Sheepish

Also, here’s the first trailer for this edit.

https://youtu.be/ss-LLNkdWpk

It’s basically structured like the Force Awakens trailer. I tried to include clips from most of the various atmospheres in this edit, to give you an idea of what everything will look like. There’s also a preview of a potential voice for Jar Jar. In this trailer, he’s speaking English, but I’m not 100% sure if I want to keep this voice or give him an alien dub with subtitles.

The main issue with Jar Jar speaking English is syncing the new dialogue to his lip movements. The alternative is reading subtitles throughout the whole thing, which can be a bit monotonous. I’m also considering the idea of having Jar Jar speaking in an alien language, but gradually improving on his English throughout the film (which would help explain his appointment to the Senate in later films, if he’s the only Gungan who can speak English).

Let me know what you guys think. I really like his voice in the scene in the trailer, but it’s more difficult to implement in other scenes with a greater change in his dialogue.

I get that. I think cutting/keeping that line depends on personal preference. I don’t think it really hurts or helps the film. If you’re doing an edit, and the line feels forced to you, then you should cut it.

At this point, I think fan edits should please the editor first and foremost. There are too many divisive aspects of the prequels to do anything that would make everyone happy.

I don’t believe I’ve seen L8wtr’s cut, so I can’t speak for that. However, I very much like the line “only a sith deals in absolutes”, because that in itself is an absolute, which I think supports Anakin’s confusion about where the Jedi end and the Sith begin. I would 100% leave that line.

I’d probably cut out the bit about having allegiance to democracy. Maybe just cut around the democracy bit. Democracy doesn’t exactly get them anywhere, and it’s arguably a key component in the creation of the Empire, anyway. Unless you keep it in to make some kind of political statement, I don’t see much reason for it. It’s not a bad line, though. Just odd coming from Obi Wan, I think.

I’d definitely keep the bit about Obi Wan failing Anakin. It’s one of the best parts of the film and PT, in my opinion.

I’d cut the “high ground” line, and just leave the line “don’t try it” instead. The high ground line isn’t necessarily bad, but one of the main issues it causes for fans is the contradiction of the ending of Episode I, where Darth Maul has the high ground, but Obi Wan still kills him. Unless the notion is that it’s a double meaning, and Obi Wan has the “moral” high ground…but I don’t think that holds a lot of weight in an argument against Anakin at this point. He’s made it very clear that from his point of view, the Jedi are evil, and Obi Wan is more or less a fool (or part of the evil-ness).

I’ll have to rewatch the whole sequence and get back to you on this.

I’ll do my best.

gulps beer

Mikeluv80 said:

You can also use this scene from Ep. 2 when Dooku’s ship arrives and he has a brief conversation with Palaptine (as Sidious) as they walk out of frame…you can possibly make this the opening scene (starts from space, which works perfectly). That way, we only see Dooku in the beginning of the movie and then the very end… so instead of a “who the hell was that?” feeling at the end, we’ll already know who he is that they are up to something behind the scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIdb-et-6sM

Is that a deleted scene? It’s been a minute since I’ve seen Episode II, but I don’t remember that bit.

darth_ender said:

A Jedi council scene might include a rotoscoped clip from when Dooku sighs after slicing up Ani, probably best inserted when Qui Gin gets shut down about training Anakin. It’s a close-up if I recall and could show him sitting in a chair, thus furthering the implication of his feelings for Qui Gon and dissatisfaction with the Council.

That sounds like a great idea. I’ll go check that scene out and see what I can do with it.

Awesome!

I still think I’m going to touch up on the blending of Dooku against that background, but I’m pretty happy with the structuring of the scene as is. Glad you like it!

dkeighobadi said:

Darth Lucas said:

Maybe find some appropriate music to blend in that grandly swells up to the end if you can find something that works.

This definitely.

I’ll be on the lookout. But I’m up for suggestions.

HansiG said:

Phantom Menace fan edits be like

That’s what happens if you’re unhappy with the current selection, and you’ve got some time to kill.

Sorry, fixed.

Okay, here’s another version of the Dooku scene. I touched up the rotoscoped bits (mostly the hair) and added a different musical track. I also reordered the scene and cut the Palpatine pan, just to see what it looked like. Also, I added a small extra bit of rising music toward the end of the track, to give a somewhat off-putting build into the credits. I like it, but it also works with the smoother underlying piece by itself.

Here is the new version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1rS_q3E2-k&feature=youtu.be

I think I still need to give the rotoscoping another once-over, but it’s shaping up nicely.

