vranir

I understand the impulse to start editing this and will happily watch it if you do, but I’m also cautious of starting a film-type edit of this series when we have only seen 3 hours out of a projected 50. Are we really planning for a trilogy per season, or 15 films, from this to place alongside The Hobbit and LOTR?

Regardless, yes this could use smoothing and I can’t wait to see how events/scenes/characters can be tweaked into excellence.

My own initial edit idea is to remove the rock throwing and fistfight from the prologue, keeping paradise more paradise-like. I understand the “children of Feanor” interpretation, but I think the core of those early scenes need to be that or paradise, paradise lost, and vengeance.

Getting back on track, I really think that one of the simplest edits would be to cut the bullying from the opening sequence.

You could start the same, even include the other kids not believing that the boat could sail, but then instead of the rock throwing, cut straight to Finrod saying “It was a good boat.” I’d also suggest trimming his line about not always being there, since it foreshadows too much. Instead, go from “you must learn to discern them yourself” to saying that their parents need them to head home.

Small changes; big difference in keeping “paradise” feeling like paradise.

I understand that elements have been changed. What changes in particular do you think make this adaption “no longer Tolkien?”

What specific changes to characters and events do you think make them no longer recognizable?

What changes to themes and values do you see violating Tolkien’s vision?

Also, even if elements have been changed that are problematic, isn’t this precisely the place where we go to work that out? This forum exists to take messes like Rise of Skywalker, dissect it, and remake it into something greater. If we love Tolkien films, shouldn’t we appreciate that Rings of Power is giving us roughly 50 hours of new raw material that we can use for edits, even new edits of the Jackson films?

I was wondering when discussions would start here. I’m enjoying the series so far, though I’m already gathering edit ideas as I watch. (I expect that, by the time the series concludes in five years, there will be a great many edits floating around.)

One of my initial thoughts is to move the start of the Southlands plot into the second episode and more of the Harfoot story into the first. This would create a bit more unity within each episode.

I’m inclined to start recording a fiddling around, but for this material, I’d like to get a newer computer with a higher resolution screen.

FYI - I consider myself a Tolkien fan with above average knowledge, but I’m not a purist. I understand that adaptions will make changes, and some may even be changes for the better. In my mind, an adaption that stays true to Tolkien needs to include the core ideas of eucatastrophe, evil as corruption, all things eventually working together for good, and humble kindness being the truest foundation of heroism.

I also really like this use of a Han death premonition. It adds a lot of layers to Luke’s moment of conflict over Kylo.

Yes to Jawas

I’m not sold on two Death Stars to start with. The second being bigger and badder is enough of a threat. Starkiller would raise lots of questions like why the rebels never went after it or the empire never used it in the years prior to Force Awakens or why anyone is surprised by it.

I’d also highly recommend trying to implement even just one or two of your proposed changes as a proof of concept video. The brainstorming is fun, but you’ll get better feedback if you have something you can point to that shows people you can actually make it.

Any preview clips available? You have a lot of interesting VFX changes that I’d love to see.

I always enjoyed the Jawa scenes just because it was fun to see a Sandcrawler and Jawas actually be impressive opponents, but I also understand why it was originally cut, as it’s incredibly side-questy.

I got it this time; it looks great. Sorry to have bothered everyone.

Is anyone else have issues with the download? Mine keeps failing at just over 9GB. I wanted to make sure it’s just a personal issue.

Congratulations on the release; excited to see it. PMed.

Unless JarJar is treated as bi-lingual. If he’s serving as a representative and go-between, it would make sense.

I like what you have here, but the Trade Federation seeking to take advantage of the situation needs to close out the intro text. Otherwise, the invasion is too out of left field.

I cut the vanilla rescue significantly in my sub-edit. Basically, ObiWan sets off the explosion, goes into back, opens 1 door, then the one where Leia is, and then leaves with her. There’s no opposition, because it’s all part of the trap.

The TikTok edit compresses the story but makes very major few changes (just gets rid of the Reva on Tatooine stuff at the end). The biggest contributions from it were an extra VFX shot of a stormtrooper when ObiWan is rescued after the first duel, and the removal of the runaway Jedi’s head when his body is hanging, along with the implication that Reva chopped it off at the end of the bar scene.

My favorite change by the TikTok guy was that the inquisitors killed the Jedi right at the bar. It tightened that story thread considerably (or made it possible to tighten).

I’ve downloaded up through season 3, but I’m still working my way through season 2.

I finally got to watch the edit, having previously only seen the first half of the series. I really liked it.

