The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye

*UPDATE:
As this fanedit is now approved and has been moved to the Fanedits - Fixes, Mixes & TV, I have made some much-needed changes based on feedback. The original fanedit was created back in 2014 so returning to fix a few things was well overdue! Below I have included a rundown of what's new in the latest version.

The main purpose behind making changes was replacing the 720p film with 1080p resolution. To add more of an overall cinematic look, I slightly graded the image to add a tad more contrast, and give it a filmic colour curve. I then added a Univisium aspect ratio (2.00:1) as I thought it would be the perfect balance for a TV-to-Movie edit.

The changes I made to the plot/scenes based on feedback are as follows:

• Added NEW custom disclaimer title card with 'Fanedit.org' logo before the film.
• Trimmed a few shots of the walkers during prologue scene, so the viewer doesn't see them too much.
• Replaced Opening Titles with NEW custom version based on existing show opening (shots from other seasons and theme is extended).
• Added NEW full scene. Montage where Shane tells Lori about Rick's accident and she tells Carl.
• Extended shot slightly at Exterior Police Station, where Morgan and Rick talk (for pacing issues).
• Extended scene where Andrea pulls a gun on Rick.
• Added cutaway shot on rooftop and SFX to fix continuity issue where Rick holds a gun to Merle.
• Reordered reunion scene at camp so that isn't seen by red car until slightly later (suggests he left the truck first and had time to walk ahead).
• Restored full scene of Shane and Rick telling Daryl about Merle (Not too long and shows Rick and Daryl's bromance origin).
• Reordered Shane beating Ed and Daryl finding Merle scenes so that they happen simultaneously and run parallel to each other (like Andrea and Dale talk/Escaping CDC at the end).
• Added a transition to black and white when the group leave the CDC site (stylistic choice to re-evoke the the feel of the comic book).
• Added NEW End Title that briefly shows during the last show and carries over to the End Credits.
• Added NEW 'AD_Phoenix' title card after the End Credits.

NEW Fanedit Running Time: 154 minutes.
File Size: 9.77GB

Aside from a few continuity issues or minor annoyances, there are a few problems with the original show that can't be worked around. As the show was shot on film, there is nothing I can do about the grainy image, which may be off-putting for some. The dialogue pacing issues are also something that lies with the original material, therefore many of the scenes come as they were originally aired.

On a final note, I would like to thank the following users for their feedback:
TM2YC, Zamros, nova2725, joos.

And a huge thank you to the academy for the 'November Favourite Edit of the Month' nomination!

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Hi all,
I'm relatively new to fanediting (and forums as a whole - bear with me), but I've watched a good few. I've been a member of this site for well over a year, but haven't posted before. The past couple of weeks I've been busy working on my own fanedit of The Walking Dead, compiling the first season into a movie. I've always been passionate about video editing and movies, and I hope that my work reflects that. Inspired by Ranger613's recent fanedit 'Night of the Walking Dead', I wanted to create a feature length version of Season 1 which, based on later seasons and the comic book, would be relevant and ideal. I am aware that this idea has already been explored by g1orkatsos with 'The Walking Dead: Apocalypse', but I hope that my edit is able to offer a unique viewing experience.

'The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye' is already finished and rendered, and I would be more than happy to get some pre-submission feedback


Information:

'THE WALKING DEAD: DAYS GONE BYE'


By AD_Phoenix.


DVD Cover:



Disc Art:

Trailer:


Sample:


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Original Movie Title: The Walking Dead

Fanedit Type: TV-to-Movie

Original Release Date: 2010

Original Running Time: 292

Fanedit Running Time: 139

Time Cut: 152

File Size: 6.78GB

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Brief Synopsis:

This fanedit takes Season 1 of The Walking Dead and condenses the story down into a 2 and a half hour film, trimming down the filler and speeding up the pace of the story.

