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daneditor

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11-Jun-2010
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23-Mar-2024
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267

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Post
#663110
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Great post.

I didn't know about Peter Weir being in the running - he would have been a great choice. He's a massively underrated director, IMO, who seems capable of making pretty much any kind of movie he puts his mind to.

Of course Lucas probably didn't want a talented free thinking director after what happened with Kershner.

If/when I make any further changes (I have a list of about 20 things to try out from Bingowings alone) I'll let you know.

Post
#663007
Topic
The Phantom Menace: Radical Re-Edit
Time

Bumping this thread for a few reasons:

I'm gonna upload the mkv to MySpleen this week. I'll update here when it's gone live.

The latest version isn't the same one krloz had seen (see two posts up). It's 3 minutes longer, more polished, and using a blu-ray source instead of DVD. Basically it's less horribly amateurish.

Also, it's better if discussion of this edit was kept here instead of cluttering up Frink's request thread.

Still not sure if I should go with "Lone Gungan" or "Radical Re-edit". It's either the clever pun or tying it to my ROTJ edit. Probably the latter.

 

Post
#662682
Topic
TV's Frink's Star Wars Fanedit Upload Request Thread In Which You Can Request That I Upload A Star Wars Fanedit And I Will Respond Yay Or Nay (CHECK FIRST POST BEFORE MAKING REQUESTS)
Time

darth_ender said:

Daneditor is the same guy as yads, the guy who edited the Lone Gungan Edition.  You can always send him a PM here and I know he'd be happy to provide you with an AVI.

I've just sent the Mega links to Akratus.

Personally I'm kind of embarrassed by that edit, but hopefully he'll enjoy it anyway.

Post
#660291
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Re: the Jerjerrod scene:

Making Jerjerrod more antagonistic would definitely benefit the scene, although I've just watched the deleted scene in question and he looks anxious in pretty much every shot. It was unfortunate that they went with such a weak and uninteresting character. I get that they didn't want to repeat the Tarkin character again, but there had to be something better than this.

Still, I think you've isolated the main problems with this scene, so I'll play around with reducing his reaction shots and make him seem as villainous as I can.

Cutting down the close ups and more fancy battle shots also makes sense, and I'll see what I can do - but again it's a case of being restricted by the available footage. That stuff comes from "Makazie One", which is a relatively well shot fan film... ironically in this case it might have been better if it was shot less well.

If there was some way to link this scene to the ones preceding and following it would help. But I can't think of any way to do that other than creating elaborate special effects shots. Like, for instance, the TIE ships could then be shown exiting the area, and we see them leave from Han and Leia's POV by the bunker.

I suppose my point is that the Jerjerrod scene feels a bit disconnected from everything else.

Re: 3PO and the Ewoks:

I don't really have a problem with how it plays now, but it might work better abridged. It's worth trying out.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Post
#659523
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

"I have to say I was amazed by the effectiveness of the rough edit in this thread that panned down to Degobah from the crawl and showed Luke in training with Yoda. THAT is what I wanted ROTJ to start like. Then Vader hunting Luke. Yes! That's what this movie was supposed to be about. It feels to me like you have the ingredients of a miracle there, but I don't know from vfx and can only wish it were in your power."

I spent a couple of weeks playing around with Luke using the Force to build his lightsaber. It was supposed to harken back to Yoda lifting the X-wing from the swamp, and be a sort of emotional sequel to that scene, with Luke now showing himself the master. I love the idea (Ben Danger's idea, if I recall correctly). Ben kindly let me use it in the edit, but the special effects shots looked just plain awful no matter what I did. I just couldn't get the lightsaber parts to look like they were within the scene. I'm sure someone with After Effects skills could get it right (Adywan no doubt could in his sleep). But it was just a horrible execution of a fantastic idea, so unfortunately it had to go.

There was also the created "problem", if that scene is included, of there being no need for the lightsaber deleted scene in the cave, a scene I like, and one that nicely transitions from Vader on the DS to Tatooine - far more elegantly so than the theatrical version. And obviously it plays into the primary theme of this edit: the Luke and Vader conflict. Although I suppose you could argue he was just testing it with his screwdriver or whatever, to make sure the screws were in right, before heading to Jabba's, where he knew he'd have to use it.

