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RogueLeader

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11-Jun-2015
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28-Mar-2024
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Post
#1429300
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition by Rae Carson: The Faraday Edit (WIP)
Time

I have to agree with Nev and say the first two ideas are the most interesting to me. I’m curious on your take on TLJ and what all you would cut to make the message less muddled.

Your idea of a retro Star Wars II edit is pretty interesting as well. The idea of edits that try to maintain the non-digital feel of that era is really interesting to me, and it’s something I’ve been wanting to try with a potential Return of the Jedi edit.

Post
#1429136
Topic
Star Wars: <strong>The Rise Of Skywalker</strong> Redux Ideas thread
Time

I mean, just because his outfit is grey doesn’t mean he’s a grey Jedi. I think that would just be the simplest way to make his outfit look different.

Are you speeding up the slo-mo shot? I’m not sure how a slo-mo shot would look among regular speed shots.

And yeah, I have to say I do love the Falcon ending as well. I think it depends on how you interpret the ending. Perhaps it ends on the twin sunset shot, or it is kind of like what I said earlier. Maybe Ben has been living in exile, but on Tatooine, and Rey is coming to take him with her.

This video has a cool tutorial for head swapping that could be useful for a potential costume change.

Post
#1429127
Topic
Star Wars: <strong>The Rise Of Skywalker</strong> Redux Ideas thread
Time

I wonder if you could get away with Ben still wearing his “Kylo Ren” robes, but you make them gray instead of black. I feel like you could accomplish that with some color grading and masking.

Or, maybe you could use CGI, or film a body double wearing a big poncho, sort of like what Luke briefly wears in ANH, essentially covering Ben’s entire body. You could just put his head on top, if you could replicate his movements well enough. Even better if he’s just standing in the shot, and not walking.

The way I envision it, I think you would only need to use VFX in one shot to show that he’s wearing a new outfit. The rest of his shots would just be him in silhouette. I’ll share those images.

Post
#1429110
Topic
Star Wars: <strong>The Rise Of Skywalker</strong> Redux Ideas thread
Time

Finally watched through the brief Biomes when I had a break today and I was thinking of how some other shots could be potentially used for fan edits. One shot in particular I was thinking about was the Falcon lifting off from Ahch-To and flying towards the sunrise/sunset.

Since it is daytime in that shot, I don’t think you could really use it for TLJ. But, I did have another idea for it.

Imagine an alternate ending where Ben lives, but has been living in exile on Ahch-To. Perhaps the final scene could take place some time in the future, and Rey has come to finally take him off-world. Like he’s served his sentence.

Not exactly sure what footage could be used/reused to make it work, but I think the last shot being the Falcon taking off and flying towards the sunset would be another cool way to end the Saga. But if you wanted to do a Ben Lives ending, it would definitely be easier to just have him meet Rey on Tatooine in the current ending. Still would require a bit of FX work, but not as much, I would imagine. I’ve actually made proof-of-concept images for such an ending. I know making the actual shots would be obviously more difficult, but they feel don’t feel very artificial IMO.

Post
#1427943
Topic
Star Wars: <strong>The Rise Of Skywalker</strong> Redux Ideas thread
Time

Considering those facts, and the fact that the entire Sequel Trilogy takes place over the course of only a year, makes me feel like if you made a trilogy edit where most of the action takes place beyond New Republic territory, and the Republic is never destroyed, it wouldn’t really impact the films that much.

Yes, we see the Republic planets blow up, but we don’t ever see how that effects Republic worlds. The whole trilogy could take place within the First Order’s small territory, with the Resistance being a covert operation within its borders. No Starkiller, no Snoke even. Just a radical Imperial remnant who use the heir of Vader as a figurehead. The hidden Imperial fleet could be their key to conquering the Republic, but then it’s the Republic fleet that kicks their butts at the end of the movie. Sure, we would never really get to visit the New Republic, but at least it wouldn’t be conquered and then apparently restored off-screen.

It’s just kinda nuts that they made a Sequel Trilogy and never really gave us a good look at the actual New Republic. But then again, if you keep in mind the trilogy only consists of a single year of galactic history, then it might make more sense if the First Order’s scale and off-screen blitzkrieg of the galaxy is downplayed, or entirely removed. Maybe less dramatic, but it might make the ST feel less like a reset.

