Monroville

Just make Leia's window smaller and in the side of a larger building, and replace the blue in the skylight with regular lights, turing it into a normal room as opposed to one on top of a building.

I'll try to whip something up tomorrow...

doubleofive said:

EDIT: It looks like the corridor appeared along the back wall.  If you look at the shadows across the wall decor, they match perfectly with the establishing shot.  Maybe just insert that corridor in the first shot?

Actually, the hallway IS there in the first Leia shot: it's the darker area on the right side of the plant in the red vase, which (what do you know) is directly behind Han's left shoulder (or would that be his right?).

The camera in the first Leia shot is in front of the room; the second one it is in the back and turned 90 degrees to the right (to face the right-side wall).

Edit - okay, you guys beat me to the punch.  Damn!  I was still on page 290 when the entire 291 page popped up!

Here are a few more suggestions on what to do to "fit in" the architecture:

(1) change the building the Leia window is in to make it bigger (or more like the original 1980 version)
(2) change the sky light to just lights: get rid of the blue and have lights extended above the ceiling framing (like how some houses have vaulted ceilings in their dens, but still have wood beams going across underneath).

You know, those red Emperor guards are pretty useless... while they are kinda cool looking, is there the possibility of just removing them altogether?

From a filmic POV (don't show a gun on the wall unless you intend to use it) and even a story POV (the Emperor doesn't even NEED guards, as he can read minds [of those plotting against him] and is a Sith Master) the guards are pretty useless - unless Ady or someone wanted to make a sort of Praetorian Guard and have some BLACK or very dark RED stormtroopers (twice as dark as the red on the current guards) - say one of the platoons or the front row of troopers on both sides when the Emperor first arrives at the DS.

I also sense some possibilities in regards to placing the tower in the center of the dish: you could make a panning camera shot (using a fish eye lens or something close to it)

(1) starting off with the tower in the center and the beams coming out of the dish around it
(2) the camera tilts upwards to follow the beams as they converge far above the tower
(3) when the beams come together, the singular beam streaks out and the camera continues to move up and follow it as it moves from left to right, destroying many rebel (and maybe later, rebel and Empire) ships.

I'll whip up some storyboards...

Also, could the Emperor's tower be reshaped to look if not like the jedi temple, than like the Imperial symbol itself?  Like an octagon shape at the top tip of the tower, with an extremely larger version of the TIE cockpit window so the Emperor can see directly what the DS is destroying ...

It could look like a crown mixed with the temple and imperial symbol, with the spires going up the edges, and antenna dangling below to resemble vines, as if it was ripped and propelled from out of the ground...

adywan said:

i'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. where has the window that Leia looks out of gone? surely there should be a window instead of a corridor there?

but thats going to be hell, if not impossible, to fix so i may just leave this

That is pretty strange... so that IS the perspective of the window?

And the official GOUT/DVD comparison:

You know, I think I like the original 1980 matte design a lot better - maybe the top of Leia's building could go, but I like how you can see more of the city in that shot.

I also think that the overhead sky inside the Leia room is too much flat blue - again, maybe some cloud work could add something...

tuffy said:

Monroville said:

Ehhh, not to sure if I agree there.  Cloud City is a mining colony: either its going to look like Vegas or ... well... a mining colony.  Granted, the "wealthy" may live on top, with the rest of the classes getting poorer as the levels go down (and the jobs get dirtier), so maybe the BOTTOM of Cloud City could have the jets of fire and pollution coming out and all - to contrast with the "pristine" top section.

It's a gas mine, though, so it's not likely to get as dirty as an ore mine.

In any case, I think it's important that the upper levels be kept as squeaky clean as possible.  Themeatically, the whole point of the place is that everything is bright and sunny on the surface, but dark and ugly underneath once we get to know it better.  Showing off the unpleasant side of it too early works against what the film is trying to do, I think.

Well there you go then: keep the top relatively clean and have the bottom of the city dirty and grimy.

Also keep in mind that even if they are mining gasses (from the gas giant they are in the atmosphere of), it can still get pretty dirty.  Just get into a smoker's car whose been smoking inside it for a good couple of years and run your finger on the upholstery - lots of yellow muck.

You know, it does make you wonder how they BREATHE and all, being that most gas giants don't exactly have oxygen (or whatever they breathe in STAR WARS).  The top "city" part I can see being shielded and having its own atmosphere, but you would think Luke would be sucking air when ejected on the weather vane...

Vaderios said:

I made this some days before:

 

Vaderios:
in regards to your alteration of the Luke matte, I like the original darker look a lot better.  To me the problem (if there is one) is just how "flat" it seems to be, hence the idea of just having the clouds moving slowly in the background - gas giants tend to have strong weather (at least going by Jupiter), though again any movement with the clouds could be slow - just enough to have some movement and get rid of the "static" feeling.

