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Eyepainter

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Join date
16-Sep-2020
Last activity
26-Mar-2024
Posts
967

Post History

Post
#1525836
Topic
Worst Edit Ideas
Time

StarkillerAG said:

Mash up all the scenes of Rey training in TLJ into a “cheesy 80s action movie” style training montage, complete with an original synth-rock song about believing in yourself and becoming a champion. In order to fit the montage with the rest of the movie, rescore the entire soundtrack with more cheesy synth-rock.

Insert Randy Marsh from South Park fighting a bunch of people into this montage. At the end of the montage, Randy yells out, “I thought this was America!” while the cops take him away.

Post
#1524001
Topic
Community Focus Thread 1: The Phantom Menace
Time

NeverarGreat said:

StarkillerAG said:

Personally, I feel sort of uncomfortable using AI voice clips for fanediting. The fact that we can now create new movie dialogue out of thin air, with no input from the original actors at all, feels sort of soulless to me. Call me a Luddite, but AI in general is a Pandora’s box that I’m not really comfortable opening.

If we’re going to change Jar-Jar’s dialogue, I think the classic “foreign dub with new subtitles” route is the best way to go about it. Sure, Jar-Jar does appear in later canon material, but you can just assume he learned English in between movies (which would explain his dialect).

That’s fair. I also agree that replacing all of a character’s dialogue with AI feels weird, and if someone were to go the route of redubbing Jar Jar, it should be with a real voice actor (just like a foreign dub of a movie).

Personally for me, I think AI should work as a tool to make possible things that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. For example, JJ had a bunch of deleted scenes of Leia from The Force Awakens that he wanted to use in TROS but probably couldn’t because the dialogue didn’t work with the new plot. If a line of AI dialogue would have allowed that scene to be used (along with shots of Carrie’s real performance), I imagine that JJ would have done it. To make a deleted scene work in Restructured/Starlight, I ended up mashing together several of Leia’s lines with new mouth movements, but that allowed for the inclusion of my favorite Leia character moment in all of the sequels, one that absolutely deserved to be in the movie.

So yes, AI is a tool, and it is up to us to use to use it to enable more human performances and storytelling, not to impoverish them.

I… Mostly kinda sorta agree with this. On the one hand, I think there is a benefit to utilizing AI voices. I watched a fan mix called Three F—ing Bears, which utilizes a Sylvester Stallone AI for the narration of the edit. I enjoyed it a lot, and I recommend it to any Rambo fans who want a good laugh. For me, that edit is a good example of AI done right.

On the other hand, I also get where Starkiller is coming from, and I think AI voices are best used sparingly. It’s the same way I feel about CGI. Movies that keep CGI to a minimum (like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2) often come up with incredible CGI that still holds up to this day. But often times, the temptation to overuse and abuse CGI is strong. So it is with AI voices. I suppose if there’s a way to utilize an AI Jar Jar that works well, then so be it. But at the same time, I wouldn’t recommend AI as the end-all-be-all solution to the problem.

Post
#1520864
Topic
Star Wars Episode II: March of the Separatists (Released)(v2 a WIP)
Time

I know I said I was done with the color grading, but I have one more idea. I decided to play around with the Fusion features in DaVinci Resolve and see how they worked, and as it turns out, there’s a film grain effect on there. Naturally, I couldn’t resist. Plus, the film grain is customizable too. I was able to increase the size of the grain by about 25% to accommodate the film being shot in Super 35. I was also able to change the x and y sizes, so that the grain looks like anamorphic grain, too! The only downside is that the grain is easy to see. I had to reduce the strength down to roughly 0.35/5.00 in most clips. Even then, there’s a possibility that it’s too noticeable. I have uploaded this sample clip of the opening to give everyone an example of what the film grain looks like so far. Keep in mind that this feature is customizable, and I’m able to change the size, strength, roughness, and offset of the grain, so none of this is final. I recommend watching the video in 1080p for best results.

https://vimeo.com/791789909

Post
#1509682
Topic
Community Focus Thread 1: The Phantom Menace
Time

vranir said:

It’s a little choppy (so many cuts, especially noticeable before the action starts) but it’s a definite vanilla-like improvement.

I’d still like to see some of the more radical openings come to fruition.

I can fix a lot of the choppiness simply with some audio crossfades, especially since I made a few of those cuts already in my edit of Episode I (namely the Jedi lightsaber fight scene).

