Tsiskwa

Don’t know if anyone is still following this thread, but I thought I’d offer an update on my Game of Thrones Consistency edit. I’m currently on Season 3. I’d love to hear thoughts / input, and if anyone is interested in collaborating, I’m very interested in that as well. Here are my current dilemmas (in terms of decision making as opposed to technical challenges):

• Martyn and Willem Lannister, Episodes 3 and 5: Martyn is played by Charles Dean Chapman, the same actor who later played Tommen. This is a unique problem, because I’ve otherwise been dealing with re-cast characters, not re-cast actors. I think these scenes are important for the story, because they eventually lead to the execution of Lord Karstark, which precipitates decisions leading to the Red Wedding. So I don’t think I can cut them out. But they are also minor characters that were never portrayed by other actors, so I don’t have any basis to attempt a deepfake. Do I just leave it? What do you think?

• Exterior establishing shots: Thus far, I haven’t attempted any of this yet, but it’s time to start considering it. Season 3 Riverrun is virtually devoid of establishing shots, so I’m considering lifting some from Season 6 to insert and establish consistency. But this got me thinking about other locations. I already plan to use the Season 1 Eyrie instead of Season 4, but I don’t know what I want to do yet with Vaes Dothrak. I need to make a decision between its Season 1 and Season 6 incarnations. Season 1 was much more realistic, but Season 6 was much more over the top epic scale. I think I’m leaning towards the Season 1 version, but again, what do you think?

I’m still working on my consistency edit. I actually just picked it up again today with Season 2. Yes, it is a years’ long effort, and I’m not a pro by any means, but I’m trying. (I’m actually rather shocked that with the vastness of the fan editing community that I seem to be the only one trying to do the entire series.) I’d be interested to see your Long Night edit if you end up doing it.

I’m sorry to have missed this thread, as I am also working on a GoT edit, though I’m trying to do the entire series. I would love to see your edit if you are able to share a link! I’m quite curious as to how you managed to actually do some of what you describe above.

That’s cool, @gotedits11 ! I actually personally like a lot of those elements of the show, but I think it’s good to build the community for this. I love GoT, and really don’t like how the fandom turned against it in the end. It’s honestly not unlike a betrayal we might see in Westeros. I ran into some technical issues with my Beric face swap deep fake, so I’m experimenting with a new method. Hoping to get a more streamlined work process for doing these.

@RogueLeader - These are definitely minor, mostly unnecessary fixes at this point, I realize. However, I think they’re important from a learning perspective. If I can learn enough from doing these, hopefully I’m better prepared to tackle things like Daario. And we’re not even talking about Seasons 7 & 8 yet. Haha.

Hello all. I just happened to see that there were some new replies here. I have started my edit of the whole series, and expect it to take until my now seven year old son is actually old enough to watch it with me. Haha. Anyway, I did a deepfake to replace Myrcella in S1E2 with the later actress, and have edited out some unnecessary shots with the first actress where possible. I’m stuck on the Mountain and Lord Beric though. Going to see if I can find any footage of the later Beric, maybe from other works, that I might be able to use. Other random thoughts at the moment are Daario, and that time Melisandre took off her necklace in S4. Those will be challenging, and that’s not even getting to S7 and S8. Still interested to collaborate if anyone else is interested

Those are some great ideas about using audio from extras, etc. I personally think if that device is employed though, best to keep it as a sign of Dany’s mental state. It wasn’t something employed stylistically in the show, and so I think it’s overuse could create dissonance. I liked your Long Night intro, but would constructively offer that it is a stylistic change from the overall tone of the series.

Your removal of Daenerys from Euron’s ambush was very well done, and it’s an interesting idea to move Rhaegal’s death to The Bells. I love that it isn’t Euron who gets him. (I seriously could not stand the show version of that character). Also nice to see Daenerys actually be able to do something with her anger afterwards. My main constructive point I’d offer here is that Dragonstone is still visible in the shot of the two dragons flying together. It might be possible to roto it out if you absolutely need that shot.

Looking forward to getting started with some of the ideas being discussed here.

Apologies for this delayed response. There hasn’t been much activity on the thread and so I honestly forgot to check. In any case, I certainly think a collective effort, or working together as a team, is a feasible way to approach such a project. A fan-edit of a single film, or even a trilogy, is a daunting task. Sometimes even a single scene. But we are talking about approximately 80 hours of footage, all told. I know we’re not talking about changing much early on, but it’s still a lot, and some of these ideas will be technically challenging to execute well.

I’m a bit torn about changing the story, or straying from the source material. While I’m certainly tempted, I think the safer option is to keep things as is, but try to improve the execution.

Regarding consistency, that is a major motivation for me. We should definitely swap in Von Sidow for the first appearance of the TER, for example. For the astute viewer, these changes simply don’t make sense. (Are we supposed to believe the guy shaved or something?)

As for “The Bells”, I think the issues don’t really lie in the episode itself, but in the lead-up in previous episodes and previous seasons. Sure, making Daenerys come across as more ruthless earlier on is a possibility. But I don’t think we should attempt to telegraph her switch too strongly. The story does an excellent job in the very beginning of hiding both its ultimate protagonist and antagonist, and allowing the viewer to unknowingly cheer for the villain. It’s a theme that has much to say about the nature of good and evil and our perception of such. Her destruction in King’s Landing should remain both shocking and painful to watch. (It just needs to make sense.) So, I say let her hear the bells. That is the moment when she snaps, and I think it is important to maintain. The lead-in for the episode actually did well with the voice-over flashback montage from previous seasons. Perhaps that is an idea that could be incorporated into the main storyline. (Is she hearing voices? Etc.) The books do seem to hint at this, and it could be fun to play around with.

Splitting things into shorter episodes for the final season is also an interesting idea. Thus far, I haven’t yet purchased the previous seasons (been holding out for some crazy boxed set or something cool). So, I’ve only seen the aired episodes. But does anyone know if there are any extras or deleted scenes ripe for finishing and including, etc.?

I really like some of these ideas. (FYI I haven’t seen it personally, but I read somewhere that HBO had already removed the coffee cup from subsequent showings.) Some of these are nearing impossibility though, in my opinion. For example, even the professionals didn’t do a perfect job putting Lena Headey’s head on her body double for the walk of shame, and they had both actresses available in person. But I think you’ve got the right idea for my thoughts on establishing consistency and continuity, at the very least.

Have any of you seen the “Last Watch” documentary? During the table read for season 8, I noticed that those final scenes seem to have not been a part of the original script (as I suspected). After Daenerys’ death, the script reads “(Jon) looks down at what he’s done, terrible, and necessary. End of Game of Thrones.”

This scene still has so much wrong with it. Not due to your editing, mind you. But you’re not starting with choice material. It represents such a tonal shift from the previous scenes and makes little narrative sense. I’d argue for its removal altogether, (along with the small council scene), maybe find some other way to get to the ending montage, or change the ending entirely somehow.

I would be delighted to take part in this sort of effort. My list of edit ideas has been growing for years. There are definitely some things that need to happen with season 8, and I love that re-cut of Rhaegal’s death. Makes so much more sense. In particular, there’s a lot in-between Dany’s death and the final montage that needs to go. What I’d love to see is a “consistency edit”. For example, things like the Eyrie should look the same in all seasons, rather than undergoing a complete re-design retcon. One of the most jarring changes was Daario, but that would be a major undertaking.