Also, if anyone knows of a scene with Dooku turning and walking away (camera facing his back) in Episode II or whatever, let me know.

There’s definitely some footage I can use to roto him into the council, because I’ve actually been playing around with that idea. I just didn’t know if I wanted him there or not.

I’ve also touched more on the Dooku funeral roto, so the edges of his hair and cloak look more natural.

I actually really like Darth Lucas’ idea of maybe removing the Palpatine shot at the end, moving the Dooku shot back and ending on the wide shot. I’ll do a mock-up of that and throw it up here in a bit to see what you guys think.

I only want to add him in if it absolutely works. If it’s too forced, I’ll abandon the idea.

And to address the notion of Dooku appearing out of nowhere…honestly, I think that’s part of his problem in Episode II anyway. He’s a villain that shows up out of nowhere and gives an expositional speech as to why he’s the new villain. I feel like if I can find a conceivable way to introduce him into Episode I, he’ll at least be a familiar face in II and we’ll have some notion of who he is. Actually, as I’m typing this out, I’m thinking showing him in the council would work really well. I’ll see what I can do.

First time coming across this. I’m definitely intrigued.

Could you PM me the link as well?

Okay, here’s a little preview of what I’m doing with Dooku. It needs to be touched up a bit, and the final scene with Palpatine’s face hasn’t been color-corrected, but this is mostly just a frame of reference.

https://vimeo.com/158102839 (password is “fanedit”)

Suggestions? Ideas?

Do you like the way it’s ordered, or is there anything I can do to improve on it? I was considering putting Dooku’s walkaway after Mace’s “but which was destroyed…master or apprentice?” line, but it felt like slight overkill to have Dooku walkaway and immediately cut to the pan from Anakin to Palpatine. I’m still not sure.

Looks great! I pointed the change in appearance to some friends of mine after my second viewing. They thought I was crazy. Glad to see I’m not the only one.

darthrush said:

Man, everything your thinking of doing with Dooku is pure genius. I really love “the Jedi have become what they swore to destroy” angle on the prequels. When conforming to this angle of editing the prequels I find it proves to come out with the best results. I can’t believe how hyped this edit is getting me. Do you know what modes of uploading it you will use (fanedit.info, torrents, rapidshare, mega ??)

Glad you’re looking forward to it!

And I’ll probably be trying a few different menthods of uploading. This is the first fan edit I’ve ever really done, so I’m still learning a bit about the process, but I’ll probably do a torrent and try to list it on fanedit.info as well. I’m also going to try to put the thing on YouTube (I’ve been told that if I omit certain pieces of the end credits, I’ll have a much better shot of it not getting pulled down by Disney, oddly enough).

ben_danger said:

The Lullaby would be a nice touch - could be placed in epI perhaps when Ani and Padme talk? And maybe repeated in EpVI when Leia speaks to Luke about Padme.

Colour tests look great.

I came across this ages ago and have had it sat on my desktop ever since. I think its a photograph of TPM in a cinema - but the colours look really good (probably something thats happened through the various processes.)

Would love to see more blues/greens in motion.

http://www.cybertronical.com/allsites/starwars/main/characters/qui_gon_ginn/quigon1a.jpg

That looks fantastic!

dkeighobadi said:

darthrush said:

Maybe have him, dunno, seeing QGJ’s body, sighing and leaving to go into self-exile. Then it would actually be dramatic to see him the next time when he’s turned, albeit ambiguously of course. That would present further problems because we would need to be introduced to him earlier in Episode 1 or at least hear his name so we’re like “Oh is that that dude?”

That’s actually exactly how I’m trying to do it. I’m trying to cut to Dooku sighing and leaving, just before cutting back to Windu and Yoda talking about the whole “master and apprentice” thing, which now has a double meaning with QGJ and Dooku.

The problem isn’t so much inserting Dooku into the film as it is finding the right frames of him to insert.

I’ve also considered trying to fit him into one of the Jedi Council scenes, but I’m not sure if I like that idea just yet.

Lord Haseo said:

Sheepish said:
I’ve considered cutting her death for continuity reasons, but I like the irony of her death too much. I’ll find a way to work around the continuity of IV

I think you mean ROTJ because that’s where Leia says the thing about remembering her mom.

Yep, I meant to type VI, not IV. But yea, that’s what I was referencing.

darthrush said:

I find rotoscoping his saber green or purple and removing the Darth Tyranus title would seal the deal for Dookus character really put to perfection as a intellectual rebellious Jedi who has noble goals with dark logistics of doing so.

