Hal 9000

I remember a clip from someone, possibly The Cutter, that edited that scene to similar effect. I do not remember how he got Palpatine talking about Padme in the first place, since he was answering a question using a pronoun. 

It's an interesting idea, but I don't think it's what I'd want to do. I could imagine, though, wiping away from the scene just as we get a closeup of Palpatine smiling, immediately prior to the infamous "Noooo" line. 

But, hey, I knew keeping the scene would be unpopular, but I think it's best for the story as a whole as I've put it. If Padme were to have died, this would've been a whole different situation.

Thanks indeed. I find mixing fan edits like that interesting, and tried to work out my own best possible PT fan edit combination before realizing I had to make my own. Someone should put a spreadsheet together illustrating which edits are "compatible" with one another. 

Thanks very much; I'm glad my efforts translate into enjoyment. 

I edited them not because I wanted to learn to edit or use Final Cut, but rather because I wanted them to exist. There were several points where I would not have been confident in a given cut or edit I made were it not established by the precedent of an earlier fan edit. (For example, the quick transition from Obi-Wan spying on Dooku's conference to Anakin bringing his mother's corpse home. It was in Slumberland's edit first.) If I were to have tried to do these fan edits without any influence from prior edits, they would not be nearly as good. That's why I've credited every other FanFix edit of these films (listed on FE.org) in the end credits. 

L8wrtr's fan edits introduced many, many clever edits that I replicated in mine. He was kind enough to spend time instructing me on how to achieve the effect for the Sidious reveal scene. Q2's edits contain many bold cuts, some of which I've used too. Seciors' mentorship in the technical aspects was invaluable, and his own fan edits were inspirational to me. Emanswfan gave helpful guidance in some of the technical things as well. Slumberland's AOTC edit was exemplary, as I think he came closest to making the romance plot work. Adigitalman was helpful back a few years ago when I did my first edits, and his edits pioneered many tweaks that have become commonplace by now. Kerr's and AEMovieGuy's ROTS edits were a treasure trove of clever ideas, some of which I adopted for mine. TV's Frink was so kind as to upload gigs of data for me to benefit from, and I sincerely wish there was an unobtrusive way to work in a nod or two to his own (ridiculous) edits. (I had to resist having Obi-Wan chide Panaka in Episode I for sweating.) JasonN's edits had several interesting ideas, a few of which I used in mine. OnlyOneKenobi provided help unlooked for by designing beautiful clothing for these edits, so I didn't have to exhibit the crap posters I threw together to be able to list them on FE.org. If I were to create a subtitle track that played over my edits and flashed a fan editor's name onscreen whenever I borrowed an idea for something, there'd be very little of the film without subtitles. 

It's been a learning experience from beginning to end, and your enjoyment of them is what it's all about. That, and being able to sit through these awful movies myself. Hopefully Episode VII won't require breaking out the 'contingency' versions, though I'm ready for that possibility. Even though they contain a few references to the prophecy, it's still much more vague and could allow for the interpretation that it actually referred to Luke. 

The idea with the Sidious reveal was to have the lights flicker out when he starts to use the force lightning, then come back on to reveal a monster face when it dissipates. Kerr was the first to use the idea, and L8wrtr used it too. It's not perfect, but it helps do away with a lot of crummy dialogue during that scene. More importantly, it gets rid of the idea that he was injured by his own force lightning. He says this later, but this version makes it clear he's lying. Episode III should have featured a gradually aging Palpatine, like Episode II did. This solution, I feel, is better than what we got in ROTS.

The Darth Vader "Nooo" scene had to stay in this edit. Given what I was doing with Padme and changing who knows what about whom, this scene sets things straight. It establishes that Vader believes Padme is dead, that Palpatine lies to Vader about her, etc. I did try to use the "Nooo" from the 2011 edition of Return Of The Jedi, but I couldn't make it work. The music was too powerful in the clip, and there's reverb of the existing "nooo" in most channels. I never really minded that moment too much, though it is cliche and un-Vader-like. What are ya gonna do? If this edit didn't alter Padme's fate, I'd probably do what L8wrtr did and have the scene fade to black after Vader answers, "Yes, Master."

EDIT: The best way to get the edit at this point is myspleen. PM me for an invite; I still have a few left. Or you can try the fanedit.info site for a .dlc file. 

I hope that wasn't his audition.

DoomBot said:

Can't wait to watch these, i just now got them!

Any chance of releasing PCM audio or (lossless) of your work for all 3? Then I can mux them with your BD version.

Do you also have higher res movie posters for them?

 The only audio source used for Episodes II and III were the retail DVDs, because I encountered mysterious issues when using the BR audio. Besides, I would have wanted to undo some of the 2011 audio alterations anyway. Episode I was mainly BR audio, because I did not encounter said issues, though I used the Laserdisc audio in a few places to undo 2011 audio alterations. For all three films, the audio for the deleted scenes came from the DVDs. As such, the 448kbps AC3 audio track used in all released versions of these fan edits is the only sensible thing to export IMO.

