I've been thinking about the instances of jump cuts which feature in these movies; they're aspects which I feel age the films, and make difficult my suspension of disbelief. I know that Ady has largely smoothed these, but there are two which, for me, remain unconvincing (based on the current version of ANH:R, and the preview scenes already released for ESB:R). These are:
1.) Luke igniting his father's sabre for the first time in Obi-Wan's hut, and
2.) The barrier closing behind Luke (just before Vader pelts him with various parts of Bespin's under-structure).
While these have been significantly addressed by Ady, I've had a thought as to how it might be possible to improve on these even further, potentially achieving far more natural motion during those moments. Seeing as this is the ESB:R thread, I'll lead with the latter! (Apologies for being half off-topic, but my proposed solution to 2.) is similar to 1.), so I thought I'd include that as well!).
When Luke emerges from the tunnel in ESB, there is a console to screen right, emanating a blue light. If this console were to subtly, but noticeably, glow brighter during the instant when the barrier closes (illuminating gradually more so up till, and throughout, the gate's coming down), this could draw the eye very slightly, in such a way as to distract from any residual jerkiness of the jump cut (indeed, in the ESB:R previews, I still find Luke's movement to be somehow odd here). Even a minimal flicker from that console could be enough to divert focus, without resulting in the audience's attention being where it shouldn't (the loud sound-effect of the gate closing, breaking the silence in this scene, would sharply notify viewers, regardless, of Luke being closed in; the result of having the console glow brighter would, instead, merely be the audience not looking wholly at the area where the jump cut's effect is most noticeable).
The idea is that, with a jump cut being two separate shots, the different takes are fused more naturally together by having an event start in one and then conclude in the other, with the event's trajectory appearing unceasing throughout both (in this case, the smooth, even glow running across the two shots; commencing in the first - prior to the barrier's close - and then glowing brighter still up to and during the start of the second - the barrier beginning to fall - until reaching its pinnacle brightness at the end of the second shot - once the barrier has fully shut).
And in a similar fashion, using a minimal visual cue to attract the eye; when Luke ignites his father's sabre in ANH, a small burst of light at the sabre's hilt could be added, just as the weapon is activated. This could, again, lead attention away from Luke and Obi-Wan's awkward facial movements during the jump cut; there would, once more, be a constant event across two separate shots - a moment of light, starting from nothing and gradually reaching its full strength, throughout the jump cut. While this added light source might be irregular as far as lightsabre activations go, the in-universe explanation could simply be that, owing to the weapon's long inactivity, the sabre spurted into life more noticeably than it ordinarily would in regular use. And the added effect which I'm envisioning would be incredibly restrained.
Subtlety would have to be called for, to avoid any cluttering of the image. But if handled deftly enough, could this be something that might work?
