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Matrix Reimagined version 1.5 is now released...

NewSpock

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I don't like the Matrix sequels, so I imagined what it would be like if Matrix 1, which I love, were a standalone movie with no sequels.

I used 15 minutes from the sequels to complete Matrix 1 by tying Zion's fate to Neo becoming the one.

The movie-edit is about 2,5 hours long.

Here's a trailer:


Password: Summers

My thanks go to "Only One Kenobi" for creating this great banner.:)
 

NewSpock

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When I began this project, I feared two things:

a) That the picture-colour of the footage from Reloaded/Revolutions wouldn't mesh well with Matrix 1's colours.
b) That I would disrupt the story's flow and pacing.

At this point I can say that these potential problems didn't arise regarding a): While editing I realized that the "green" colour Matrix 1 is famous for was only used in Matrix 1 for the scenes inside the matrix. So that meant for my edit, since I used only scenes from Reloaded/Revolutions that happened outside the matrix, I didn't run into that problem.

And regarding b): Fortunately I could interweave the scenes from Reloaded and Revolutions in a seamless way where they made sense storywise and cinematography-wise.

An interesting personal bonus for me editing this movie was that I finally got to understand why Mr. Smith knew which room Neo would run into at the end of Matrix 1 and wait for him there. The reason is of course that it was the same hotel he ran into in which at the beginning of the movie he found Trinity in, and so it was the same room where the telephone-gateway to leave the matrix would be... Room 303.

I put a clip on vimeo showing the beginning 3 minutes of my edit, in order to illustrate how I set up the story from the beginning.


Password: Summers

Enjoy
 

TV's Frink

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Wait, so you're using the boring parts of Reloaded and Revolutions, and cutting the fun stuff?

I'm only partially kidding.
 

NewSpock

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TV's Frink said:
Wait, so you're using the boring parts of Reloaded and Revolutions, and cutting the fun stuff?

I'm only partially kidding.

Yes, the cool and fun parts of Reloaded, the highway-scene, the fight in Merowinger's place, Trinity fighting against that agent.. are all not here in this edit.

I admit those are fun scenes, but for me story and characters are the most important things and whatever didn't serve the plot or the characters' development is not used. This edit focuses on telling a focused story where the in-the matrix-action is already perfectly represented by Matrix 1-action and I interweaved those story-elements from Reloaded and Revolutions from outside the Matrix that helped tell a complete story.

The good thing is that the interweaved scenes imho also help to feel Matrix 1 more complete, more important and more satisfying.

For anyone wanting to enjoy the great in-the matrix-action-action-scenes of Reloaded, the original is always there to spin it.
 

TV's Frink

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Yeah, but the original sucks. ;)
 

NewSpock

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TV's Frink said:
Yeah, but the original sucks. ;)

Yeah, but in the numerous matrix-edits already released, there are quite a few that "fix" Reloaded and Revolutions and combine them into a more interesting edit.

I take a completely different approach here in which the in-the-matrix-stuff of Reloaded and Revolutions didn't fit into.

But don't be worried, how I chose and interweaved the "boring" footage from the outside-of-the-matrix-parts of Reloaded/Revolutions makes it interesting.
 

Aztek463

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Don't worry about Frink too much, [MENTION=19767]NewSpock[/MENTION]. He's just messing with you. :p

I'm certainly interested in a new take on the story. You're right, there are plenty of edits of Reloaded and Revolutions, and an alternate take on the first film is certainly a breath of fresh air.
 

NewSpock

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Aztek463 said:
Don't worry about Frink too much, NewSpock. He's just messing with you. :p

I don't think he is. Most people love Reloaded's inside-the-matrix-action and so Frink was curious or even astonished that I would completely leave it out.

Therefore I explained that my edit is telling a different story.


The thing is, the relationship between humanity and machines is reflected perfectly in Neo's character:

Neo's real name is Mr. Andersen. Mr. Andersen is the way Mr. Smith likes to view humanity, conform, doing their daily job... while Neo is the rebel side of humanity that Mr. Smith wants to eradicate.

That's why Mr. Smith asking Neo to choose to be either Neo or Mr. Andersen is really a symbolic offer to the rebels of Zion to return to conformity or to face the ultimate consequence.

And when in the subway-scene near the end Neo says "My name is Neo", it was symbolically the final decision of humanity to go through the rebel-route, to either achieve victory/freedom or ultimate death.

And after Mr. Smith shot Neo and Neo was supposedly dead, Mr. Smith says : "Goodbye Mr. Andersen", unconsciously acknowledging that he only killed the conform-form, the slave, and that when he wakes up from death, it would only be Neo, the rebel, the side of him Mr. Smith couldn't kill.

That's why the fight between Mr. Smith and Neo/Mr. Andersen mirrors so well the fight between the machines and Zion, and that's why it was possible to tell the story in this edit accordingly.
 

ThrowgnCpr

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I think the concept that you have outlined in your first post is actually a really good one. The question is, does the footage available actually permit a decent follow-up to the first film? I'm still inclined to be pessimistic. Those sequels were real stinkers for so many reasons. I just don't watch them anymore.

I thought the Matrix was a great film - even with Kanunu at the front, its a brilliantly executed cyber-punk thriller. Following it up with epic fantasy action sequels just didn't provide that same vibe that the original film did. I am curious to see what you come up with though. This may be a reason for me to rewatch.



A couple of notes:

RE: the "green color" - The first film didn't originally have that extreme green color that is present on current releases, and that matches the choices made for the sequels. Check theatrical prints, and the initial DVD release. Follow-up DVD releases were heavily color-graded. The Blu-ray was as well, but it isn't quite as bad. There is a nice recolored 1080p version of the original film floating around the interwebs. I suggest seeking it (follow the white rabbit ;) ). You might consider re-grading the sequel footage in your edit to match the original release of The Matrix. Here is a comparison :

matrixcompare_zpsa5c81c80.jpg


more info here.

