Trooperman

Yeah, I had an idea a long time ago about doing a B&W prequel too: 

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-prequel-film-noir/post/247553/#post247553

This silent version looks like an exciting project though:) 

I didn't use anything from Sound of Music.

^^This is a good point...I hadn't thought about that.  Deleted scenes are not even available in HD.

As for the lightsabers, unfortunately I don't have just the mattes.  Since I didn't have access to any good effects software, the saber shots you see I actually accomplished by repainting frame by frame on Photoshop.  

Now you know why I haven't gotten to the rest of the shots yet.  It's tedious stuff....

^^You read this entire thread?  Wow.  You probably know the movie better than I do now;)

PaulisDead2221 said:

I was going to spend some time converting the projects to Vegas 8, and then to HD.  I realized the conversion to HD was going to be tougher than I thought.  Trooperman had an idea that I thought would work, but it will take some time to get perfect.  I'm concentrating on audio at the moment.  The only problem is there is a lot of audio missing.  Trooperman has almost a gig of audio that was on another drive when he copied his hard drive to mine.  I am assuming most of the missing audio is there, and I'm sending him lists to see.  I am also seeing an issue with a project file or two not converting to Vegas 8.  I can't install the old version of Vegas because for some reason it requires me to install version 1.1 of the Microsoft NET framework--Don't ask me.  So hopefully Trooperman will have the strength to finish off work what appears to be only a couple "sections" of the film.  I'll have to ask him.

So, with that in mind, what was the general agenda before Trooperman had to duck out?  Was there anything that needed to get done from anyone except the editor?  I know for a fact I won't be able to do any of the rotoscoping for Mace Windu's lightsaber that is still left.  Besides that, was there much more than audio left to work on?  Whoever made thecrawl might have to do it again in HD, or if they're not available anymore, we need somebody to take up the challenge.

I'll really start setting to work and getting our priorities straight today and tomorrow.  This will go much better if we all pull together like I know this thread has been doing from the start, and I hope discussion can continue to relate to getting the project done and problem solving, and not questions about whether or not it'll be done soon (not pointing at anybody, I know there hasn't been activity on this thread for awhile).

Alright, I'll see about getting that missing audio list done.  That's my task right now.

P.S. I bolded certain points to make clear the tasks that need to be done for me and everybody.

Hi PaulisDead,

I found the recordings you listed and after I type this I will PM you with the link to those files.  Bear in mind though that each project file has a different library and it could be that you will need other files for other parts besides part 1.  If that be the case let me know right away so I can send you the files.  I'm sorry my project is such an organizational nightmare...

"I realized the conversion to HD was going to be tougher than I thought."

Yep.  I definitely wouldn't try that until the end.  When I first brought it up I wasn't actually talking about encoding it in HD, I was thinking that if we swap out the DVD source with the HD source where possible, it'll make a lot of those shots that I cropped for framing look a LOT better.  But you would still do a final encode in DVD resolution...otherwise we would have to redo the opening crawl, redo the lightsabers, etc.  I definitely wouldn't worry about it now....

"I am also seeing an issue with a project file or two not converting to Vegas 8."

Hmm.  That's weird.  Which ones?

"I know for a fact I won't be able to do any of the rotoscoping for Mace Windu's lightsaber that is still left."

I'll take care of that.  Just use the original purple clips for now.  We can splice the effects shots into the MPEG at the very end if we need to.  

"Whoever made thecrawl might have to do it again in HD, or if they're not available anymore, we need somebody to take up the challenge."

Yeah, I don't know if he's around anymore.  The standard-def crawl is perfect though, in terms of framing and the number of words on each line.  I remember we debated how to format the crawl for several pages back in 2005...

"Was there anything that needed to get done from anyone except the editor?"

Yes, we need a couple lines from Sluggo and MTHaslett.  I think I told you which lines in the "readme," if not let me know.  Also, Octorox would like to help out (with Jar-Jar maybe) but one of us needs to send him sample dialogue. 

--------------

"I hope discussion can continue to relate to getting the project done and problem solving, and not questions about whether or not it'll be done soon."

Absolutely.  It's my fault SOTDS isn't done yet, but PaulisDead coming along to finish it is a real blessing and we need to give him encouragement, support and help where needed to get this done.  I'm just personally thrilled he's doing this, and that he's excited with what I've done already and excited to add onto it.  But please do not nag him.  It'll be done when it's done.  

Which will be a lot sooner than if I had to finish it myself....

