.Mac.

Tobar said:

It's not just about restoring a line of dialogue. That shot interrupts the flow of the film and is wholly unnecessary.

I completely agree with you on the 2 shots where you see Vader's shuttle fly towards the Executor, and then again when docking in the Executor - those SE shots are wholly unnecessary... but I do not see how the 1st SE side-view platform shot interrupts any flow, this shot has a lot of worthwhile potential (such as what I just described) instead of being discarded completely.

brimforge said:

hehe, when did Luke get his X-Wing back ?

I forgot that he parked it on Cloud City (now off-limits for Rebels), but flying it later to Tatooine and Dagobah ... (*

*) and without R2 "Autopilot"ing it, who returned it to him ?

It's very likely he got another one, that's how I imagined it anyway... "Okay Luke, we'll let you take ANOTHER X-Wing, but please try to bring this one back!"

Ronster said:

there's no way "Bring my shuttle" and this scene could work unless you either have empty platform or perhaps Luke's x-wing. 

Not entirely true. Read what I just said earlier. Of course there would be a time lapse from when he says "Bring my shuttle" and the shot of the platform, but it'd help that sense of time lapse better if the shuttle is seen landing, instead of already landed.

While I'm thinking of it, it could also be a good idea to see/hear a tie fighter or two go past in the background. Perhaps they were the shuttle's escort and now going about around the city, further occupying and threatening the city that Lando warned them about (who could potentially be, but maybe not, 2 of the 4 fighters who pursue the Falcon later).

This is when I really wish I could create a motion mock-up/concept :)

Oh I've always liked that side-view silhouette shot of Vader and co. and his shuttle. I dissliked all of the rest of the SE additions of this segment though, where the action later is interrupted with seeing it approaching the Executor and then slowly landing in it. I am very glad the "Bring my shuttle" is being restored, but even if it's doubtful, I've been hopeful that that particular shot could still remain (with Revisited improvements). The main thing is instead of his shuttle already there, it should be seen where it has just landed (because of the "Bring my shuttle").

I had no doubt they would portray Chewie with the "correct" costume, although I am somewhat surprised they didn't insert just a few extra gray/white colored hairs in there (or maybe they did, can't tell). Anyway, I'm very happy to see another picture too :)

Well if JJ Abrams does an extraordinary job on episode 7, wouldn't we want him to return for the other episodes? I would. I know not all have the same optimism as I, but I have faith that he can and will deliver something great, based on his previous work and what I've seen so far for 7 (again, not all agree, just like not all agree that ESB is the best SW, except that it is). Plus having the same director helps keep a consistent style between the movies as well as having the groundwork planned out for the future releases (just as Jackson was able to do with LOTR trilogy). Anyway, imagine if Kershner returned to do ROTJ following after his successful ESB...

But, I suppose it's also fun to speculate who else can do a good SW flick - at the moment I'd cast my vote out for the Russo brothers (who both did The Winter Soldier).

Ronster said:

Would anyone actually miss this scene with the people standing about in cloud city?

I would. I like that it shows the people he's speaking to - in this way, it opens up Bespin even more, and for me that was a positive attempt with the SE. With Ady's enhancements to those shots and all of the other backgrounds in cloud city, they have all become seamless together and very beautiful looking.

muddyknees2000 said:

I've asked Ady about this scene because I am bothered by a whole different issue here.....but he has said that the audio doesn't exist in separated channels for this to be reverted back to a more original form.....so unfortunately it has to stay as is.

If I remember right, it was the idea to swap the order of those two SE shots, right? First show the outside shot of hundreds of people THEN show the interior hallway shot of the 3 persons. I would have preferred this order too, definitely. It makes more sense that people would stop and intently listen to his message after hearing more of what he was saying, rather than immediately at the beginning.

I am very excited about this cast. I am liking all of the actors on board here but I am especially pleasantly surprised to see Sydow and Serkis involved - both are amazing actors no matter their role.

For someone of his talent, I wouldn't be surprised if Serkis actually plays two charcters, one looking as himself and another as a motion-capture character. We'll see!

I wonder if there's no Billy Dee because JJ heard the rumor that Ady might kill him off in ROTJ:R ;) seriously though, I think its good not to have a complete reunion all at once, or at least a brief, surprise cameo will be fine.

I have to say I was really hopeful to see my favorite actor of all time manage to grab a role. Gary Oldman. That man is a chameleon and an amazing actor in all of the movies he's in. He would have been excellent in SW.. there's always 8 and 9 :)

Amazing and beautiful work there Ady! Thank you for sharing that image.

I have two humble thoughts about it..

First: Judging how the light is hitting the Slave 1 (looks perfect btw!), wouldn't the landing pad towards the front of the craft be lit a little more? Behind the ship would still be masked in shadow, so that part is just fine.

