Timstuff

Any news on this edit?

Sounds interesting. I personally love the LOTR trilogy (I prefer the theatrical cuts, but I enjoy the extended ones as well) and think about as close to perfect as one could hope for so I've never really seen the point in re-cutting it, but this sounds like a pretty interesting concept. The LOTR trilogy was originally written as two movies, and Miramax was going to have it cut down to one before it moved to New Line, so it would be interesting to see how the trilogy works in only 3 hours.

Given the history of the trilogy, maybe you should consider calling this "Lord of the Rings: The Miramax Cut"? :D

I like the idea of the Gungans speaking Gunganese to each other, and English to the humans. It would also make dubbing a lot easier since I wouldn't have to write English dialogue around the lip movement in those parts, and could just string together some Gungish/Gunganese jibberish words that match the lip movements. And as stated, it would imply a level of mistrust between the Gungans and Humans. I suppose that whether or not subtitles would be used in those parts would depend on how well the scenes read without knowing what the Gungans are saying.

This has probably already been answered, but will there be a Blu-Ray release for ESB:R since it's being edited in 720p? If so, is there anyone at this site who can burn Blu-Ray discs in exchange for donations/reimbursement?

I gave a copy to my friend who is a huge Transformers fan and had previously been very disappointed with Revenge of the Fallen, and he loved it. He also showed it to another friend of his who is also a TF fan, and to his brother who hadn't seen it, and they both loved it as well. I also gave a copy to my older brother who hasn't seen ROTF yet, and I'm still waiting to get a reaction from him (he's married and his wife isn't particularly interested in the movie, so it might be a while before he gets a chance to watch it).

I still haven't gotten my other two brothers to give it a chance, sadly. One of them thinks that ROTF is so bad that it is beyond redemption and has pretty much sworn off on movies based on toys altogether, and the other sadly does not believe in the concept of fan cuts. I'm still determined to make them watch it at some point, but I'm guessing that if it happens it will involve them losing a bet of some sort. :P

It'd be hard to point out the problem spots without re-watching the film, but I'll definitely be re-watching it in the future so I'll be sure to keep notes about where the glitches are.

And I can see what you mean about the Twins' introduction. Maybe I was just too used to how they were handled originally, because looking back I think that they are much more balanced now. None of the other Autobots get an intro in the movie, and since the Twins are now reduced to bit players it wouldn't make sense to give them one either. If you can get past how the other Autobots are handled in the movie, the way the Twins are introduced in your cut should be easy to accept too.

It'd be hard to point out the problem spots without re-watching the film, but I'll definitely be re-watching it in the future so I'll be sure to keep notes about where the problem spots are in the future.

And I can see what you mean about the Twins' introduction. Maybe I was just too used to how they were handled originally, because looking back I think that they are much more balanced now. None of the other Autobots get an intro in the movie, and since the Twins are now reduced to bit players it wouldn't make sense to give them one either. If a viewer can get past how the other Autobots are handled in the movie, the way the Twins are introduced in your cut shouldn't be any harder to accept.

I just got through the movie, and I think this was a very good edit all around. There were a few audio glitches and slightly rough transitions which detracted from the experience a bit, but it was still a WAY better cut of the movie than the original. In addition to the small glitches (i.e. the audio temporarily disappearing for a fraction of a second), the transition in the end from the start of the Linkin Park song to Stan Bush's "Till All Are One" was a little rougher than I'd have liked. However, everything else I thought was great.

Also, given how much screentime the Twins had in the original cut, I was very amazed at how well the beginning of the movie works without them. The only change I'd make there is that maybe the scene where they switch from being an ice cream truck to individual cars at the base should be left in, since I felt that their appearance later in the film was just a wee bit too abrupt (the scene I mentioned would probably be just enough of an introduction that they aren't a total surprise later).

also there were a few times (particularly during talking scenes, but also some action scenes) where the audio levels seemed weaker than in other parts of the film. I had the volume up pretty loud for most of the movie, but during the first scene with the Witwickies I had to turn it up even louder, as well as in some other scenes because the volume would drop down. Not a big issue, but still one I'd like to see fixed.

The nods to G1 like Soundwave's voice and the implementation of "The Touch" during the last battle were very well executed and made the movie feel more enjoyable and nostalgic for me.

