RogueLeader

Some of those slick Y-Wings with all their plating?

Oh wow, what a nice person. Sending thanks to the mysterious stranger.

It seems like everyone knows Leia is training Rey.

That is a solid point, Sade! Ending with that cliffhanger could make it confusing when we get to season 2 and Maul hasn’t even been found yet.

Well, if you used Skyguy in Malevolence, I would say it could be good to at least have one instance of it in the premiere.

I like the “What are you?” line. I also like idea of waiting until we see your season 1 finale to then decide if the Maul teaser should be a cold open or a cliffhanger.

I also kind of see NFB’s point about the Snips/Skyguy thing. Like, having one instance of it to show how Ahsoka can be kind of irritating at first. But to be fair, are these nicknames ever used later on in the series?

I actually think a TROS without Palpatine is viable, and joshuabri has come up with a lot of clever ideas to execute it. Sure, it does leave you with some questions, but IMO, not anymore questions than the theatrical film introduces. And I think further ideas could be made to his edit, or future edits, that can help tie up some of those dangling threads that you inevitably get with major cuts.

Sure, it might not give you the bombastic conclusion you get with Rey melting Palpatine’s face off, but I think removing Palpatine as the primary antagonist helps keep Rey and Kylo on certain-stage, giving them more active and interesting journeys. Sure, it wouldn’t replace an edit that stays closer to the theatrical as being a definitive version, but I think you could make a fun alternative that could still maintain a 1hr45min, potentially a 2hr, runtime.

I can understand the strong opposition to cutting that moment. Which is why I think just cutting Anakin asking for help would be the simplest, and least offensive way to help alleviate Anakin’s sudden change of heart.

I get what he is saying about the Mail cold open. Maul won’t be introduced in season 1, right? So I could see how that scene, or a different Maul hint, could work as sort of a cliffhanger for Season 1, if we don’t really get into the stuff with Maul until Season 2. The Mandalorian has ended both seasons on cliffhangers, with the Darksaber reveal, then the Book of Boba Fett teaser. So season “cliffhangers” are sort of à la mode at this point.

I also kind of felt like Anakin going from really angry with her, to sort of claiming her as his apprentice, felt pretty sudden. Which, you’re right, is more of an issue with the original film. I agree that if you could cite or mute his line, asking for her help, might alleviate the whiplash feeling you get when he says moments later “I had it under control!” I mean, I know this is whiny Anakin we’re talking about here, but still.

I would go even further to suggest that it might be interesting if you did extend that tension by having the audience wonder if he is going to keep her or not until he speaks with Obi-Wan and Yoda, sort of like you suggest. But it would require a few extra cuts, and that line, “You wouldn’t have made it as Obi-Wan’s padawan, but you might make it as mine” would be a bit of a shame to lose.

And the, the episode is already pretty short. Would hate to cut out too much more.

That is also why Vader is played by 70-year-old Sebastian Shaw, since Vader is just a clone of Luke’s actual father.

Lol, yes, Chade. Short for Chase Adams, I guess!

I like the “Who are you?” line, but I might have to listen to it again.

When I try to give something a radio/phone effect, I usually use a high pass filter in Premiere. You might be able to achieve something similar through Audacity (which is free). Probably can find a YouTube tutorial.

Without having seen Cloak of Darkness, it sound like it would be good to at least inform the audience as to why Ahsoka wasn’t with Anakin and Obi-Wan in the previous episode.

Regardless if these episodes are better than the shorter format of the original episodes, it certainly isn’t wasting anyone’s time, because you’re basically abridging the series for people who would like the meat and bones of the series, and would prefer to cut all the fat. That’s sort of what you’re doing even if that isn’t the main goal of this project.
I will say that your episode 1 is definitely better than the movie!

I’ve watched the first two episodes, and will try to watch the next two ASAP. I did have a few technical notes for episode 1 but Chade covered most of them, like the rogue frames and such. I will mention two things though:

During Yularen’s hologram convo with Yoda and Mace, the transition on Yularen’s face is weird. Did you reverse the shot at the end? I wonder if there is a better way to transition here. Could you possibly cut away after he says “Yes sir” in the wide shot? Do we really need that other information? Or maybe just hard cut straight into the battle.

I also noticed the whole Bail moment at the end as well. I wonder if that shot of Bail could be color-graded to better match the rest of the scene? And yeah, if a different effect could be used on that Anakin shot to slow it down, perhaps optical flow in Premiere, or maybe if could be played with in After Effects, could make the slow motion less noticeable. I understand why you’ve added this moment, though, since otherwise we get no resolution from Bail.

I don’t really have any notes for episode 2.

Anyway, just getting a taste of what you have so far gets me really excited about this project. The longer, more “focused” episodes makes the series feel more grand in scale, in terms of the overall narrative and how it fits into the Saga. I’m really digging it.

This is such a weird explanation, though. Even the silly idea that Leia had “Force” memories makes more sense than inferring memories work differently in Star Wars.

Hmm, I don’t see how any of that would be filmable.

