ImperialFighter

GL's latest comments on his 'conversions' -

http://www.accesshollywood.com/george-lucas-avatars-technology-could-make-3-d-star-wars-a-reality_article_27866

Hmmm, GL keeps on hinting at it, but I'm beginning to wonder if he's gonna be at the straggler's end, rather than the forefront, when it comes to the upcoming 'conversion' revolution....

http://www.accesshollywood.com/george-lucas-avatars-technology-could-make-3-d-star-wars-a-reality_article_27866  (That Facebook User comment wasn't by me by the way, lol.)

Although the 'converted' portion of 'A New Hope' that supposedly impressed the few that have seen it, was done long ago....it sounds as if nothing much has been done since the early demo was shown to GL....and since I remember reading somewhere that any 'conversions' would be released at the rate of 1 per year, starting with 'Episode 1'....then I guess it'll be a while before anyone gets to see a 'dimensionalised' big-screen re-release of the O.T. after all.

sans_fi said:

Im usually against everything

LOL.

 

Also i realised in that shot the roof doesnt look like the one that we see from outside. From outside it looks like a high double roof, and from inside it looks much more simpler.

You'll be pleased to know that Adywan previewed a shot a while back showing that he'd removed the roof detail to match the interior ceiling.

vaderios said:

How all this started?

I blame Walt and his 'Multi-plane' system....  ;)

Which I gotta disagree with BmB about, as I thought it rocked personally!

The recent comments have reminded me of a couple of other shots I'd love to see enhanced a little if possible, and I'll pop by later to go into them.

You reminded me of something else too vaderios.  :)  (no, not Dagobah, yet....)

So now this thing has bagged the Golden Globes awards for Best Director and Best Movie:Drama.

Seem's like Jim's king of the movie-world again....

Darth Editous said:

I'm not against the 3D effect either for that matter, if you find the time and effort to do it then kudos to you, but at least do it well.

I think I did.

You definately did DE! 

I really loved that 3D-style 'zoom-in' effect. Thanks for that split-screen version.  :)

As far as the design of the Vane itself, the thing I always wanted to see as a fix, was the long extending arm/tunnel (that Luke follows Vader through) being moved higher up to align nearer where Luke exits near the round window.  I always thought this was the most straight-forward change to make to the current look....meaning that the actual 'Carbon Chamber' was situated in the 'surrounding wall' at the other end of the arm/tunnel.

But as Adywan seems to prefer the location of the 'Carbon Chamber' as being inside the Vane, then I'm really looking forward to his final re-design which will make this more plausible.

Any chance of a split-screen comparison with the original sometime DE?

vaderios said:

3d camera projection is to project an image to a 3d geometry. To have a more real look with subtle movements (im refering again to darth editous bespin shaft matte)

Since you brought it up vaderios, here's that neat Darth Editous shot for anyone that missed it -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1TQ11frJ0A

Although a comparison clip would have shown the difference clearer, you can see how the walkway at the front of the Vane rises upwards in relation to the surrounding backdrop behind it....compared to the static 'zoom-in' of the original matte.

It really adds depth, and that's some great stuff that you and Jaitea have shown about all these kinds of effects.

Can't wait to see what Adywan has decided to do with his whole Vane sequence eventually....

adywan said:

Although it may look like some copy & pasted troopers, they are all in fact different troopers. There are subtle differences in their movements and angles. What i don't like about this shot is the "Vaseline" effect on the troopers.  The ESB:R second unit will be re-filming the troopers for this and a couple of other shots in February in the US. We have a production meeting this saturday and i have to finish some of the costume pieces and props and get them sent to the US in time for filming to begin.

What?  'Adywan Productions' has his very own US-based 'Second Unit' now?

Terrific stuff, and that 'extras' bonus disc is sounding more and more required viewing!  :)

corellian77 said:

You mentioned you were itching to get back to ESB:R a few posts ago... is there anything holding you up (lack of money?  time?).

It was to do with his monitor packing in.  However, Jacen has kindly posted him a good replacement from abroad recently.

As far as the 'reflections/scratches' thing on cockpits etc., while it may have been a nice touch if introduced from the start of the 'Revisited' edits, I wouldn't like to see an inconsistency with 'Star Wars:Revisited'....