Then again, some lighting could be added to the hallway, or some Ridley Scott lighting effects.



BarBar Jinx said:

as always sorry for the crudity of the image but here it is!




I think this is the best option, minus the window tinting and making the reflection more of the city in daytime (I understand it is a rough sketch of sorts).  Just get rid of the top portion of the building and add reflection to the glass. 

I still suggest to add atmospheric haze to background buildings (be it this shot or all of them) to add some depth - something about the "prequel" effects that look computery and almost animated.

vaderios said:

This is interesting but i would like to see Something more like a tower than a Fortress.

Also the idea the tower to be in the DeathStar ring isnt bad at all.(see Force unleashed)

-Angel

That would be very interesting; if that was the case (the tower/castle/fortress/palace being in the center of the DS laser "dish"), it would alter the perspective of the view - ie, Luke would have to look straight up to see the bulk of the battle, due to the angle of the tower (which would be something between 20° and 45°).

You would also have to:

(1) add the green laser beams outside the Emperor's Throne Room windows (whether we see them converge in a shot where Luke looks up through a ceiling window or we see one or two of the multiple beams outside the side window)

(2) remove the CENTER beam that comes out of the dish - which would kinda cramp Palpatine's plans if he destroyed himself in the first shot...

You know, I think I really dig this idea.  It would place the tower/fortress relatively close to the equatorial hanger bays (for Luke's escape) AND give Palpatine a unique perspective as well as a great place to be protected (dead center in the planet killer dish array).

True, but. When marvel took Transformers gave them their sides and character.

Also the voice overs of the American voices are far superior to the Japanese. I cant think Optimus says "Bastard" and "Idiot" to Megatron.

I agree with you about the chaos and comfusio of the space battle, like ROTS, so it will be cool to see Endor space battle to this scale.

I agree there - I liked how Shockwave (the cooler purple gun robot) was an uber-badass and damn near wiped out all the Autobots by his lonesome.

How about Unicron Vs Death star? ^^

Yikes!  I guess that would depend on if the DS got a shot off before Unicron started munching or pounding away at it.  Either way, I would be greatly entertained!  >:D

vaderios said:

Leave the jap/anime/manga culture out of Star Wars.

They Ruined transformers,TNMT etc. don't let them to destroy SW too :S

The reference is good tho.

 

-Angel

WHAA!?!  The Japanese CREATED Transformers!  It was essentially anime from the get-go.  Besides, am I to believe there is no love for the 1986 Transformers movie?  I know there were a TON of 80's hair-band songs and all, but sheesh!  I'll take Unicron over "Shia and the 'All-Spark'"ANY day of the week!

Besides: how can you not love a beginning like that?  A planet-sized robot eating another planet.. BEFORE the opening credits?!?  In the words of Maximus: "Were you not entertained?"

Besides besides: the ref is to 80's anime like MACROSS and MEGA ZONE 23 (specifically MZ 23: PART 2 - speaking of which: has anyone had nightmares regarding that scene?  If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about)... of course you have some good serious and/or enjoyable anime in the 90's too (COWBOY BEBOP, OUTLAW STAR, GHOST IN THE SHELL, NINJA SCROLL to name a few).

Also, I'm not saying the lasers should "bend" like the GALL FORCE clips, but to capture that sense of scale and chaos in the battle more or less is what I'm aiming at.

Sevb32 said:

Monroville, I was also thinking of sliding the window a bit to the right, but I thought that might upset a few folks even more than the tinting.

Well, not so much the window as the room inside (or just remove the upper part on top of the building.  The ceiling window above Leia is flat anyways)

The background when Luke enters the city need something done to it, that matte painting behind him seems like it's supposed to be the edge of the city or something. I dunno what needs done, but that painting needs to go.

I concur.  Either add some moving clouds just to give it some life or show the X-wing on a landing platform or something.

As for the Cloud City buildings looking aged, I don't really think that is necessary, this place is kinda of a resort/Casino type place and it would make sense for things to look pretty good. A slight bit of atmospheric haze would work, but not much IMO.

Ehhh, not to sure if I agree there.  Cloud City is a mining colony: either its going to look like Vegas or ... well... a mining colony.  Granted, the "wealthy" may live on top, with the rest of the classes getting poorer as the levels go down (and the jobs get dirtier), so maybe the BOTTOM of Cloud City could have the jets of fire and pollution coming out and all - to contrast with the "pristine" top section.