I always imagined that some hypothetical edit could extend the scene where Kylo “prays” to Vader’s helmet. Kylo asks his grandfather to show him the power of the dark side again, to help solidify his resolve. So, maybe we could see it actually respond to Kylo’a request. I feel like this vision could sum up Kylo’s motivation with a few lines.

Palpatine: If the Jedi are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end.

Vader: End this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy. It is your destiny.

Maybe we could get glimpses of the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War over these lines. The implication would be that Kylo believes that the eternal conflict between the Jedi and the Sith, the dark side and the light, can only end by bringing order to the galaxy. Of course, it is a totalitarian kind of order he believes in.

So ironically, both Kylo and Luke would be aware of this question of balance, but they have two different answers to this problem. Perhaps it is this philosophical difference that leads to their falling out, which leads to Kylo destroying Luke’s Order, because he sees it as a necessary evil. Plus, it ties in well with some of the things he says to Rey in TLJ.

Rey: Why did you hate your father?

Kylo: I didn’t hate him.

So, Kylo feels like he has to kill his past and destroy his former identity in order to remove all of his weaknesses and be strong enough to bring order to the galaxy.

Kylo: It’s time to let old things die. Snoke, Skywalker, the Sith, the Jedi, the rebels, let it all die. Rey, I want you to join me. We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy.

Although Kylo is, in the end, motivated by his own quest for power, and falls into the same mistakes as the Sith before him, at least we could better understand what Kylo believes in, regardless of how misguided it is.

Very well said. Always love to see you chime in, Eddie!

This is more speculation, but it would be interesting to see in future Old Republic, or even High Republic content, where Jedi or Sith houses are a thing. Perhaps there was a long standing belief in powerful Force bloodlines, whether or not that belief actually had any truth to it. And maybe we could see the issues that arose from such families, whether it be related to attachment, hubris, etc. Maybe the Skywalkers won’t be the first family soap opera the galaxy has had to deal with.

rocknroll41 said:

I wrote a blog post a few days ago detailing why the Mando season finale disappointed me: https://henrynsilva.blogspot.com/2021/01/mandalorian-made-me-mad.html?m=1

On the subject of starwars, I also published another blog post today on why I dislike the character of Poe Dameron, in particular: https://henrynsilva.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-problem-with-poe-dameron.html?m=1

I’m really enjoying these! I feel like my own feelings on the films/shows line up with yours a lot.

So maybe you could have him say “I had a dream/nightmare” offscreen before he goes on his I Killed Them All rant?

Roundhead Rian? Really?

mikereese971 said:

Also, I know it’s not on the agenda right now, but regarding the thought that Leia should “conjure” Han for Ben…I honestly think that it’s one of the few instances of ambiguity that actually works in the movie. Personally, I always saw that scene as a physical manifestation of Ben’s inner dialogue - a visual representation, done for the sake of a visual medium. I never interpreted it as Han literally appearing.

I agree with you here!

No, I don’t think that’s possible.

Even though I’m personally not crazy about using video game footage, the color correction on those shots to make them fit is pretty impressive. Those TIE shots are pretty nice too.

I’ve noticed this need to fit in a few more changes on other edit threads. I know Hal’s Sequel Trilogy has been heavily collaborative, which is why I think people hope to see certain major changes to be made to this edit, because they see it as the definitive edit, but at the end of the day Hal is the one who has to implement the changes and export them. After a certain point, though, I think they have to be finalized. Not just for Hal’s sake, but also so they can become stepping stones for future edits, and be remembered for their place in the tapestry of fan edits. Kind of a flowery description, I know, but I think we sort of have to accept when one edit’s purpose has been served, and when it is time to move on to a new edit, or make your own.

With that said, I do it would be nice to give context to that part of the vision, but that might just be something for another TFA edit.

If someone else could create a clean shot without the current puppets, maybe that is something I could try and make/film. But honestly, the shot is so brief, you probably could get away with using the elements Cinefy used for that proof concept.

These look striking, great job. I feel like the sun-bleached tone of Tatooine must be one of the more challenging parts of the film to get right, color-wise. What you have looks great. Just seems like it must be hard to tweak.

I think this would be a little too much. Especially with Snoke and Luke, which I think would be confusing and unsatisfying for viewers. I did recently had some ideas for a Palpatine-less TROS edit that would also reinterpret bits of Palpatine’s scenes as a dark side vision.

But, I think the key is that you can’t use too much of it, and it would be better to cut it in a way that makes the dream-like quality of the scenes apparent.

My idea for these visions, though, would only be limited to being induced by the Sith temple on Exegol and Palpatine’s throne room. So it sort of follows of rules of the dark side caves on Dagobah and Ahch-To. There are nexuses of the dark side throughout the galaxy where physical locations can induce visions and hallucinations. I think this helps ground the visions, and makes it less confusing for people to differentiate dream from reality.

With that said, I think one could potentially edit the Palpatine scenes in TROS to try and make it seem like Palpatine is just a manifestation of the dark side cave. So maybe you could pull off cutting “undead Palpatine” from the movie without making major restructures to the plot.