Hal 9000

Looks very interesting. I'll keep tabs on it.

That last screenshot looks great! That's what I was most hoping for: what the prequels would look like on 35mm. 

I'm still going to hang onto the project files for my prequel edits in the hopes of using this source for an updated version.

FYI, I'm making preparations to use this as my primary source for v2 of my AOTC edit. Hopefully a re-sync and "reconnect media" will suffice. 

The color palette is much more appealing. I remember AOTC being white and overcast. 

I don't plan on giving ROTS the same treatment, because it's only AOTC that felt off with the BR to me personally. And I wouldn't mind AOTC and ROTS being a little more visually distinct from each other.

All this is to say: good work, and I appreciate the resource being made available. You're name will be in the credits. 

Too bad I have to spend two weeks re-encoding AOTC, though. But it was an easy call to make once I saw the results of your project.

EDIT: I'm very sorry, but I need to rescind this proposition. My computer gave me a scare today and I'm flustered into getting this project out the door as soon as possible. I admire this project, however. Sorry for the abrupt turnabout.

Do you happen to know if these sync with the existing DVD versions? I'm downloading AOTC currently, and may be able to use it for version 2 of my Ep2 edit. I prefer the bleak, white-ish look of the DVDs to the saturated green of the BR.

Could you post comparison screencaps? How do the colors compare to the BluRay versions, particularly AOTC and ROTS?

Harmy's work popped up in this YouTube video.

Basketball is a peaceful planet.

It just might work if the film played a Han Solo death for laughs.

I don't cringe when I see the shockwaves, and wouldn't mind them at all if they were part of the film originally. They are unnecessary incursions added for the SE, which I'd prefer weren't there.

But for this project, I want to consider every detail, and have fun in the process. At the end of the day, it's not a big deal if I have to go with the shockwaves. But I'd hate to have missed out on a good source for an alternative because I didn't ask. 

After taking a look at Adywan's version again, I may elect to go with it. It appears to invoke the momentum of the jump cut of the original, though still has a shockwave. Though the scope of my project is limited to variations across the films' various official releases, this is okay by my logic that it's only a tweak on something that was changed in a way that mediates the different versions. 

Ultimately, it comes down to my own preference. But that's my reasoning.

Yeah, the original explosion has a weird jump cut that would make it seem out of place in a Special Edition. And I don't have the VFX skills to do anything with that footage, though I have seen it. I wonder why someone wrote on the film and made it unusable. Perhaps they had no time to do another explosion. 

How's it going? Looking at the last screenshot with the "obvious" error, I still do not know what I'm looking for. lol

I'll confess my ulterior motive... I'm gonna use this project as a primary source for a custom SE I'm cobbling together for myself. There's some good '04/'11 video to use (like the improved set extension in the cell bay), and your version is color corrected very closely to Harmy's. 

Looking forward to the full version, so I can fuel my Star Wars editing addiction.

Ideally, the '97 (and beyond) version of the shot without the shockwave. Or something like Adywan's version, sans shockwave. My goal (for this shot, and the project as a whole) is to mediate the OOT and SE versions, and not to do anything further to it like Adywan or Darth Editous have. 

That's why what you suggested wouldn't work for me. It'd be cool in a fan edit, but that's not really what I'm trying to do here.

That's pretty cool, but strays too far from the original for my taste.

kane1138 said:

What exactly are you working on, Hal?  I'm a fan of your PT edits, so I'd be interested to see your take on the OT.

 I'll make one thing clear: I do not have VFX skills. So, my OT project (which may or may not be worth releasing) is merely a cobble-job of other projects. My goal is to merely pick and choose from the official versions of the films to put together a more modest 'Special Edition' of only the changes that I assess as positive. These will be meant to be companion pieces to a properly preserved "original version," like Harmy's Despecialized Editions or Team Blu's GOUT preservation. This goal frames the project as an alternative version of the film rather than a preservation of the original, so I can feel free to use the SE changes I actually like.

This will not be a fan edit, insofar as all I'm doing is alternating between official versions of the film. However, I do plan on doing some creative editing in some places to arrive at a middle ground between OOT and SE. For example, I plan to only show some of the new Wampa scene, making the SE addition more subtle. I'll be doing similar things for Mos Eisley. I hope to be able to use Adywan's Emperor hologram scene from ESB, because he uses the new footage but wrangles it into a form more similar to the original in the sense of dialogue. So if there is any "fan editing" stuff going on, it will be limited to mediating OOT versus SE changes. 

Plus, at least for ANH and ESB, there are a lot of audio differences that will be fun to pick and choose from for a custom blend. I grew up with the '97 SE as my earliest exposure to Star Wars, so I've grown accustomed to some of its sound choices. It doesn't feel right to me when the Falcon blasts off from the Death Star without those additional noises from the mono mix that were reiterated in the SE going forward. 

So that's what I'm planning. It'll just be ANH for now, with ESB and ROTJ to follow once the sources become available. I was delighted to see Harmy had done a '97SE hybrid version, which will give me more options and make everything much easier for me. I intend on using this as my base, alongside the Despecialized Edition and kk650's color corrected 2011 footage. 

I posted this thread because ideally I would be able to remove the praxis shockwave effect added to the SE. It seems best to me to either remove all three of them or leave all three of them. (If they have to stay, I'll use the '97SE version of the first Death Star's explosion.)

Does anyone know of any fan-made alternatives to the shot of Alderaan being destroyed? Ideally, I’d be able to find one with no praxis shockwave effect.

Adywan’s explosion is pretty good, but still contains a shockwave effect. Perhaps someone has removed the shockwave effect from the SE version of the shot. I’m hoping to find one with no praxis effect for my custom SE I’m cobbling together.

Unexpected, but very cool. Thanks for taking the time to put this together!

I have no patience for anyone maintaining that the OUT should not be released.

I recognize the germ of some decent Star Warsy ideas in TPM, but it's a pretty miserable film to just sit down and watch as is. I used to feel a pang of boredom as a clock-wipe takes us into Boss Nass' council room.

I second Sadako. 

*runs away*

We'd all view this as a good thing, even if it's only good for a new source for "despecialization" efforts. 

Easterhay is for Easterhorses. And my ignore list.

I like the look of it, and am looking forward for the 16GB version. 

Yes, the new clip is a big improvement. Looking good so far. There are a few things, and I know it's just a rough mockup, that would be curious if this is the first ten minutes of a single film. Things like Qui-Gon seemingly ending a phone call as Shmi walks up, and Yoda's line, "More to say have you?"

And I'd suggest cutting anything you wouldn't want to include, since it's a single film. If you don't want the prophecy stuff, may as well lose it. It's not set up in ANH or ESB and has no payoff in ROTJ. You might give Threepio some thought too. Watching the films in machete order made me expect to see some sort of revelation in ROTJ for the characters about the droids having been present for the events of Anakin's rise and fall. 

This could be a good project.

Wow. So it sounds like the existing masters for the six films really wouldn't resolve much beyond a standard 1080p presentation. 

Huh. Does anyone happen to know the standard resolution of a typical digital cinema?

Well worth cashing in on the ancient Audible free trial offer. :)