I still think maybe something could be done to differentiate the buildings somewhat so they're not all windowless cylinders:



and here are some more images to peruse:
http://www.altanen.dk/Gallery-Main.htm

Bingowings said:

Oh boy! Tru calling on the holophone.

Maybe the Death Star laser hitting the Executor idea could be worked into the Piett Insurrection idea but then again no, the superlaser on full power could take out a planet so even a big capital ship wouldn't stand a chance unless the batteries were low.

 

Well, it wouldn't have to be Piett at the Endor party doing the hand shaking (though I would like it to be if possible, since he is in essence the "Wedge" among Imperial supporting actors). 

Another way to think of the DS beam is like this:
the beam is powerful enough to destroy a planet, which makes it an EXTREMELY powerful energy blast.  If it hit something like a starship (which has nowhere NEAR the mass of a planet), the amount of energy hitting the ship (and destroying it) would be extremely minimal and the rest of the beam would carry through - like shooting a high-powered bullet at someone without armor or better still, a piece of paper - it goes right through them and continues on until gravity or heavier, bulkier obstacles stop it. 

Another way to look at it would be shooting a howitzer shell at a bird: the bird would disintegrate and the shell could conceivably continue on until it hit something far more substantial.  Also, I was thinking of ROBOTECH and some other anime where such beam weapons show a similar "swiping" effect. 

For a more general "big battle" montage to help give some ideas as to how to expand the JEDI finale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8OwY86Pd5c&feature=related

So whether the Executor is "cut in half or into pieces" or you show multiple ships just exploding ala the above Youtube link, either would be great to emphasise the power of the Death Star.

Maybe a way it could work is make the "laugh" something anguished, or a mix between laughter and screaming (as in: he is shocked when Vader picks him up, but he has the same attitude as Obi-Wan did at the end of his duel with Vader: "If you strike me down, I will only become more powerful...") thus, he screams out of fear of death, but revels in the possibility of becoming an energy being ala Obi-Wan.

Of course, his influence would be more like Sauron in the sense that he could only tempt and try to corrupt ala a haunting of a sorts.. or more to the point, like Nicol Williamson's Merlin in the movie EXCALIBUR ("A dream to some... a NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS!") after Morgana traps him in the cave.

BTW, here is a possible "Emperor's Crib" idea:



a posssible idea to kind of differentiate the 2 Death Stars is maybe make the second DS a little more angular and not perfectly spherical - to incorporate a more "temple-ish" or ancient world look.  I would place the Emperor's "palace" on the artic (and to balance the DS, one on the antartic) pole of the DS, as a place to overlook "all of creation" so to speak.

Again, keep it subtle; the DS would still be "spherical" more or less, just not "perfectly" round (but nowhere near to the extent of say a "Devo hat")

This may be a good alternative to the BLACK HOLE overhead window in large room idea Bingo Wings had.  You wouldn't have to show it in all shots; in fact, you could do a "pan down" from the large overhead window to the rest of the scene (say in one of the first Throne Room scenes) and play everything "as-is".  Once established, the thought of it would be enough to help "expand" the scope of the Throne Room.

DarkFather said:

Anakin Vader.

I don't know. I like the idea of undergoing a complete recreation once consumated into the Sith Order.

I understand... just more of a thought as opposed to an idea to actually instill into the movie edits.

Still, Darth Vader (which literally means "Dark Father" in norwegian... or something) in A NEW HOPE was just a Shaw Brothers/James Bond style "bad student"/"chief henchman" who DID indeed kill Luke's father.

It was after Lawrence Kasden got involved (with EMPIRE) that the idea progressed to be more personal (I think that it could have been Kasden coming from a "western movie" point of view, in the sense that he may have thought of the American Civil War, where you had family members fighting against each other after taking opposing sides).

I think this could work out well; it would be one of the simplest changes and would help the window and building stand out better.

Vaderios: remember that the following scene takes place INSIDE the room, so there would be no problem to show the window in this shot to be tinted.

I would also add a suggestion: maybe slide the inside of the room a little to the right, since the underside of the overhead window seems to be a little "off" (going by the cylindrical object on top of the building - the left edge doesn't quite match up with the overhead window inside the apartment room); in fact, could that overhead part just be removed?  I would even suggest reworking the building so it is more like a penthouse suite on top of a cylindrical building as opposed to a completely seperate module like it currently is.

Regardless of changing Leia's "building", maybe the background buildings could be "fuzzier" and "bluer" to account for atmospheric effects.  Maybe add a lot more windows on the mid-ground buildings, as well as maybe some people/pilots populating the Cloud Car landing pad (maybe even show one take off or land?)

