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L O S T - The Abridged Film Series

Radzinsky

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LOST I - Genesis is now showing on info
LOST II - Numbers is now showing on info
LOST III - Acts is now ready for preview screenings. PM for details

LOST IV - John
is in conversion to HD. Release is imminent.

LOST V - James is in pre-production
LOST VI - Exodus is in pre-production
LOST VII - Chronicles is in pre-production
LOST VIII - Judges is in pre-production
LOST IX - Lamentations is in pre-production
LOST X - Revelation is in pre-production



Ever since the first season of LOST came out almost ten years ago, people's major complaint has been that an otherwise compelling story was systematically obfuscated by an overly complex and redundant amount of filler material.


Since that time, I have been editing down the series' 121 produced episodes of television into a series of films that would tell the story of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 in a compelling and concise way. For a long time, I used the DVDs that had been released in Australia; but recently I acquired the Blu-Rays and have been upgrading my cut using that footage instead.
This has been a labour of love, and I have spent probably thousands of hours editing the show's episodes down into a thoroughly-planned out series of ten films.

Each film has been rigorously checked for plot holes, and streamlined into a watchable length. I have already produced a 90% rough cut of all ten films, and now that I have arrived at a 100% complete cut of the first film I now feel like I have done enough to present my work for your consideration.

I am currently in the process of uploading the first film of the series (entitled Genesis), and will be happy to provide the links to the project as soon as it has been approved by one of this site's administrators.

For those who might have some (understandable) reservations about committing to watching such a long series of films, please understand that I have already pretty much finished all of them.

All I need to do is upgrade them to the high definition source, and go over them with a fine-tooth comb to make sure all the audio and edits are exactly right.

To give you a rough idea of how much has been cut, I will now outline some of the relevant numbers:

The first film (entitled Genesis) has a length of 218 minutes (3 hours 38 minutes), and covers the events of the first season of the TV Show (which was originally approximately 1070 minutes or 18 full hours of television). The amount of time cut from this film is therefore approximately 800 minutes (or 13 hours) of footage.

The entire series once completed will add up to about 27 hours, divided into 10 films of varying lengths.

To give you an idea of the time cut, the 121 produced episodes of television originally took up about 80 hours of time. This amounts to a saving of about 53 hours.

But more importantly, this series of films will finally provide LOST fans with an easily-accessible, plot-hole free series of films that tell the story of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 in a compelling and concise manner.

If there is sufficient interest in my work, I will also create a series of full-length commentaries for each of my films after the publication of the final movie.

My reasons for doing this are two-fold. First, it will allow me to maximise the picture and audio quality of the DVDs I upload. And second, it will allow me to speak freely and with absolute confidence about all aspects of the series in each of my film commentaries.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And remember that this is a project that is dear to my heart, and you can be certain that I WILL finish it. So get invested if it interests you, and rest in the knowledge that you won't have wasted your time.

Again, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. And thanks for reading.

Yours, Radzinksy.

PS, anyone who can guess why I chose that user name wins a prize.



PPS: Just to update those who haven't followed the thread all the way through, I've decided (in response to the demands for an HD version) to bump that up on my schedule. So I'll have a 720p or 1080p mkv uploaded within the next day or two (AKA before the end of July 2013). I might have to let Neglify watch that version before I give out the links to the HD video, but given that he's already seen the DVD5 I uploaded, I might be able to skip that step. Stay tuned for more details.


Just an update on this edit (27-28 July, 2013).

I've rendered a 1080p version of the first movie that should be done uploading in the next few hours. After it has been approved, I'll be happy to provide links to anyone who wants them. There is also a DVD5 version already uploaded for those who want it.

The 1080p version clocks in at around 5 GB for a 3.5 hour film. This amounts to about 1.5 GB per hour. I am pretty satisfied with the picture quality of this version, though those looking for a completely perfect copy will have to wait until I release a 10 - 20 GB version some time in the far-flung future.

Just a quick point of interest. Periodically throughout the film, there do appear some in-show credits over the image. Anyone who is familiar with LOST would surely agree that as TV show credits go, they are extremely non-intrusive.

My first priority when making this edit was to create a version of LOST that I enjoy. I have therefore decided that short of manually painting over every instance of the credits that appear in the show, no other method of removing this text would be a better solution for me than leaving them in. LOST is an inherently cinematic show, and I don't feel that cropping the image to remove the credits is worth the picture that would be lost in doing so. Please understand that I have not left them in for any reason other than my desire to present the show in its best possible light.

Laziness or a desire to "get the edit over with" has not played a part in my decision to leave them in - unless you count an unwillingness to manually paint over thousands of frames of credits as "laziness."

Again, these credits are unobtrusive and very rare (probably taking up little more than a minute or so of screen time across a 3.5 hour film)., and so I don't view them as an issue at all. However, I thought that I should let you all know about it before you download the film - just in case it is an issue for you.


Update (29th June, 2013)

Neglify has just approved the 1080p version of my film, so anyone who wants to download it (or the DVD5 version) can PM me for the links.