You should also seriously consider editing in 5.1 surround. It opens up a lot of opportunity for editing when you can isolate certain sound elements. There are definitely people here that would check the mix for you.
 

TV's Frink

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Not just that, but I always want 5.1 for these kinds of movies.
 

Aztek463

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+1 for the 5.1 bandwagon. Editing in 5.1 gives you a lot more flexibility in terms of editing choices, and from a storage standpoint, it doesn't take up all that much more room than stereo. I personally don't have a 5.1 set up either, but I've never released a stereo edit and I don't plan on it unless the primary source I'm using is stereo.

Of course, it's your edit and ultimately your call, but I do urge you to consider it. I'll watch it either way. :)
 

That One Guy

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This edit sounds great. I loved The Matrix when it came out and still think it's great, but aside from The Animatrix none of the followups really felt close to it in terms of quality.

In saying that, I'd definitely echo what others have said about working with 5.1 audio at least during the editing itself as this should give you more flexibility with things like audio transitions. I'm sure someone here would help out checking the levels for you.
 

NewSpock

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Thanks for all the interest in this edit, I guess Matrix is way more known than my beloved Buffy TV show.:)

Regarding the issues raised:

1. This is not a Matrix1-edit: It is a sort of Matrix 1-3 into one edit, because with this movie-edit, the story is completed, there can be no sequel to this edit, as there is no need and room for it. Still more than 80% of this edit stems from Matrix1.

2. Regarding the colours: I like the green tint for the in-matrix-scenes in Matrix 1, cause they make clear which scenes are happening inside and which outside of the matrix.

3. Regarding 5.1-sound: My workflow is right now optimised for stereo-editing. It would take me quite a while (probably weeks or months) to change the workflow and learn editing in 5.1 till I'm comfortable enough to release an edit in 5.1. I'm not completely against it, but for now this edit will be in stereo. If the edit is successful though, I might redo it in 5.1, after having learned and updated my workflow, in a version 2.0.
Thank god, Matrix was not filmed as 3d, otherwise you might have asked me to edit in 3d.:)
 

ThrowgnCpr

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NewSpock said:
2. Regarding the colours: I like the green tint for the in-matrix-scenes in Matrix 1, cause they make clear which scenes are happening inside and which outside of the matrix.

I'm not sure why this needs such clarification. It was never confusing. However, I know some people like the green change, so go with what you want.

NewSpock said:
3. Regarding 5.1-sound: My workflow is right now optimised for stereo-editing. It would take me quite a while (probably weeks or months) to change the workflow and learn editing in 5.1 till I'm comfortable enough to release an edit in 5.1. I'm not completely against it, but for now this edit will be in stereo. If the edit is successful though, I might redo it in 5.1, after having learned and updated my workflow, in a version 2.0.

optimised? There really isn't much difference in workflow between 2.0 and 5.1. There are multiple threads here outlining any additional steps. The flexibility in editing and the viewers enjoyment with 5.1 goes way beyond any "difficulty" in editing 5.1. It would be a lot easier than redoing it later.

NewSpock said:
Thank god, Matrix was not filmed as 3d, otherwise you might have asked me to edit in 3d.:)

lol, never. I hope 3D goes the way of the dinosaur. :D
 

NewSpock

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ThrowgnCpr said:
optimised? There really isn't much difference in workflow between 2.0 and 5.1. There are multiple threads here outlining any additional steps. The flexibility in editing and the viewers enjoyment with 5.1 goes way beyond any "difficulty" in editing 5.1. It would be a lot easier than redoing it later.

It's always difficult when doing something for the first time especially when I can't hear the result for myself.
Doing it later is not more difficult than doing it now, though, cause I would have to redo the edit from scratch anyway when wanting to do it in 5.1.

So since I'm not comfortable with 5.1 at the moment, I'll release it with stereo-sound and then learn from Final Cut Pro X youtube tutorials how to edit with 5.1 sound and redo the edit, which will take its time, cause I'm gonna focus my energy first on completing my Buffy-season 2-to movies-project.


ThrowgnCpr said:
lol, never. I hope 3D goes the way of the dinosaur. :D

I hope not, dinosaurs went their way for hundreds of millions of years.:lol:
 

NewSpock

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I created a cover for it:

hjlxuwqmzrlf0cgbpilnw1-large.jpg


And I turned that first videoclip into a teaser-trailer:


Password: Summers

But I need help in creating banner-art for it. Is someone interested in creating a banner for this edit?
The edit is finished and uploading as I write this. It will be a 16 GB-mkv.
 

ThrowgnCpr

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putting the cart before the horse? how far along are you? I would worry about finishing off the edit before minor details like the cover art, banner, and trailers. If you keep people interested with ideas, clips, etc., surely someone will jump on to help with those finishing details.
 

NewSpock

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ThrowgnCpr said:
putting the cart before the horse? how far along are you? I would worry about finishing off the edit before minor details like the cover art, banner, and trailers. If you keep people interested with ideas, clips, etc., surely someone will jump on to help with those finishing details.
Like I already said in my first post: I worked on this edit for months and didn't start this thread until it was nearly finished and I was sure it would work. It only needed polishing, especially regarding audio-transitions.

Well, I had a few days off and put some serious time into the edit to polish it and it's uploading now as I write this.

Are you experienced in creating banners?
Would be great if someone experienced could create a banner, I have problems getting those to the level needed for approval.
 

NewSpock

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The edit is finished and uploaded.:party: I plan a release hopefully for next week. And here's a trailer for this movie-edit:


Password: Summers
 
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