at my records, huh?”
-Obi-Wan and Jango Fett’s confrontation in space
-“Well, R4, I think we’ve waited long enough.”
-“There’s an unusual concentration of Federation ships over there, R4.”
-“Stay with the ship, R2.”
-C-3P0’s introduction
-“Those tuskens walk like men, but they’re vicious, mindless monsters.”
-A lot of establishing shots from Obi-Wan’s point of view
-“We must persuade the Commerce Guild and the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty.”, “What about the senator from Naboo? Is she dead yet? I am not signing your treaty until I have her head on my desk.”, “I am a man of my word, Viceroy.”, and “With these new battle droids we’ve built for you, you’ll have the finest army in the galaxy.”
/Subtitle change: “What you are proposing could be construed as treason.” to “Our army is too small to fight the republic.”
-“The techno Union army… is at your disposal, Count.”, “The Banking Clan will sign your treaty.”, and “Good. Very good.”
-Anakin finding his mother, followed by the murdering of the tuskens
-Scene where Yoda senses Anakin’s pain
-R2 getting Obi-Wan’s message
-Anakin’s psychopathic ranting scene
-“…So much.”
-“Hmm. Master Ani, does that name mean anything to you?”
-“More happening on Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed.” and “I agree.”
-“If you plan to protect me, you’ll just have to come along.”
-“I’m not worried, R2. It’s just that I’ve never flown before.”
-Discussion on the emergency powers and who should be given them
-“…They have gone too far. This is madness.”
-“May I ask why a jedi Knight is all the way out here on Geonosis?”, “I’ve been tracking a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Do you know him?”, “There are no bounty hunters here that I am aware of. The Geonosians don’t trust them.”, and “Who can blame them? But he is here, I can assure you.”
-Darth Jar Jar giving emergency powers to Palpatine.
-“Visit I will the cloners on Kamino, and see this army they have created for the republic.”
-“Don’t worry. I’ve given up trying to argue with you.”
-All of R2 and C-3P0’s shenanigans on Geonosis
/re-edited so that Anakin uses the force to save Padme in the Geonosian factory instead of R2
/re-edited so that Anakin loses his lightsaber when he gets hit by a mechanical arm instead of having his own arm trapped in some military device
/ending of Geonosis factory scene rearranged
+Deleted scene: Padme negotiates with Count Dooku
-“What are you talking about?”, “I love you.”, “You love me? I thought that we had decided not to fall in love. That we would be forced to live a lie. And that it would destroy our lives.” and “I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway. I truly deeply love you.”
-“Settle down. Settle down… Let the executions begin!”
-Shot of the viceroy chuckling
-Anakin’s wild ride on the creature
-“She can’t do that! Shoot her or-or something!”
-“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! Jango! Finish her off!” and “Patience, viceroy, patience. She will die.”
-“This part’s over.”
-All moments of R2 repairing C-3P0 on the battlefield
-Boba watching his father
-Jango fighting and killing the creature
-Mace Windu’s murderous decapitation of Jango Fett
-Boba’s reaction to his father’s death
-Some shots of jedi showing off their skills
-“You call this a diplomatic solution?” and “No, I call it aggressive negotiations.”
-Shot of Yoda saving the day with the clone troopers
-“Around the survivors a perimeter create.”
-All moments of jedi giving orders to clones, including Yoda, Anakin, and Mace Windu
-Boba picking his dad’s decapitated head
-“If Dooku escapes, rally more systems to his cause, he will.”
-Dooku’s death star tease scenes
/Anakin and Obi-Wan’s argument over trying to save Padme shortened and re-edited from two scenes to one scene
/Padme getting rescued by clone trooper moved to before the climactic lightsaber duel instead of during it
-“We’d better get back to the forward command center.”, “No. No. Gather what troops you can! We’ve got to get to that hangar. Get a transport! Hurry!” and “Right away!”
-“We’ll take him together. Go in slowly on the left.” and “I’m taking him now!”
-Master Kenobi, you disappoint me. Yoda holds you in such high esteem."
-“Surely you can do better!”
-“…The dark side I sense in you.”
-Yoda and Dooku’s lightsaber duel
/Shot zoomed in to remove Dooku’s lightsaber
-Shot of Dooku looking back
-Scene where Dooku visits Palpatine and Lord Tyranus reveal
-“Joined the dark side Dooku has. Mmm. Lies, deceit, creating mistrust are his ways now.” and “Nevertheless…”
-“The shroud of the dark side has fallen.”

