SomethingStarWarsRelated

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtLsqjbduaE

Wow! I'm gone for a few days and look what happens! :D

Very exciting news here, Trooperman! I might throw an idea or two your way here and there. It's funny because as soon as I logged on I started uploading this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtLsqjbduaE

I know you've adjusted this scene in your edit but I thought I'd show this to you and see what you think.  :)

This was just for fun...but it got me thinking what could be possible...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O---lc5uZ4A

Possessed said:

TV's Frink said:

Yep, I'm definitely sorry I tried to help you.

Help me... by going off topic in the thread for my edit before anybody else had even posted anything? Don't you have something better to do?  Obviously if I took the time to already edit the first sequence of the movie and write a semi-detailed explanation of the edit, then looking for other edits (one of which has jarring audio cuts and the other isn't really much of an edit...) isn't going to help.

 Pardon me for butting in...

I think TV's Frink was simply trying to point you in the direction of some fan edits of ROTJ you might possibly hadn't seen. I don't believe he meant to post something off topic in your thread. On the contrary, I believe he was trying to be of help.

Nicholas J. Michalak said:

I think when Padmé starts taking an ill reaction to Anakin's political statements, he starts to backtrack on it.  What started out as a serious statement is now something he's trying to pass off as a joke so she doesn't start NOT liking him.

-NJM

 I've enjoyed your comments and insight on this scene, Nick! :)

mrbenja0618 said:

Maybe just cut the whole dictator conversation...

Maybe this way.

Anakin: Maybe he was the smart one.

Padme: You really don't like politicians do you?

Anakin: Two or three.... But I'm not sure about one of them.

Padme: You're making fun of me.

LAUGHTER

 Yes. I think this could work too...

brash_stryker said:

I don't know......I'm aware that Lucas' intention with this scene is for it to jump up and down shouting "LOOK, HE'S EVIL!" (which completely undermines Anakin as a good person and the dark side as a corrupting force) however, I don't think it necessarily comes across this way, especially in light of all the other cuts of Anakin being a dick.

The music goes quiet, yes, but it also picks up lightheartedly as soon as Anakin smiles and Padme realises he was just teasing her.

Don't get me wrong, I've always thought he's being serious too, but this interpretation has always been distorted by my already embittered opinion of the character from all other moments in the film.

 I see where you're coming from. If you are going to leave it in I would suggest trimming it up a bit so it's not so long and drawn out. It could go:

Anakin: Well, if it works...

-cut out and/or trim the Padme stare and Anakins smirk

Pamde: You're making fun of me!...?

then continue the scene in the manner you have...

I don't know if you've seen the version of this scene I did but:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6l1cSBNrr8

I was able to keep the lightheartedness and decent chemistry of this scene without the politics. Looking at it now I might change some things but anyways...

brash_stryker said:

My thoughts on it are that Anakin is genuinely joking...... teasing her as a politician just as Han teased Leia calling her "your worship". But nevertheless it still helps to foreshadow the rise of the Empire.

 But he's not joking. The way he says it isn't joking. The way it's edited isn't joking. The way the music sort of stops isn't joking.

And I say forget about the forshadowing. You don't need it. Forshadowing is overused these days-...especially in the PT.

I hope I didn't come off rude. Just my two cents.

brash_stryker said:

TV's Frink said:

brash_stryker said:

3. I toyed with keeping the meadow scene. I did some cutting but just think it's too short now to keep in the final film.

My opinion (forgive me if I've said this before) - there is precious little believable interaction between Anakin and Padme, so saving anything that qualifies is of utmost importance.  The second half of the meadow scene (riding the ass animal) is awful and should never stay in any edit.  But the first half, the dialogue half, isn't too bad, and has some nice interaction between them.  Especially the last shot where Padme looks at Anakin with the first hint of interest.

Most editors have left most (if not all) of that first half in and I think it's important to do so.

Again, just my opinion.

I do take your point, however my biggest problem with the first half of that meadow scene is Padme talking about her ex boyfriend. It really makes me cringe, and she just appears to be using descriptive language more fitting for a 90s highschool romance movie. It takes you out of a galaxy far far away in just the same way as Owen referring to Beru as his "girlfriend".

This is why the way I've cut it omits all that, and instead starts on the long shot, but with Padme saying "you really don't like politicians do you?" It remains pretty unchanged from then on but I omit Anakin's "tease a senator" line and turned it into a straightforward "no no *snigger*". It ends with the shot you mention of Padme looking at Anakin with interest.

Would you think this is long enough? And also, if I was to keep it, I'm not sure where to put it. I think it would make sense to put it before the kiss.