Another suggestion could be to make this a "morning" shot.  It doesn't necessarily have to be the same "orange" look as the sunsets, but still, a more colorful approach would be interesting.

Here are some images:



this in regards to some of the hallway shots - possibly replace/remove the ceiling and extend it upwards ala the Luke's arrival at Bespin matte hallway.







maybe something else that could be added to the "sunset" shots is more building lights:

or different types of buildings (that still have the familiar shapes as the rest - more like the round cylindrical glass one [a UK building called The Gherkin], as opposed to the older stone ones below it):



maybe make some scenes to be NOT so pretty (smoggy, dirty, etc); maybe just make the buildings a little more "worn in (some muck, dirt, scratches or wear on them; maybe ads or different color panels ala Mobius just to give it a more "lived in" look and less sterile)":



Maybe not "greenish" like this, but the overall smoginess.

Savage said:

doubleofive said:

almost completely undoing the terrible choice of Anakin not recognizing that he could have kids at all even though he's been calling him "Skywalker" all movie.

Yeah, but to me "Skywalker" is the Star Wars equivalent to "Jones" or "Smith" in the US.  Who knows how many Skywalkers are running around in that universe? 

Of course "hiding" Luke away from Vader by giving him to Vader's step-brother and keeping the "Skywalker" name wasn't too smart in the beginning, but what're you going to do? :)

Another random thought: what if Vader was the real last name of the family?  Vader would have no need to hide his identity, and Luke would have every reason.  It made no sense that the one in hiding retains his original name and the man looking for him has to change his.

But then again this is George Lucas' STAR WARS... (sigh)

I know this won't happen, but again, an idea just to throw it out there:

I always wondered: what if Vader planned the whole thing so as to wipe out the Rebellion AND the Emperor, had his own men stationed throughout the Death Star and have something like the following happen:

(1) when the Emperor speaks of "and now they will face a fully-operational battle station!" and gives the command to open fire, add a scene with Vader pressing one of the buttons on his chest plate, whereas one of the control room troopers has maybe his "badge" light up.  After the first one or two laser swipes at the rebel ships, you see said trooper shoot the one beside him, press some buttons per the firing sequence, followed by:

(2) Death Star rakes laser through BOTH fleets, cutting the Executor in half and destroying it.  The Emperor looks in horror (could take Mace Windo attack scene for reference), then looks up to Vader, Vader looks down (with maybe a nice camera close-in) and chops off the Emperor's head (could take end of FRIDAY THE 13TH as reference).   As in: the wimpy "obedient" Vader was an act to get to this point, where he shows that he is still the Vader from EMPIRE.

This could have following scenes with Star Destroyers AND rebel ships firing on the Death Star together, as both sides realize that they have a much bigger problem (ie like the scene in THE ROCKETEER when the mafia and FBI are both shooting at the Nazis).   This could then lead to (and justify) a scene on Endor with an Imperial officer and rebel general shaking hands, forming the New Republic.

(3) Vader and Luke have their fight (where dialogue from Bespin fight could be re-used to emphasize Vader's plan to convince Luke that the two of them can rule together) , but it ends when Luke chops off Vader's hand (and pummels him with objects ripped off the walls).  Vader is crushed by Luke's power, but Luke still has moment of clarity and regains his composure.  Can still then segway to Luke taking Vader to shuttle and removing his mask.

(4) the difficult part would be how to work in Vader's redemption.  Maybe you could do it that Vader planned on a quasi-republic to satisfy Luke, and thus the plan to destroy the Emperor and all of his loyal troops (who were conveniently all there due to the Emp's and Vader's orders) to pave way for a new society.  Maybe during the duel Vader can hit Luke in the mechanical hand (which would give off sparks), so when Luke sees Vader's stump, it is a matter of BOTH of them realizing they are destroying each other.  The fact that (if such an idea is used, be it with Ady or someone else) Vader HAS destroyed the Emperor (and thus the old Empire), along with the importance of Luke FORGIVING him, maybe the combination of the two would justify "Anakin" coming back ala Obi Wan and Yoda.

Maybe when Luke is looking down on Vader, you could have Vader's (David Prowse's) eyes show through the tinted eye pieces ala A NEW HOPE - ie a look of terror as he is looking up at his son who is about to strike him dead, as well as an indication that yes, there is a man inside this suit.

While I'm sure Vader still thought of conquest, the idea that family still meant more than the Empire and/or that Vader was planning revenge ever since the Emperor first put him into the suit is an interesting one to play with.

EyeShotFirst said:

Monroville.

"You want the impossible" Though most of your Ideas were great like the Blade Runner style emperors Tower. but a project of that magnitude though amazing. Is a completely new movie ILM couldnt do that with their 3 year coffee breaks (i know they work hard but dayam some of you do more by yourself than they do with their army of editors) but the ideas are good just very hard to produce.