The saga continues…

As I type this, I am taking care of a bunch of last things with my Episode I edit. (such as recording an audio commentary, downloading an .mp4 file, backing up everything Episode I-related to a drive so that I can delete everything from my computer, and other boring technical stuff.) I am posting this now, because I expect to begin work on Episode II within the next couple of weeks.

Now, I have to be honest. Of the three movies in the trilogy, Episode II is the defining example of everything that was wrong with the prequels. The overuse of CGI. The way Obi-Wan and Anakin’s relationship was ruined. The way Anakin and Padme’s romance was ruined. The overuse of CGI. The shoehorning of fan service into the plot. The way they ruined the jedi and Yoda. Did I mention the overuse of CGI? Don’t get me wrong. Episode I was bad. But at least I could name a few things that I did like in Episode I. Whether it be the climactic duel with Darth Maul, or the podrace, or even the iconic Duel of the Fates from John Williams. With Episode II, however, there’s no good or bad, because it’s all bad. The main challenge I’m faced with for this particular edit isn’t to amplify the good stuff and improve the bad, as in Episode I. This time, it’s about trying to make a work of genius out of a lot of bad parts.

For this edit, I’m taking influence from several edits. The same ones I took influence from in Episode I, to be exact. The first one is… The theatrical version. If for no other reason than as a warning of how not to edit this film. The second edit I took influence from was the infamous Attack of the Phantom (Yes, the Phantom Editor’s version). The third edit is the HAL9000 and lastly, the l8wrtr edit. Now, I said in Episode I that my main influence was the l8wrtr edit, but in Episode II, my main influence is a toss-up between the HAL9000 and l8wrtr edits. There were things that I liked about the l8wrtr edit. There were things I liked about the HAL9000 edit. However, I feel like both lacked certain things that the other edit already had. So my version is gonna take influence mostly from both of these versions.

UPDATE: 12-8-2020

I want to give a very special thank you to bryantmh for his AI upscales of the deleted scenes, which I will be using for this edit of Episode II instead of the HAL9000 deleted scenes. If you want an idea of just how high the quality is for these deleted scenes, there are a couple of screenshots on bryantmh’s post. Here’s the link:

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Info-AI-Upscaling-of-Deleted-Scenes-and-other-content/id/75020

Of the screenshots, I will be using the extended Anakin and Padme conversation scene. It’s looking like I will be using 5 deleted scenes in total for this edit. However, the other 4 are not shown on bryantmh’s post. Rest assured, though, that I have looked over the scenes myself, and they look marvelous.

So, that’s everything for now. I will update everyone on the status of this edit as things go on. Thank you, and may the force be with you.

The .mov file is now online. PM me for the links.

Now that the trailer is up, my attention is now focused on releasing the edit. I have the .mov file ready and I’m working on downloading the .mp4 version as of right now. The only challenge is finding a digital locker to put them in.

Also, I just bought a microphone and a pop filter, so when it comes in the mail, I’ll be working on recording a commentary track. So, if that interests you, I suggest having a little more patience, as the current files do not have a commentary track right now.

I will PM the links to everyone who has assisted or contributed to this edit when I find a good place for the download. PM me if you want the links, and I will be happy to send it to you when it is released.

Skybatman said:

Can you sent me a link ?

Sure.

Right now, as a matter of fact. It’s on YouTube. I don’t think I can post the link due to some of the rules here, but you can search for it on YouTube. If you’re still having trouble, feel free to PM me for it.

Okay, never mind about the logo. I found out I could just load up my eye icon and throw in some text on Resolve. Why I didn’t think of it before, I shall never know.

With that hassle out of the way, I’ve got my trailer close to complete. I’m gonna see if I can make a few adjustments before I send it out to YouTube or Vimeo or whatever internet video platform I can find. Be on the lookout. The trailer is coming.

Willrow-Hood said:

Anyone is free to try and make this happen, because I don’t have the prowess, but what if every Star Wars movie had its own post credit scene? What scene would you give to each movie? Personally, I think this would work great for ROTJ: https://vimeo.com/137925493
The deleted scene of Yoda on Dagobah would be cool for ROTS as well.

I might be a jerk for saying this, but I would never have a post credits scene for any Star Wars movie. Period. To me, post credits scenes are better served in Marvel movies where the whole point is to entice you with sneak peeks into future movies. It works in a comic book sort of way, since a lot of comics end with cliffhangers. Star Wars, while it does share influence with comics, is better off without them. The only place where it could work might be in The Mandalorian, but only because it’s a TV show that promises episode after episode after episode. But as for the franchise itself, it’s just three movies every 10 to 20 years. What’s the point?