I'm just in the process of creating a poster and trailer for the film now, and so if all goes well the edit should be listed on IFDB by next week.



zuc3.jpg


This is the preliminary poster for the first film, entitled Genesis. If you have any suggestions on it, let me know. Otherwise, this will be the poster I submit to IFDB.

For those still interested in the first movie, it *might* now available in the usual location.
 

Metrostar

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I am very interested in anything 'Lost', so I am very excited about this! However, I have to ask, how did you tackle the ending of the original series?
 

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The Flash Sideways are all gone, and its a strictly on-Island affair. I could tell you more if you want to know, but that's the long and short of it.
 

Metrostar

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Cool. That's all I need to know. :)

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2
 

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Nice! A couple of questions:

How do you handle character flashbacks? Are they omitted or just trimmed?

Do you begin with the crash or with Jacob and his brother? Will the backstory unfold as in the series or chronologically?

Also, why the title "Genesis"? The role of protector is in place before the first chronological scene, just like the candidate concept is in place before the crash. So what is it that begins?
 

theslime

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Also, I guess you're named Radzinsky because while editing it felt like you were gonna be trapped in front of a computer for 20+ years (completing this massive edit). ;)
 

Radzinsky

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theslime said:
Nice! A couple of questions:

How do you handle character flashbacks? Are they omitted or just trimmed?

Do you begin with the crash or with Jacob and his brother? Will the backstory unfold as in the series or chronologically?

Also, why the title "Genesis"? The role of protector is in place before the first chronological scene, just like the candidate concept is in place before the crash. So what is it that begins?


Good questions. The title Genesis was chosen because it's essentially the first chapter of the story. No, it does not start with Jacob and his brother, but Jacob does show up much earlier in the films than in the series.

I've chosen the title Genesis also because I wanted a sense of consistency with all the films' titles. I have therefore named each of them after a book of the Bible.

Here's a rundown of all the movie titles, and the part of the series to which they correspond:

1 - Genesis (Season 1)
2 - Numbers (Season2A)
3 - Acts (Season 2B)
4 - John (Season 3A)
5 - James (Season 3B)
6 - Exodus (Season 4)
7 - Chronicles (Season 5A)
8 - Judges (Season 5B)
9 - Lamentations (Season 6A)
10 - Revelation (Season 6B)


If you think hard, you might be able to figure out why I've chosen those titles.

But the first film starts off right where the Pilot does. It's only fitting that Jack's eye opening and closing bookmark the series.

With regard to the flashbacks, I've included them if I feel that they are important to the narrative.

I want to emphasise that my goal with these films is to create an internally consistent set of movies that one could show to someone who has never seen the show before, and they would get the whole thing without needing to see the series.

Just to update you on my progress, I've just now completed the second film, and am in the process of turning it into a DVD to upload. I've already submitted the first film for approval, so as soon as Neglify has watched it and (hopefully) given his go-ahead, I'll be happy to give out the links to the film.

And about my nickname, I didn't think of the fact that I'll be trapped in front of the computer pushing a button for the next 20 years (although that just adds another layer of suitability to the name). I picked it because of this exchange between Kelvin and Desmond down in the Hatch regarding the orientation film:

KELVIN: How many times are you going to watch that thing?
DESMOND: Why are there missing parts?
KELVIN: Radzinsky made some edits.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

baileym43

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black text on a black background. interesting choice.
illegible forum posts aside, i'm also completely stoked about this project. i'm one who would want to see it complete though instead of one movie at a time. (note to self: hit the amazon "used" deal page to pick up the Lost series.)
 

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Yeah. Sorry about the black on black. I typed up my post using Evernote and just copied it across. Obviously I forgot to change the colour back.

Regarding your desire to see it all the way though, I understand what you mean. There were a lot of times during the original run of the show where I just wanted to freeze myself for a couple of years so I could wake up and watch the whole thing in one go.

But keep in mind that I've practically finished anyway. All I need to do is transfer my edit to the Blu-Ray source and check it over a few times, so the release schedule will probably be very frequent.

If you want, you can of course just wait until the last one is released; but I'd kind of like the feedback someone who's never seen the series before (I'm assuming you haven't, but maybe I'm wrong about that).
 

baileym43

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Radzinsky said:
I'd kind of like the feedback someone who's never seen the series before (I'm assuming you haven't, but maybe I'm wrong about that).
for me, Lost is the last show i watched from week to week from it's start to finish. DVR was starting to gain popularity with the cable companies in my area and we picked up the service right about when the show was ending.
it's also a show i was a big fan of but was frustrated with because it was becoming painfully obvious they were making it up as they went along. so i'm very much interested in a condensed soup version of the series. i get your point though.
 

Radzinsky

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baileym43 said:
for me, Lost is the last show i watched from week to week from it's start to finish. DVR was starting to gain popularity with the cable companies in my area and we picked up the service right about when the show was ending.
it's also a show i was a big fan of but was frustrated with because it was becoming painfully obvious they were making it up as they went along. so i'm very much interested in a condensed soup version of the series. i get your point though.

