Synopsis:

After 15+ years of noodling, I've finally landed on a version of the prequels that I prefer. The main concept is to fix AOTC, the weakest link that brings down the other two, and make TPM lead into it, and ROTS build from it. The biggest problem I have with these movies isn’t necessarily the content. There’s some stuff I’m not crazy about, such as midichlorians and some of Anakin’s whiney, creepy behavior, sure. However, the biggest problem to me is in the minute to minute pacing. They just feel… weird? Off? Something’s not quite right in every single scene. The most egregious example is AOTC, where seemingly nobody talks like a human being, characters stand around clearly waiting for their cue, and much of the action mostly falls flat. Even worse, the love story doesn’t work, partly because I think they focused on it way too much. The dialogue between Anakin and Padme is shockingly strange, but the chemistry between the two actors is definitely there. Just letting them spend time together would have sold it enough. So I’m taking another crack at the Prequels, but I’m starting with AOTC, the biggest problem with the trilogy. Once I get that working, I can build up to it with TPM, and off of it with ROTS. The idea here is to go into every scene and remove that disjointed, stagey, unnatural feeling that permeates the film. Action will be pumped up and pacey, conversations will have that zing that they’re lacking, and the movie will move along at a steady pace. There’s a lot of PT edits out there, and I’m not the most technically accomplished editor to tackle them. However, I think my particular knack for action and pace (I’m aware of my strengths as well as my faults) will make these stand out.

Intentions:

Improve the pacing of all three films to feel more in-line with the originals. Flesh out the story and characters with deleted scenes and content from other Star Wars projects.

Change List:

More scene specific stuff (this isn't every change, barely two minutes go by without some sort of edit or effect, but this is the big noticeable stuff) - Speed up the landing platform sequence, removing unnecessary dialogue or shots. Also add zooms and camera movement to make the sequence more exciting and dangerous. - Add in the senate deleted scene, with some trims for pacing. - Add in the Anakin/Kenobi duel flashbacks from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with adjusted color timing and music to help it blend into the film better. - Many cuts made to Anakin and Padme meeting again, making it a less awkward exchanged. Oddly, this sequence has the most new VFX shots to get it to function correctly out of the whole thing, and it's just people talking. - Remove Jango/Zam scene, so the first time we see Zam is when they load up the assassin droid. - Many cuts to Anakin and Kenobi's dialogue while Padme is sleeping for pacing. Cut the odd "intoxicating" dialogue from Anakin. - Lots of action and pacing editing to the coruscant chase, slimming down the banter to the best parts. - Lots of trims to the Dexter's Diner sequence. - Reordered a lot of the back and forth between Anakin's story and Kenobi's story to keep the focus where it needs to be longer. - Add in the dinner with Padme's family, with some trims. - Remove the scene with Yoda and the Younglings and Yoda/Kenobi/Mace discussion in the temple before Kenobi leaves. - Replace that scene with an edited version of the Mace/Kenobi landing platform scene. - Removed the second half of the meadow scene and the fireside confession from the love story. The focus is now more on Padme slowly falling for Anakin as opposed to "we can't be together!" - Padme no longer stops the kiss, and we now crossfade to Anakin standing on the balcony in the morning. It avoids an awkward transition back to Kamino and also insinuates that they may have had... aggressive negotiations. - Lots of cuts and trims to the Jango fight for pacing and intensity. - Removed the Jango/Kenobi space battle. I love the sonic bomb things as much as the next guy, but we really don't need another action scene here given the way I've recut things. - 3PO is no longer in the film, and I intend to remove him from TPM as well so he doesn't show up until he's serving Padme in ROTS. Remove him with a combination of careful edits and cropping and some masking. - Cut Anakin and Padme's dialogue as he's leaving to find his mother. The moment feels a bit more epic without the dialogue. - Removed the iris in transition from Anakin killing the tuskens to Yoda, it now smash cuts to Yoda. It feels a bit more violent and upsetting. - HEAVY trims to the droid factory sequence. It's not a particularly good action scene, but it feels a little awkward without it. - Reinstate the meeting with Dooku and the sentencing deleted scenes to slow things down for a second before we hit the last act of the movie, which is basically non-stop action. I also wanted to show Padme attempting to resolve things peacefully as I think that's important to her overall character. - The "Across the stars" scene is heavily edited. It now goes: "Don't be frightened" "I'm not afraid to die. I love you. I truly deeply love you, and before we die I want you to know" Kiss, then into the arena. - Basically from here on out it's major cuts, zooms, extra camera movement, reordering of scene, etc. to get this action as exciting as possible. - I made a lot of alterations from when the Clones show up through to the Dooku fight so that we more or less stay with Anakin/Kenobi/Padme through most of it, keeping the focus a little tighter. - Lots of cuts to the Dooku duel, especially when he fights Anakin. It's a lot shorter, but also a lot more intense, and Dooku comes off as a more serious threat. - Yoda no longer shows up at the end of this sequence. I had to mask him out of a couple of shots when Padme arrives. - After that it's basically the same, except for removing 3PO and R2 from the wedding scene.

Additional Notes:

Overall goals: - Make Anakin and Padme's love story more natural and remove the heavy focus on the "forbidden romance" element. The whole story of the prequels hinges on their romance being believable. - Anakin is no longer creepy or leers at Padme, he's just a little awkward but charming. - Anakin no longer whines about Obi-Wan or the council, but it's still clear he is bothered by them. - Adjust the awkward editing throughout the film. Long silences, odd framing, or scenes that move at a slow or unnatural pace are all adjusted. - Tighten up the action editing for more thrilling sequences. Added a lot of zooms, crops, camera movement, and combined shots to accomplish this.

Other Sources:

Star Wars Soundtracks Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi My own voice

Special Thanks:

Artisdead