FanEdit.org user OnlyOneKenobi is responsible for the great cover artwork. I've included everything I have from him along with these edits, and have not withheld anything. Only he would be able to export anything in higher res. 

ExNihilo said:

I actually cared about the love between Padme and Anakin, which was no easy feat my friend. None of the other edits came close. Thank you!

I only picked up on a few things:

1- the opening crawl seemed off as far as timing and fade out. Usually they fade into the distance but they were visible on screen and then suddenly gone when it panned down. 

2- some of the scenes (the deleted ones that were added back in mostly) were of pretty poor quality some of the time, especially the first Senate scene and on Geonosis. The Naboo ones seemed fine, though. Was this because I watched the DVD5 version instead of the 720 or 1080? 

In any case, I really enjoyed it, which is really saying something considering the source material. Thanks again and I'm looking forward to Ep III tonight.

 The two issues that you listed have been addressed and will be reflected in an upcoming fixed version. It's not really a 2.0, but just to fix a few glitches that DominicCobb pointed out, and the crawl issue you listed that I noticed too. I don't know why the crawl didn't have a crossfade applied; I went over everything a zillion times before exporting. But it's fixed. 

The deleted scenes (the opening one with Padme in the Senate, and the confrontation on Geonosis with Dooku) suffer from frame rate issues. So they should look smoother and better in that regard, though the resolution and look of them will be the same. In other words, a screengrab of the fixed version would look the same. I'm also going to increase the amount of film grain slightly, to help better mask the drop in quality when using a deleted scene. 

I am glad you enjoyed it; I think Episode II is "most improved" over the original version. It was based in part on Slumberland's brilliant edit, at least in terms of the romance plot.

ExNihilo said:

This was a great edit and the one I will watch from now on. Thank you and excellent job!

 Thanks! I'm glad people are enjoying these. I wish I could wipe my memories of working on them so I could just sit back and enjoy them. 

Present.

_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

hairy_hen, you just wrote what I think from years... well done!

 I agree; well said.

He's doing what lots of us have been doing for years now, but he's a celebrity. Going by the trailer, I'd bet his edit would be given a so-so rating if it were submitted to FE.org under another name. 

Whoa, do you have a goal of converting the whole film into 3D??

I like the filmic look (I used it for my own edits), but I wouldn't say it adds detail. It adds noise, which might be perceived as fine detail. 

I guess it'd be like adding some dirt to a slightly blurry photograph. Do a good enough job and it might not look like it is blurry. It's not because it's clearer; it just has a layer of highly detailed noise over top of it. A better example might be to apply sharpening to a blurry photo to make it look crisper.

Season 6 of Clone Wars featured voicework by Liam Neeson. I was able to use some of it as an eleventh-hour source. The 720p and 1080p releases will reflect this, but the already-released-by-then DVD5 will not. 

Tobar said:

The first one I ever encountered was Marka Ragnos in DFIV:JKIII:JOII:JA.

What the hell is that?

Perhaps Old Ben's ghost could say to Luke on Hoth, "There you will learn from Yoda. The Jedi Master who instructed the Jedi Master who instructed the Jedi Master who instructed me."

I liked the mention that the Whills (?) gave about Luke. They told Yoda that he would instruct (the) one to bring balance to the Force. Does this imply Luke is the actual chosen one?

Hadn't considered it that way; interesting indeed. 

Here's an example of a shot missing the cone of light. I don't have the OOT with me right now, but a comparison to it should show an outline of the projector beam.

EDIT: Here's a comparison shot. 

Apparently this guy has a non-robotic peg leg that we never get to see. Palpa-care makes those so damn expensive.

I was wondering if you had, or were planning to, address the error present in the 1997 SE and beyond of the missing cone of light when R2 projects Leia's message in Luke's garage. It might be relatively easy to overlay something, not necessarily resorting to using GOUT footage.

That guy's background could be a Rebels episode. "The Empire makes getting robotic limbs so damn expensive! GAH!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsipO_x3naA

Just woke up from a Star Wars related dream. I dreamed I was watching the latest version of ANH, and saw a newly reinstated deleted scene. It was before the Battle of Yavin, and Luke was at the grocery store in his yellow 'celebration' jacket picking up some 70's-looking beer. In line at the register in front of him was another rebel pilot. (I think it was the one who says, "How many guns do you think, gold five?" but I'm not sure.) He and Luke chat briefly about why they're in the rebellion. Luke notices that he has a metal peg leg, and asks why he doesn't use a robotic limb replacement. The pilot answers something about how the damn Empire makes it so expensive. I guess maybe that's his characterization about why he hates the Empire, maybe. 

KilroyMcFadden said:

Does everyone know about the very OT friendly podcast, "Far, Far Away" over at Geek Nation?

I've been searching for such a podcast. Thanks; I'll check it out today.