Second: I LOVE the enhanced sunsetting background, really helps with the mood of this scene, but I'm wondering was it best to have that dark cloud right behind the people at that instant? Artistically, it kind of diminishes their silhouette as opposed to the original where they "pop out" more. Maybe bring that cloud back a bit so it doesn't get behind them yet? I can understand the reasoning though if it was intended to help hide any of the difficult-to-remove black lines around them. Or perhaps it's just fine when seen in motion.

adywan said:

It isn't a SE change. It has been there since day one. It's just that the stereo mix omitted it . Check the story of ESB LP and it's there. I'm pretty sure it is also on one of the home releases, pre special edition, but i can't remember which one.

That is interesting.. I always figured it was one of those many SE audio alterations/additions (one that was actually for the better). I don't have the '92 VHS release to check that, but I can say with certainty Yoda's sound isn't heard in the '95 VHS release.

It sounds like it will remain then, thank you ;)

oh_riginal said:

doubleofive said:

.Mac. said:

Back to ESB:R and still about Yoda, what is the plan for the special edition "ERRR" sound that Yoda makes just as Luke aims his gun at him? I'm sure Yoda knew he wouldn't shoot, but for his "goofy character" acting, I think it adds that much more to his goofiness (in a good way) and it makes me grin each time I hear it :) Im wondering if that may be kept?

...

I don't think that's an SE change. At least, not that I'm aware of. He seems to make the same sound I've always heard.

 Growing up, I always seen the version where he only pulled his hand over his face to hide, but didn't make a sound. When the SE was first released, it was suddenly there. Personally, I like it with the sound.

It has to be a SE addition. I grew up with the pre-special edition VHS and it wasn't in there, but it has been ever since the SE. Anyway, I like it too :)

Lord Haseo said:

I was watching a few of Ady's Yoda clips on youtube (When Yoda's lips move more) and in the description of one video that was released in 2009 stated that the effects weren't finished. So does this mean that Ady improved Yoda's lips moving even further? 

Those clips have me really interested and excited about what he might possibly do for the prequel Yoda (and Jabba's lair in ROTJ). I remember reading that if Lucas didn't replace the horrid TPM Yoda puppet, he would consider building his own. Well, they did replace that for their best looking cg Yoda yet (now AOTC Yoda is the worst looking one) but I am curious if he is still contemplating on acquring a film-accurate prequel Yoda puppet for replacing (probably most of) the cg Yoda, and working his same lip movement magic there too ;) Maybe that's opening a large can of worms, but with a new 3PO being put in and with the help of other fans, I suppose maybe it isn't too far-fetched :)

Back to ESB:R and still about Yoda, what is the plan for the special edition "ERRR" sound that Yoda makes just as Luke aims his gun at him? I'm sure Yoda knew he wouldn't shoot, but for his "goofy character" acting, I think it adds that much more to his goofiness (in a good way) and it makes me grin each time I hear it :) Im wondering if that may be kept?

adywan said:

Bingowings said:

I do hope Ady will be as OCD when it comes to making the Executor bridge in ROTJ look as good as the one in ESB (what is it with 80's sequels and buggering up hand-me-down sets?).

 Well, that's the real trick, isn't it. ;) But that bridge is going to be almost impossible to get it to match the better ESB one, thanks mainly to this guy stuck down the bottom, here....

Inconsistencies such as this really stood out and always bothered me in ROTJ too. Even the lightning is noticeably darker than it was in ESB; same with the darker MF cockpit and that of the other Rebel starships (which you'd think would make sense since this is in space, except the issue is inconsistency). I believe you when you say it is "almost impossible", but seeing what you've accomplished thus far, I believe in you :)

Back on topic, I really appreciate that you are restoring detail of the MF's interior cockpit. It does feel too crammed with the cropping they did, but allowing a bit more detail on the sides does allow the frame to "breath" better and feel more natural imo. Plus there's that sense of consistency with ANH, as you've already pointed out. Excellent work!

Next thing to do is get the HiC finished and out of the way. But i may just start sculpting the Wampa first instead. Not too sure yet. The HiC is taking up a little too much space in my workroom so probably best to get that done first.

Decisions, decisions :) If limiting space is the main factor, I agree, probably best to continue and finish what you started with the HiC first (I guess that also means working a bit on ROTJ:R) before moving on to the Wampa.

And when you say sculpting the wampa, do you mean sculpting a full body suit from scratch?? Are there any professionals in this department who have offered their time/resources to help you with this?

@Ryan McAvoy That's just it, they're flak-like and not necessarily anti-aircraft weapons. It was just the choice from the FX guys. Instead of having the lasers suddenly disappear into nothingness (sometimes they seem to), or go on forever, the lasers eventually "blap" into spheres of flak-like explosions. Their purpose is for a little extra detail and excitement - Nothing more, nothing less.

