Still playing around with various ideas and experiments around the romance. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_PHn47bcLaZa3A2RUVYQ0d0WGs/view?usp=sharing
Yeah I may have to re-introduce the “your presence is soothing” bit as much as I hate it. I tried to edit it as “don’t go” then “you had a nightmare last night, I heard you” but the cut was too jarring since Padme goes from turning around in the first shot to standing still in the second. And I will try removing the “senator” bit as well, that’s a great point.
EDIT: …And I can’t find a way to remove that line without creating a jarring music edit. Great 😕
Sorry, dream sequence stays. I want to seed them in now since I will be taking the l8wrtr approach to the dream sequences in ROTS. I thought about creating visuals for this sequence but I figured it would be much easier and probably more subtle if they were all just audio only. I also really wanted to cut the “your presence is soothing” line and the only way to cut that convincingly is to cut the “you had another nightmare, I heard you” bit. The rest of the conversation is confusing and random if you don’t actually see him having the nightmare, since you don’t know what he’s talking about.
Pear scene might still go though. Here is the dream scene without the dinner, let me know which you guys prefer. Keep in mind the last scene we see with them is the kiss.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_PHn47bcLaZNFl6M2ZpWDdvLTg/view?usp=sharing
New preview clip: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_PHn47bcLaZTEx6dHVoY1ZfRlk/view?usp=sharing
I may have found a use for the pear scene after all. Mainly looking for feedback on whether the dinner scene is really needed or not. Also would like opinion on a certain clip from another movie I used here…
EDIT: You may have to download this one, since the preview doesn’t seem to be working.
Have some preview clips! Download them for better quality.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_PHn47bcLaZSmdBTnZLSXp2aXM/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_PHn47bcLaZVHFFclNSTGZpdWs/view?usp=sharing
Yes, those lines are gone!
Pretty close actually. This is what I have currently:
Sequence 1
arrival on Naboo (Alternate version trimmed)
corridor conversation (Alternate version)
Queen meeting (trimmed version)
Sequence 2
family meeting (L8’s, sourced from Hal’s with cuts recreated)
Sequence 3
Meadow scene (rolling on grass removed,
Transitions directly into daytime kiss (mix of Phantom Editors and Hal’s).
Ill try to get preview clips up soon to show some of the original stuff.
So progress on Episode II has been going pretty smoothly. As I suspected, this edit is probably going to be more unique in comparison to Episode I. The romance is the area that most editors tend to tackle differently, and mine is no exception. The general template is similar to The Phantom Editor’s and Hal’s but the structure and ordering of scenes is a bit different than either. I can say that if you hate the “floating pear” scene and the “rolling in the grass” scene you will likely be happy as both of those scenes look to be out of the picture. On the contrary this may be the only edit I know of to use a cut down version of the scene where Padme talks with the new queen instead of omitting it completely.
Yes, I’m a fan of the series so that is part of my intent, although making the movies work on their own terms is still the number one goal. If you catch any blatant contradictions, please let me know.
well in the edit your edit is going to be taken from removes the younglings and ahsoka was shown as a youngling so you have to keep the younglings in things like that. also as a side note is the yoda fights still going to be removed. please reply to both.
I can answer these.
1.) Younglings will be a thing in my edits, including Anakin’s massacre of them (with the dialogue cut as in L8wrtr’s edit), but the scene of Yoda training the younglings in Ep2 will be gone since it undermines Obi-Wan’s character.
2.) Yoda’s fight in Episode II will be removed, but you will see him fight the Emperor in Episode III with some trims. I’ve always been in the camp of “Having no one challenge the Emperor is more stupid than Yoda fighting with a lightsaber”.
Yes, I’m a fan of the series so that is part of my intent, although making the movies work on their own terms is still the number one goal. If you catch any blatant contradictions, please let me know.
So there’s now actually a way to download other than Myspleen. You can PM me for a link.
Octorox what’s the latest on your edit and are you doing episode 2 and 3.
It’s out on Myspleen. And yes I will, but I’m waiting for Hal’s Ep2 v4 with the upscaled deleted scenes first.
your edit of ep 1 doesn’t put the deleted scenes back in does it?