Some more good news. I figured out how to write the disclaimer and special thanks credits by myself. All I did was insert a scroll for the special thanks credits at the end, and a text insert for the disclaimer at the beginning. I changed the font on both of them to the same font as my subtitles (Franklin Gothic Demi Cond, FYI), and I changed the color to a light blue to give them a Star Wars-style look. I like them both.

I also found out I didn’t delete my DVD rips. As it turns out, I ripped the theatrical trailers which contained… The title! Okay, it’s in standard definition, but as long as the title is readable, I don’t think anyone is going to care. I just started work on the trailer, and I managed to assemble 7 1/2 minutes of footage. Since most trailers are often 2 1/2 minutes in length, that’s enough footage to work with.

The only thing that hasn’t been taken care of is my logo. I have no idea where to create one, and I believe it’s necessary to throw one on there at the beginning of the edit so that I don’t get in trouble for copyright infringement. If you know a good spot to create a logo, feel free to let me know.

Yes. YES! YEEESSS!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, the fanedit is now complete. That’s right. The theatrical release cut. The subtitles written. The video transitions added. The color grading done. The sound edited. The file exported. The edit finished.

Now that the edit is done, I will be focusing my attention less on the edit itself and more on where it goes from here. So let’s talk about that.

The first thing I need to take care of is… Credits. More specifically, I want to throw in some special thanks credits at the end of the fanedit for everyone who helped make this edit a reality. However, I have no idea how that’s done. I will look around on YouTube to see if I can find anything that deals with the subject.

I will also need to put up a disclaimer on fan edits at the beginning to remind people that they need to own the official source first, and that the edit should never be bought or sold. This is kind of in the same ballpark as the special thanks credits, although I don’t feel the need to make the disclaimer too fancy.

Then, of course, I will need to work on my logo for the start of the fanedit to lessen the chances of the edit getting flagged for copyright infringement. However, I have no idea what to use in order to make it. The only program I have right now is Inkscape (which is where my eye avatar comes from, by the way). But I don’t know how to adjust the page to 1080p 16:9, if it’s at all possible. Nor do I know how to send the logo onto Resolve. So, that’s gonna be something I will be looking into.

One more thing that’s on my mind… Releasing it. I would like to start making a trailer, but I just realized I’m missing something important. The title. Something every trailer needs. Another thing that I’m confused about is how to send the file out on the web for all to download. Mainly because I’ve never done it before. I also admit that I’m a complete buffoon when it comes to things like disc artwork, fan art, blu-ray covers, etc. I could use a lot of help from others on this one. If you’d like to give out your two cents, feel free to post them. If your two cents are on the sensitive side, feel free to PM me.

Thanks to YouTube, I figured out how to export the movie in AAC 5.1 surround sound. The only thing that’s being a nuisance at this point is the color grading.

After seeing the sufferings of the previous file from being too dark and suffering from red skin tones, I went back, changed the LUT to something brighter, and exported a new file with the changed LUT. This time, I had the opposite problem. It was too bright. Blacks definitely looked grey with this new one. So now, I’m gonna change things up by resetting everything. I’m beginning to feel like Goldilocks now. I’m trying to get the color grade just right.

This time, I’m gonna play with the lift, gamma, and gain controls without the usage of an LUT. That seems to be the way most editors on resolve do their color grading anyway. I’m very close to calling this fanedit complete, but I’m going to work on perfecting the color grading first. Once I’m satisfied with the color grade, I will officially declare this fanedit complete.

Just finished watching my edit on the HDTV. I think the edit is close to perfect, but the color grading is not. As it turns out, my computer lied to me on what the movie was gonna look like on my TV. The main problems I found are that the movie is too dark, and the skin tones are still too red. I’m thinking of going into the gain, gamma, and lift features of Resolve to see if they can fix those problems. I might even change the LUT to one of the brighter and less colorful LUTs altogether. I’ll have to test the changes on my HDTV again to see if they look right, but for now, I’m going back to color grading again.

Skybatman said:

So your edit is gonna be 1080p? And one more thing, did you change something in the maul vs obi wan fight ?

For the time being, yes, it is 1080p. I would go for 4K if I could, but my computer isn’t in 4K, so I would be editing the film blind. Plus, I just don’t have 4K files for the prequels. Besides that, the 1080p version I have is sourced from a 2001 HDTV airing, and it’s one of the few HD sources that features the original muppet Yoda (instead of CGI Yoda. Although I’m guessing the next two will not be so lucky). It’s possible that I could download the original 2496x1080 file in .mp4 to make it somewhat higher in resolution for 4K screens, but I have no idea whether that would look right on a 4K screen, as my HDTV is just 1080p. I just know that the 2496x1080 didn’t work on my HDTV, so I can only assume that others will have a similar negative experience.