Thank you PaulisDead.  I appreciate it so much.  These are my high school years wrapped up in this movie:)

I'm renaming the thread now.

Best,

TM

Right, the obvious question is why does Owen buy 3PO in Ep. IV.

Well, for one thing several years have passed.  3PO is painted a different color (and there are other protocol droids that look like 3PO).  

The other thing is that in SOTDS he turns to Beru and says, "Doesn't even speak Bocce."  He's a protocol droid, and he can't even do that.  He's good for nothing.

So if you look in Ep. IV in that light, Owen seems very wary of 3PO, and the resemblance is bothering him.

"Do you speak Bocce?" he says finally.

And of course 3PO claims that he does.  So Owen buys him.  The funny part being that he bought 3PO twice.  

I still haven't figured out the memory wipe issue in Ep. III though...

^^It had to do with introducing 3PO in Ep. II rather than having Anakin build him in Ep. I.  It was a plot related thing.  In SOTDS, 3PO is an annoying protocol robot dumped on the young couple by the Jawas.  Owen actually offers to pay Anakin or Padme to take the droid.

Also, 3PO's voice is different- I took his lines from the radio dramas, both for plot and because the pitch of his voice sounds like the OT now.

I don't know how video to film would relate to 1 ccd and 3ccd...but what you're saying makes sense to me, and I do know that film has a much wider dynamic range than HD...

I think we should definitely look more at this if there's time- stretching out the color space in a natural way would be a lot better than losing a lot of the color, which is what happened in a lot of scenes.  I wanted to desaturate it some, but now in some cases it just looks like a faded print.

Scenes like the droid factory, though, I don't want to play around with too much further because the CGI was just so awful I made the whole thing dark with shadows and smoke so you couldn't really see the machines- only silhouettes of arms, cranes, etc.  I like how that turned out because the original scene was so bad and unartistic.

Those shots in the last post actually look really similar to what I did for those scenes.  I didn't go crazy on everything...just specific sequences.  

And yeah, I redubbed Lama-Su not because the original was bad but because I wanted to change almost everything he says.   In both of his scenes now he goes on a completely different spiel that actually puts the whole movie in a different light.  You'll find out what he says when it comes out, but it's very different....

Octorox said:

Hey Trooperman, your color correction looks a little odd to me. Its seems like your going for a more muted look but you gave a lot of the scenes weird tints. I think I'll play around with color correction a bit and show you my results.

Yeah, I went overboard with the purple in the chase.  I'm sure Paul has noticed that as well and probably plans to change it himself....

It was just so hard to give this any kind of realism without sometimes going to drastic measures.  I remember reading an article where it stated that most professional cinematographers were "appalled" at how bad AOTC looked in theaters (due to the still-new HD filming).  The colors are so screwed up, and combined with all the phony looking digital effects it looks like a cartoon.

In my version it doesn't, but I do think in some cases I went too far.  Hopefully we can pull back the tint but still keep that more muted look...

I think I might have it somewhere;)

Wow....I forgot those were on there.  I did a search and found the opening crawl too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-vhl-XFIxw

I didn't put any of these up, but thank you to whoever did.  

I also found my cantina scene on youtube, but whoever posted it did some fan editing of their own, dubbing it over with Biff from Back to the Future.  It made me laugh when I watched it because I've never seen anybody dub over a dub before....

PaulisDead2221 said:

Thanks for the encouragement.

I should get together a "cast list" of everyone who might need to rerecord some of their stuff.  I'm still not sure what might need to be redone.  I haven't had a chance to start editing yet (I get a DEM error when I try to open a project file, figure I just need to reinstall Vegas).  

Uh-oh...this isn't good.  Are you running the same version of Vegas?  Maybe reinstalling will do the trick...I hope so...are you running Vista?  Nothing seems to work on Vista (for me anyway).

Hey MTHaslett and Erikstormtrooper!  Darth Richard and Master Qui-Gon!  Nice to have some of the old posters back...feels like old times again:)

---------------

There is no real protocol.  What I always did was PM the voice actors, but oftentimes I'd mention it in the thread too.  I'll just list the cast here in the thread...

Anakin is me.  My voice hasn't really changed so I'll be able to rerecord all the lines you need.

Lama-Su was a user named "Nanner Split."  He's no longer available because his voice has deepened since doing the recording so the retakes would seem out-of-place.

Boba Fett was me, but I would recommend putting back the original voice unless an actual kid turns up that could do it.  