"YOUR TASTE BUDS CANT DEFLECT FLAVOR OF THAT MAGNATIUDE" Admiral Ackbar

I know, I know... >:)

Just wishlisting I guess.  I understand that quite a bit of it is just a matter of throwing it out there just to see what people think.  Maybe there is a way to do some of it, maybe not (and that's if Ady likes the idea).  The main point was to point out the PROBLEMS I have with JEDI and what could possibly be done to fix them in a more palatble way.  Other than taking shots from other movies (be it EMPIRE or even anything outside of STAR WARS) I don't see how a lot of it can be done.

In regards to Piett:

I don't think he would go so far as turn on the fleet or purposefully ram the Executor into the Death Star, but (once on Endor) seeing all the destruction and realizing that both Vader AND the Emperor are dead (after jiggering a "Piett escapes in pod" scene - which would be insanely hard to do without some crafty editing and FX work), I could see Piett willing to make a truce and possibly become the new leader of the New Republic (say side-by-side with one of the rebels) - kind of a Claudius being made Caesar after Caligula was killed (everyone thought Claudius was an idiot, which he turned out not to be).

Also 005: if you could add a bit during Luke's smack-down of Vader, to add pieces of machinery (ala the Bespin duel) being tossed at Vader to help explain Luke overpowering him.  If you watch that scene, David Prowse just kinda falls down and gives it up.  Short of something overwhelming Vader and his power, I could never buy into Luke defeating him as easily as he did.

Just watch (especially at 9:43): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhNTf6Q7Zcc

Hmm, something else; at (0:23) on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy3yhh2m1FQ&feature=related, maybe some sparks and a little fading glow could be added to Vader's arm stump?

And from (5:00) to (5:40) is when the Executor is destroyed.  This would be..... interesting.. to edit.

(1) At (5:03) the Port pod on the command tower is destroyed, which is then immediately followed by an officer stating that the bridge shields are gone (implying that those pods are indeed the shield generators).  If that is the case, could we at least have a ship attack and/or ram said pod, show energy flushing over the tower to indicate the shield and then show the field dissipate?

(2) the real editing would have to begin at (5:13) immediately after Piett says "he doesn't want anything to get through".  This would be when said scene of rebel transports ramming the main body of the Executor could be added, as well as remix the scene in SERENITY when the main bad guy hops into the one-man escape pod.  Granted, the bad guy in Serenity is black and Piett is white, but maybe an officer's hat could be placed on his head and a manipulation of his uniform?  Or a scene showing an officer running down a hallway, with some changes to the uniform (since it would probably be from behind) - anything to indicate someone running away from "the bridge", which would lead to:

(3) in (5:23) you could begin adding the one-man pods escaping, as well as maybe a small shuttle from the small bay opening that seems to be on either underside of the command tower (as seen in the fleet reveal in the beginning of EMPIRE).

(4) in (5:25), definitely show more damage to the Executor, especially if kamikaze idea is used.

(5) from (5:29), please improve the "yahoos" from the rebels or just remove this scene.

(6) from (5:35) maybe elements from STAR TREK: NEMESIS could be used for the Executor hitting the Death Star scene (here is the scene in question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjRFYOcT1WU&feature=related) - or at least the general look (I could see the internal hanger shot replacing the shuttlecraft with TIEs)

Bingowings said:

If it wasn't for the original cast and the ever entertaining Ian McDiarmid I don't think this film would be remembered as fondly as it is, in quite a few ways TPM is actually a better film.

Some of your suggestions are really great.

I'd still like to try and do my 2 Death Stars and Piett dying to save his fleet ideas out (still building that computer for a video mockup) and the Fan-O-Matic variations would take a lot of the sillyness out and change the tone to match the other films more.

The space battle needs a complete work over (explosions that actual explode rather than just cast splodges infront of the models).

I think your ship to ship firing idea should be extended to all the ship battles and if the alternate fate of the Executor doesn't work out having her bashed to bits by multiple ships makes much more sense than the silly way she goes out in the current form of the film.

What is it with the Empire and it's obsession with building gigantic structures which can be taken out by tiny ships (it worked as a metaphor in ANH but you can only take it so far)?