 I'm just gonna chime in here with my 2 cents:

I'm not a fan of Anakin and his views on politics. I understand that Lucas did it on purpose. I guess we're suppose to go "Oooh! That's Darth Vader talking!" But, to me, it just diminishes the power of the dark side. Anakin's view on politics, and for that matter, life, should be similar to his sons. Anakin should be a good guy who gets seduced by the power of the dark side which changes every view he has on life. Thoughts?

Oh this is looking great! Absolutely great! And I look forward to what is coming with this scene.

I think I suggested this eariler...I think you could drag out the suspence at the beginning before the lights go out. I don't particularly like how you've rushed Palps line "it's treason then." it's a bit drowned out by the sound effect of his saber poping out of his sleeve. I can't believe I'm saying this but I feel they had the right timing in the original! lol

But I know you're still messing with the scene...can't wait to see some more! :D

Ripplin said:

SomethingStarWarsRelated said:

Ripplin said:

SSWR posted the last one. I think 005 may have posted one too? Whatevas. Too bad the Lobot one is nonsense.

 Sorry but it wasn't me...

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/STAR-WARS-EP-V-REVISITED-EDITION-ADYWAN-RELEASE-DATE-2011/post/420426/#TopicPost420426

 Maybe I misunderstood the original post but I thought they meant that I posted a link to download all the soundboard clips...which I didn't.  ;)    ?

brash_stryker said:

Well I've done a lot of work on reordering the scene where we're introduced to Dooku. A lot of flipped shots and some reversing of the speed at certain points to account for continuity problems created by my cuts.

let

 Ooh! Let's see a clip!  ;)

Ripplin said:

SSWR posted the last one. I think 005 may have posted one too? Whatevas. Too bad the Lobot one is nonsense.

 Sorry but it wasn't me...

Um just in case I missed a post...did you guys see they added Ewan to the soundboard? :

http://starwars.com/games/playnow/soundboards/#/?theme=43

Nicholas J. Michalak said:

Well, to be honest, it wasn't my idea.  This was from a re-edit by SSWR (SomethingStarWarsRelated) @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKtom9v3kL4  I used several of the ideas in that re-edit, added more of the original footage, and used a few different music cues.  I also fixed a continuity error he left in - he still had Anakin's saber get destroyed, and then, showed it working perfectly a moment later.  In my version, as stated in the first post, it can simply be implied that Anakin's saber was confiscated by the Geonosians.  I even added the sound effect of the saber turning off after Jango arrives as a sign of Anakin standing down from the fight.

-NJM

 Thanks for the plug! Your version of fixing the lightsaber error works very well. I will say again (to those who care) that in my ideal version I would fix the shot with after effects so Anakin didn't have the lightsaber ignited...if that is indeed possible. Actually, I would change quite a few other things in that scene if I had after effects... ;)

Well?   ;)

SilverKey said:

Nicholas J. Michalak said:

I removed Clieg's lines mainly because he's essentially a character I'm indifferent to.  He has all of two or three scenes in all of the saga, and is never mentioned again.  While I get that, yeah, it's a more touching eulogy for Shmi, we forget anything about this guy by the next scene.  He really has little to no emotional impact on the story.

The mass murder confession is gone because it's insulting to Padmé's character.  She is a person dedicated to peaceful, diplomatic, non-violent solutions.  At every turn throughout the prequels, she strongly seeks diplomatic solutions to everything up until there is absolutely no other option available.  So, I cannot accept that she would choose to marry a guy who confesses to murdering men, women, and children out of blind rage and vengeance.  Plus, in ROTS, she is shocked at the thought that Anakin would kill younglings despite knowing that he has already killed men, women, and children in cold blood, previously.  These events make her appear to be moronic, in the least.  I also think, as another fan editor did (don't recall which), that it's perhaps more telling that Anakin would trust this secret with Palpatine more than his own wife (as he mentions it in ROTS after Dooku's death).

The wipe from Anakin bringing his deceased mother home to the funeral was in contention with me.  It does appear odd, but I don't know how well a straight cut would work.  Might just have to cut out earlier.  I'll work in those ideas for removing 3PO's lines.  After hearing Adywan's old radio interview, I think distancing Anakin from C-3PO's origins is a truly intelligent idea.  The big problem is I have no idea how to remove CPO from the final shots of the film.  I do intend to start my own thread, shortly.  Just keep revising my excessively long post covering all three films (which I am editing simultaneously along with a few other films).  Likely, the thread will debut this weekend, if not later tonight.

