- Post
- #292155
- Topic
- Return of the Jedi - The Spence Edit
- Link
- https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/292155/action/topic#292155
- Time
When i first read your intentions i was quite eager to see an edit without those horrible Ewoks. I was dying to see how you would be able to remove them without causing damage to the story and still have the final battle play out. I know this is going to sound harsh but i have to be honest here and say i was disappointed with what i saw.
It all just seemed to me that you had rushed the edit and just taken out every shots that contained Ewoks without actually thinking of the consequences of these actions or spent any time blending shots together. You would definitely have benefited from posting some clips to receive feedback before releasing it. The cuts are very jarring. This edit would have benefited if you had taken more time on the audio track. Each time you made an edit it hits you right in the face because the audio track has horrible cuts. If you had blended each cut on the audio side then the cuts may not have been so noticeable. The cuts also lead to some confusion in the story. At one point you cut from Luke having just cut down the speeder bike, to the Death Star, then back to Luke & Leia in some strange location talking about their mother and Leia is now wearing the tribal costume, then luke Gives himself up to vader. The next time we see the rebels the battle has already begun and it loses any sort of build up the battle originally had. You cut out any scenes where the rebels were approaching the shield generator which could easily have been left in whilst still cutting out Ewoks. This would have helped no end as a lead up to the battle. Some added wipes between a few of the cuts would also have helped smooth things out. Sony Vegas would be an invaluable program for an edit like this because it contains most of the wipes used in the Star Wars Movies. Also consider using the HD sources for where you could just zoom in on an area to remove an Ewok or Ewoks rather than cutting the shot completely, but without losing too much quality.
You have the basis of an amazing edit here Spence101287. Bouncing ideas back & forth from the great members here would have been your best bet to producing your vision. You could also get help & tips about your audio editing and even someone could possibly help you remove Ewoks from shots or scenes you need for the story to progress smoothly.
I will say that i love the ending. Having the force ghosts as the final shot is a great idea. you do need to add some added ambient FX though. It just sounds strange with music only. And also having your main audio track as mono and then the music cuts in in glorious stereo also jumped out too much.
I say seriously think about a Version 2 for this edit. Get the help and advise you need and go for it. If you need any help or advise just give me a shout cuz i'd be more than willing to help out where i could, time permitting. This has the makings of a great edit
i think i need to go back to school. 