Or possibly show or suggest Piett (and others) escaping the Executor via escape pods.  It would mean re-editing the bridge sequence; you could keep the "conecntrate forward fire power!" line but remove the following scenes wiht the "too late!, A-wing pilot screaming and bad bridge ramming composite.  You could take the scene in EMPIRE in the Avenger bridge when they are dodging the other Star Destroyer, but replace the outside view with rebel transports crashing into the hull.  Add a scene with "Piett" running off the bridge, add a small hatch on the wall in the hallway leading to the bridge (indicating the presence of escape pods near the bridge) which would lead to the next scene:

- in the scene where you see the Executor begin its downward spiral, show rebel transports kamikazing into it as specs of space pods are jettisoning away from the ship.  The point being that to show Piett or another imperial officer shaking the rebel woman general's hand in the Ewok celebration to indicate that Piett or said officer is establishing the first peace and beginning of the new republic - which could then truly justify the "universe-wide" celebration and wrap up the loose ends regarding the rest of the Empire.

I don't know how it could be done (other than taking Piett's head from certain scenes, other shots of an officer shaking someone's hand and other complicated editing and FX work), but to actually make Piett out to be a hero of sorts would give the character some credence (ie, he represents how those in the German army were tiring of the Nazi party and Hitler and wanted a peace with the Allies).  Also, it could tie in nicely (as a mirror image of sorts) with how Wedge Antilles is a constant background character who gets some supporting character respect - being that it would help to show that Luke, Han and Leia aren't the only ones with character development and stories to go behind them.

I guess to get the idea of what I am describing, watch the end of METROPOLIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTFMZBDXQUo

Overall though, I do not know if JEDI can be saved from its overall tone of silliness.  Having watched it recently (and comparing it to A NEW HOPE and EMPIRE), it is obvious that Lucas' wife played a major factor in his life when it came to grounding the stories (they divorced some time during EMPIRE's production, maybe even right before).  JEDI is just plain silly and illogical even for STAR WARS:

(1) they have a stolen Imperial shuttle and code, and even fly by the Executor (which then allows Vader to pick up Luke).  When Vader arrives to tell the Emperor, the Emperor responds that he already knows what is happening - the rebels are in the shuttle.  Yet the rebels land the shuttle somewhere in the forest, as if the Executor crew and the rest of the Imperial forces wouldn't see this shuttle land in the forest and not on the landing pad.  I have to wonder why Lucas just didn't copy the basic jist of WHERE EAGLES DARE and just have them wearing Imperial officer uniforms and infiltrate from within.

(2) regardless, they encounter something along the lines of 8 scout troopers (whose outfits are designed for the specific purpose of scouting, such as the inclusion of BLINDERS), none of which simply turn on the radio and send a signal to warn anyone.  As a result, they all die in somewhat spectacular ways while zipping through a forest at 100+ MPH.

(3) the Ewoks: maybe if they had sharp teeth (ala piranha) and claws, or as someone suggested, a somewhat "cannibal" vibe (maybe heads on pikes - again to bring over APOCALYPSE NOW motifs), I could believe they "could" possibly win in a fight with the supposedly "best trained garrison" in the Empire.

(4) the overall space battle: are those rebel transports (which do not carry any weapons) in the battle?  Why is it that no rebel ship is destroyed, short of those hit with the Death Star laser cannon?

So here are my suggestions, just to throw them out there:

JABBA'S PALACE:

(1) Boba Fett: as mentioned earlier, either remove him or do something to give him a more fitting exit (ala the SW:HOLIDAY SPECIAL ending).
(2) I like the idea of making Jabba's palace more menacing with the altering of the doorbot (keeping the original "voice", maybe adding the scan lasers, even if it is a quick scan), the replacing of LAPTI-NEK and/or JEDI ROCKS with something more sleazy yet tuneful. 
(3) remove Luke sticking his hand out to do the force choke on the Gomorrian Guards.  Vader never had to point to his victims to use his power, and it would imply that Luke had indeed expanded on his training and power in the time between EMPIRE and JEDI.
(4) The idea of someone shooting at Luke when he reaches the door in the Rancor pit (or add electrical effects to show the door being electrified - in fact, maybe have Luke using his force powers to try to open the door and Luke gets zapped from a Jedi-made trap created by Jabba).
(5) maybe have the door come down harder/faster on the Rancor and do something to show/imply Luke using his force powers to bring the door down with enough force to crush the Rancor's neck.
(6) make the "sails" on the sail barges bigger, as well as maybe adding some sails to the vehicle Luke and Han are on.
(7) removing the "force kick" or bringing the guard closer, as well as straightening out the kick so it looks more like a martial artist as opposed to a beginner.
(8) I vote to retain the original Sarlaac sans Audrey beak, as well as possibly make the Sarlaac bigger and with more tentacles.  Anything to make it more frightening and threatening would be good.