Intention:

The aim of this fanedit was to create a feature length movie from Season 1 of The Walking Dead, using the comic as a template. The story will only stray elsewhere if it is essential to the evolution of certain characters, or if otherwise important to later events. It is the first in a possible series of films focused on Rick’s journey. As Season 1 is (loosely) based on the first chapter of the comic (Days Gone Bye), I thought it would be an appropriate title for the film as a whole; the group have to come to terms with the end of their old world. The important changes I made regarding relevant characters are as follows:

• Rick: The film will mostly be from Rick's point of view. I wanted to keep the story focused on him, so the majority of the campsite scenes are cut. Rick's family aren'€™t mentioned or seen before he reunites with them, to create mystery.
• Shane: I decided not to delve to deep into Shane'€™s dark side, as it is not fully resolved in the first season. I wanted to portray him as a more sincere character at first, which why I chose to include the hospital flashback scene as the movie intro; this way, we know Shane'€™s motive is genuine and it shows how much he cares for his friend.
• Lori: As most of the camp scenes are either cut entirely, or trimmed down, we do not see Lori often, unless she is with Rick, or if the scene is important to the plot. The love affair with Shane isn'€™t revealed until the 'frogs'€™ scene, although it is subtly hinted to. I also reduced her protests, so she seems more supportive of Rick's decisions.
• Andrea: I reduced Andrea'™s scenes, especially her moments of pessimism and general uselessness, in an attempt to mimic the Andrea of the comics. I wanted Andrea to come off stronger and more capable. This way, her decision to stay behind in the end will be somewhat more of a shock.
• Glenn: As opposed to making a lot of changes, many of Glenn's lines and scenes are kept in, as I think his humour is a perfect representation of Glenn in the comics. I removed all scenes involving the red car, just to keep up the pace. I decided to keep the Vatos gang/Glenn'€™s kidnapping in, to show Rick's evolution into becoming a leader, and Daryl getting more involved.
• Carol: Although only a supporting character, Carol's progression into becoming a stronger person is important to her role. Therefore, I decided to keep in the majority of scenes involving Carol and Ed's relationship, for reference later on in her life.
• Jim: I decided that Jim's story was stretched out a little too long, and felt like filler. So, I chose to cut the whole 'digging'’ sub-plot. Jim now appears throughout, but doesn't become an active member of the group until the camp attack.
• Merle: I trimmed down a lot of Merle's dialogue and scenes. The last time we see him is now when Rick and the others first leave Atlanta, as opposed to a few days later.
• Jenner: I trimmed his dialogue and removed Vi, so as to show that he is more isolated. We do not see him until the group enters the CDC building, and his intro scene is more tense and suspenseful.
• Morgan: Morgan'€™s dialogue has been trimmed in a way so that he comes across wary, yet more trusting and friendly. This is more in keeping with the comic version of Morgan. His wife is removed entirely, as is he whole radio contact sub-plot. We do not see Morgan or Duane again after leaving the police station, just like in the comic.
• Leon Basset: Although not an essential character, I chose to keep the scene where Rick shoots re-animated Leon, to show Rick's first reaction to seeing someone he knows as a walker.

EDITING DETAILS:

I wanted to create an edit that was a hybrid of what happens in the comics, with additional sub-plots unique to the show added in. Essentially, I combined what worked best for my film. I edited the Blu-ray version of The Walking Dead Season 1 (episodes 1-6), using Adobe Premiere Pro. Opening credits created using Adobe Photoshop, and end credits created using Final Cut Pro.


CHANGES:

•  Moved Production Company logos to the beginning.
•  Moved full 'Hospital Flashback' scene with Shane to the intro.
•  Added NEW Opening credits.
•  Removed Girl Summer/little girl walker scene.
•  Trimmed scene with Shane and Rick in the car; removed dialogue about Rick's marriage.
•  Trimmed journey to car chase/pursuit and shortened crossfire scene. Rick gets shot and cuts to hospital.
•  Removed Shane'™s visitation scene.
•  Trimmed hospital scene.
•  Removed audio and trimmed Rick's return home. 'Rick's Despair' by Bear McCreary is played over scene.
•  The shovel scene outside Rick'€™s house is trimmed. He now passes out immediately after being struck.
•  Trimmed all scenes within Morgan's house; removed nighttime scene. Duane'€™s dialogue mostly cut. Morgan comes across less aggressive. Removed subplot about Morgan'€™s wife.
•  Trimmed baseball walker kill.
•  Cut return to Rick'€™s house scene; we just see Rick take his keys.
•  Removed shower scene.
•  Trimmed dialogue between Morgan and Rick outside Police Station. Removed exchange of radio and further contact plans and mention of Rick's family.
•  Removed Morgan and Duane in house/Rifle shooting.
•  Added unedited original opening scene/Little girl walker scene.
•  Cut camp response scene when Rick is attempting to make contact on police car radio.
•  Removed scene at camp with Lori and Shane's kiss.
•  Trimmed Farmhouse/finding horse scene. Rick does not see or search the car.
•  Trimmed entering Atlanta scene.
•  Cut entire Tank scene and dialogue with Glenn. Rick now falls off his horse and immediately runs into Glenn,   as if by accident.
•  Removed Shane and Lori sex scene.
•  Trimmed rooftop dialogue and traversal.
•  Trimmed introduction to Atlanta survivors. Andrea no longer holds a gun to Rick. There is no talk of a refugee centre.
•  Ascension to roof and Merle's shooting/fight scene trimmed. Merle doesn'€™t spit on T-Dog. Removed Rick saying who it is he is looking for.
•  Removed following rooftop scene.
•  Removed entire sewer scene.
•  Removed Andrea and Rick in the store/Necklace scene.
•  Removed T-Dog and Merle'€™s conversation on the roof.
•  Trimmed rooftop idea swapping for distracting the walkers.
•  Removed dialogue about the dead walker/wallet scene.
•  Heavily trimmed the walker dismemberment/guts scene.
•  Removed Campsite survivors receiving T-Dog'€™s message.
•  Trimmed Rick and Glenn'€™s escape from walkers.
•  Removed Glenn using the red car to distract the walkers. It now seems like Glenn never left the van.
•  Removed Merle's solo rooftop scene.
•  Heavily trimmed return to Campsite/Reunion scene. We do not see Shane until Rick does. Trimmed embrace. Lori no longer looks to Shane in shock.
•  Heavily trimmed campfire scenes. Removed Ed and Shane's dispute.
•  Trimmed Rick and Lori and in tent. They do not start to have sex. Removed Shane on RV roof.
•  Trimmed morning scene. Rick doesn'€™t speak to Glenn about the red car.
•  Trimmed deer walker killing (It takes way too long).
•  Trimmed Daryl finding out about Merle. Rick no longer repeats what we'€™ve already seen.
•  Trimmed preparations for the return to Atlanta. Lori now seems to give in to Rick. Jim's dialogue is cut. There is no mention of Morgan.
•  Removed tent scene with Lori and Carl.
•  Removed Frog-hunting and fence-cutting scenes.
•  Trimmed dialogue of the women washing clothes.
•  Removed quarry fishing/Jim digging scenes.
•  Trimmed rooftop scene. We do not see Daryl bag Merle's hand.
•  Removed all scenes of the camp while Rick is at Atlanta, with the exception of Ed in the tent.
•  Trimmed scene where Rick prepares to fight the 'Vatos'€™. He doesn't talk about Glenn saving his life in the Tank.
•  Trimmed Nursing Home scene. There is no joke about Glenn being eaten by dogs.
•  Removed scene with Andrea looking for wrapping paper.
•  Heavily trimmed the campfire dinner scene. Removed all talk about Dale'€™s watch.
•  Trimmed aftermath of camp attack. Jim does not speak.
•  Removed Rick's attempt to contact Morgan via radio.
•  Trimmed Lori and Rick's dialogue with Andrea. She doesn'€™t talk about the gun safety.
•  Trimmed the scene with Dale and Andrea. There is no mention of Amy'€™s birthday or Andrea'€™s guilt. Andrea does not put the necklace on Amy.
•  Trimmed the resurrection and death of walker Amy. Andrea doesn'€™t talk about 'more time'€.
•  Trimmed the digging of the burial graves dialogue.
•  Removed Jim's traumatic hallucinations.
•  Removed Rick and Lori's post funeral dialogue.
•  Removed Jim and Rick'€™s scene in the RV.
•  Removed Shane and Lori's scene outside the RV.
•  Removed the hunting scene/Shane's meltdown.
•  Removed Rick's message to Morgan about leaving for the CDC.
•  Trimmed camp departure. We do not see the red car and message to Morgan.
•  Removed RV overheating problems and Jim's request to Rick.
•  Trimmed Jim'€™s farewell scene. Only Shane, Rick and Jacqui speak to Jim.
•  Entirely removed Jenner'€™s introduction scene/video log. We do not see him until Rick does.
•  Trimmed approach to CDC. Dialogue is shortened and Jenner's perspective is removed.
•  Trimmed dialogue significantly upon the group's entry/Jenner meeting scene. It is a more suspenseful situation.
•  Removed elevator scene and hallway approach. Vi is removed entirely.
•  Trimmed housing corridor scene. Shower scenes and Andrea's despair removed.
•  Living area/bookshelf scene trimmed. Carol, Sophia and Carl are removed entirely.
•  Trimmed dialogue in the TS-19 scene. Andrea's loss is not spoken of. TS-19 is not shot, nor is Jenner hassled by Andrea.
•  Trimmed basement/generator scene. Intercut with Lori and the air conditioning scene, Jenner is not shown with a photograph, or seen crying.
•  Trimmed control room scene. Jenner does not speak about the French or Fossil fuels. Daryl does not attempt to attack Jenner twice. Andrea does not argue that there is no hope.
•  Trimmed escape scene/Andrea and Dale. The focus is placed more on Andrea and Dale, with the others'€™ struggle intercut. There is no dialogue about Carol having found the grenade.
•  Replaced outro/credits music with 'Take Us Back'€ by Alela Diane.
•  Added NEW scrolling End Credits (including giving myself editing credit!). The Walking Dead score 'Quarry Fishing' by Bear McCreary added to end of credits.