And it would have been an incredible amount of work to include I reckon, considering the amount of various shots we see out of different craft throughout these movies. 

adywan said:

From now on, until about May time, everyone that donates will get this clip. The direct link for donations is now in my signature.

Please don't share it with anyone or post it anywhere please. You can discuss it here but please don't post screencaps

 

WOW!  The 'asteroid chase' sequence was always a highlight of the movie for me, and your latest exclusive New Year preview is sheer awesomeness.

It had some brilliant tweaks I wasn't expecting, and the stuff I was hoping to see has turned out wonderfully.  Everything done so far has made this great effects sequence far, far better.

Incredible stuff Adywan!  :)  I've sent you a PM about it all.

See you removed the droid from Han's first 'close-up' too Jaitea.  Will be interested to see how this plays out with audio in your finished version eventually.

Obi-Wan said:

Luke's rescue clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwULLrS8ZXw

@ 6:46, downfall of the Tauntaun: Is it just me or does anyone else notice that the falling Tauntaun still has this effect of a stop-motion-creature (especially the leg)? It doesn't look natural, i. e. smooth.
As far as I recall Adywan did improve the movement of the tauntaun in the first scene we see one (Luke riding it), didn't he?

The clip you linked to is still messed up.  Here's a perfect version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJD6fUC7VxY

Can't say that one ever bothered me though, as I thought it was just part of the charm of the stop-motion work.  I remember Ray Harryhausen saying that he deliberately 'over-exaggerated' certain movements to add 'character'.  I reckon Phil Tippett did the same.

adywan said:

ImperialFighter said:

....so although the 'scaling' issues may have to slide, I reckon things would have tied better together if we could at least have seen the brief hint of an 'opposing leg-joint' coming in-and-out-and-in-again added during the approximate 5 seconds of 'prop' footage where Luke swipes upwards with his lightsaber....

I'm planning on building a model of the top leg joint to replace the movie version to fix the detail and try to match the movement. It's impossible to fix the gap between the two leg joints because it would block out the hatch but there may be a way to add a hint of the other leg. If i can't get it too look right though it will have to stay the way it is.

 

Wow, another model!  Fingers crossed that things here can be improved a little.

 

vaderios said:

Something ive noticed is that the tube/tool/whatever that is near han is moved when the droid pushes it. but in the next shot in the close up its again at its first position.

already fixed :)

 

Great stuff.

 

vaderios said:

And secondly if the AT-ATs are so low how the heck can fire at snowspeeders in straight lines. Arent the lasers supposed to be from the ground(aka Walkers)?

The tiny AT-AT's are being replaced so it looks like they are flying closer to the walkers

 

More great stuff.

 

ImperialFighter said:

vaderios's top 2 'zoomed-in' shots are taken from the single shot where Han gestures to the moving beeping droid and tells it to "Wait a minute", where it then immediately comes to a halt and stops beeping before Han then asks Luke "You all right?

We then cut to Luke who responds "Yeah", and then cut to the 'close-up' of Han seen in the 3rd shot down.  At this point we now see the droid continue to beep and trundle past Han....

Well Han actually says "wait a second" and the droid does wait then carries on with what he was doing, so he did obey Han. I think its fine the way it is.

 

Oops, that's right, Han says "Wait a second", rather than "Wait a minute", so it can seem as if the droid has started up on it's way again a few moments later.  Although it always seemed jarring to me, and I'd have preferred it to have remained off-screen while waiting for Han's instructions, this possibility works okay too.

adywan said:

I'm totally jealous IF. we haven't had a flake of snow here :(

Be careful what you wish for....  ;)

Yeah, it's been a nightmare going back to work this week.  While it was neat for the kids to get a white Christmas here, I thought it would be gone in a week, so it's certainly outstayed it's welcome now....  I went into my fridge to heat up....brrrrr....

Sorry to hear about the bad luck with the car.  Such a hassle.  And I remember seeing the news item about your town centre's big gas explosion....scary stuff....

By the way, did you get my PM okay that I sent on 7th Jan. about a couple of things?