As for the climactic Darth Maul confrontation, I have kept nearly all of it intact with the exception of two tiny changes.

The first is the moment when Darth Maul dances around the room and uses the force on something on the floor to open a door (Why he didn’t just throw it at the jedi could be anybody’s guess). That moment was pretty dumb, so I cut it out. The second change is Darth Maul’s reaction shot at the end of the fight. Taking advice from the l8wrtr fanedit on this one, I always thought that Maul’s “Huh? What’s he thinking?” reaction was also kind of dumb. Plus, it makes more sense if Maul is caught off guard by Obi-Wan’s using the force on Qui-Gon’s lightsaber, rather than Maul wondering what Obi-Wan’s thinking and getting killed by his own stupidity.

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that I finally got a file that works. It’s an mp4 file with an h.264 codec. It took a few changes, but it works on both my computer and my HDTV.

The bad news is that the file went through some quality changes. On the video side, I was exporting the file to 2496x1080 to get the highest resolution possible, but it was too high for my 1080p HDTV. Thus, I brought the resolution down to 1920x830. (Don’t panic. The 830 is because I cropped out the black areas on the top and bottom, making for a smaller file with the same quality.) So, the file is just gonna be plain ol’ 1080p, but I guess I had no choice with that one. Either way, it’ll still look good. The other quality change (and one I intend to fix) is that the audio is only AAC 1.0. Yeah, it’s in mono. I’m gonna see what I can do about making it 5.1 over the next few days.

So that’s the story for now. I’m getting the hang of exporting, and I need to improve the audio. I’m going to watch the edit on my HDTV sometime this evening to see if the color grading looks right. If not, I’ll have to go back and fix that too. Still not finished, but getting closer.

Eyepainter said:

I was right to avoid saying it was complete. The export has been showing some technical difficulties with the audio. When I converted the film to h.264, there was no audio at all whatsoever. I tried exporting it again last night. This time, I tried customizing the audio by changing output track 1 from main 1(stereo) to all timeline tracks. That sorta worked. I did get audio from this file, but the problem is that the dialogue wasn’t around.

I’ll keep working on this. I’m sure I’ll find out how to fix the audio eventually, but it might take a while, since it takes hours to export the file. I might even try converting it to a different file type to see if the options change. If you’ve had a similar issue with exporting audio in DaVinci Resolve, and you found a solution, I could use it.

I suppose it’s been long enough since my last post. However, not much has changed. I’m stuck in the export stage for right now. I tried exporting the file last night, but a dreadful thing happened. I don’t know why this happens, but on occasion, Davinci Resolve closes on me without any warning whatsoever. It’s happened to me a lot during the editing stage, and it gave me a real motivation to save often. However, it’s now becoming an issue when I’m rendering the file. I’ve tried exporting it twice already, and both times, Resolve closed in the middle of the export.

I will keep exporting the file. It’s just gonna take a lot longer than I expected. Right now, I’m rendering the file in the quicktime format with an h.264 codec. So far, it’s doing alright. My hope is that the file will make it to 100% and without the audio being screwed over. I’ll update everyone when I get a complete export file that works. I don’t know how long it will take, but it’ll happen eventually.

I was right to avoid saying it was complete. The export has been showing some technical difficulties with the audio. When I converted the film to h.264, there was no audio at all whatsoever. I tried exporting it again last night. This time, I tried customizing the audio by changing output track 1 from main 1(stereo) to all timeline tracks. That sorta worked. I did get audio from this file, but the problem is that the dialogue wasn’t around.

I’ll keep working on this. I’m sure I’ll find out how to fix the audio eventually, but it might take a while, since it takes hours to export the file. I might even try converting it to a different file type to see if the options change. If you’ve had a similar issue with exporting audio in DaVinci Resolve, and you found a solution, I could use it.

Eyepainter said:

Skybatman said:

yeah,that is good news, but did you edit the soundtrack of the movie? Just curious.

It depends on what you define as the soundtrack. If you’re asking whether I took out whole tracks to scenes, the answer is no. If you’re asking whether I’ve edited certain bits and pieces from the soundtrack, then yes I have. With that said, I have been able to use crossfades to make the seams less obvious, but they are still there.

Anyway, I’ve just finished watching the original 136-minute DVD I own, and writing down all the changes I could find. I will be updating the opening post on the changes soon.

List of changes are up now. Hope it isn’t too long.