ENDOR:

(1) I think the ringed planet in the sky would be a nice touch, as well as the added morning effects - anything to show a passage of time in different parts of the day.
(2) Ewoks: again, anything that can be done to tone down the non-threatening nature of them, or anything that could be added to improve their threat level.
(3) I agree with an earlier post to snazz up the 3PO "flying chair" scene to include thunder or other sound effects - maybe have the fire/torches change color as well.
(4) maybe decrease the number of Scout Troopers the rebels contact - it is hard to believe that not ONE of them gets a message off or actually does their job and warn the rest of the garrison.
(5) this may be impossible, but is there any way to imply that some of the troopers and/or officers are rebel spies that have already infiltrated the shield generator? Even if it meant taking dialogue from WHERE EAGLES DARE or other WW2 movies and having it said "off camera" (say in the briefing scene) to suggest there are people already waiting to meet up with Luke and co.
(6) snazz up the AT-STs: make their cockpits more like the AT-ATs by replacing the cheap-looking "pop-up" windows with a single glass window ala the AT-AT cockpit.
(7) improve the explosions/destruction of said AT-STs: longer explosions with more debris - anything to indicate they are more than just models.
(8) when the Ewoks attack, maybe ditch the more goofy traps and replace them with something simpler, like pits the AT-STs or stormtroopers fall into.  The inclusion of "body parts (forearms and/or legs)" being thrown into the air when the stormtroopers are ganged up on as well - nothing too bloody but an indication that the Ewoks are just as strong as Wookies despite their size.
(9) again, don't know if it could be done, but could even SOME of the stormtroopers be shown to have camoflauge (a slight jungle camoflauge layer over the white armor)?  I mean, they ARE in a jungle and all.  Or put in another way: wearing white in a starship with grey or white corridors, as well as white armor when fighting in the snow kind of makes sense.  Even wearing white on a desert planet wouldn't be as bad as in a jungle.
(10) PLEASE get rid the stormtroopers and Imperial officers constantly saying FREEZE, especailly when they are at war and the Empire does not take prisoners (unless ordered to by choke-happy Vader).  I do not know how to get around some of these scenes (like Han and Leia at the front door) but Jesus Christ on a tap-dancing pogo stick...

THE EMPEROR'S THRONE ROOM:

(1) I do not know if anything can be done, but the throne room is rather cheap looking - a lot of "girderesque" construction ala the BALCK HOLE sets.
(2) something has to be done to justify Luke defeating Vader.  JEDI could not be more than 2 to 3 years after EMPIRE, unless there is a good deal of time that passes between rescuing Han and the rest of the movie. Thus, how would Vader go from the strength and power he had in EMPIRE to in essense just "giving it up" and allowing Luke to beat him in the final fight?  Could we have a reflection of the Bespin fight by showing Luke ripping off pieces of equipment and hurling them at Vader as Luke beats him back towards the elevator walkway?  You could play the scene "as-is" but just add a tornado of machinery and chunks of metal swirling around and being thrown at Vader as Luke simultaneously fights him with his lightsabre.
(3) should anything be done to the Emperor's "tower" - as in make it more of a temple ala the BLADE RUNNER building on the surface of the Death Star, as opposed to a tower that would be easy to destroy by a starship?

THE SPACE BATTLE:

(1) add more larger rebel battle cruisers and take out the freighters and transports - unless they are shown to "kamikaze" into Star Destroyers and/or the Executor.
(2) the mass of the Imperial fighter fleet needs to be addressed, as well as show the Imperial fighters actually taking out rebel ships - when watching JEDI, it always seemed that the Falcon was destroying everything and the Imperials weren't doing anything.
(3) the Star Destoyers need to be shown firing a LOT.  While I may not suggest copying the camera work of this scene, the space battle finale in SERENITY would be a good reference point as far as capturing the chaos of a large space battle (minus the camera zooming in and out of focus).
(4) when the Death Star fires, show the beam making a "right to left" raking motion, as well as show multiple rebel ships taken out with the laser swipe.  Of course, add better explosions and debris (maybe large chunks of the ship flying or spinning off).
(5) the Executor: I would rather show something to the effect of multiple rebel transports kamikazii-ing into the Executor, or having multiple rebel ships firing upon it than to see this large ship get taken out by a single fighter flying the length of the ship's hull.
(6) I am on the fence with Lando's possible death: I love the "skin of the teeth" escape, but Han's line about not seeing the Falcon again needs to be dealt with (either validate or remove).

