Feeling very inspired by bbghost’s removal of the Jedi voices in TROS. Here’s a take I had for the third act.
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Pretty sure a crawl is supposed to have four periods at the end. A small detail, to be sure, but it would be a welcome one.
Pretty sure you’re right. That’s an easy fix (thank goodness). I’ll note that for my project and correct it with the final upload. Thanks!
I know the object tracking isn’t perfect and the crawl isn’t 100% there but this is my first 4K test footage. Let me know your thoughts!
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It’s all good. I appreciate the advocacy but if Hal tried it and it’s not right for Ascendant then no worries. If you have any other thoughts or feedback about some of my edits I’d love to hear about it in the ideas redux thread!
It is a 4K HDR rip but I don’t have a setup capable of doing HDR grading so I’m converting to SDR. The file size is huge and there may have been a different way to do all this but I’m incredibly pleased with the results so far. Once I’ve got the graded work print complete I’d be happy to post some comparisons but honestly, a lot of the credit has to go to skenera as it is their LUTs that I’m using as the basis for my project.
First, thank you sade1212 for the kind and thoughtful post. I only recently picked this project back up again after about 11 months and I am nearly finished with the tone mapping and re-grading of my 4K HDR rip. Going through the whole film like that has been both incredibly frustrating and inspiring. I had to get some of these ideas out just to see if this cut is even going to work. Regarding some of your critiques:
The implication here is the master has just as much distrust of the apprentice as the reverse. Palpatine knows Kylo fought alongside Rey after killing Snoke and that he is still drawn to her. He senses consequences both for Kylo and his plans if they continue down that path so he issues a warning–one that is both true and manipulative. Those were my thoughts when doing the edit. I have since made some minor enhancements to the edit points and overall dialogue mix but left it very much in its current state. I’ll sit with that for a bit and see if it works in my cut or not.
The dyad of it all is a tough nut to crack. The only time Palpatine brings it up is with a sequence that would be hard to sell (even with creative editing) as anything other than shock. I think it’s credible that Snoke/Palpatine bridged their minds initially but was not aware of their true, underlying nature as a dyad and so it caught him unawares which gave him the opportunity to pivot–again. I have toyed with the idea of replacing the “restores the one true emperor” line with “your coming together is your undoing” because it feels more sinister and less ‘villain explain-y’ but it may not fit and that’s even more overdubbing/off-screen lines.
The changes in the Nobody Palpatine scene are admittedly subtle but hopefully give the impression of more cohesive themes throughout. I’m truly glad you liked the “you are his granddaughter” change.
Let me just say–I hate blowing up Kijimi. BUT if Palpatine were ever to do a galaxy-wide broadcast that would be his moment. Plus, it gives a reason for the galaxy to get involved in the end. Gone is the awkwardness of everyone having heard the Emperor has returned in the very beginning only to do a high-stakes mission to meet with a potential First Order spy to receive a critical message that…the Emperor is back? By leaving that information as new intel actually gathered by the Resistance and then having Palpatine’s wider reveal where it naturally slots in–it just feels right.
Regarding Exogul–this is the one that stings. Once you pointed out that it looks like Kylo and the Knights of Ren are just standing around staring at each other waiting for the plot to advance I couldn’t unsee it. Very obvious and thank you for pointing that out. I’ve corrected my error and made some other slight adjustments.
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Now back to work. This 4K work print isn’t going to color correct itself (unfortunately [also huge shout out to skenera for the LUTs])!
Yeah. Listening back this morning it is pretty rough. I agree that Hal’s take is the way to go. Oh well—fun thought experiment though. Also, the ‘no’ was lifted from the Pasaana exchange when Rey accuses Kylo of ‘serving another master.’
The point of having “You were right” was to help with the retcon from TLJ
What if you tried ‘No. Never to you.’? I think it clears the inconsistency and underscores their bond.
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I’ve got some ideas to hopefully add some clarity to this film. Highlights:
Palpatine always wanted Rey dead until his plans were interrupted
Kylo was being groomed for eventual Sith possession but not until Rey was handled
Rey’s parents were not noble protectors but garbage people who knew Palpatine was searching for their daughter and dropped their shipment at the first sign of an Imperial Cruiser (so to speak)
Palpatine is a lying liar who lies to goad and corrupt Rey into causing her own Sith possession. He pivots whenever the circumstances change. First with Rey instead of Kylo and then again when finding out they are a Dyad.
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Enjoy!
I like the cut of your jib, DZ-330
Could you isolate and manipulate the line from the D23 special look to say, “her journey is nearing its end” to imply his plans have changed to focus on Rey?
Can you send me a link? Appreciate it!
I know the whole trailer music thing has been beaten to death but I am ‘working’ on the version placed over the climactic confrontation. I like where it’s sitting but I haven’t nailed the blending in and out. Yet.
That said I find inspiration in avoidance and have temporarily turned to my own cut of the battle for my 4K edit that is very much a work in progress. I still plan on using Topaz AI to upscale some of the VFX work of other editors and slot in the purple saber and force ghosts where appropriate but this is feeling like a pretty good first draft. Thoughts?
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https://www.youtu.be/39pbFow9gzg
For what it’s worth I also use his Battle of the Heroes and Duel of the Fates mashup over the Death Star lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo. That one is available below:
I’d be happy to try my hand at it and see if I can get it to blend. I’m new to fan editing myself and know the learning curve can be daunting but it’s opened up so many new and exciting possibilities. Keep at it and let me know when your cut is finished. I’d love to check it out.
Thanks mate. I needed a break from the color correcting and wanted to see if I could sneak it in. It was definitely a cool thought experiment.
Hey all, this is completely unrelated to the current topic of conversation but I used Samuel Kim’s version of the final Star Wars trailer music in a pivotal scene (linked below). I know it breaks conventions but I really dig it and thought someone else might enjoy it as well. Cheers!
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Quick update: I took a mental break from color correcting/mapping the HDR to SDR because it is tedious and I’m learning as I go. I’ve finally got a decent workflow and will post updates as available. That said…
I know it’s breaking with convention but I had an idea for the trailer music and I will link to it below. Password is fanedit. Enjoy!
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PM sent!
PM sent! Also, I just received delivery confirmation of my new hard drive so I’ll be converting the 4K Rip to ProRes and recreating the edit over the next couple of weeks. If all is successful and the project benefits from the higher resolution I will absolutely make it available assuming whoever requests it already owns the official 4K version. Check this page for updates.
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Major project update added to original post
I’ve put together an alternate opening that builds off a previous suggestion regarding the overall pacing. At first blush it does appear to flow well and I do like it but I wonder if it makes sense to cut so much of the action in the first act. We’re beginning to stray from show don’t tell territory into imply don’t show. Anyway—things to ponder. Thoughts are definitely welcome.
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I see. I can extend the Rey and Leia exchange but that reintroduces the weird handing back and forth of the lightsaber as well as the continuity issue later of some shots where she has the saber and others where she doesn’t. It is a minor gripe though so if wiping from that to Rey running to meet the crew returning with the falcon improves flow I am all for it. I’ll do a mock up later to see how it sits to lose the back half of the spy sequence.
PM sent!