He's given that whole background a far more interesting look with the way he's tweaked some of the angles too!

doubleofive said:

Knightmessenger said:

Although if someone wants to nitpick, the new petition here simply asks for the original versions restored, while the banner could suggest we want whatever version as long as the colors are proper. Some people unfamiliar with the films might think from the banner that the original versions were released with the wrong colors when that was actually one of the things the unaltered dvd's got right. I don't think it's a big deal but those who would call us "whiny fanboys" might use it as another lame response.

Right, I just liked Ripplin's "Blu Not Blue" line.  I can try something along the same lines with GOUT vs Adywan's AVCHD, but I don't have a clever line for it!

Ah, Knightmessenger threw up a very pertinent point there.

It seems I may have mistakenly believed that these banner designs were to encourage better-coloured versions of the 'Special Editions' of the OT on Blu-ray....as let's face it, that's definately the versions that GL will want to release first and foremost again.  And even though I didn't agree with a lot of GL's tinkering choices, I'd at least like the masses to see better looking versions of them this time round.... 

If that is the intention with these banners you came up with doubleofive, then as far as the layout of your long example here, might I suggest moving your Blu not Blue! lettering up so that it's positioned at the top instead (although Yoda's features may need lowered a little so that his eyes etc. aren't obscured too much in that central shot), and align your Sign the Petition for a proper restoration of the Original Trilogy on Blu-ray! lettering on the bottom left instead, while keeping a single http://originaltrilogy.com/petition/  aligned on the bottom right where you currently have it.

If on the other hand, you mean that you're going to try for a banner emphasising how we'd actually like a well-presented 'GOUT' version of the OT on Blu-ray, as opposed to the badly-coloured 'Special Edition'....then perhaps you could keep the Blu not Blue! heading, and just change the longest lettering to Sign the Petition for a proper restoration of the pre-Special Edition Original Trilogy on Blu-ray! instead.

Just some thoughts.

vaderios said:

And secondly if the AT-ATs are so low how the heck can fire at snowspeeders in straight lines. Arent the lasers supposed to be from the ground(aka Walkers)?

This is an interesting one too vaderios.

The shot shown at the bottom here comes at the point where Luke says "Rogue Three" just soon after General Veers has told Vader's hologram that he can start his landing....and at about 45 seconds before this shot, we can also see a similar, small, 'lower-down' AT-AT in the distance during the shots where Luke says "All right, stand by, Dak", and then where Dak replies "Oh, Luke, we've got a malfunction in fire control"....

While the height/angles of all the various other AT-AT laserbolts seen firing at Speeders during the rest of the battle seem fine....the horizontal ones in these particular 3 shots do indeed seem to make it look like they are coming from off-screen AT-ATs that are too high up, when compared to the height of the AT-AT seen in the distance....

So unless the off-screen AT-AT's that are firing at the Speeders in these 3 shots are supposed to be on a steeper incline on the snowplain than the small, distant one somehow....then perhaps Adywan can re-'angle' the trajectory of all these laserbolts a little....although I'm not sure if the small, 'lower-down' AT-AT should be seen in all these shots anyway....considering the footage afterwards makes it seem that the Speeders travel a fair distance before they come to the ones that are firing at them....

vaderios said:

Something ive noticed is that the tube/tool/whatever that is near han is moved when the droid pushes it. but in the next shot in the close up its again at its first position. Posible fix? dont move it or change its position. The mockup isnt showing the correct solution :(

Hey, that's another one I never noticed before.  :)

It would indeed be good to see that small 'prop' stay in the same position when we first see it, to match the shots afterwards (or 'erased' from all the shots if not)....

However, there was always something else that bothered me with this scene....and it could be that these shots were filmed in a different order to the way they were edited together, which could also explain this now -

vaderios's top 2 'zoomed-in' shots are taken from the single shot where Han gestures to the moving beeping droid and tells it to "Wait a minute", where it then immediately comes to a halt and stops beeping before Han then asks Luke "You all right?

We then cut to Luke who responds "Yeah", and then cut to the 'close-up' of Han seen in the 3rd shot down.  At this point we now see the droid continue to beep and trundle past Han....

