Synopsis:

This is not explicitly a Predator movie until Naru first encounters what she’s hunting. Dialogue is at a bare minimum, with any Commanche characters limited to their native tongue and scenes re-cut to allow for better dub synchronisation; audio tweaks have also been made to help the dub sit better in the film mix. Further changes are made to tighten some of the action and pull attention away from weaker FX elements.

Intentions:

If it wasn’t already apparent, my “Implicit” cut takes are all about making themes and narrative implicit, and removing anything too expository or on the nose; it’s also a general experiment in seeing how effective visual storytelling is when we remove most of a film’s chief storytelling device. With Double Indemnity, I removed all narration; with The Haunting I removed all inner monologue; and with this I am removing (nearly) all dialogue. Generally speaking, I think Prey already has an effective visual narrative and almost none of the dialogue is "needed", but some of it does serve to develop characters and clarify things. This is why I have opted to keep key lines. It was important to me, however, that any kept lines be in Comanche, not just because that was how the film was originally intended to be presented, but because the English dialogue is jarring and out of place. The only instance in which we hear English dialogue is when the French trapper attempts to communicate with Naru. In addition to that approach, I’ve made some changes to scenes to keep the focus on the human characters and avoid Prey being a Predator movie until the first official encounter. I’ve also made changes to special FX sequences.

Change List:

The gist: - New opening and end title - Bare minimum dialogue from Comanche characters - when they do speak, it is in their native tongue. Scenes are re=cut or re-synced to allow the dub to seem as natural as is possible (within reason). The only English we hear is when the multi-lingual Frenchman tries to communicate with Naru. - Aside from noises, thunder in the sky, and the strange clues Naru finds scattered around as she’s tracking, there is nothing to explicitly tell the audience that this is a Predator movie until our protagonist meets the Predator. Yes, this means the Predator arrival, prep, and animal hunt scenes are gone. I don’t think the effects are very well executed here anyway. The Predator reveal comes during the bear fight, where even here, it is hard to see much beyond blood dripping over a cloaked individual. - Trims to FX spectacle to keep the clunky CGI to a minimum. - Minor trims to how action is paced. Detailed cutlist: I won’t time code every piece of dialogue, but generally speaking, most was removed and there was audio work done during what was kept. The Commanche lines were lifted from the dub track and incorporated into the English surround track, with tweaks to EQ/volume/reverb to help it sit better and sound a little less like it was recorded in a studio. - 0:00 - added source warning - 0:42 - cut narrated line in english - 3:22 - cut close shot of deer and first shot of Naru. Music cue comes in earlier - 3;34 - trimmed shot so that CGI deer is only briefly visible and remains out of focus - 4:02 - cut shot of deer - 5:24 - removed ship from sky and overlaid new titles on sky shot. Subtle lightning FX - 5:31 - hard cut to red tail scene with new title card. - 5:39 - all dialogue removed from this scene. Foley to accommodate - 5:56 - much briefer shot of red tail, in order to draw attention away from the effect - 6:03 - scene ends with naru’s smile fading, rather than appearing - 8:05 - most dialogue removed, all that remains is in Commanche. Recut for less obvious dub, (as are most scenes). No more on-the-nose talk of Naru’s desire to hunt and her mother’s disapproval. There is a brief shot retained where the mother looks down with disapproval at her knife, but my focus here was on the establishment of the orange herb as effective and something Naru is knowledgeable about. (since it comes into play a lot in the film) - 8:31 - No banter between Naru and her brother. The mother comments on him bagging the red tail; Naru says nothing and walks out, briefly exchanging a look with her brother. In the original, the dialogue is more lighthearted and her mother sends her out to look for herbs, so this plays out quite differently now. - 8;50 - Cut predator arrival, but kept a brief shot of the sky before transitioning back to naru (the thunder works as a bit of ominous visual foreshadowing and also allows for a smoother time jump) - 10:44 - trimmed dialogue. The disdain the men have for Naru is established, as is some respect from her brother, despite reservations. Commanche dub. Recut for better syncing. etc etc - 11:07 - Cut rat/snake scene. Trimmed following sequence with tweaks to scoring. This now plays out as more of a montage, covering the finding and rescuing of the injured man, and virtually no dialogue. - 12:47 - Naru and her brother’s exchange is briefer. Enough to establish where he is going and why she isn’t with him. - 13:33 - cut bickering about sick man - 14:40 - a briefer exchange. Naru promptly moves on to find her brother. - 16:02 - briefer exchange, less back and forth. Brother finds Naru, scolds her for the light, and moves on. - 16:06 - cut talk of Naru’s plan for the lion and her coming-of-age ritual. This is not the emphasis in this cut. - 16:44 - trimmed goading. Some foley to accommodate changes - 17:07 - trims and cuts to help the CGI lion come across better - 18:08 - trimmed dialogue, using just enough to establish how Naru got back home and that her medicine was effective on the injured man. - 20:39 - no bickering with the brother after his celebration. No on-the-nose hammering in that naru is incapable. Audio tweaks to accommodate transition. - 21;32 - Cut one of Naru's lines to the dog about needing to prove to the others she’s right - 23:06 - cut Predator/wolf battle - 25:33 - cut predator skinning wolf - 27:01 - cut Predator tracking Naru - 27:47 - cut predator finding skinned bison (this also means that Naru’s struggle in the bog plays out uninterrupted) - 30:12 - cut Naru’s exchange with dog - 30:41 - cut close shot of bear eating deer - tweaked some bear motion for more “weight”. Bear is processed seperate to the rest of the shot - 31:15 - Scene recut so that bear doesn’t climb up and attempt to get at Naru. The dog simply chases after it to distract it while Naru fixes her bow - 32:08 - general trims to shot of bear to present FX better. Cut much of the battle between the Predator and the bear. The bear falls into Naru, it doesn’t charge into her. The predator more swiftly dispatches it, and the main reveal of the Predator is when it is covered in the bear’s blood. - 34:27 - significantly trimmed dialogue. naru doesn’t start walking away and then turn back to argue. When she starts walking away the men immediately attempt to stop her. - 35:11 - cut “you wanna leave? leave” - 35:43 - line off-screen to allow for a less obvious dub - 35:50 - line off-screen to allow for a less obvious dub - 36:59 - removed “huh”. There is no alt redub of the expression from the comanche dub, and it’s too obvious that it’s a different voice/recording. Removed subsequent dialogue about the possoms - 37:44 - cut Naru asking the men to cut her loose - 37:50 - moved/added shot of Naru looking around - 38:47 - utilised grabbing motion from Predator here to transition to the man being thrown (to avoid weaker CG predator movement) - 39:07 - cut shot of predator missing (largely because of the FX) - 39:16 - cut Predator swinging sword (again, weak CG motion) - 39:33 - cut Predator pulling free spear - 39:44 - 39:54 - trims and re-ordering of shots to allow for a semi-offscreen kill (weak CG motion) - 40:57 - cut Predator visor shot - 41:08ish - cut first line of dialogue. Kept part of Naru’s response - 41:34 - trimmed kill - 44:10 - cut Naru talking to herself/expositing for the audience - 44:19 - general trims to avoid the weak acting of the French trapper and his constant chuckles - 45:39 - cut Naru speaking - 46:17 - cut dialogue - 46:44 - cut dialogue between Naru and her brother. As the frenchman looks through the telescope we transition straight to his perspective - 47:39 - cut brother telling us the predator is coming - 47:51 - trimmed most of the dialogue - 48:20 - cut dialogue - 48:57 - trimmed shots - 49:02 - trimmed shots - 49:07 - the predator is shot immediately after he kills the man - 50:11 - trimmed dialogue (what are you doing/. I have a plan etc) - 50:34 - cut story about the beaver - 50:44 - cut dialogue - 51:07/08 - cut dialogue - 51:17 - cut dialogue - 51:19 - cut dialogue - 51:20 - cut initial shot of Predator leaping between trees. - 54:21 - dog command is in Commanche - 54:28 - cut Predator healing itself - 55:42 - cut Naru saying “and then?” - 56:17 - cut dialogue from naru “that’s all?" - 58:24 - cut Naru telling the audience why the predator can’t see the trapper - seeing her look, think, then feel the herb around her neck is enough - 58:49 - trimmed shot of naru reacting - 58:50 - brother hits predator quicker - 58:53 - helmet fires at dog quicker - 59:59/1:00:01 - cut Naru repeating the trapper’s words to herself - 1:00:46 - trimmed dialogue - 1:05:15 - 1:05:37 - loads of trims/changes/audio work to allow for Naru to be silently prepping for war instead of giving her speech. Kept closing line: “you can’t see that I’m killing you”. This cold delivery at the end of her silence and the trapper’s rant works much better for me. - 10:8:12 - Naru doesn’t waste time lying on the ground stunned - she immediately gets back up. - 1:11:08 - cut “come on, do it!” and subsequent iterations - 1:12:47 - cut line about there being danger and them needing to move. Naru’s return is a silent one (until the cheering) - 1;15:22 - new end title

Additional Notes:

Subtitles just for Commanche main audio are default, but some players don't apply them automatically - so just check they are activated in your player. Hard-of-hearing subs are also available as a secondary track. AI was used to alter motion on a couple of CGI shots in order to convey more "weight". It was also used to extend the length of a reaction shot. Scenes were re-cut to allow for better lip-syncing with the Commanche dub. EQ, reverb and volume tweaks were made to help the dub sit better. In general, the main English surround mix was used as the base, with dialogue from the commanche dub mix being lifted and re-integrated into the English surround track.

Other Sources:

Freesound.org

Special Thanks:

Thank you to Last Impressions, friends Jonny and Joebby, and brother Banapaulo for previewing this and providing feedback. It was great to get varied impressions from people both familiar and unfamiliar with the material. Thanks also to Daedal for feedback on progress clips.