Post
#1505848
Topic
Star Wars Episode II: March of the Separatists (Released)(v2 a WIP)
Time

EddieDean said:

Sorry Eyepainter, I really mean this constructively and respectfully, but I personally feel like these new grades are too radical - both these examples and your Ep1 movie which I recently watched. I think they’re super saturated and quite flat, and the grain is too strong. For me, it feels like we’re really deviating from the usual look of SW, as best exemplified by the OT/ST/Mandalorian/Andor. Definitely not trying to be rude there as I really appreciate your efforts, but if it were me I’d focus on your lovely VFX changes and dial down a lot of the grading changes.

Harsh words, but I’m listening. I should note that the “lovely” VFX changes you mentioned are the grades you’re criticizing, but your point has been made. I think I mentioned earlier that I read Jeff Bartsch’s book “Edit Better,” and pretty much all the adjustments he makes are in simple dials such as saturation, contrast, offset, midtones, and shadows. I’ve entertained trying out this method, but never really did because it requires skill to get a pleasing result. However, Episode II might make for a nice first demonstration on this. I’ll see if I can cook something up with it when I’m not cooking something up in the kitchen.

Post
#1505660
Topic
Star Wars Episode II: March of the Separatists (Released)(v2 a WIP)
Time

Wow. I’ve been gone a while!

Before I continue, I have an announcement to make. I just got accepted at an online baking school and I will be attending classes tomorrow! 🥳

This is part of the reason I’ve been quiet here lately, and why my responses and replies might get a little slow for the next year or so. I’m learning how to make delicious pastries! My apologies if classes cause any inconveniences, but I think all of you will understand why.

Now, back on topic!

After listening to NotTheDri0ds comment on the contrast, I decided to go back to the color grading on Episode II yet again, and try the same techniques I used for my Episode I v3.5 edit to see if it works again. I had problems with the image looking rather flat, but then I found out I forgot to set the gamma to 2.4, and now it looks so much better. What are your thoughts on this grade? Is it an improvement, or does it need some more work?

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Post
#1505247
Topic
Community Focus Thread 1: The Phantom Menace
Time

EddieDean said:

Looking at the other official crawls, they do like their exciting language. So you could maybe have the Queen’s request be “urgent” and/or the Jedi being dispatched “swiftly” or “urgently”. You could also do something to imply the Trade Federation have arrived in a “stunning” or “bold” fashion. So here’s an example adding a bit more fruit to the language. (I’m also not quite sold on painting the Republic’s history as a golden age, so trying something I feel is a little tighter and more exciting.)

The Galactic Republic is failing.
As corruption spreads, Queen
Amidala of Naboo stands as a
vocal champion of democracy.

Sensing an opportunity to sieze
profit and power, the greedy
Trade Federation has boldly
surrounded her wealthy home
planet with a fleet of deadly
warships.

At the Queen’s urgent request,
the mystical Jedi Knights have
swiftly dispatched Qui-Gon Jinn
and his apprentice to the planet,
seeking to protect the peace
and ensure the safety of her
people…

The one issue I have with this is that the film keeps reminding us that Chancellor Valorum sent out the two jedi, not the Jedi knights (even though I like the idea of the Jedi sending them out more). I know this because I tried to get rid of that connection myself, and couldn’t, because there were too many mentions and lines to cut out.

Post
#1503083
Topic
Star Wars Episode I: The Rise of Naboo (v3.5 released)
Time

Edit is uploaded! Having a few difficulties getting the final submission form on IFDB, but I think it’ll be okay if I start sending PM’s now. Sorry for the long wait (and therefore, inconvenience), but submitting to fanedit.org took a lot longer than I expected. Hopefully I’ve learned a few valuable lessons, and I know what to expect once I’ve completed work on Episode II!

Post
#1502428
Topic
Worst Edit Ideas
Time

RogueLeader said:

CaptainFaraday said:

I’ve always thought a group edit of ANH where everyone picked a scene and edited it with their best worst ideas would be fantastic, but far too impractical to organise.

Actually this doesn’t seem like such a crazy idea. And it could be a cool way to involve forum members who like to edit but don’t have the time or resources to do a feature-length fan edit.

I second this!

Post
#1501865
Topic
Worst Edit Ideas
Time

BedeHistory731 said:

Insert a stormtrooper impaled Cannibal Holocaust-style into the background of every Ewok village shot.

Actually, I think making the Ewoks a bunch of bloodthirsty critters would make their victory over the stormtroopers a lot more interesting and believable. Sure, it will never happen due to the PG rating, but making the Endor battle R-rated would honestly be an improvement.