Hats off to you, Gieferg. This is a superior cut of the film IMO, and to me proves that there's a gemstone in the rough of Bay's bloated, immature and sometimes downright illogical theatrical cut. I do hope that you will continue to polish this gem, because it shows lots of promise and I think that with enough refinement (and possibly Blu-Ray? *fingers crossed*) this could replace the original version of the film entirely. Even with its technical issues, this is still the preferable version of the film for me, and it brings the quality of the film much closer to that of the first Transformers movie, which is exactly what I am looking for in a Revenge of the Fallen re-cut. Keep up the good work!

In ROTJ, can we please get rid of all the shots where we see Ewok arrows going right through Stormtrooper armor? I know that the armor doesn't have a particularly good reputation for durability in the movies, but I always felt like seeing it punctured by arrows was way too much. Overall, I'd like to see the Imperials on Endor being much more of a threat, and the Ewoks' tactics against them being much less effective. In terms of believability, at best I see the Ewoks being a nuisance that acts as a diversion for the Rebel commandos, but not an actual threat to the imperial forces.

Nice! I think that's a good compromise between sounding like the original and not sounding cheesy. Good job, I can't wait to see the whole movie!

When Vader said "bring my shuttle," I LOVED that line, because he sounded pissed off. He wasn't even sure if Luke was still alive at that point, so naturally he'd be angry. There are only a few moments in the OT when we see Vader when he's pissed off, and when they happen it's because it's important. I thought it was a shame to get rid of what for me was one of the most memorable ones.

This fan cut sounds AWESOME, and I can't wait to see it! One piece of input I'd like to make thoguh, is that I'd really like to see the classic Doom logo in there. I thought that the mockup image you did looked very good, but if you don't think it fits, it's your project so do whatever you like.

This cut sounds GREAT! I can't wait till 1.3 is available, because that's the version I want to see. I know it's quite possible to polish this turd, because I don't really see ROTF as being a turd-- I think that there's a good action movie somewhere in there, it just needs about a half hour of crap wiped away. I look forward to seeing this when 1.3 is finished!

Dang, I had not seen those, but that is definitely a look that works, and works pretty darned well! It's too bad that it probably wouldn't work in practice (or at least, so I'd assume with my limited After Effects ability).

I was pondering the presence of the color red in the AT-AT's canopy glass a few moments ago, and while I know that the logical thing to do about it is to remove the red (as Adywan has done), I couldn't help but explore a curiousity I had about an alternate take on the AT-AT's cockpit...

Basically, the idea here is that for some reason all of the lights inside the AT AT cockpit are red, so I tinted everything red in color balance mode. I kept a bit of natural color in the highlights since there is natural light coming in through the canopy glass, which is a non-red light source. Again, the smart thing to do is probably just to remove the red from the exterior shots (especially since a screen full of red is likely to clash with the cool blues of all the other shots), but I had to satisfy my curiosity.

That was the first place I looked, actually. What I'm curious about is if there are any other cuts in development at this point in time.

I’ve always felt like Peter Jackson’s King Kong is an underappreciated movie. Yeah, it’s too long and it gets boring in parts, but it’s visually an amazing movie, and I could really feel the passion that went into making each scene. I know there are a variety of fan edits around for the movie, but I haven’t really spotted one that’s quite what I’m looking for. The one that seems to be the most celebrated is the Vintage Edition, but I’m hoping to someday see something that’s a bit more straightforward in its approach. No fancy vintage video filters or dramatic re-imaginings, just a leaner, better paced version around the 2.5 hour mark that has good mixing (and maybe, if it’s not too much to ask for, HD).

For those of you who have seen fan cuts of King Kong, what’s the selection like, and have you spotted anything, finished or in production, that would be along the lines of what I’m looking for? If not, maybe I’ve got yet another thing to add to my to-do list…

Sorry to hear you're mom hasn't been doing well Ady, I'll try to remember to keep her in my prayers.

I was thinking... How plausible would it be to use some of the voicework elements from the Clone Wars CG cartoon series in replacing some of the dialogue in AOTC and ROTS? The actor who plays Anakin on the show sounds a pretty good deal like Hayden Christensen, and there's an entire TV show's worth of dialogue to pick and choose various snippets from. Obviously by far and wide most of Christensen's original dialogue would probably remain in tact, but the option is at least there to maybe swap out some of the stuff that does work (or was just plain horrendously acted) with something that does work.