Skybatman said:

yeah,that is good news, but did you edit the soundtrack of the movie? Just curious.

It depends on what you define as the soundtrack. If you’re asking whether I took out whole tracks to scenes, the answer is no. If you’re asking whether I’ve edited certain bits and pieces from the soundtrack, then yes I have. With that said, I have been able to use crossfades to make the seams less obvious, but they are still there.

Anyway, I’ve just finished watching the original 136-minute DVD I own, and writing down all the changes I could find. I will be updating the opening post on the changes soon.

Finished sound editing last night. I had some troubles with blender on the opening crawl, but I decided to uninstall blender 2.9 and install blender 2.79 instead, which solved my problems. The rendering was so long, I went to sleep before it finished, but I woke up to a completely rendered opening crawl that should be a vast improvement over the original.

So, with all that done, I’m now in the process of completing the edit. I don’t want to say it’s complete right now, since that might be too soon. I’m currently exporting the file to an h.264 file, which might take the whole day to finish. Then, because my HDTV is finicky with certain files, I’m going to see if it will play on my TV. If not, I will try converting it to an MKV file, since my TV seems to take those files pretty well.

If things go right, I will then prepare for the process of getting the word out about this edit. I will probably start by editing a trailer for my particular edit. However, I have no idea where to begin, and I don’t know how to work on the titles. I also realized just now that I forgot to make some special thanks credits for everyone who had a hand in making this edit possible. Oh, and a logo to make this more of a fanedit. And a disclaimer about all the legalese surrounding fanedits (a.k.a. this edit must not be bought or sold, you must own the official source, and yadda yadda yadda).

So, while the edit is about 98% to 99% done, it’s not over yet. I will let you know how things go with the file once I’ve given it a watch.

In the meantime, I’m pulling out my DVD copy of Episode I and making the long, long, long list of changes while I’m waiting for the export to finish. I will post an update once I’ve put it up.

Video transitions and wipes are close to finished. I have just one more audio channel to go in the sound editing stage. I’m gonna give the opening crawl a small rewrite due to the unfortunate realization that I can’t get rid of the jedi being sent by Chancellor Valorum. Otherwise, I think my edit is close to completion. If it isn’t done in the next few days, it will be in a couple of weeks. Once I’ve completed the finishing touches, I’m gonna export the edit onto a flash drive and see how it looks on my HDTV (to make sure everything looks right, and so I can write down the final list of changes, which is gonna be long).

Then, there’s the issue of what happens next, which I haven’t thought about until now. I will probably get an account on fanedit.org and let them know that this exists. Beyond that, I have no idea what the next step will be. I will be happy to PM the links to anyone who asks when it’s completed.

So after the shock of my monitor getting its color scheme changed, I was able to recalibrate my display to the best of its ability. I looked over the color LUTs again, and I’ve switched from the Blackmagic 4.6K Film to Extended Video v4 LUT to the Blackmagic 4K Film to Extended Video v4 LUT. I’ve also figured out how to take screengrabs, but I’ve yet to learn how to post jpegs on here (I guess they have to be on Github in order to qualify if the markdown-it demo is any indication).

In other news, I’ve finished sound editing on audio track 2 and I’m now officially halfway through sound editing (I’ve edited audio tracks 1, 2, and 3 so far). At this point, cross-fading has become my new best friend, especially on the channels that are soundtracks and effects only. I have no idea what this is all gonna sound like with an actual 5.1 surround sound home theatre setup, since I don’t have one to test it out. I hope the audio doesn’t sound too choppy without most of the droid voices, Jar Jar’s sound effects, and Anakin’s “whoas” and “yippees”. Still, I can hear the improvements to the sound quality growing now that I’m editing each track individually, rather than all 6 of them at once. Despite the concerns of choppiness for the stuff I’ve taken out, the crossfades are really making the audio sound a whole lot better now that I’m going into the nitty-gritty bits.

And in even more good news, I got Jackpumpkinhead’s Custom Crawl Creator 2.0 and while it was designed for version 2.79 in Blender (My version is 2.9), the download came with a very helpful video on how to use it, and I’ve been able to overcome most of the differences so far. I’ve already got the text into the creator, and now I just have to worry about getting the background stars screengrab (Which is arguably the hardest part). Still, it’s beginning to look like Christmas with the opening crawl.

So, things are beginning to fall into place. The only disappointment I’m dealing with right now is not being competent enough to put jpeg images onto a post, which is a petty thing to be disappointed about. Still, if you want to see some LUT examples, and you happen to know how to post jpegs on here, I’d be happy to hear your reply.