Post
#1426810
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

Hal 9000 said:

In particular, follow up questions from the user to his friends revealed an intuitive read on the dagger whispers and underbelly Star Destroyer cannons without any confusion.

Hal, could you elaborate on this a bit more? You mean they understood what was happening with the dagger whispers, and they also just assumed the underbelly cannons were just cannons, and not like Death Star lasers or something?

Post
#1426338
Topic
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER: THE TEAM DALE REWRITE — AVAILABLE NOW
Time

TestingOutTheTest said:

Oh, God… hope I can go through this and explain why I feel you, alongside everyone else, even the most loyal defenders of TLJ (also coming from a TLJ defender, unironically), miss the point of TRoS and why your guys’ arguments are invalid.

Dude, art is subjective. Stop trying to invalidate everyone’s opinions on this movie.

Post
#1426337
Topic
The Clone Wars: Refocused [COMPLETE] + Subtitles for season one!
Time

I also like Politics of War. You know exactly what you’re getting into with that title.

It blows my mind how you’re able to go through and look at these episodes with such a fresh perspective.

So, Padmé and the other senators winning or losing this the political battle doesn’t get brought again in the series? Any references could easily be cut, but was just curious about that. I think it is great that Padmé gets a big victory on the political stage. Her slowly watching democracy die throughout the prequels is a bit depressing, so it is nice to show her succeeding for a change. I also like the implication you mentioned that Padmé in a way is making Anakin’s job more difficult by voting against the creation of more troops. This episode will definitely be some nice food for thought.

Post
#1426336
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

sade1212 said:

I like the “Here?” idea because it conveys that the Knights don’t often make appearances amongst the First Order, giving a small nod to their physical absence from the first two movies.

Haha, that’s idea a great idea! +1 for this.

Or,
“Knights of Ren?”
“Who?”

Because the audience totally forgot about them at this point.

Post
#1425749
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition by Rae Carson: The &quot;Tragedy of Vader&quot; Edit (v2 NOW AVAILABLE)
Time

Jar Jar Bricks said:

As for Palpatine not knowing about Rey, I see that to be a little convoluted. Clearly her parents have been in hiding for however old she is in years plus a couple extra years, so why would he wait all that time to track them down?

The sequence of events I’m thinking of is that Rey’s father escapes Exegol by hijacking the Bestoon Legacy, he flies to Jakku (which is right next to the Unknown Regions) where he meets Rey’s mom. They leave Rey there, flying off in the Legacy. Ochi is sent after them to find Rey, and also to retrieve his ship back.

So why did Palpatine wait until she was six to go after her, and how did he even find out about her? This all just brings up a lot of questions.

Also, like the japor snippet addition!

Post
#1425738
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

Jar Jar Bricks said:

RogueLeader said:

Also, you could kind of explain it away that perhaps these clones are a byproduct of both science and Sith alchemy. Perhaps they have to infuse these clones with the dark side in order for them to be even viable for his spirit.

That is actually how I explained it in my novelization. Great minds think alike!

Oh really? Thanks for the compliment! At first I actually agreed with the idea of making the clones look more normal, but that explanation works for me. I guess you have to question why Palpatine’s current vessel doesn’t look as wrinkly, and more like a pale McDiarmid, but it’s all a little convoluted anyway, so you can hand-wave it somehow.

Post
#1425734
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

But Palpatine wasn’t born looking like that. His wrinkly face is a byproduct of him basically being a powerful conduit of the dark side for decades. So he became that way because of his long term use of the dark side.

So if these clones are just clones of the man Sheev Palpatine, then technically they should look more like regular Ian McDiarmid, and not the deformed Darth Sidious. But, like Faraday said, it is easier to quickly understand that it is Sidious because the clones look like how we recognize him the most. Also, you could kind of explain it away that perhaps these clones are a byproduct of both science and Sith alchemy. Perhaps they have to infuse these clones with the dark side in order for them to be even viable for his spirit. Could be the same reason Snoke is so fucked up. Creating dark side strandcasts leads to physical deformity, since it is perverse and unnatural.

Post
#1425732
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition by Rae Carson: The &quot;Tragedy of Vader&quot; Edit (v2 NOW AVAILABLE)
Time

Don’t apologize for brainstorming on your own thread!

The big issue the writers ran into by introducing this concept in the last film is that you have to exposit so much backstory in order to explain it, and then it screws with the pacing of the story they’re trying to tell present-day. So trying to go into more detail sort of just exacerbates the issue.