Then after we cut to Luke setting off, we cut back for a second time to a similar 'close-up' shot as the 3rd one down where Han then says "Be careful"

I always thought that it would be better if the droid was 'erased' in the first 'close-up' that we see of Han...as it seems as if it's just started off again on it's own accord, rather than waiting as Han asked....  Should it be off-screen and waiting at this point?....  It could still make the beeping noises we're used to hearing in the shot while it waits off-screen though.

Guess we'll just have to see if Adywan thinks it should be a surly, disobeying workdroid or not, I guess....

So hands up all those that thought 'Avatar' would pass the billion-dollar mark after just 17 days of release then....

Looks like Cameron has proved to be a real kick-starter for this whole 3D deal after all.

I have to say that me and the family all had a great time with this new-fangled 'polarised' 3D in general, and 'Avatar' in particular, and thought it looked fantastic.  We caught a RealD showing, and are all keen to see more 3D in future.  Whether it comes near the quality of Cameron's epic efforts remains to be seen....

Someone somewhere reckoned they'd have preferred if the story had somehow instead been about the Human race joining forces with the Na'vi aliens to kick the ass of some other violent race that was oppressing them on Pandora....and I'd have liked to have seen that movie too.  

However, I'm also okay with the 'Humans as oppressors' storyline we got in the end, and 'Avatar' certainly provided plenty of spectacle.  Someone I know saw it in 2D only as he couldn't get into a 3D showing at the time, and he thought it was awesome that way too. 

It's now been confirmed that there'll be a longer, extended Bluray version, by the way.

Speaking of which, here's a look at the new, official Bluray 3D logo - http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa175.html#010510b

Suddenly, all this 'home viewing' potential is starting to seem really close....

Baronlando said:

He said something like "after the first 10 minutes you don't really notice it's 3D".

Is that because there's only about 10 mins. 'converted' so far, I wonder?  :)

There are different 'conversion' companies popping up, and I just hope a skillful one eventually handles the work.  Those that have seen the initial short footage seemed to have been impressed with it though.

savmagoett said:

Oh sorry I got it wrong
it seems my English needs some improvements

No worries, as it's a tricky thing to see without looking at the actual onscreen motion, as I mentioned. 

Although the gap between the 'leg-joints' would still end up wider than that seen elsewhere....it's just a 'visual compromise' that the positioning of Luke seems to allow for in the shot, but I reckon it would be better to get even the merest glimpse of a 2nd 'leg-joint' rather than only seeing the existing, single 'prop' one.

It's a shot that I always wished had been digitally improved for the SE in some way, compared to some of the other things that were focused on at the time.

And I wish my French was as good as your English already is, by the way.  :)

savmagoett said:

If I get you well you're postulating that the two joints on this picture are moving nearer and further to one another as the ATAT walks, right?

Unfortunately, as I understand the working of an ATAT, it's not the case…
I think these two joints only rotate on themselves and stays exactly at the place they are in this picture, plus you never see those joints doing the movement you suggest in wider shots. So the forward joint should always be visible in the prop shots with Luke, just like Angel's mockup…

Nope. What I was mainly trying to get across was the subtle 'back-and-forth' movement that the actual camera shot has during that particular 5 seconds of footage....which would allow for a very subtle 'sliver' of another 'leg-joint' coming into the left-side of the frame a couple of times to match that subtle camera movement.

It's just a possible subtle addition that would take advantage of this slight camera movement, which would perhaps help to improve the discrepancies of the full-sized 'prop' a little.  Even If this was done to match the slight camera movement as I described, the gap between the added 'sliver' and the existing 'leg-joint' would still be further apart than it is on the miniatures.

So the distance between the 'leg-joints' would still stay at an equal distance from each other in the shot, as you point out.  That's what I was trying to get across, and the timing of the camera movement seems to allow for it.

Have to agree that I like the idea of the original 'Adywan' logo intro. being used in all the edits eventually too, certainly as far as the lettering itself appears, if not the background.  And I'd be happy to keep hearing an 'Imperial March' cue whenever it appears too.

I remember one of my sons saying it was really cool when he first saw it.  :)

Your version was still worth seeing though vaderios!