A number of things stand out to me though:

1. The pre-title intro is incredibly short. Because I got the editing itch myself, I tried moving the title later, right after he sits up at night trying to contact QuiGon. From the title, I transitioned to the first Alderaan scene. It works really well.

2. The underline in the title is still odd. I know it’s minor, but it’s very random and puzzling once your eye sees it.

3. Not necessarily an issue with your edit as much as with the original, but those inquisitors hang out for a long time on Tatooine doing nothing. I tried rearranging their scenes into a tighter sequence, and it flows pretty well. In my version, Owen confronts ObiWan, then the inquisitors land. Instead of walking to the bar, they give their anti-Jedi speech and interrogate Owen. They then proceed to the bar, where we discover that it’s not actually ObiWan they were looking for.

4. On a related note, in the edit, it’s hard to tell why the Jedi has been hung/hung himself. The inquisitors left already and he never showed up again after the bar scene. The TikTok guy’s version implies that he got killed at the bar, and while that’s abrupt, it makes more sense, especially if the street interrogation gets moved up like I suggested.

5. I’m fond of the new merged rescue scene, but after watching the whole film, I wonder if it’s really necessary or the best choice. It’s odd that there is such a high-tech and expansive base hidden under the city. It introduces tiny consistency issues, the most significant of which you have needed to address via extra digital manipulation. It is a cooler sequence than the original, but it’s kind of puzzling how easy it is for ObiWan to get in and out, why he is able to use the force slightly without alerting Vader, and why there’s not an instant alert throughout the city as soon as he emerges from the sewers. I get that it’s a setup, so that can explain some of the ease. It just seems maybe too elaborate just to get him outside where he has to be caught again. It’s also a bit incongruous as the rest of the edited movie takes place on the fringes of the galaxy. By making this a major shiny base, it sticks out as the only “civilized” location in the film, and it’s only a sub-location.

6. It’s a sweet moment when ObiWan repairs Lola, but in the edit, we don’t get the scene where she gets broken by the mercenary leader. It’s not a great scene, so I understand why it was cut, but it raises questions.

7. Since you drop the plotline with Reva recapturing Leia, why do you still show her looking in doors and finding the escape tunnel? Once again, I was able to tighten this sequence up by rearranging nearby scenes. I merged a couple of the early dual scenes and then went from the inquisitors in the streets to Tala leading Leia through the tunnel, then immediately to Tala leaving to rescue ObiWan, before cutting back to the conclusion of the dual. It flows well and cuts the momentum of events much less.

8. The spacing and amount of scenes where we see Vader’s ship coming and the pre-rebels prepping for the attack is awkward. I made some efforts to tighten it up, but the original really drags this out while also including enough solid character stuff that it’s hard to trim. And how long is Leia working on that door???

9. I wish that the Order 66 shots of Anakin had also been de-aged.

10. The call from Organa is awkward. I was able to trim it by cutting straight from Leia agreeing to enter the vent to her opening the hatch. Then I had the Empire land and start shooting the door. Then we see ObiWan quietly thinking (after his phone call that didn’t happen).

11. I moved the shot of the transport flying out the atmosphere so that it’s a quick cutaway near the start of Reva’s attack on Vader. In the original, I barely understood what had happened with the second transport escaping, and then it took way too long to reach space.

12. I love most of your music choices throughout the edit, but when Vader lands for the final dual, isn’t that a mix of the Separatist march and the Imperial march? The Separatist part just seems random.

13. What is the purpose of the final Mustafar scene?

I think that’s it for feedback. Overall, I really enjoyed your work and think it’s very well done. Your editing choices are sometimes bold, and I think that really pays off. Your transitions are polished, and your story has a lot of heart with minimal distraction.

I’m not sure about posting my own “edit,” since over 90% is directly derived from your own, but I’d be happy to share it with you if you want to see any of my changes in action. I made quite a few tiny adjustments as well just to tighten up dialogue etc. Let me know if you’re interested.

Thanks again for sharing your work.

Don’t forget his line about ObiWan holding him back. In the duel scene we literally hear ObiWan telling Anakin that he’ll be held back until he learns a lesson that he doesn’t think he needs.

Quick note - There’s a weird faint overlay during a few seconds of the conversation with the fake Jedi. Not sure why.

I’ll have to check it out then while I wait for v2 of this.

I see some guy getting publicity for his Kenobi edit, which he posted about on TikTok. I know that fan editors are wise to generally keep their work less public, but it made me feel a bit indignant for you and the other two or three people in this forum who have done the same project, likely as well or better than the one getting credit for it.

Of course. I just saw it in the Deepfake thread on this forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhPmdlUuwOI

Looking forward to the new version.

Are you going to use the newest deepfake from Darth P for the flashback or keep your current version?