• Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
  • If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
  • Please read our Rules & Guidelines

2001 Space Odyssey - The Short Cut

TM2YC

Take Me To Your Cinema
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
14,871
Reaction score
2,384
Trophy Points
228
My Academy Review:

2001 really needs trimming in my opinion and @"holyalamo" 's edit successfully does that and adds in a few artful surprises, using the footage in new ways :) .  This is as close to outright enjoying (and not being bored by) 2001 as I've got ;) . Thanks!  I spotted a couple of glitches that need fixed but when those are sorted this is ready to go.  Here are the two I spotted:

01.27.18 - At the end of the montage of black swirly shots, you left in one frame of a big pink/blue eye, that flashes before you cut back to old David. This a technical glitch right?
01.30.09 - Before the start of another montage you cut from old David's POV, to old-old David on the bed for only 6-frames, then the montage plays, then back to the same shot.  Again surely this is a glitch? Move the montage 6-frames forward, so it's sandwiched between the POV and bed shot and it'll look fine. Or alternatively move the montage back a few seconds so it plays comfortably somewhere in the middle of the bed shot.

There were a few points that worked okay but I thought they could be better (you don't have to fix/change these ones, just my optional suggestions):

00.00.00 - Beginning immediately on frame one feels odd to me. You could do with some studio titles, some black screen and silence etc, something t ease the viewer in.
00.02.29 - This fade down and up felt borderline too quick to me. Just a couple of seconds longer and it would be smoother.
00.03.29 - I can see what you are trying to do with the two flashes to the obelisk, timed with the music but they're too quick IMO (see clip below).
00.04.41 - I think replacing "The greatest match cut in cinema" with a simple cross fade is going to be a controversial decision but it works technically and I can see why you did it and what you were going for (matching the rotation of the station to the bone). Perhaps you could try something like this test clip I did:


It's rough, so you could make it better I'm sure. I used your audio and timing. I slowed down the bone shot 50%, sped up the station shot 25% and adjusted the zoom and cropping of the two shots so the bone exactly matches the angle of the rotating station at the point I made the cut (and more closely the speed too). So it's got the essence of what you want and the the spirit of what made the original match cut so famous. I've also extended your two flashes of the obelisk by a factor of four, from 7-frames, to 28-frames (anything less than 24 frames/1 second, usually looks too fast a cut. See what you think?
00.07.23 - This cut works fine but it could be even smoother if you brought up some of the door sound before the music melts away, so the listener doesn't even notice the cut.
00.14.25 - This fade from the meeting to outer space could be smoother if you gradually brought in the music before the meeting shot ends.
01.23.25 - I love the way you slashed down the length of the massively overlong stargate sequence but maybe reducing the trippy FX flowing past the viewer from about 2-minutes, down to about 10-seconds is perhaps too short. Cut back to it once more perhaps?

On the subject of that bone shot, you might be amused by this 2001-bone match cut clip I did 3-years ago :D :

 

holyalamo

Member
Faneditor
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
8
@"TM2YC" , thank you for precise notes and kind words.

I'll address these and resubmit!

Edit: okay, I did not see that coming with your match cut clip!
 

holyalamo

Member
Faneditor
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
8
After much delay, I've addressed these notes and am hoping to move forward!

Thanks @"TM2YC" , and to everyone else for your thoughts and interactions.
 

holyalamo

Member
Faneditor
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
8
Hello!

Another side by side example of the trimming. This is going from the space station to the moon meeting.

On the left, the original film (at 266% speed) on the right the trimmed cut playing realtime. No audio on this one as I found it confusing in the earlier side by sides.


I'm as proud of what I've managed to keep as how much I've managed to tighten.
 

Cactus

Well-known member
Messages
139
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
23
I think there's been two 2001 "short cuts" before? One was mine, I think about 10 years ago??, which was lost in a hard drive crash just as it was pretty much done. It clocked in at 71 minutes, which I think is about the same time as the second attempt by someone else (who?) fairly shortly after. There's a lot to chop out and speed up here.... :D
 

The Scribbling Man

Tenant of the Tower of Flints
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
4,645
Reaction score
2,417
Trophy Points
148
I've seen one of the trimmed versions... It may be called the abridged cut? It was good. Will be interesting to see another take though.
 

holyalamo

Member
Faneditor
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
8
I think there's been two 2001 "short cuts" before? One was mine, I think about 10 years ago??, which was lost in a hard drive crash just as it was pretty much done. It clocked in at 71 minutes, which I think is about the same time as the second attempt by someone else (who?) fairly shortly after. There's a lot to chop out and speed up here.... :D
Ah I'm' sorry to have missed yours! You're right, there's a lot of excess to trim. I'm curious what didn't make your cut?
 

holyalamo

Member
Faneditor
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
8
I've seen one of the trimmed versions... It may be called the abridged cut? It was good. Will be interesting to see another take though.
I know what you mean, hopefully it holds interest as well as the others, or puts a different spin on things!
 

Cactus

Well-known member
Messages
139
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
23
Ah I'm' sorry to have missed yours! You're right, there's a lot of excess to trim. I'm curious what didn't make your cut?
Basically anything that didn't advance the plot or characters was cut. Any shots of spaceships, space stations etc was doubled in speed and cut down. Every scene was trimmed to only include "things happening".
 

Moe_Syzlak

Well-known member
Messages
3,456
Reaction score
1,165
Trophy Points
118
I love 2001. I’m interested to check this out (or any short version) to see how it holds up. But, if I’m honest, what I love about the original is what it seems people—like my wife—hate about it. I love that the movie embraces what space travel is about. It’s about silence. It’s about being methodical. It’s about being slow. And everything takes a really long time. I can probably get my wife to watch this version with me, but I worry that you’re losing what makes the movie special (for those of us that like it).
 

lapis molari

Better edits through feedback.
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
1,271
Trophy Points
143
@TM2YC , is this 2001 edit approved? I don't see it listed in our IFDB.
 

holyalamo

Member
Faneditor
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
8
(in fairness I think I took too long to make adjustments and lost my place in the queue!)
 

TM2YC

Take Me To Your Cinema
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
14,871
Reaction score
2,384
Trophy Points
228
Sorry for how long it's taken me to watch the second version. I'm happy to say it's approved. I still don't love 2001 but having it be 40-minutes shorter (without it feeling like anything has been removed somehow!?) makes it a much easier watch.

There is nothing that needs fixing but there were a couple of things I noted down:

02.51 - This fade down and up from the red sky to the apes is a little too rapid perhaps but it's okay.
05.29 - The "2001" title is vertically off center. The other two on screen "chapter" titles I can think of are at 00.28.15 and 01.18.45 and are in the center. They also feature a big title and a smaller subtitle, not just a small subtitle. Maybe you could make up your own e.g.

2001
THE CLAVIUS ANOMALY

or something like that (2001: Man goes to the Stars / 2001: The Lunar Obelisk / etc). Now that I've mentioned that, it's irritating me that the "Dawn of Man" title at 00.01.59 is in a different style, placement and font to the other titles... and I thought this Kubrick bloke was obsessed by detail!

Congratulations!

49890564981_c56acf3ffb_o.jpg
 
Top Bottom