But I wouldn't want to cut that deleted scene, and arguably it was superfluous so long as the other scene was in. IMO that deleted scene should never have been cut in the first place. It's mind blowing that ROTJ has so much extraneous BS throughout and they cut a genuine moment between protagonist and antagonist.

"Regarding the Ben scene, I have always disliked it as well. But in the placement where it would fall on Endor, it actually brings a narrative boost-- just when Luke needs to see Ben. I would venture to suggest a version where Ben says something new, recutting what is there to work with. I think it might be that he hints at Leia's relationship to him and then Luke puts it together, or Ben avoids the subject altogether."


I can see your point, for sure. My concern is about how those Endor scenes between landing on the moon and Luke surrendering to Vader are already the slowest and dullest part of the edit, and I'm not sure I'd want to put Ben's exposition and over-explaining in the middle of that slowness. But making that scene (somehow... no idea how other than the use of more ominous music) one that confirms to Luke how alone he really is in this battle would be a good step forward. But I definitely wouldn't want to include the Leia as sister exposition portion of the conversation. I like that Luke comes to that realisation himself, as evidence of his growing Force intuition.

"Sorry to be pitching you ideas you have already discarded. I realize I'm doing that and can only hope you see I'm not trying to be argumentative."

I don't think you're being argumentative at all. It's interesting to read your perspective.

Post
#659334
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

MTHaslett said:

Very impressed! Love the effect of the new scenes on Tatooine and, particularly, the juxtaposition of Luke's mechanical hand wound with Vader. The connection between Luke and Vader is so much stronger in this edit and the movie is so much the better for it.

I was hoping to see two ideas that didn't make it-- the assembly of the lightsaber on Degobah and the convo with Ben Kenobi outside the Imperial shuttle. I may have missed reading posts that explain why these had to be cut, but they seemed like excellent ideas and I missed them.

So, that seems unfair as I type it, but it may be another way of saying that the Degobah and "Leia, you're my sister" scenes seem like my least favorite still in this much improved edit. I think you had good fixes in the above ideas, so if there's a chance of making them work, I urge that.

The restaging of the battle on Endor with the lost footage and the additional battle footage is an awesome thing. My instinct creatively is that it's taken a little far and that less would be more. The Death Star commander gets more screen time here than feels warranted. So, I love the idea, but could love it more.

I loved some of the additions to the final battle. It's a very tough finale to pull off well. I have found that my favorite version is in the Spence Edit where Palpatine is on the Executor and the Vader/Luke saber fight is cut into one long battle. At this point, marrying much of what you've accomplished here with Vader and Luke to the Spence Edit would create my preferred version.

I feel these notes are sub-par. I will watch again for more specific ideas and read the thread more carefully. I congratulate you on this. My qualms feel small compared to all you successfully pull off!

Thanks for the review. Appreciated.

Re: assembling the lightsaber on Dagobah and Ben's chat by the shuttle. Those were ideas bounced around in this thread and elsewhere, but I haven't edited those scenes. Constructing the lightsaber on Dagobah I like as a concept although I think it works fine on Tatooine, but the Ben scene IMO is deadweight and best cut from the movie.

I agree that the Jerjerrod scene runs a little long, but I'm not sure what you could cut, other than just ditching the whole scene: the ground battle is chaos... he orders in the TIE bombers... boom! I'm not married to the scene though, so might just ditch it. At the very least the music needs reworking.

Editing the Luke/Vader fight into one long scene is an idea that Ator also advocated. Ator found a way to also cut the Luke/Leia sibling subplot seemlessly, which is something I'd like to do. The only concern for me is that the movie would be even shorter than it is now. Taking out the Luke/Leia stuff would take the edit under 1 hour 50 minutes, and it starts to feel too short for a SW movie.

Post
#658250
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Darth Blacken said:

This edit keeps getting better and better. The sense of urgency that is created for the Rebellion is right on track. The only thing that slows this down is on Endor - when Luke, Han, etc. allow themselves to be captured by Ewoks for no determined reason. This has nothing to do with your editing Daneditor, as this was the original film idea obviously. This never made sense to me - to slow down the Rebellion's biggest offensive by being captured. Han and Luke didn't know that Leia was with the Ewoks, so why waste time to be tied up and hauled away?

