Stephen King's It (1990): The Cinematic Cut -- Trailer & Poster in OP

[Sinbad]

I take it that as the black sides are cropped away to make it 16:9 he has selected the most relevant part of the top/bottom rather than the left/right of the image.

 

[Conrad MacIntyre]

I haven't watched this edit but I am curious about the pan and scan comment. Unless I'm mistaken, this is an edit of the original IT from 1990, correct? That version was made for television and had an aspect ratio of 4:3, so why would pan and scan need to be used here? Just curious is all.

Sinbad is exactly right. It’s a vertical pan and scan as opposed to a horizontal pan and scan in the old “formatted to fit your television” home video releases back in the day. 

I remember watching the new widescreen versions of classic Law and Order and X-Files episodes and being very impressed with how this simple (not simple) change in aspect ratio can do so much to help with modernization.

 

[thecuddlyninja]

This one was a pleasure to review. Absolutely great work taking a miniseries that feels very dated (I just watched it a few months ago) and updating it as much as possible without feeling anachronistic. Particularly good job with the rescoring, the new music choices worked very well. Sometimes subtle and sometimes very overt, the selection was pretty impeccable in my opinion. There's no way to restructure and reorder as much as you did without using a lot of transitions but this is a situation where the crossfades didn't feel overused because the source material utilized it so much. It also seems of the era in a good way rather than "overly fanedited" if that makes sense. I think this piece works so much better intercut, and you made some really smart choices to use flashbacks from the first part to inform character in scenes from the second part. The original falls a bit flat for me because I care a lot more about the first part than I do the second and this makes them work together.

Some highlights of use of the new score:
- The group hug
- When the kids enter the sewer
- Stan running through the tunnels
- The adult dinner scene
- The flashback to when Stan sees It
- The library scene when It goes full poltergeist on the adults

There are a couple of technical spots that I think should be tightened up:
38:58 I think it needs a longer crossfade here to match earlier fades between the two timelines
1:02:58 Stretch out the sound effect (which is really good) a little bit longer since we're jumping between timelines
1:13:39 You should start the organ music in the scene before (audio leads the viewer into a hard cut) because it seems abrupt coming in right after the cut
1:14:40 Abrupt audio cut as the music drops out, even though it's supposed to be no break in time
1:17:18 Audio not synced right (or missing a bit). I think (and looking at his mouth) Beverly's dad says "What're you doing down here with these boys, BEVY" but the "Bevy" part is not on the audio track at all, so his mouth moves but we don't hear it.
1:34:37 - Pan down is a little jittery - frames dropped? Or slowed down artificially?
1:51:52 In the Stan flashback either the music needs to come down or the vocal track needs to come up but the music drowns out parts of the VO
2:05:38 Music drops out a bit too suddenly
2:17:31 The position of Eddie's head doesn't match from one cut to the next. I would recommend inserting a closeup of someone else in between the two so you don't have to lose the Eddie closeup (I really like that performance)

Lastly, a recommendation that you don't have to take for approval but is just a suggestion. I would definitely cut the Ben/Beverly kiss at 2:12:30. It stands out as so bizarre to me that they share this conversation and moment while Mike is literally dying and they are waiting to hear his fate. Movies do this all the time but this is one of the most off-putting to me.

Excellent first edit. Just a few things to tighten up, which is really impressive given how much editing this took. I enjoyed this significantly more than the original version.

 

[Conrad MacIntyre]

This one was a pleasure to review. Absolutely great work taking a miniseries that feels very dated (I just watched it a few months ago) and updating it as much as possible without feeling anachronistic. Particularly good job with the rescoring, the new music choices worked very well. Sometimes subtle and sometimes very overt, the selection was pretty impeccable in my opinion. There's no way to restructure and reorder as much as you did without using a lot of transitions but this is a situation where the crossfades didn't feel overused because the source material utilized it so much. It also seems of the era in a good way rather than "overly fanedited" if that makes sense. I think this piece works so much better intercut, and you made some really smart choices to use flashbacks from the first part to inform character in scenes from the second part. The original falls a bit flat for me because I care a lot more about the first part than I do the second and this makes them work together.

Some highlights of use of the new score:
- The group hug
- When the kids enter the sewer
- Stan running through the tunnels
- The adult dinner scene
- The flashback to when Stan sees It
- The library scene when It goes full poltergeist on the adults

Wow. Thank you so much. I'm glad the time I put into this comes through. I really feel that there is a quite a good movie thinly veiled behind some cheesy writing and poor effects here & there.