Just one, the scene where Qui-Gon cuts down the probe droid. I felt it was necessary because it explains why Qui-Gon and Anakin are running in the next scene. I generally tried to avoid deleted scenes in Ep1 because the gulf in quality next to the Blu-Ray footage is even more noticeable compared to the other two films, even with the great upscaling job done in Hal’s edit.
EDIT:
Also, these are the WORKING titles of my trilogy.
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace - Faster, More Intense
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones - Sanded Down
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith - From My Point of View
I can also confirm that while all of the edits will be hybridized versions of existing edits, I do have some more novel ideas of my own when it comes to Episode II and III. It depends on what I’m able to pull off.
Octorox what’s the latest on your edit and are you doing episode 2 and 3.
It’s out on Myspleen. And yes I will, but I’m waiting for Hal’s Ep2 v4 with the upscaled deleted scenes first.
The “Padme Lives!” ending seems pretty seamless now. Good job on that. I’ve always loved the insertion of the Qui-Gon line as well.
I still can’t abide by what you’ve done with other aspects of the film though. What you have is much closer to early drafts of Episode III where the premonitions and the threat of Padme’s death played a much smaller part in the narrative. Without putting emphasis on that emotional through-line, it makes Anakin’s turn seem much less motivated, moving his tragic flaw from emotional attachment to just being kind of power hungry and generally shitty. I think one of the ways the novelization improves this is by adding more connections to Padme’s death: for example having Anakin’s outrage at not being promoted to master be not out of petulance but because he wants access to information in the archives that he believes will help him save Padme.
This is just my opinion though. I know you have a different take that you’re going for and respect you for trying to achieve that, I just don’t think the material available supports it.
Also I think the Death Star vs. Coruscant thing barely matters…I guess I prefer the Death Star so yay?
It’s out, with some minor technical issues. I will have a fixed version out in a few days so you might want to wait.
are you doing color correction and adding back the grain.
I’ve inherited the color correction and grain from Hal’s edit and done it myself to the few bits not in Hal’s edit in order to make them blend better. Also the new version should be up within the next few hours.
It’s out, with some minor technical issues. I will have a fixed version out in a few days so you might want to wait.
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, the intention is to have a pretty fast paced cut. The number one complaint I hear from people about TPM is particular is that “it’s boring” and “I feel asleep during the movie” so I wanted to try to turn the movie into more of a ride, and one of the few ways I have to inject energy into it is through cutting for pacing reasons. Are there any audio edits that you found particularly jarring?
Okay. A V1 of the edit is now up on Myspleen. However, I’ve noticed that there’s still framerate stutter/dropped frames in a few scenes. I would really appreciate if anyone who downloads could point out the shots they notice the stutter, so I can go back to these shots and try to correct them. I think it’s something that happened in the process of converting to ProRes for editing.
Well, I was almost ready to release but I noticed some odd framerate stutter in a couple of scenes. I’m going to try to rectify that before I put this out. Also I decided to keep in an extremely cut down version of the 3PO farewell scene fwiw, it now goes like this:
3PO: Hello Master Anakin.
Anakin: Well 3PO, I’ve been freed.
3PO: Oh Master Anakin, I wish you well.
Anakin: I’m gonna miss working on you 3PO. I’ll make sure Mom doesn’t sell you or anything.
3PO: Sell me!?
Anakin: Bye.
3PO: Oh my…
I can agree about the “more? More did you spake?” line but not the whistling, which felt very Warner Bros. cartoon to me. I also cut out the tank scene in a new way. Lasts thing I’d like to hear your opinion on is the “farewell to 3PO” scene. In my current edit I’ve excised it entirely a la l8wrtr because I think it includes some of the very worst child acting from Lloyd "you’ve been a Ggrreeaat pal!"and falls in weird place between two emotionally charged scenes. I’m open to other opinions though.
Yeah I agree with both of your arguments, but at the same time I can’t help but sympathize with Frink’s viewpoint. The initial reason I found myself unsatisfied with Hal’s edit in the first place was because I couldn’t watch it with friends without everyone complaining that “there’s still too much JarJar”. At the same time I don’t want to make JarJar a silent bystander throughout the film like most edits do because in a way that draws even more attention to him and feels uncharacteristic of the character (as much as I don’t like the character, he is still integral to the plot of the film). I think “Weesa goin’ home!” is one of the relatively inoffensive JarJar moments so I’ll probably leave it in. Same with the Queen moment. Not having it in probably makes the decoy thing even more confusing. I’ve already cut “we are brave, your highness” which is another nod to the decoy thing (I felt it was better to introduce the character of “Padme the handmaiden” when the decoy queen names her later on), so I probably shouldn’t cut this too.