The new robot voices are me, run through various filters.

The stormtrooper voices were culled from 3 different users, all of whom did great work.  I think their usernames were: Weezer, hairy_hen, and THX, but I'd have to check.  They did really well- Weezer in particular used a very old mike, and combined with his acting he sounds exactly like a classic trooper.  If you can try and use as many of his recordings as possible, the better.

Uncle Owen and the higher-pitched Jar-Jar option were voiced by Sluggo, who is definitely available.  The new Dooku lines were also done by Sluggo, though people not familiar with the movie.

The Jar-Jar with the Australian accent (in the cut that you watched with your friends) and Mas Amedda (the blue guy with horns) were voiced by hairy_hen.  Not sure if he's still around, but I think I have his email.  I'll have to check...

The Nemodians were done by friends of Sluggo, who are not on this forum.  For any retakes, you would have to go through Sluggo and see if they can coordinate a date.  I also mixed these guys into the club scene (part 4 of the project).  

And finally, the child's voice when Anakin and Padme arrive at the house will be voiced by one of MTHaslett's children, and as you can see he's still here:)

And finally, Octorox is a new volunteer.  I haven't put together a voice test yet, but I think he'll be invaluable in redoing some things we have issues with (like Jar-Jar)

-----------------------

So it's kind of complicated, and like I said, voices like Lama-Su don't exist anymore, because Nanner Split matured and his voice dropped.  But I think that voice works really well as-is.  

The way I see it is this...creatively, after watching this through the other night, this is such a good movie.  Now, the priority is (and I think I can speak for Paul too) is to get the production values up to the point where it feels like a movie, not a rough cut.  And a lot of that has to do with the audio.  I can't wait to work with PaulisDead on getting this movie finished and out to the community.  

To quote Bing Crosby..."It's been a long, long time."

PaulisDead2221 said:

I watched one of the preliminary encodes I found on the hd with a couple of friends, and we were all super stoked.  The new voice is great.  A lot of the time we couldn't tell it was ADR.  There definitely are a couple spots that need to be rerecorded, but it might just be I need to get the level down with the rest of the mix.  The new pace and music is really cool, very vintage.  The new fx are great.  People thought Jar Jar's voice was way better, but there was still some concern over the voice, it might've also just been the mix, but it might also need a better quality recording.  I like the direction with Jar Jar though.  I haven't followed the thread intensely, so I don't know if anyone has heard the new stuff from him, but he seems more like a character from the Catina in ANH rather than...Jar Jar.

This feels like the Star Wars I thought was coming with Episode I, modern, but classic.

I didn't expect all the sequences to be in separate projects, anyway I'll look through them one at a time and write up what I think.  My instinct is to start editing away, but I realize I should talk to you first.  I'll pitch any video edits first, but audio will definitely be really fun to work on.  I'll see about doing it in Hi Def, the editing was a lot more intense than I thought, but I'll definitely try to give it the upgrade.

This is a pretty cool project everyone.  You should all be really excited.

I'm really, really excited to hear this!  After reading your comments I actually watched the movie again for the first time in months, and I got excited all over again.  I was actually just watching the movie for the plot this time, and I agree- it is really really good.  Isn't it amazing what the different soundtrack and pacing can do to improve a movie?

If you want to upgrade the video, that's great.  I wouldn't do it from scratch though unless you want to.  What I'd do is just take the HD AOTC, and split it in the exact same divisions as the standard def clips (I think it was it 6 or 7 pieces) and then just do a swap, and then tackle glitches on a case-by-case basis.  Like you said, the editing is very intense and getting things to flow right was a giant headache.  Putting everything in HD might solve a lot of problems in the long run.  We can talk more about that though....

I think it's a great idea that you suggested- going through each of my project files, taking notes on what you want to do with it or questions as to why I did something a certain way, and just dropping me a PM if you're planning on making a drastic change....

Anyway, great to hear that you and your buddies enjoyed it even in the unfinished version!  I don't care how long this takes you...I'm just excited this isn't a dead project anymore.

And remember I'm right here to help out with anything- voice redubs, lightsaber shots, contact info for the voice actors, or whatever other things come up.  

Also, to Ripplin and Octorox, THANK YOU very much for volunteering.  I definitely think we should follow through with your offers.  Maybe one of you could do Jar-Jar, or even an alternate Anakin dub in case mine doesn't work out for whatever reason.  If either of you could send me an audio test for Jar-Jar or Anakin and your voice sounds like it would work, I'll mail you a copy of the current cut so you can watch it and then dub the characters.