The only way around this (that I could think of) is to insert quick dialogue from from another SW movie. Dialogue that says the Ewoks have Leia, giving reason for the group to be captured. Example (paraphrased):

Threepio: I do believe they think I am some sort of god. I could be mistaken...they are using a very primitive dialect.

Han: ...why don't you use your divine influence, and get us out of here?

Insert dialogue from A New Hope (Death Star scene) here:

Artoo beeps rapidly

Threepio:...he says "I found her," and keeps repeating she's here.

Luke: The princess, she's here?

Back to ROTJ dialogue now:

Luke: Han, it will be all right. Chewie, give them your crossbow.

SCENE continues normally, with the group being captured.

Interesting idea, but I wouldn't want to include dialogue from ANH. Perhaps there's a line or two in the ROTJ radio play that could be added instead.

As for your general point about how the edit slows down when they reach Endor, it really does. And it's probably my least favourite section of the edit. But the edit is about 1h50m right now, and I wouldn't want to cut it down much more. Actually I'd rather add another 10 minutes, but unless "Tydirium" finally gets released and has amazing content I don't see how I can.

Post
#656766
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Bingowings said:

I think you could have more ROTJ dialogue in that opening from the Emperor's arrival in the theatrical version.

PALPATINE : Rise my friend. I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker?

VADER : Yes my master.

PALPATINE : Go to the Death Star and await him.

VADER: He will come to me?

PALPATINE : His compassion for you will be his undoing. He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the Dark Side of the Force.

VADER: Yes my master.

These lines are practically said twice in the same picture it makes more sense to condense them into one conversation and have it at the beginning as it sets out what the Emperor has in mind for Luke and leads to Luke on Dagobah.

I really like this idea. Next time I do some work on this edit I'll try to do something along these lines. The only problem I can see is that when Palpatine says "Death Star" it's from the TESB SE, and McDiarmid's voice had deepened noticeably by then. Last year I played around with trying to change the pitch to match how he sounded in 1983 but to no avail.

"After the glove going on the stinger to the sequence could be our first view of the Death Star out of the window."

Nice idea. I doubt I could pull it off (see: nonexistent fx abilities), but I'll give it a shot.

"As for briefing my only suggestion here would be to swap Threepio's lines in this act.

So when Luke joins the crowd he says "here we go again" and when the leave "Exciting is hardly the word I would use"."

Agreed. I would have cut the second line years ago but the audio editing was problematic. Guess I could give it another shot, but my philosophy has always been to leave things alone unless the change can be made smoothly.

"I have to agree with Ryan, the squished shots must go they really do detract from the ideas on display here."

I thought I'd got rid of all the squished shots by now. Obviously I missed some.

"I wish there was a way to replace Yoda repeating his first lesson to Luke (which turn out to be inaccurate) with ...

YODA : Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those who transform into the Force. Mourn them not, miss them not.

It was such a great line that it seems better served in ROTJ."

(Another) good idea, but I wonder if Frank Oz's voice had also deepened and changed in the intervening years. I'll add this to my list of things to try in the next workprint.

Thanks again for all your thoughts. Appreciated muchly.

Post
#655732
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Bingowings, thanks for the review. I'm on holiday for the week in tropical Bournemouth, so can't do a detailed breakdown of your points right now, but when I get back home I'll go through them. Lots of great suggestions, for which I'm grateful.

And regarding your last paragraph, that's exactly my intention for this edit: I don't have any special effects skills (as you can now attest) but hopefully these ideas can someday become part of a definitive ROTJ edit. There's definitely a decent, though not great, movie to be found in here somewhere.

 

Post
#655003
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

EyeShotFirst said:

Really, really enjoyed this edit. You're editing of the Jabba parts is what sold me. The subtitles actually made Jabba more, gangster. The lines were scumbaggy enough that Ray Liotta or Harvey Keitel could've said 'em. You cut and arranged the whole sequence to be much faster, and more Star Warsy. I didn't miss Boba Fett either.


That long drawn out scene on the bridge with Luke and Leia trimmed brilliantly.

 

Liked the inclusion of bits of music that were cut from Empire and Jedi. Reminded me of Shadows of the Empire hearing the intro bit.