This is excellent news for me, because you are EXACTLY the market I'm aiming for: People who saw what the show had to offer but were frustrated with the meandering and obviously unplanned nature of the show. As someone who watched the show religiously from day one, I know that there is a complete, entertaining and logically consistent story hidden within what was at times an extraordinarily frustrating show.

This series of films will bring that out and show everyone what they were missing.
 

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Looking forward to seeing this. What format will you be doing the high definition in or is it strictly going to be DVD?
 

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v2david said:
Looking forward to seeing this. What format will you be doing the high definition in or is it strictly going to be DVD?

I want everyone who wants to see it to be able to see it the way they want to see it, so what format would you like?
 

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Radzinsky said:
I want everyone who wants to see it to be able to see it the way they want to see it, so what format would you like?

A high resolution codec such as AVC or x264 in a MKV container. Probably 720p to keep the file size reasonable. Thanks a lot!
 

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v2david said:
A high resolution codec such as AVC or x264 in a MKV container. Probably 720p to keep the file size reasonable. Thanks a lot!

No probs. What size file (per hour) would you be willing to download? And how obsessed are you with audio quality? 448 kbps AC3? 640? Lossless? What?
 

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I would think 1-2 gb per hour would be reasonable. You want to maximize the quality while minimizing the size. 1080p would be cool too if the overall size was around 10-12gb. It is tough for me to make that determination as I have no idea what resolution you are editing the files in. Maybe someone on here can give you a better idea?
 

Radzinsky

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I've edited the files in 1080P directly from the Blu-Ray source, so I'll be able to put out anything from a DVD to a full 1080p HD video.

By the way. Neglify has now watched the film and given his review. I'm just waiting for his final final approval, at which point I'll be able to give out the links to the DVD5 I've already uploaded. An HD version is also on the way, but it might be a week or so before it's up because I want to give it the best compression settings I can (so as to maximise the picture quality to size ratio).

If you're at all concerned about the picture quality of the DVD, perhaps you'll be interested to know that Neg was "surprised at how good it looked" (particularly considering it's 3.5 hours of footage shrunk onto 4.5 GB of space).
 

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Can we read Neglify's review yet? I will watch this but I am going to hold off for the HD format (whichever one you choose).
 

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It seems like everyone is waiting for the HD version, so I think that will be my primary release from now on. I prefer it anyway, so it suits me just fine. As to Neglify's review, it wasn't particularly in-depth (which is okay), but I'll post here what he PM'd me:

Summary -

Excellent edit! I definitely look forward to the rest of this series.

Quality - 9/10

I was surprised how good it looked since it was a 3 1/2 hr movie on a DVD5. I do hope you make a 720 version, either MP4 or MKV would be my preference.

Editing - 8/10 visual, 9/10 audio

Solid work here. Only real thing to look at is the opening credits that appear throughout. If you're using an HD source you can easily crop out the credits without losing too much in quality. I also suggest you edit in 1080 but render in 720. That way when you zoom/crop the quality loss will be absolutely minimal (if done correctly). As it is now the credits thing isn't stopping it from being approved, I strongly suggest you try to remove them but if you don't it's just a difference between an 8 and 10.

Narrative - 9/10

The structure worked 100%. I especially enjoyed how you played certain episodes out side by side. And kudos for Jack's flashbacks in the beginning. At times it felt episodic but that's unavoidable with this type of edit.

Enjoyment - 8/10 (original is 8)

I really enjoyed this, it reminded me of why LOST was such a great show. And it's always great to look deeper into earlier episodes once you know the end.


--------------------

Congratulations :)

Before it's a final approval I would like to check over your final output, whether it's an MP4/MKV/AVI or a BD disc or whatever. It's up to you whether you want to fix the credits, if you need help with it let me know or check the forums.

-Neg

My response about the credits was that:

Believe me, I am definitely aware of the annoying credits. I had already tried to crop them out before, but the results were nowhere near satisfactory; I just lost way more by doing it than I would have gained.

In addition, the fact that that the film has no real end credits means that if I were to cut out the in-show credits, there would be no identification of any of the people involved. I don't really like that idea at all.

Besides, as most TV shows go, these credits are barely noticeable at all. I personally don't have much of a problem with them, although I agree they do detract somewhat from the overall "film" quality I'm striving for.

So in response to the demands for a HD version of my edit, I've decided to encode and upload a 1080p or 720p (still deciding which) mkv version of the film that should take up about 5 GB.

It should be ready in the next day or two, but I'll have to make sure it meets with Neglify's approval before I give out the links.
 

RollWave

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Regarding needing to recognize the actors in credits - its pretty trivial to create custom scrolling credits to play at the end. The IMDB page will list all the actors names next to their character names, and I'm pretty sure all video editing software have media generators for scrolling credits. I'd be surprised if it took you more than 10 minutes to type in the 30 or 50 names or whatever it is you want to use. And you can recognize some writers, directors, etc similarly if you want. Might take a little bit of time to format it exactly how you want and find a song or sound clip to play while they scroll, but this really is not a major undertaking.

Since the new format is as a movie, it will help it feel more like an actual movie if it has scrolling closing credits like every other movie.
 
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