38:58 I think it needs a longer crossfade here to match earlier fades between the two timelines

I've extended the crossfade as far as the clips will allow without existing cuts popping into the fade. Hopefully this does the trick.

1:02:58 Stretch out the sound effect (which is really good) a little bit longer since we're jumping between timelines

I've slowed it from 35% to 30%. This increases the overall duration from 1s37ms to 1s55ms

1:13:39 You should start the organ music in the scene before (audio leads the viewer into a hard cut) because it seems abrupt coming in right after the cut

This is a limit of the source material, but I took your suggestion and tightened the scene a smidge to have the organ start piping in before the cut.

1:14:40 Abrupt audio cut as the music drops out, even though it's supposed to be no break in time

Extended the audio across the cut.

1:17:18 Audio not synced right (or missing a bit). I think (and looking at his mouth) Beverly's dad says "What're you doing down here with these boys, BEVY" but the "Bevy" part is not on the audio track at all, so his mouth moves but we don't hear it.

This is another limit of the source material. I didn't change the dialog in this part at all. But, like the Odometer in the DeLorean, once you see it, it cannot be unseen. Haha. I grabbed a few frames from another part of the scene where he isn't moving his mouth and tracked it over top of the existing footage with a highly feathered mask. I think this came out pretty well.

1:34:37 - Pan down is a little jittery - frames dropped? Or slowed down artificially?

This is another limitation of the source (Sinbad also noticed this) so I double-checked my source as well as a DVD version I.. tracked down for comparison. So I've SLOWED the shot of the back of Bev's head after the jerky pan is complete and then stabilized that material. I think it came out pretty well TBH. Perhaps you agree?

1:51:52 In the Stan flashback either the music needs to come down or the vocal track needs to come up but the music drowns out parts of the VO

This is a combination of the original -- inextricable -- score and the new cue. I have reduced the volume of the new cue considerably, let me know if I've gone overboard, but I think they work well together (which is why I layered them in the first place) so dropping the new one doesn't stick out at all to my ears.

2:05:38 Music drops out a bit too suddenly

Extended cue to fade out more gradually.

2:17:31 The position of Eddie's head doesn't match from one cut to the next. I would recommend inserting a closeup of someone else in between the two so you don't have to lose the Eddie closeup (I really like that performance)

Switched the close-up of Bed & Ben with the one of Eddie.

Lastly, a recommendation that you don't have to take for approval but is just a suggestion. I would definitely cut the Ben/Beverly kiss at 2:12:30. It stands out as so bizarre to me that they share this conversation and moment while Mike is literally dying and they are waiting to hear his fate. Movies do this all the time but this is one of the most off-putting to me.

I don't think the kiss actually adds anything to the story. If it weren't for the discovery that Ben wrote the poem, I'd cut this whole sequence. That "why is it so mean" monologue really doesn't do it for me. But, alas, it is what it is. I already trimmed it *way* back because it really did seem to be a bit much for the circumstances. But then, it's also a 30-year payoff. Anyway, I removed the actual kissy-kissy, but not the moment. 

The new version (1.3) is available in the same location as the previous version. Cheers!

 

[thecuddlyninja]

Cheers, man. I will go through the new version when I have some time, hopefully this weekend. 

In the meantime, I figured I'd share the poster I made for my digital collection and BD cover I made for my physical collection in case anybody else was interested (based on art by Pinterest user Yesenia Moran) I took a really cool poster and removed the paper boat and added the title. I personally chose a new font because I wanted it to feel updated but I wanted to differentiate from the original and remake, which sit right next to it. I liked your poster idea but the dark red on greenish darkness just didn't look very clear IMO. The more options the merrier, anyway.

Poster:


BD Cover:

 

[Conrad MacIntyre]

That’s a rad poster. I may just steal it.

 

[thecuddlyninja]

38:58 I think it needs a longer crossfade here to match earlier fades between the two timelines

I've extended the crossfade as far as the clips will allow without existing cuts popping into the fade. Hopefully this does the trick.

Yep, that works for me.

1:02:58 Stretch out the sound effect (which is really good) a little bit longer since we're jumping between timelines

I've slowed it from 35% to 30%. This increases the overall duration from 1s37ms to 1s55ms

This works but if you're a perfectionist I would recommend taking that sound, doubling it and then crossfading them together to get a bit more out of it.

