Calling all video editors and effects artists

indyjones2131 said:

Here are some examples of what can be done. KEEP IN MIND we are not necessarily using these exact clips, they are just tests:

http://www.vimeo.com/4274962

http://www.vimeo.com/4258943

http://www.vimeo.com/4257370

http://www.vimeo.com/5049124

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Wow. Behold the power of editing.


Still flawed, but all marked improvements. I certainly understand that you're only working with what you have, but it's a shame you'll have difficulty rectifying a number of pacing issues. Particularly in the jungle edit (which, I will say is quite good compared to the drek Spielberg and Lucas gave us). Notably, there are some foley issues when Dovchenko and Indy & co switch vehicles near the beginning. Unless you do your own foley design, that bit will remain a little thin (at least to my ear). Also, I applaud you doing away with the vines, but it does open things up to a slightly illogical and awkwardly paced series of edits. The timing and motivation for the skull landing in whatshisfaces hands after Labeouf falls backwards onto the duck is a bit off. And after Labeouf falls backwards it cuts to him in the backseat of the duck (again, not rectifiable, but unfortunate all the same). And Dovchenko's being swallowed by the ants is a bit too short and the cut to Spalko is all but indefinably awkward. I'd have to look at the remainder of the footage (and indeed I have no desire too-- I'm not that masochistic) to decide if there is anything I would add to make that cut work better. But as it is it really confused me and I had to rewind just to take a second peak at that particular edit.


All in all, though, excellent work. I would consider watching your edit in full should it ever be completed. As it stands so far, it's a testament to the importance of editing.

Wow, he looks young in those ant pictures. Especially the first one.

Attila the Professor said:

Have I created that reputation for myself? Well, not all the time, then, only when it allows me to deflate somebody's set-in-stone views.

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You don’t have a bad reputation at all ATP. The intention of my original post was simply to highlight that DeepSixFix raised a valid question (even if one doesn’t agree with it).

Attila the Professor said:

The more related point to make is that I'm still not sure how I feel about this edit. Some of the choices seem like good ones, but I'm somehow more inclined to take the whole as it was given to us, however much genuine craft there might be in completing the edits. To take the whole, and yet wish, say, that the monkeys weren't there or the waterfalls were treated with some tension, etc...I don't know if that's a contradictory position to hold or not. But for better or worse, KotCS is the film they gave us, and I'm not sure if the edit, no matter how masterfully done, can ever be much more than an exercise.

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That's more or less my view too. It's an intriguing, yet futile, exercise in showing us a variation/alternative (as one can never really change the movie that exists). However, as Resident Alien touched upon, it does underline the power/significance of editorial choices (both for good and bad).

WOW keep it up. That very first one on the first set reminds me of the originals more than anything! I'm starting to love this thread. can you do a color corrections of the warehouse and university scenes?

Been awhile, is this thing dead?

I get that people don't dig the dusty yellow cast. However, to me, the desaturated yellow has been taken a little too far, almost to the point of taking on a cyan cast. Also, the change in contrast is burning out some of the detail. You've lost some parts completely. To borrow from Attila, as an exercise it's interesting, but I prefer the original.

Man, that last one with Indy staring at Dovchenko is great. I really like these color corrections...I hope this project is still ongoing. I agree that pacing will be a little off, but I'm more interested in the visual quality of the film. I noticed that CS seemed a little too warm. The color corrections really sharpen it up and make the lighting look a little harsher.

Ajax the Great said:

Man, that last one with Indy staring at Dovchenko is great. I really like these color corrections...I hope this project is still ongoing. I agree that pacing will be a little off, but I'm more interested in the visual quality of the film. I noticed that CS seemed a little too warm. The color corrections really sharpen it up and make the lighting look a little harsher.

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Some of the original cinematography is too hazy for my liking, but it also added a surreal "dream-like" quality that was also interesting in it's own right. I personally would be very interested in viewing the original version with just the color correction done to it just to see how different of a mood it would cast on the film as a whole. To a slightly lesser extent, I would like to see how it plays in it's edited form. I thought that in the examples a bit too much was taken out, but I'll reserve any real judgement or criticism until after I can see a final cut, should it ever emerge. My personal opinion/idea regarding Dovenchenko is that yes, his death was over the top, but not so much that it should be excised completely. If it were possible to remove half of the ants pouring into his mouth and make them favor one side of his face it would be less cartoony, perhaps. And just speeding up the "rubber tree" gag and shortening it's screen time would be preferable to taking it out completely. These two parts are kind of needed to close each scene and should remain in some way. But that's just my opinion. These are early cuts of these scenes, who knows how it would all work together once it's done (assuming this project is still in production). A fan edit of a whole film is a fascinating concept.

Wow, quite a big difference. Makes the film look much more like the originals. Gives the whole thing a totally different tone and feel. Makes me wonder if a lot of the negativity Skull gets is simply due to the look of the film. I actually like the look of Skull in its own right, I think it has a wonderful 1950's technicolor look to it. But looking at those shots I wish they'd simply have made it look like the original films instead of trying something new.

tambourineman said:

Wow, quite a big difference. Makes the film look much more like the originals. Gives the whole thing a totally different tone and feel. Makes me wonder if a lot of the negativity Skull gets is simply due to the look of the film. I actually like the look of Skull in its own right, I think it has a wonderful 1950's technicolor look to it. But looking at those shots I wish they'd simply have made it look like the original films instead of trying something new.

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Exactly. I've always felt that just because Indy's moving into the 1950s, the movie doesn't have to abandon the 1930s style elements.

Ajax the Great said:

Exactly. I've always felt that just because Indy's moving into the 1950s, the movie doesn't have to abandon the 1930s style elements.

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Yeah, I understand the reasoning behind it, but that reasoning turned out to be wrong. There is a very familiar style to the OT, and the cinematography is one part of it. I would absolutely LOVE to have the full length color-corrected version in HD.