Seems to be interesting (especially your own contributions). Hal9000’s version is around 98% close to be my view of the perfect edit, though you’ve got some ideas that I want to check if someday I find enough time and skill to assemble my “own” cut.
Just something I strongly disagree :
Removed Anakin giving Padmé a necklace. (Hal9000, may revisit depending on what I end up doing with Episode III)
I don’t think the ending of Episode III is so relevant to this scene. The Padmé funeral uses the necklace as a reminder of this sequence, but even if you manage to let her live the scene has its own meaning in Episode I, as well as in the entire Prelogy: making a necklace gift, that is what young boys do when they want to express their love (yeah it’s childish, however not “ridiculous childish”). It’s another step that leads in to the romance of Episode II.
I think you raise some very good points here. However, If I add this scene back, I will likely remove the scene where Anakin goes to say goodbye to Padme, since I think Portman’s performance is particularly weak in that scene. Thoughts?
EDIT: I’m also undecided on whether or not to leave in JarJar’s “Weesa goin’ home” and would appreciate feedback on that moment as well.
EDIT: Updated cutlist and runtime for V2! Available via PM and probably eventually MySpleen
This is a fanedit of Star Wars Episode I that I’ve been working on for a while. In truth it is less of a fanedit than a fanedit hybrid, combining some of the best (in my opinion) of Hal9000’s edit, l8wrtr’s edit, and the original Phantom edit. There are a couple of original cuts, but relatively few.
Frankly, there is not much new that can be done with the Phantom Menace (without some serious visual effects work), but no one fanedit has ever fully satisfied me when it comes to this film. I feel they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and I set out to make a cut that curates edits from these various fanedits to match my vision for the film. While some of the cuts were recreated by myself, I confess that most of Hal’s cuts were cribbed directly from the source material: his V6 of Cloak of Deception. Some audio from the original phantom edit was also used. I have put an emphasis on matching the professionalism of these original edits, and I wanted to make the film a suitable replacement for someone who has never seen the Phantom Menace before. I have also done an edit of Episode II and plan to eventually do a similar one for Episode III.
Original Runtime:
2h16m
Fanedit Runtime:
1h44m
Cut List:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/179rtro9Lq-jwlEWSoYkd97yGME7UIMg1-SPRgJ8SDbs/edit?usp=sharing
Title says it all. It doesn’t need the mkv container, I can remux into an mkv, but really what I need is to be able to export the video and audio in the correct format and size
I’ll compile one when I put it up. But to sum it up I’d say that the basic flow is Hal’s with a lot of extra dialogue nips and tucks from L8wrtrs. Use of JarJar is kind of at a happy medium between the two edits but I agree with Hal’s general philosophy that if he’s present throughout the majority of the movie he should at least have something to do. I’ve removed the “morning of the race” deleted scene and readded the cut-down version of the “working on the pod” scene from l8wrtr’s edit. In fact, the only deleted scene in this version is the scene of Qui-Gon cutting down the probe droid. I’ve also removed the visual of the podrace announcers Fode and Beed, but you still hear both of their voices, which is another compromise between the two edits. I would say that’s the general philosophy of this hybrid. I think l8wrtr is sometimes a little overzealous with his cuts to the point where it can hurt the pacing of the film and character development, but on the other hand Hal’s is too conservative for my tastes and leaves a lot of cringey dialogue, despite some brilliant ideas like cutting the trip to Otoh Gunga completely. This is just an attempt to find a happy medium between the two that suits my personal tastes.
so what’s your ideal edit of the phantom menace? me it would be maybe be all of what you mention but with midicholreans and the chosen one stuff left in but that’s just me.
Midichlorians will not be in my edit. However, I am leaving in the virgin birth and chosen one stuff as both Hal and L8wrtr did. I personally like the implication that Plageuis or Sidious were Anakin’s “father” and the chosen one stuff ties into some Clone Wars plotlines.