I'm excited now!  SOTDS is back in business:)  This is the final push it needed- a new editor, and possibly a couple new voice actors.  Thank you so much guys.  The end result will be worth it.

-TM

Finally sent the hard drive.  Sorry I took so long.  

I'm finally home from college.  I had a great time but it just ate up any spare time to do stuff like this.  Now that I'm home I can actually hang out on this site the way I used to.  

As for the project, I think it would be best if Paul starts a new thread if and when he decides to tackle it.  It's his project now (although obviously I'll still be involved).  

It sounds awful to say this, but as I mailed that hard drive earlier this week, it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, a weight that's been there since age 15.  This project started out fun, but gradually it became a monster and started to take my free time and the fun out of my life.  I am so happy that Paul is going to try to see it through to completion because he's never even seen it and he'll bring a fresh perspective to it as he finishes the audio and makes some final changes.  

Anyway, it's great to be back.  Feel free to ask any questions...I'd love to chat.  

This is still something people want to see, right?

No, I received Paul's hard drive and loaded (almost) everything onto it.  I left several audio files on my home PC though.

I will be sending the hard drive back in the next few days, and then things should start to pick up again:)

I'm holding up the works here, not Paul.  It should be ready for Paul in a couple days.  I just need to check the connection on my hard drive...

-TM

SKot said:

skyjedi2005 said:

Lucas: Howard the Duck, More American Graffiti. Star wars holiday special. episodes 1-3, clone wars. Young Indiana Jones, Kingdom of the crystal skull. Radioland Murders, Tucker the man and his dream, willow. 

I had to point out: as much as we might like to, we can't blame Lucas for the Star Wars Holiday Special.  That one was out of his hands; he didn't write it or direct it.  Just an initial story idea was the extent of his involvement...and if they'd done it the way he'd envisioned it, I'm sure it would have been much, much better.

--SKot 

That's true.  You can't blame him for this.  He publicly hated it even before it went on the air.

The discs are great.  Take these 4 discs, throw in the "1975 Casting Auditions" DVD, and then get Jambe Davar's "Making Of" trilogy, and it's the ultimate 8-disc Star Wars special feature set.

Rob said:

Trooperman said:

Well, President George Bush is not a good example of a conservative.  Unfortunately, he has proved to be a big spender...an economic liberal.

 

 Pay attention dummy, we're talking about Republicans here, not conservatives.  Neither of the two major parties are conservative, it's an abstract term as far as their concerned.  The discussion here is about "Joe Republican" and "Joe Liberal".  Since neither of the current parties are conservative, let's stick to discussing which of the two parties has a better track record in terms of running the country.

Lol- no comment necessary.

Rob said:

Have you picked up a newspaper in the last five years you retard?

Well, President George Bush is not a good example of a conservative.  Unfortunately, he has proved to be a big spender...an economic liberal.

Norton is worse than a virus.  It takes over your computer and slows it down incredibly. 

AVG Free is the best program I've used.

It's good to hear him say this.

It should be remembered, though, that Ben Burtt helped George Lucas screw up Episode II, almost single-handedly ruining John Williams' score and doing a horrible editing job.  

Hi Jambe Davar,

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your documentaries on "Empire" and "Jedi" after watching them on Youtube.  They are really fantastic and I hope someday to have all 3 of your docs on NTSC DVD when they are finished.  These are really, really great, high quality projects, the kind that remind you why you're a Star Wars fan:)

All the best,

-TM

Ripplin said:

I would be happy if Fett wasn't in the movie at all. His appearance is pretty much wasted. I think it would be neat to have him solely as the ESB guy that got Solo. We know it was him who brought Han to Jabba, and it could be like he just moved on to his next bounty. One major job down, onto the next one. ;)

I don't know how it would be done, but I agree that Fett is a pretty useless character in ROTJ.  Why is he still hanging out with Jabba?  He has no story in ROTJ, no reason to be there.

Exactly:)

MTHaslett said:

Infodroid-- I just had a wild ass idea about how to handle this movie without a flashback. Good timing, huh?

Watching your edit brought out so much of what is great in this movie and made me see an even better movie hidden in the material...

Anyone want to hear ideas for another edit on this pile of rough diamonds?

 

Everybody, the correct answer is "yes."  Yes, you want to hear his ideas.  

He's a story-making genius:)