And of course, one of the major storytelling rules is to show, not tell. You can kind of get away with it when it isn’t a lot, but the more that must be explained, the messier it gets. I thought the idea of having a chapter that just quickly flashes through what happened wouldn’t be a bad idea, and then you could get into her dad’s head as to why he wouldn’t give up her location.

Could it be possible Palpatine didn’t know about Rey until recently, and Ochi killed her parents before they had a chance to even mention her to Ochi? Like, they left her on Jakku in their own ship, then Ochi found them, snuck on their ship and killed them while they were in a drunken stupor?

But again, you can get away with this complicated backstory in the novelization, but even the little bit we get in the film is too much nonsense for my tastes. At least you’re trying to make some sense of it.

Post
#1425443
Topic
General Star Wars <strong>Random Thoughts</strong> Thread
Time

NeverarGreat said:

https://imgur.com/gallery/ViBroKV

Interesting take on the Force.

Super interesting take. I also like the idea of the “dark side” being more of a reference to a Force-user tapping into knowledge that is hidden in the “dark” rather than it being dark=evil. While it ultimately leads to evil, that dark side isn’t inherently evil, necessarily.

The idea of the Force being malevolent is a fun idea, too. You could argue that it isn’t necessarily evil, though. It could just be a living thing trying to survive the only way it knows how to. To the Force, humans might be as inconsequential as bacteria are to us. But this is a great example of why I think the Force shouldn’t be explicitly explained too much, but storytellers should allow the characters in-universe to have a myriad of beliefs and opinions on the nature of the Force, and these differing views can be what leads to narrative conflict across the franchise. They brought up KOTOR 2, which is a great example of this idea. Kreia basically believes that the Force is malevolent, and she wants to destroy the Force. The game never states the she has the correct opinion, or anyone does, really, but you as the character have to choose what you believe in.

Damn. Makes me want to go back and play KOTOR 2.

Post
#1425275
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition by Rae Carson: The &quot;Tragedy of Vader&quot; Edit (v2 NOW AVAILABLE)
Time

Great addition. I always thought having Kylo get glimpses of his childhood through Chewie would’ve been nice to see. I love how you basically included that fan comic that floated around of Chewie intentionally not killing Kylo when he could have.

Did Kylo get what he wanted from
Chewie, though? You might could add a bit extra to clarify that a little bit. It makes it seem like the memories of their shared past are what he wanted.

Post
#1425254
Topic
Star Wars: <strong>The Rise Of Skywalker</strong> Redux Ideas thread
Time

Yeah, Sade nailed it.

I’m guessing you are asking in regards to your novelization rewrite, Bricks. I have some ideas I could throw out, though.

I know some early names for Rey’s character in Lucas’ earlier treatments were Taryn, Thea, and “Winkie” apparently. Thanks George. Under JJ, Thea eventually became Sally, then Kira, Echo, and finally Rey. Maybe you could go with one of these names for Rey’s mom (preferably not Winkie…)

For Rey’s dad, I think it depends if you’re going with him being a clone/strandcast, or his biological son. If I recall, early Star Wars drafts had George naming the Emperor as Xerxes XII. Thanks, George. I could imagine him having more of a clone identification number rather than a name, like, X-12. The Greek letter X is pronounced like “kai” (spelt “chi”), so maybe he could’ve gone by Kai.

Palpatine actually had a possible son in Legends called Triclops, who was a mutant with a third eye. His mother was actually Palpatine’s creepy aid, Sly Moore. While Rey’s dad obviously doesn’t have a third eye, maybe you could pay homage to this weird piece of Legends by having his name be something similar, like Tristan. As “rey” means “king” in Spanish (which I guess fits with the Rey Palpatine reveal), Tristan is similar to the Spanish word “triste” which means “sad”. It would be fitting, since his existence was a disappointment to both Palpatine and much of the audience.

Anyway, just some ideas.

Post
#1425057
Topic
Star Wars: <strong>The Rise Of Skywalker</strong> Redux Ideas thread
Time

Jar Jar Bricks said:

This is why I’m kinda torn. If Ben Solo showed up on Tatooine, I’d imagine Rey would become Rey Solo instead of Rey Skywalker in that scene. But that kinda goes against the title of the movie and the purpose of the trilogy. I’d be interested in hearing other opinions on how to solve this problem. Maybe replace the Jedi organization with an organization called “Skywalkers”? Not sure.