Regarding the spherical flashes, that's exactly how I've interpreted them throughout the films too, Ady, just as "flak" for the lasers. I have to say I am relieved that you improved most of those that lacked the 3-dimensionality and looked a bit dated ;)

I had a chance to view the "flaps test" clip multiple times already with my "critical goggles" on and I think there's one last detail that would look great if added (maybe it's partly because I'm getting spoiled with all of the enhanced details lol). Right here..

Luke's first couple sets of blasts are clearly hitting the snow. May we see impacts with snow getting picked up there? You did it when the Snowspeeders begin shooting at the fallen AT-AT that happens later. That's all that I can see, everything else is perfect!

Amazing work on the flaps Ady! Most impressive!

And that is very exciting news to have a film-accurate 3PO onboard for the prequels, as a Royal Protocal Droid (so much more logical than being put together by young Anakin). I hope we'll see less of Coruscant and more of Alderaan in the prequels, so maybe 3PO can originate from Alderaan? Then R2 can still originate from Naboo and, in the events of things, they cross paths (in episode I if possible) and are together/pals ever since... now I'm getting carried away XD

iamweasel said:

Another option would be that the rebel troops would shoot the AT ST walkers. They are smaller and their armor shouldn't be strong as the AT AT (otherwise the armor would be too heavy for an AT ST to carry).

This would be a more logical choice and I agree that their armor would be no where as strong as an AT-AT's.

I do not know if Ady has plans for an AT-ST (or a couple) to get fallen/destroyed, but I really think this is a great idea. THESE should be what the Rebel ground troops and some turrets will focus most of their firepower on... shoot their legs from under them, but not making it look easy (because of course they still have decent armor).

muddyknees2000 said:

We'll have to agree to disagree then. I totally get that the battle is supposed to feel hopeless. It's supposed to end in defeat for the rebs, but as it stands now the battle isn't hopeless......it's pointless. As a commander you don't send your troops out to certain death if there is absolutely zero to be gained from it (you hold them back to fight another day when you might actually have an effect). They're sent out as a delaying action....but none occurs. If they could have slowed them down even a little then there might have been SOME point in sending them out.....but the walkers are completely unaffected by the ground troops and get within range of the shield generator in exactly the same amount of time they would have had there not been ANY ground troops. I think the film fails on this visual level in that it showed a very one sided battle. We have all kinds of shots of ground troops firing away....but they've nothing to shoot at, as their weapons are completely ineffectual (something they'd have discovered VERY early on in the fight, and a point which is driven home when Luke says that even the snowspeeder's weapons are not strong enough). 

And having enemy ground troops would actually have enhanced the hopelessness of the battle.....take out as many of them as you like, those lumbering behemoths towering above them are still coming at you and there's nothing you can do about it. You've done the best you can do, and yet you're still going to fail.

AFTER seeing how the battle turned out, yes, we can agree that the Rebels had zero impact on slowing the walkers to where it was seemingly pointless... even taking down 2/5 didn't delay the Imperial's advancement...

But PRIOR to the battle, even though everyone suspected that a certain whooping was eminent, nobody knew from the get-go (even the audience) that ANY kind of defense (including sending out the ground troops) would prove useless/pointless, because all anyone knew was they had to make use of everything available that goes *pew* or *zap* (and man were they ever lucky they had everything lined up and facing the direction the Imperials were coming from, lol). From there, it was hope and courage that drove them to continue doing ANYTHING to try to stop/delay the approaching walkers...

Seeing Imperial ground troops advancing would indeed be icing on the cake (after we hear Veers make the order for them to disembark), which would then make the Rebel's situation even MORE dire towards the end... part of me wishes it was filmed this way originally ;)

Just so you know, I fully respect yours or anyone's perspective, but I also like sharing my "point of view" too because I love discussing Star Wars :)

muddyknees2000 said:

I agree that shots should not be added.....I had hoped, however, that troops would be worked into existing shots. They'd be tiny to small in the shots...but it WOULD have given the rebels a reason to have all been plugging away until the end of the battle. The battle is super busy and involved on the rebel side....but when you switch over to the imperials they're just lumbering on....not at all bothered by the shooting that is going on. The rebels on the ground should have been shown having SOME effect....even if it WAS just to stall/delay. They need to die for a reason. Right now they die for NO reason.

Again, I sound like I'm still pushing for this....but I'm not. I'm simply pointing out what, to me, seems like a major flaw in the visual storytelling of the battle sequence. Guys in a trench with rifles aren't shooting at armored vehicles.