NOTE: This is my first attempt at a fanedit, so any positive or negative constructive criticism is appreciated!

This thread was posted 24 hours ago but not approved until now, so....bump!

Welcome

Thank you very much. I look forward to becoming an active member of the community!

I like everything I'm reading here! With those short seasons, it seems like TWD is ideal for editing into movie format like this.

I appreciate the support! I'm about to make my first submission, so I have the finished film available for viewing, if anyone is interested.

Welcome AD_Phoenix The Academy will review your edit as soon as possible.

Just to clarify, this edit is completed. I am, however, awaiting submission feedback before I make any necessary changes. If there is anybody interested in viewing the current edit, just let me know

Was this submitted to The Academy?

Yes, I believe I submitted it around the 18/19th of August. I haven't managed to get an academy review back as of yet (As it's my first submission, I'm not familiar with how long these things take).

Alright, thread moved to Pending Approval.

How long it takes for a review depends on many factors, but it's mainly dependent on one of the Academy team having an interest in reviewing the edit and also owning the source. A few months of waiting is not necessarily unusual but it is a bit long, so I'll give them a reminder.

Greatly appreciated!

For those interested in this edit, feel free to message me. I'm currently working on a follow up.

I just finished previewing 'Walking Dead - Days Gone Bye' by @AD_Phoenix for the Academy and I'm glad to say it's approved.



Nice work on the custom opening credits, they added a touch of fanedting class. The new closing credits must have taken time to do and the song choice is excellent (I haven't listened to Alela Diane for years. Great album ). This felt like a proper film and not just a condensed TV show, which was down to smart editing choices. The 3.6GB MP4 I watched has a stereo and a surround track option, which many will appreciate. At 2.5 hours, this is a great way of re-familiarising oneself with S1 of WD, without you know, having to actually watch the whole shebang. I wasn't sure but I thought a grain filter had been added, which I wasn't 100% about but it's not distracting. The audio edits are seamless from start to finish and that's the hard part.