THE END:

(1) personally, I would stick with the original NUB-NUB song for no other reason than there would be no celebration across the universe (yet) as it would take time for word to get out and you still had the rest of the Empire to deal with (other Gran Moffs, etc).  If anything, the rebellion's work would just be beginning - case in point: the end of the WHITE MOUNTAIN series. After the "Masters" are defeated, the rebels essentially start to bicker over who will be the leaders of the world and start to verbally fight with one another (as the leader of the rebellion puts his head into his hands).  The main characters realize that they won't be "sailing around the world" or otherwise enjoying their new-fouind freedom, but have to continue the fight albeit in a much more boring way.  To celebrate the end of the EMPEROR is one thing; to pretend as if their work is done is pretty preposterous, unless:
(2) you add in Piett or another imperial officer shaking hands with the rebel leader to indicate that a peace (and thus a new republic) is being formed, thus a real reason for the citizens of the "Empire" to celebrate.

vaderios said:

I tried to make some color correction to the endor.

Not every pic is good or perfect. Just a sample

 

Notice i fix some matte lines from AT-ST but I forgot to post the comparison pic :P I save over it :P

-Angel

 

Well, Lucas (in RETURNING TO JEDI) always mentioned that this was his APOCALYPSE NOW! in a way (also considering that Lucas was originally going to direct AN - I do not know what happened that gave way to Coppola to direct though).  So to have a similar "look" to Endor (with more greens and oranges) to emphasize maybe heat and humidity, as well as to carry over the AN vibe, could be very interesting.

Bingowings said:

Has anyone thought of giving this guy some NOSTRILS so he can breathe (or just do something about that nose)?

You know, how hard would it be to take Hammerhead from A NEW HOPE and replace Max Rebo with him?  Maybe you could keep Rebo's body (but change the color to brown) and replace the head.

And Bingo: I like the BLACK HOLE command center idea you have.  Forget how clean i(the original command center) looks; the room just looks boring.  Maybe the overall room could be kept, but the skylight and some holographic maps could be added, as well as darken the flooring and walls to something more akin to stones or the like (ie the Empire is more "plastic" in their sets and designs, whereas the Rebels are more "naturalistic" - hippies versus the establishment, man!  Jack boots versus berkinstocks!)

Ripplin said:

Davnes007 said:

in my eyes, the ship staying straight looks really silly.

Yes, their reactions look a little odd. ;)

 

Yeah... just who is Lando waving to?  >:D

vaderios said:

Monroville said:

(2) Could you do some mock-ups to show something like 8 to 12 (or more, like an entire squadron of) TIEs following after the MF (maybe one shot underneath Bespin, one in planet orbit and a third by the side of the Executor)?

"12 fighters against a millennium falcon?" I think the fighters lead the ship to Executor for the tractor beam not meant to destroy it :)

-Angel

But that's my point: they wouldn't be ordered to DESTROY the MF, but to herd it to the Executor.  The whole idea is that Piett and the Executor crew are so determined NOT to screw up that they overkill the situation and as a result the TIEs that are herding the MF to the Executor get in the way of making a tractor beam lock.  The TIEs would fire but wouldn't have to hit the Falcon (just shoot around it), much less hit it at full power.

vaderios said:

-Angel

Also just a thought:

Why the falcon is heading upwards when the hyperdrive is active again? Perhaps they tried to achieve the boost.

But what if the camera has a more straight angle?

 

Shouldn't the stars be "streakier" (to match the front cockpit shots with the long star streaks)?

vaderios said:

I took some of planet's detail from vader's arrival to executor so the planet isn't total black. also i thought the lens flare is a bit odd.

-Angel

I like the new shot you created here.  I think if a lens flare is appropriate at any point in the movie, it would be this one.

Also, a few points:
(1) in the MF cockpit shot with Leia and Chewie, maybe you could do something with the Bespin underside so it doesn't look so flat (or make the sky/clouds lighter so it stands out better)
(2) Could you do some mock-ups to show something like 8 to 12 (or more, like an entire squadron of) TIEs following after the MF (maybe one shot underneath Bespin, one in planet orbit and a third by the side of the Executor)?

In an earlier post, I suggested that, with everyone definitely aboard the MF, Vader would have pulled all the stops out to capture them.  It would also help explain why the Executor couldn't lock onto the MF when it was right beside the ship (too many TIEs around it, not allowing the computer to lock on).

Check this youtube link out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRj_ApqrBYo&feature=related

Especially at 0:54 and 1:17

teharri said:

I am looking forward to seeing the emperor hologram now that it has been a year since we first saw it with ANH:R. I want to see the side view of that scene.

I know this has been brought up (and Ady, if you made a decision, a simple confirmation will do and I will start re-updating the ESB:R list), but didn't someone suggest making Ozzel and Harriet... uh, Piett a hologram as opposed to be onscreen (ala their holograms are being projected by the same unit the Emperor hails from)?