 

All in all, this was a real treat. Some fine visual adjustments here and there, but a solid edit all around.

Thanks for the review, and glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Post
#646550
Topic
Aalenfae's PREQUEL TRILOGY (Heavily delayed - computer exploded)
Time

aalenfae said:

Now, to finally deliver... Here's a new clip from RotS! Enjoy! http://vimeo.com/68873911

Fantastic work! The one tiny complaint I would make is how weird and unnatural-looking the platform falls on Obi-Wan. At least to my eyes that bit never looked right. Although I doubt there's anything you could do about it.

Really impressive editing choices throughout - very different to how I would have approached the scene and much, much better.

Post
#645482
Topic
Idea & Suggestion: Making fan edits of Buffy seasons 4-7.
Time

Knightmessenger said:

to be honest, season 4 was my favorite.

I thought 5 suffered from not revealing certain parts of the plot soon enough, especially how the audience found out some information before the main characters did. We find out the main identity of Glory about midway through the season. Yet the characters don't know this until almost the end. And we don't know why they don't know until Spike tells them who Glory is.

I just thought that we as the audience should have been not given away the secret until the characters figured it out, so as to mimic their experience.

Season 4 is my favourite as well. It always amazes me how many people think it's the worst. Season 1 and 7 are incomparably worse.

Season 5 could definitely be edited into a Glory/Dawn movie. Maybe a 3-4 hour mini series.

The first thing I ever fanedited was Buffy season 7. The potentials, Kennedy, Buffy's speachifying, the way the Scoobies get sidelined for less interesting new characters, an incorporeal and boring antagonist. In the end I gave up - those are too many handicaps to overcome.

Post
#645380
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Thanks for the feedback.

I really like both those ideas. The shot of Fett falling is terrible so this would be a nice workaround. I'd probably also show his body dead on the ground as I like that shot, but it's definitely something worth playing around with.

Jabba's dialogue is mostly from my "Dan Edit" from a couple of years ago, and for some reason I kept trying to make Jabba funny - but I think I prefer your reunion line. The dialogue in there is intended to convey that Jabba knew it was Leia all along, but it clearly wasn't effective.

And feel free to give out copies to anyone you want.

Post
#645335
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

Thanks for the review.

The conversation between the droids is basically just exposition to let the audience know where everyone is at the start of the movie. Because in this edit we've already seen Chewie, Lando and Leia there is no need IMO for the dialogue exchange. I also think the pacing is better without it.

The Emperor saying "my friend" in a menacing way is foreshadowing the end of the film where Palpatine betrays Vader. It's a very difficult scene to get right because there are so few lines of dialogue to draw from. It really has to be something from Jedi as McDiarmid's voice deepened markedly when he did the TESB lines and prequels.

I agree with your criticism of the Luke/Leia plot. I may end up putting the whole dialogue exchange in the Ewok village back in. It doesn't work at the moment.

I'm glad for the most part you enjoyed it. Thanks again.

Post
#645128
Topic
Return of the Jedi: Radical Re-Edit (Released)
Time

First off, thanks a lot for the detailed (and favourable) review! Much appreciated.

I'll to do something about the squished shots. There used to be quite a lot scattered throughout the edit - the most glaring example left is Han during Fett's final scene (a shot that has to be cut).

I agree totally that Fett's subtitles aren't right. The first scene on Endor I think is fine, but his big showdown with Han is all wrong. My long term plan is to hire someone on fiverr.com to do the voice (in original TESB style), but before I spend any money on it I need to get the lines perfect.

I don't have a problem with Jabba's big door... but you're certainly not the only person who does. :)

I like the idea of changing the colours to a more Tatooine brown/orange to match the rest of the scene. Think I'll do that right now. Thanks.

Adding Fett to the sarlacc scene is definitely an option that I'll play around with, but I really don't like Han's stupid bit where he accidentally hits his jetpack. Plus if Fett flies into combat, falls over, and then is knocked out within about a minute it doesn't exactly make him look fearsome. Or competent.

Overall the Fett stuff is still so rough that I'm not sure it should even be in the edit. But I like the ideas - especially of Chewie saving the day, as well as obviously giving Fett something meaningful to do, and upping the stakes during the last third of the movie.

Thanks again for your input.