That doesn’t necessarily have to be the point of the film from the standpoint of somebody’s fan edit, though. Even without “Rey Skywalker”, you can still have two other meanings of that title that can be emphasized in a fan edit.

  1. The rise of Skywalker legend, through Luke’s actions on Crait.
  2. The rise of the the last (biological) Skywalker, Ben Solo, returning to the light.

The idea of an a new order of Force users called “Skywalkers” is also interesting, and I know people speculated on that happening. Plus, it fits the naming convention of the last film in each trilogy if Skywalker became a new order, separate from the Sith and Jedi dichotomy.

If you went with this idea, maybe you could pull it off by changing Rey’s dialogue with the old lady a little.

The old lady could say, “There’s been no one here for so long. Who are you?”

Then, Rey could pause, look over at Luke and Leia’s ghosts, smile, look back and say, “I’m a Skywalker”. Maybe some would see that as vague, but that could be a good thing. People could choose to see it either as her taking the Skywalker name, or as her claiming it as a title. As if she were saying, “I’m a Jedi.”

You would just have to find a good sound byte of her saying “a” that fits the sentence, as well as alter her mouth to make it seem like she is saying “a” instead of “Rey”. I wonder if you could even trim her saying “Rey” enough to make it sound like “a”?

Post
#1425029
Topic
Did G. Lucas ever intend to portray the Jedi as a flawed institution in the prequels? Or was it added later in the EU?
Time

VegetableMan said:

One thing that has always bothered me though, ever since I was a kid, is that even if the Jedi were deliberately portrayed as flawed it seems the movies prove them right in some of their ambiguous teachings. For exemple, concerning the « no-attachements » rule, watching AOTC as a kid I remember thinking the Jedi were assholes for banning relationships but then ROTS seemed to validate them because it was like : « see they were right, because a romantic relationship led Anakin to the dark side ». I know it’s not that simple, but as a 12 year-old that’s how I and I’m sure a lot of other kids my age understood it.

I think it has more to do with the Jedi’s approach being a self-fulfilling prophecy, rather than them being objectively right.

This might be a shitty analogy, but I kind of like to compare it to the drastically different teenage pregnancy rates in the United States and the Netherlands.

In the US, especially the American South, sex is sort of a taboo topic for teenagers. In a lot of Southern schools, sex education can basically be summed up to “the safest sex is no sex”. Absistence-focused sex education is the norm, and schools and parental discussions focus on the dangers and risks of sex, and why you should avoid it until you’re married. So, this leaves teenagers rather uneducated about safe sex practices, and unsurprisingly many Southern states have the highest teen pregnancy rates.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, has a rather open and honest system of sex education. From what I understand, schools, medical professionals and parents talk about the joys and responsibilities of intimacy. Dutch teenagers are properly educated on safe sex, and given the resources to help ensure it. In general, the topic of sex is a lot more open and not treated as taboo. Netherlands currently has one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the world.

Bringing it back to the Jedi, the drastic actions Anakin takes to save Padmé can partially be blamed on the Jedi’s failure to teach him how to deal with his emotions in a healthy way. The Jedi teach children to basically fear their emotions, avoid attachment, and bury their feelings. The Jedi keep Anakin from having a healthy relationship with his mother, and when Anakin falls in love with Padmé, he is afraid to tell the Jedi, and in their secrecy, he becomes possessive of her. He feels like he can’t tell Obi-Wan or Yoda what’s really going on (or they wouldn’t understand), so he takes drastic measures to save her.

I personally don’t think Obi-Wan or Yoda were really even self-aware of how the Jedi’s conservative philosophy was partially responsible for their downfall. To me, it seems they think it has more to do with the dark side clouding their vision, and their growing arrogance, which is true too. They never really pass that knowledge onto Luke in the films, and in a way they made the same mistake with him. Even though Luke seemingly learned something about how Anakin’s attachment to his son saved him, I think Luke also saw how his fear of Vader turning Leia almost made him fall to the dark side. And in the end, that fear is what causes Luke to make the same mistakes with Ben.

He sort of touches on it in TLJ with Rey, but he never really goes into the detail I think they should’ve. Luke recognized the Jedi teaching was flawed, but that’s never paid off very clearly.

But yeah, I agree that if this is what Lucas was going for, it could’ve been made a little clearer. This is how I see it at least.