I can understand what you mean Muddy, how it seems like the Rebel troops were still hopelessly plugging away at the end and dying for no reason... but for me that IS what works perfectly from a visual storytelling standpoint... it emphasizes how outmatched the Rebels were to the Imperials and yet they desperately did ANYTHING they could to try to stop/delay the behemoth walkers from getting close to the base, even if it meant shooting their rifles at them and giving their lives... and also because they were ordered to. No matter how suicidal or pointless something may seemingly be, even in the real world, a soldier MUST obey their orders. Princess Lea (who is hardly a military tactician) finally does okay the "evacuation code signal", and you bet they all did that immediately :) 

BlueCardinal said:

I guess they would rather make an ineffective defensive effort than no effort at all.

Exactly. I believe the Rebels knew they weren't going win ("We better begin evacuation" was suggested long before the walkers even showed up), it was just a matter of how long could they hold them off.

I can hardly wait for, when it comes time for ROTJ:R, a similar sense of seriousness and hopelessness against the Emperor's "entire legion of best troops" on Endor ;)

BlueCardinal said:

I don't know, it kind of makes sense to not have any Imperial ground troops in this battle. The Empire has these huge walkers that are almost impossible to take down, so just let them stomp their way in and take out the shield generator so that Vader & Co. can land. Why risking losing men at this phase of the battle?

You are right, it does make sense for the walkers to do the heavy lifting, and they did just that for majority of the battle.

But then there comes a time towards the end of battle when troops must be utilized for the final sweep at the dig-ins and within the base itself (something the walkers cannot do as easily), so that's when Veers says: "All troops will disembark for ground assault."

As much as I'd love to see Imperial troops cascading down an AT-AT and charging/shooting towards the dig-ins, I cannot see any place for adding any of that in existing footage, unless a couple new clips were to be seamlessly inserted (which Ady will not do).

So without it looking out of place with what's happening on the screen, to me it's a good decision that Ady isn't going to try to squeeze them in the existing footage.

I have a *great* feeling about this :)

Very nice update with the shield generator Ady!

I've recently been wondering, as I haven't seen this ever discussed before (and sorry it's late in the game), in that sequence when the Tie Bombers are bombing the large asteroid in search of the MF here..

..might we be seeing their explosions actually interacting with and destroying the asteroid's surface?

Seeing these bombs creating craters of their own would look awesome I think, or at the least seeing rocks and dust being picked up. I think the bombs should stay a bluish color too (for anyone thinking they should be green) ;)

brash_stryker said:

I wonder if Mike Stoklasa would be interested in just saying "Luke" if the Ian McDarmid clip isn't sufficient. He does a mean Emperor....

 You may have been joking, but actually that's not a bad idea at all.

Just as Ady was on a search for someone who can digitally replicate an explosion for the generator, he could go on a search for someone who can do a really good emperor voice.. get a recording of them saying "Luke" for this scene, then seamlessly fit it in. This may be the best option, instead of using a "Luke" said by Ian with a different pitch/tone.

And of course keep this same person handy when it comes time for doing the prequels/ROTJ, just in case there's changing/adding/improving of dialogue ;)

iamweasel said:

sonofjones said:

Eh, even if he doesn't manage to restore Luke, it's still a one word difference. the entire context of the scene is reverted back to how it was originally (which is the big plus with the dialogue), so even if it's young skywalker instead of luke skywalker it won't be a deal breaker (least not for me)

 

I feel the same way. I can understand his desire for perfection, but young Skywalker is really fine to me as well.

Same for me as well.

I really like in Ady's "Emperor hologram scene" how, in his tone when the Emperor says "Young Skywalker", he sounded as though he were demeaning towards Luke.. even disgusted, that he can't bear to say the full name.. and that fits his character perfectly. It's formal/respectful to say first and last names in many cultures, but the Emperor isn't necessarily one who'd show respect towards others ;) so saying "Young Skywalker" fits his style.

On the other hand though, given the context, it does seem to make more sense that he would actually say "Luke Skywalker," for the sake of informing Vader who exactly it is. Which Skywalker? Well, we the audience know wh o(Vader of course already knows who too), but it seems clear that the Emperor doesn't suspect that Vader knows, so he would most likely say "Luke Skywalker".

So in short: If Ady can manage to make him say "Luke Skywalker" again, in that same demeaning tone, perfect! If not, and it must still be "Young Skywalker", that's just fine also.

My 2 cents :)

sonofjones said:

Welcome back to ESB:R forum, where one viewer has presented a question: About how long would after the release of ESB:R can we expect to see forums for ROTJ:R, PT:R and ANH:R HD? Also, since they are being done at once, will they all be combined into a single forum, or will each film have it's own forum?

I am not positive, but I believe I remember Ady saying somewhere he hopes to take a year off from anything Revisited after ESB:R. Whenever he is ready, I'm guessing he will create individual threads for each episode.

ESB:R is nearing 30,000 likes on Facebook, a huge jump from 27,000 on Jan 29th :)