There were two visual cuts that stood out (Most were invisible) but neither of them were bad enough to prevent approval. Here they are, in case you wanted to tweak them ahead of release...

00.22.17 - There is a cutaway as the line "A few more days. By then Dwayne will know how to shoot..." is said that is too fast and feels odd. It's only 13 frames long. You should typically never have a shot less than 24 frames in a slower scene, and even that's only a mere second of screen-time. If it's a fast paced/editing action sequence, or something flashy you could get away with it. Perhaps you could cover the cut with a longer shot of Rick's face?
00.41.20 - There is a cut here to Merle's face and Rick is no longer holding the gun to his head. Not sure if this was you, or a continuity error in the original show. It's not a massive problem either way.

So if you are wanting a refresher 6-years down the line for how WD started, this is a great place to go . Thread moved.

I'm looking forward to watching this but even more I'd love to see the slow Season 2 trimmed down into a tight movie.

asterixsmeagol said:

I'm looking forward to watching this but even more I'd love to see the slow Season 2 trimmed down into a tight movie.

Click to expand...

It'll be interesting to see Season 2 without the filler, considering it's 90% filler.

That's the plan   Everyone knows The Walking Dead has a lot of filler, and the benefit of the show currently being so far ahead of these edits is that I'll be able to see which scenes/story arcs truly have no purpose, and cut accordingly.

I have yet to see this edit, but I am looking forward to checking it out. That being said, I like the first season a lot, it is the later seasons that I struggle with. I really hope you get to around to doing them. The show has moments of brilliance, but it is often overshadowed by filler and characters acting in stupid ways to add contrived suspense.

I'll give it a proper review when I get round to it, but here's my initial thoughts:

I love the new ending song, it was a very well thought out selection. It wasn't too on the nose like some songs in fanedits, which was nice.

As much as I think the design is ok, I'm not much of a fan of the new intro credits. It just goes on for too long for something that is just white text on a black screen. I think I would prefer a re-edited version of the original TV show opening credits but it's your thing.

There were a few things with the editing every now and again. In order to cut chunks of dialogue out you've ended up with some abrupt scene transitions. The two that stand out are when Rick and Glenn get into the building for the first time and Andrea shouts at Rick, and when Daryl is being told about Merle and it just feels like something's missing. Whereas the first one is passable with some tightening up, the second will need a bit of alteration.

The transitions between episodes were nigh-on unnoticeable, good job on that. You've managed to get the structure and pacing spot on, it's just the little awkward cuts that stand out.

I'm not sure if this is in the editing or not, but the dialogue seems sped up. There's barely any time for us to breath between what each character says. There are discussions where the characters all answer each other the split second the other stops speaking. It's a little jarring after coming from the spectacular intro sequence that was mostly silent (Very 28Days-esque).

I especially liked the montage at the end that showed them breaking out as Andrea and Dale talked. I think this is a very good way of cutting down on time and could have been used earlier in the film. Specifically, I was thinking while watching it that intercutting between Daryl finding Merle's hand and Shane beating Ed would work well as they are two similar tones. 

There was a small continuity error with Glenn when you streamlined it into him being on the bus. Andrea gets out of the bus and yet he magically appears by the red car. 

One last thing is that while I understand your reasoning, I think a scene introducing Laurie and Carl beforehand is vital. The scene of Shane telling Laurie (about Rick) and Laurie telling Carl at Carl's school might work best. (It's in Season 2) Even if it's done in a silent montage. Otherwise when we see Laurie and Carl for the first time, it's just these two randoms that we haven't met yet. You may have shown them previously in a photo (I think?) but given that Rick sees them in slow motion, we should at least have seen these characters before.

That's my initial thoughts anyway. Overall, very solid TV show-movie edit. I can't wait to see more. I recommend watching Frank Darabont's films as this felt like the Walking Dead movie Darabont could have made. If you could make each season feel like this, despite Frank's departure after S1, you have a fan already.

