I’ve just watched the workprint, but hadn’t written a review until a decade later. 😉
Bear in mind that I did not read the entire thread (considering it’s 42 pages long, and only the last couple have had the workprint released), so I may be repeating things that others have said.
Since it is a work-in-progress, I’ll only critique on the content of the edit, rather than the nit-picky things. (Though if you’re looking for a nit-pick technical review I can do that too.)
It also seems that I might be a harsher critic of this edit. However, I have tried my best to be as constructive as I can with my criticism. It’s not a horrible edit at all, it’s just that there are a few areas that I feel differently about.
(00:17:11)
Poe’s interrogation: The hinting of SKB felt much too early in the film. However, taking out the first shot of SKB in the wider view might improve it, in order to make it a little more subtle and less apparent. I also feel that the shots inserted in-between could be shortened to make them appear in a quicker succession.
(00:18:01)
I don’t think the next shots with BB-8 in the night is really necessary. We already know he went with Rey, and it’s a really really short sequence anyway. It’s also obvious to me that the first shot is a re-used shot but zoomed in.
(01:00:54)
The added sounds leading Rey to Luke’s lightsaber: I feel the sound effects here should be a bit more varied than just the “No!” child screaming sounds.
(01:18:27)
Rey’s dream sequence prior to the interrogation: I mentally associate fade-to-black transitions between shots with trailers very strongly. Perhaps, you could try cutting out the first shot we see of Rey and extending the black before the first shot. Also, is there some sort of effect that could be applied to shots to make it feel more like it’s a dream sequence rather than a montage? (Maybe the chromatic abberation effect you had for the ending Luke sequence, or some blurring, or even some level of discoloration.)
(01:31:08)
I feel like the whispers are used a little bit too much here.
(01:45:23)
I think the voices should be a little more echo/reverb-y here, to distinguish them from the dialogue heard in the actual scene.
(01:45:56)
This music always takes me to the scene in ANH where Luke finds the Lars homestead raided. I actually don’t know if this was used in the original TFA, this workprint is the first time I’ve seen any TFA in a while.
(01:52:46)
“Force voices” could have more reverb or echo. Also the complete silence feels a little weird, perhaps have some ambient effect or something here.
(01:54:29)
I just came fresh out of watching the beginning of The Last Jedi (mainly to nail down the volume for various TLJ: Rekindled QC tests I was doing), so this shot sticks out to me.
(01:59:24)
Rey’s dream is probably the one thing I’m the most mixed about. It’s an interesting idea, and it takes advantage of the fact that the footage of Rey finding Luke in TFA is different from TLJ. However, for me, a dream sequence works best as a continuous sequence, rather than having outside ongoings interleaved with it. And how would Rey know what Luke looks like? I also prefer to see the footage re-used from TLJ as little as possible, especially since TLJ is the film that comes right after TFA.
Everything else I liked, content-wise.