1:13:39 You should start the organ music in the scene before (audio leads the viewer into a hard cut) because it seems abrupt coming in right after the cut

This is a limit of the source material, but I took your suggestion and tightened the scene a smidge to have the organ start piping in before the cut.

Nice, sounds good.

1:14:40 Abrupt audio cut as the music drops out, even though it's supposed to be no break in time

Extended the audio across the cut.

Ditto

1:17:18 Audio not synced right (or missing a bit). I think (and looking at his mouth) Beverly's dad says "What're you doing down here with these boys, BEVY" but the "Bevy" part is not on the audio track at all, so his mouth moves but we don't hear it.

This is another limit of the source material. I didn't change the dialog in this part at all. But, like the Odometer in the DeLorean, once you see it, it cannot be unseen. Haha. I grabbed a few frames from another part of the scene where he isn't moving his mouth and tracked it over top of the existing footage with a highly feathered mask. I think this came out pretty well.

Isn't fanediting fun? You've fixed a mistake in the original version. Very nice work.

1:34:37 - Pan down is a little jittery - frames dropped? Or slowed down artificially?

This is another limitation of the source (Sinbad also noticed this) so I double-checked my source as well as a DVD version I.. tracked down for comparison. So I've SLOWED the shot of the back of Bev's head after the jerky pan is complete and then stabilized that material. I think it came out pretty well TBH. Perhaps you agree?

I went back and you're right but again, you've fixed an error.

1:51:52 In the Stan flashback either the music needs to come down or the vocal track needs to come up but the music drowns out parts of the VO

This is a combination of the original -- inextricable -- score and the new cue. I have reduced the volume of the new cue considerably, let me know if I've gone overboard, but I think they work well together (which is why I layered them in the first place) so dropping the new one doesn't stick out at all to my ears.

I think the new mix is perfect. The new cue plays well with it and we can hear the voiceover clearly. Great job.

2:05:38 Music drops out a bit too suddenly

Extended cue to fade out more gradually.

Sounds good

2:17:31 The position of Eddie's head doesn't match from one cut to the next. I would recommend inserting a closeup of someone else in between the two so you don't have to lose the Eddie closeup (I really like that performance)

Switched the close-up of Bed & Ben with the one of Eddie.

Fixed, and I think it plays better.

Lastly, a recommendation that you don't have to take for approval but is just a suggestion. I would definitely cut the Ben/Beverly kiss at 2:12:30. It stands out as so bizarre to me that they share this conversation and moment while Mike is literally dying and they are waiting to hear his fate. Movies do this all the time but this is one of the most off-putting to me.

I don't think the kiss actually adds anything to the story. If it weren't for the discovery that Ben wrote the poem, I'd cut this whole sequence. That "why is it so mean" monologue really doesn't do it for me. But, alas, it is what it is. I already trimmed it *way* back because it really did seem to be a bit much for the circumstances. But then, it's also a 30-year payoff. Anyway, I removed the actual kissy-kissy, but not the moment. 

Nicely done! I think this is an improvement.

Excellent work, and a pleasure to watch!

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

Welcome to the green club Conrad MacIntyre.

 

[Sinbad]

Well done Mr Macintyre it was an excellent edit, will leave a review when its on ifdb.

 

[Conrad MacIntyre]

This project now has an official poster and trailer.

POSTER:

TRAILER:

Added to OP: https://forums.fanedit.org/showthread.php?tid=15767&pid=292618#pid292618

 

[Conrad MacIntyre]

Aaaaaaand I just realized the IFDb link is wrong. Stupid reliance on bookmarking. I’ll update it in the morning. Night all.

 

[TM2YC]

Edit is now on ifdb. Thread moved.

 

[Horrifyingly Hillarous]

Finally got around to watching this today and can honestly say it’s probably one of the best tv to movie edits on the site so far, I to enjoy the original mini-series and agree that it hasn’t aged well but this edit just about fixes everything you could think of. Well done sir and I look forward to your next project. Also may I suggest you giving the short lived Mist tv show a look for another candidat for the cinamatic treatment ?

 

[Conrad MacIntyre]

Thank you so much! I appreciate any constructive (or complimentary) feedback. I find that if I watch more than a minute or two of this edit I can't help but get hooked into watching the remainder as well.

Cheers!

 

[Jimmy Jesus]

Stellar edit! Made me love a movie/mini-series that I hated originally. Scarier, tighter, and more heartfelt. 10/10!