Zamros said:

I'll give it a proper review when I get round to it, but here's my initial thoughts:

I love the new ending song, it was a very well thought out selection. It wasn't too on the nose like some songs in fanedits, which was nice.

As much as I think the design is ok, I'm not much of a fan of the new intro credits. It just goes on for too long for something that is just white text on a black screen. I think I would prefer a re-edited version of the original TV show opening credits but it's your thing.

There were a few things with the editing every now and again. In order to cut chunks of dialogue out you've ended up with some abrupt scene transitions. The two that stand out are when Rick and Glenn get into the building for the first time and Andrea shouts at Rick, and when Daryl is being told about Merle and it just feels like something's missing. Whereas the first one is passable with some tightening up, the second will need a bit of alteration.

The transitions between episodes were nigh-on unnoticeable, good job on that. You've managed to get the structure and pacing spot on, it's just the little awkward cuts that stand out.

I'm not sure if this is in the editing or not, but the dialogue seems sped up. There's barely any time for us to breath between what each character says. There are discussions where the characters all answer each other the split second the other stops speaking. It's a little jarring after coming from the spectacular intro sequence that was mostly silent (Very 28Days-esque).

I especially liked the montage at the end that showed them breaking out as Andrea and Dale talked. I think this is a very good way of cutting down on time and could have been used earlier in the film. Specifically, I was thinking while watching it that intercutting between Daryl finding Merle's hand and Shane beating Ed would work well as they are two similar tones. 

There was a small continuity error with Glenn when you streamlined it into him being on the bus. Andrea gets out of the bus and yet he magically appears by the red car. 

One last thing is that while I understand your reasoning, I think a scene introducing Laurie and Carl beforehand is vital. The scene of Shane telling Laurie (about Rick) and Laurie telling Carl at Carl's school might work best. (It's in Season 2) Even if it's done in a silent montage. Otherwise when we see Laurie and Carl for the first time, it's just these two randoms that we haven't met yet. You may have shown them previously in a photo (I think?) but given that Rick sees them in slow motion, we should at least have seen these characters before.

That's my initial thoughts anyway. Overall, very solid TV show-movie edit. I can't wait to see more. I recommend watching Frank Darabont's films as this felt like the Walking Dead movie Darabont could have made. If you could make each season feel like this, despite Frank's departure after S1, you have a fan already.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your feedback! You definitely have really valid criticisms that I will take into account when revisiting the edit.

In terms of the opening credits, I completely agree with you. I feel like in hindsight it is something that definitely needs changing as it still feels too 'tv'. In an updated version I'll look into something more in line with what you suggested.

Where you've mentioned the two scenes where the editing is somewhat abrupt is for sure something I know needs changing. Even whilst editing it I felt unsure of them (definitely the Daryl scene), so I appreciate you reinforcing my decision to fix that   As for the pacing issues with the dialogue, it's something I hadn't really acknowledged before, but it's good to get some fresh eyes on it; again this is something I will have to look into changing up. I think the issue lies in maybe cutting down the pauses in between the dialogue too much.

I'm really glad that you liked the Andrea and Dale montage, as I'm rather pleased with how it turned out myself. Now that you mention it, it would definitely work perfectly in the scene you brought up!

While I originally intended for the audience to not see any of Rick's family before he does (for the sake of keeping the story with him), I think your idea makes a lot more sense from a narrative and emotional standpoint. Having been able to reflect on it, I think I have a good idea for where I could put the extra scene.

As this edit regrettably hasn't been changed for longer than I'd like to admit, I look forward to making these well-needed fixes. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the edit overall. I love Frank Darabont's films - he's a genius. I will certainly continue to look to him when tackling the later seasons    Thanks a lot Zamros

Just watched this edit.glad to say it looked and worked great the story was constant and the characters were excellent.i was sad to see the horse scene cut where they eat the horse and the tank scene gone  but other than that very well put together edit you have a fan..any plans to do same with fear walking dead..