To be truthful, the Buzzdroids DID add a good amount of danger. But they were just to... dumb.
I'll see what I can do with the Anakin helping lines. I want to explore every possible option to make the scene as good as can be.
I've been debating about that part personally, actually.
But it doesn't really seem to fit with the dangerous mood I've tried to establish. I want the droids to seem dangerous to both the clones AND the Jedi. But I don't know.
I went to cut it out today, but I dunno. Now that I'm looking at it, it's almost a shame to see it go. It's one of those hokey moments that you'd expect to see in a matinee adventure.
Ooh, haha. That is a silly face.
I hadn't really noticed that before. Now that I see it, it's distracting, haha.
I'll see what I can do about it.
Ah sneaky! It was hard to tell it was even there! Which is a good thing, I might add.
Ah, I see your point.
If you can't change all the prequel screens, you can compromise and meet halfway, I suppose.
Ah, right. The remaining shots of blue force fields are because I haven't finished all the shots yet. Well, actually - I've already done all the blue forcefield shots, but they looked really bad, so some of the ones I've put in that video were the redone ones. I just haven't redone all the shots. No need to worry :) Thanks for pointing it out!
I'll definitely be fixing the "They're all over me!" line. Probably changing the clone's line, as there are more to choose from (Republic commando, The Clone Wars, etc)
The work in this video is very professional. If I wasn't familiar with the original, I would hardly notice the changes. (Unlike those blasted SE and DVD changes).
The HUD on the screen and the glass animations were flawless, though they do come across as kind of prequelish.
I'm not sure exactly which face grimace thing you're talking about. Which shot are you talking about?
Yeah, the music is definitely very temporary, and I'm still working on making it flow well.
In a week or so, I'll be uploading a tweaked version with more of the visual effects done as well, so y'all can look forward to that.
In the meantime, I'll take all the suggestions into careful consideration.
I think so. It might be a little cheesy, but Star Wars has always had cheesy lines. Also, it helps the scene flow a bit, because he actually acknowledges Anakin. Other edits that take the line out make it look like Obi-Wan is ignoring Anakin during the whole opening because they never actually talk to one another.
Oh wow, I wasn't expecting people to have a hard time understanding the words. But that's maybe because I'm the one who recorded them, haha. Perhaps once I have some better recording equipment, the higher quality will make it easier to hear.
As far as coughing goes, I've been having trouble thinking of a good replacement. His movements make it hard to be anything else. I was thinking he could be shouting something, but that might be cheesy.
On an entirely different note, here's another video. The first 3:40 of my edit. Sounds still very temporary, and some visuals are incomplete.
Alright, in the meantime, I'm going to go back to a previous discussion about General Grievous' voice. I took the liberty of making a little mockup:
I will take all of these suggestions into consideration!
"You must trust me to do what is right" :D
I hadn't actually considered that - Dooku coming in floor-level.
Though I've actually always been a fan of Dooku flipping down onto the floor and epically drawing his saber. The sound design is so cool in that shot.
However, I HAVE cut the fight in such a way that they never go upstairs, which makes it much less silly.
I have returned after some absence to show off one of the changes I'm making to the movie:
Yeah, I'm really liking this "raspy and menacing" voice.
I'll see if I can pull something like that off, and I'll have a demo clip up in a bit.
Yeah, true. I loved his cloak with the collar in the Clone Wars cartoon. But... can't change the visuals.
Hopefully a new voice and more menacing sound effects in general coming from him will give him some more dignity.
Well, regardless of what his accent is, I think in order to make him a more serious character, his voice needs to be changed.
There are too many cartoony accents in the PT. We never had anything like that in the original Star Wars.
Yeah! They could change in a really retro way, like a slide projector. A little "ka-chunk" and a new color slides in.
Totally off-topic.
What if...
General Grievous is actually Syfo-Dyas, who was "Killed 10 years ago", but revived as General Grievous? And he's actually an agent for Palpatine who's in with the whole conspiracy?
Oh yes, absolutely.
It's just that recently, I've been occupying myself with the menial grunt-work of visual changes.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this outright, but I plan on adding Palpatine dialogue with an impersonator. I'm going to harmonize Anakin wanting to save Padme with his lust for power. Anakin in the end will be seduced by the Dark Side, and not tricked into it in order to save Padme. He knows what he's getting into, and I'm going to do that with new dialogue. It's kind of secretive as to how, at the moment.
Also, I have a rather BIG plan in the works for General Grievous, who will most likely be redubbed.
Apart from this, many of my changes are changing the tone and mood of scenes, such as Anakin killing Mace Windu, which I've recut in such a way that it feels like more of a powerful moment. Music and sound changes are a big part of that.
It's not the emphasis on Anakin, it's the emphasis on his "destiny" as opposed to who he is and what he does.
The OT had an emphasis on Luke, but it was about who he was and what he did, not what he was destined to do or anything. He learned and grew as a character as we learned and grew as an audience.
That doesn't happen with Anakin, which is the problem. The prequels are too event-driven, so the characters take a back seat. It's the other way around in the OT, which made them so memorable.
I've already concluded in my mind that I'm not going to try to do the whole "Grievous is Maul" subplot. It's way too much work for something that I don't think pays off ultimately. The story is supposed to be about Anakin, after all. Not Maul and Obi-Wan.
However, I do have plans to alter the Grievous character into somebody more compelling. Somebody who you actually can care about, and not just a random excuse to show off CGI.
Yeah, red might work really well too. I'll definitely try that out.