-NJM

Fair enough about Cliegg's lines. I'd keep them, but this is your edit after all :)

I get your point about Anakin's confession, and I agree completely. What I was saying with my post was that I think it's necessary the scene is kept, just remove him confessing the actual murder. I think we need this scene because Anakin just did something terrible and this scene goes a little deeper into it. It shows Anakin showing remorse for what he did, which is important because without it, it would be even harder to relate to him. Also, this scene brings Anakin and Padme a little closer to each other.

How I would fix this scene is when Padme asks him what is wrong, Anakin could answer with "nothing", taken from one of their ROTS conversations, but underscored with some foreboding music. It might give the scene some subtext.

Concerning the transition between Anakin's arrival at the farm and the funeral: maybe it might work nicely if you pan up to the sky after the arrival, hold it right there for a few seconds, and then pan down again to the funeral. The shots seem pretty much the same, so it might work smoothly.

 Hmmm...I'm having to rethink my position on this. Indeed it would help us relate to anakin more if you used this scene-...obviously re-editted to remove anakin confessing to padme. Still there is some really terrible dialogue in this scene. I'm not sure what could be saved. Maybe a dissolve from anakin taking dead moma into the house to Padme holding Anakin on the floor to another dissolve back outside at the funeral. hmm

Nicholas J. Michalak just posted a clip from his AOTC edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6evtInZvVUg&feature=sub

I thought I'd post a few thoughts on it here:

I'm not a big fan of Anakins lines at the funeral. However, if they are going to say in the movie it would make more sense to switch the lines around:

Anakin (standing): I miss you...so much.

Anakin (falls to his knees): I wasn't strong enough to save you mom...

And continue the scene. The reason the switch would be that the emphasis should be on Anakin "not failing again". Not "I miss you".

I would cut 3POs lines too:

Padme: R2? What are you doing here?

R2: Beep boop whatever...

-Anakin stands next to Padme with interests peaked

-Wipe to next scene

We know R2 has the message. 3PO doesn't have to explain it. I feel like it was written simply for it to be a wink and a nod to ANH.

I like how the other scenes were combind together. The plot still seems to be the crap old plot from the original...so I don't know how much it's going to help.  ;)

I also like how the droids are left behind! :D  Wait. Should R2 be left behind?

Overall great stuff!

vaderios said:

You are master on that, y ' know that?

:D:D:D

 

-Angel

 You are too kind, Angel! :D

Actually, to add a shot like that you could use the one or two close up shots of Palps swinging his lightsaber at Yoda. You could use one of those shots and then cut to one of the Jedi being cut down.

another thought: I don't know how you'll be handling Palps face transformation but with the lights out you could have a few shots where Palps saber passes in front of his "emperor face". the audience would kind of do a double take "what did I just see?"  just a thought...   ;)

Yes the flickering lights are working very well!

And I can't wait to see the updated version...definantly play with drawing out the tension!  ;)

brash_stryker said:

I think it's important to get a reaction shot of sorts from the Jedi to the lights flickering/dimming.

 To brash you listen!  ;)

This is gonna work great! It's gonna make it seem a LOT more plossible that Palps can take on all of these Jedi.

I think you could really have some fun and stretch out the time between when the lights go out to when Palps attacks.

Oooh...You could show Palps shadow sloooowly moving closer to the Jedi...

You could even use that shot of Mace putting his saber up over his head and now he would be using it kind of like a flashlight.

Oh! This would be a great time for Palps to use his lightning! He could kill off the other Jedi that way. But you wouldn't quite know where or whats happening...I'm drooling at the possibilities!  :D

Watching it again I have a thought about reordering:

-Are you threatening me, master jedi?

-Not yet.

-It's treason then.

-lights suddenly go out

-omit closeup of saber coming out of Palps sleeve...because it's dark! :P

-red saber lights up

Nicholas, you should start you're own thread for your edit...I'd love to know more  :D

Nicholas J. Michalak said:

The revised edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uad9i3Hu4k

Did a lot of footage manipulation with split screens and time remapping to achieve what I did here.  Also, it seems no matter what I do in ripping footage from the TPM DVD, there are artifacts and glitches in the video quality.  You can see it as early as the STAR WARS logo receeding if you look carefully.  I did not have this issue with either AOTC or ROTS.

-NJM

 Ah! I like the additional lines inserted here...good stuff.

I liked the original shot you had of Nute saying "Jedi ambasitors?" (sp?)

I'm also wondering: I really really hate the shot of the droids reacting to the ship landing. The animation is awful. They move as if they are almost weightless. Could you look at finding a replacement shot? I've thought about using the shot of the droids at the control panel as Anakin zips by from the end battle.

This is really shaping up well! :D