Ah, well then now it makes sense. :)

BTW, @Sketchrob: the new ending (which was originally the opening) looks great and I think you did a great job with the sound editing. One change I'd consider making though, is turning down the volume a tad bit on the jumping / whoosh sound effects a tad. At their current volume level they get the job done, but they come across as slightly "cartoony" because they're a little too noticeable. If you just brought the levels down a little bit it would make them a lot more subtle, and in the case of movement sounds subtle is good (especially since our primary focus in the scene is on the music track). Also, some kind of slice sound when Raph does his slash at the end, and a flame sound when the TMNT logo appears would really tighten things up.

It was in the scene where Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow first meet as kids, and Snake Eyes is stealing food from the Arashikage dojo's kitchen. I know a lot of people complained that they spent too much time on Snake and Storm's flashbacks, and if I do a cut I might try to trim them down a bit, but I do want to keep most of their fight scenes in tact since they were surprisingly intense, and were amongst the best choreographed in the movie.

I already loved his voice in the movie and don't really see a need to change it. I thought it actually sounded quite similar to the cartoon version, except it was an octave deeper (and for the movie's purposes, that helped him to come across as more sinister).

OK, let me start by saying that I greatly enjoyed GI Joe: Rise of Cobra. While it has its faults (some of which run deeper than a fan cut can adequately address), I thought it was a very fun, well paced good-versus-evil action team story, and really that’s what GI Joe boils down to at the end of the day. I saw it twice in theaters and own it on Blu-Ray, so obviously I have an appreciation for the movie as it was released. However, there were a few things about the movie that did and still do annoy me quite a bit which could easily be trimmed out of the movie without dramatically effecting the flow or continuity of the story. I don’t know when a rip of the Blu-Ray will be available (especially looking at how long it’s taking for Transformers 2 to get one), and I’ve never made a fan cut of a full movie before, but if I do actually get around to it my cut of GI Joe would be undertitled “Editing is Half the Battle.”

Like I said, the cuts I’d make would be pretty minimal, so don’t expect any sweeping changes from it (assuming it actually gets made). Most of the cuts will be made to Ripcord and Scarlett’s incredible awkward and stiff relationship, but what remains of it will hopefully come across as being much more mature and less childish.

Proposed cuts:

Ripcord’s “When I get a target in my sights, I take it down” line to Scarlett
The entire scene in the gym (it was pointless, and the part where Ripcord talks to Scarlett sounded like it was written by a 13 year old who has never talked to a girl. When I watched the Blu-Ray I found myself just chapter skipping it)
The part of the first young Snake Eyes vs. Storm Shadow fight where Snake spits the dinner roll at Storm Shadow’s eye
Destro’s line at the end about “Taking his place amongst his anscestors.” The line sounded very stiff and unnatural (and for a line in a movie with Channing Tatum, that’s saying a lot!)
The Black Eyed Peas song at the end replaced with Alan Silvestri’s original, unused ending credits song (first of all the Black Eyed Peas song annoys me, and secondly Silvestri’s song was excellent and I felt it was a shame that it didn’t make it into the film)

Those are the biggest cuts that I could think of. There are certainly more that I could theoretically make, but I can’t think of them right now. If any of you have any other ideas for little nips and tucks that could be made to the movie to improve it, then by all means feel free to share them. Just remember though, if I do this my intention isn’t to make sweeping changes to the film, because I already like it-- I just want to get rid of some of the annoyances I have with it.

I'm interested in seeing what kind of cuts come out of TF2, because the opinions about it are a lot more unanimously negative than the first movie. Most people seem to like the first movie, and as such, the only fan cuts that I've really seen around for it have been from people who didn't really like it (probably because they're the only ones who feel strongly enough about it to actually make a fan cut). Most of the TF1 cuts I've seen around seem to have an active disliking of the movie's personality and seem to cut out as much of it as possible, a practice I don't particularly care for since I pretty much think the movie is fine as-is.

With Transformers 2 though, I'm interested to see what kinds of editors it attracts. There are a lot of people, myself included, who liked the first movie just fine but were very frustrated with the sequel. In addition to the types who would prefer the movie to have as little of Michael Bay's sense of humor and as little human drama as possible, I think we're going to see people making edits who just plain want it to feel more like the first movie, which is the kind of fan cut I'm hoping to see.

One thing I was a little confused by though, is why there's a Marvel Studios card in the intro now. That seemed pretty random since Marvel didn't really have anything to do with the movie.