I was thinking more along the lines of a darksaber, mostly because we never see one in the films, but I might like the idea of giving Dooku a purple saber. It would give us a more morally ambiguous villain, while also creating a link between Dooku and Mace Windu, which could imply some weight in Episode III when Anakin has difficulty accepting Windu’s views. Great idea!

Will you be making Episodes two and three? Would be nice, especially to continue all the work you’ve been doing on Jar Jar and the Neimoidians etc

If my version of Episode I gets decent reception, then I’ll be doing Episodes II and III. I have big plans for III, if I do. For one example, Padme’s funeral will now be to the tune of this musical piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWt_kjS3JVY , which is a lullaby version of “Across the Stars”. I came across it on YouTube and thought it would be a great way to juxtapose Anakin and Padme’s somewhat childish relationship with the weight of her death (I’ve considered cutting her death for continuity reasons, but I like the irony of her death too much. I’ll find a way to work around the continuity of IV).

I’ve always considered II to be the worst of the prequels, but I’ll do my best with it. I’ve actually been playing around with adding Dooku to the end of Episode I, watching in the distance during the funeral scene, as Qui-Gon was supposedly his apprentince. The idea is to give his character a bit more depth, and sort of make the death of Qui-Gon be the final tear in Dooku’s connection with the Jedi. This should help flesh out the reasoning as to why Dooku sort of just shows up out of nowhere in Attack of the Clones. Also, if I do end up editing Episode II, I’ll most likely give Dooku a darksaber, as opposed to a lightsaber.

darthrush said:

This definetly has taken my interest for possibly taking the throne of my definitive TPM edit once your finished. Might I ask, if you will retain any of Sidious’s hologram scenes. When cut out, I feel it raises the mystery of Darth Maul and makes Yodas final thought at Qui-gons funeral even more thought provoking. Thanks for your efforts!!

Thanks! Here’s hoping!

As far as Sidious’ holograms go, it’s funny you should mention them, as I’m torn on keeping the few I have left in the film or axing them. I cut a few of them out already, but there are three (I think) that survived thus far in my cut, mostly for plot purposes (because I’ve redubbed the Neimoidians and rewritten their dialogue, some of their lines with Sidious help move the plot along).

My goal was to not make it so obvious that Palpatine is Sidious, so I tried to trim them up as much as I could, while also darkening the hood to reveal less of his face. Idk. I might cut them altogether. We’ll see. I definitely get your point, though.

Okay, I’m going to touch up on the greens a bit.

While I’m at it, here’s a few clips from the edit you can check out.

Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrzwbqfCxMg (This was uploaded prior to the film grain addition. The colors have been tweaked since then, so don’t let this be an example of that. There’s also a weird cricket sound at around the 58 second mark. No idea what the hell that was or where it came from, so that’s also been removed. Basically, let this be an example of the cut of the scene)

Watto’s introduction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9WZDA-5Oug (Again, this is a rudimentary version of this scene, pre-grain. The cut is essentially the final version, but the sound mixing isn’t complete, and Jar-Jar’s voice hasn’t been added to the scene. The music in this scene is what I’d like you to focus on)

Also, there is a version of a Darth Maul scene on this YouTube channel, but it’s outdated and looks nothing like the final color-grading. However, the added probe droid recording is in the final cut, so if you’d like to check that out, here ya go - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aOgb5y39vA

I’d like to reiterate that the coloring of these previews is NOT the current version.

NeverarGreat said:

Some of the grading goes too far in my opinion, for example making mauls black cloak look green. But I like how you got rid of the purple. Very strange choice for Lucasfilm.

See, I’m not really seeing green. Maybe that has to do with the settings on my monitor, but if there’s green to that cloak, it certainly presents a problem, as I didn’t do any green level adjustments in that scene.

…though I did use a slight teal filter to neutralize some other colors. That may have done it. I’ll give it another look.

Possessed said:

That regarding is imho good enough to warrant releasing on its own unedited as a separate release.

I’ll probably release it at some point for other editors to use as a source.

I might tone down the grain slightly, but I kinda like it. It has the whole retro thing going on. What do you think?

I corrected the whole movie, but I did it scene-by-scene. I didn’t use a “one size fits all” setting, if that’s what you’re asking.

Well, the film grain was universally applied, as was a couple of minor corrections. But as far as the curves, contrast/brightness and general recoloring goes, everything was done on a “per scene” basis, as to avoid using settings that may work for one scene but not another.

In general, most of the outer space sequences used the same settings, all of the underwater sequences used the same settings, the outdoor Theed scenes used similar settings, etc.