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Superman: Last Son - A Man of Steel Fanfix

TinyBreadMouse

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Superman: Last Son


Brief Synopsis
Clark Kent, an outsider since birth and son of two worlds, finds himself as the Earth's lone guardian against a threat from deep space.


Intention
My goal with this edit is to fix the film's pacing problems and rein in the over indulgence of visual spectacle. The first half of the film is far more grounded, burns at a slower place, and focuses more on the character's advancing the story with their actions rather than reacting to plot advancements, while the second half acts as a roller coaster of action, with an all new ending and mid-credits scene that leaves the viewer with the feeling of optimistic hopefulness that Snyder always intended. Additionally, the film is presented in a more chronological order rather than the nonlinear storytelling approach employed by the theatrical cut.

Complete Cutlist

[/] Tweaked color grading throughout
[+] "Look to the Stars" begins playing at a later point in the track
[+] Rearranged Kal's birth to tighten the pacing as well as the audio
[+] Added date & location subtitle: "KRYPTON | 33 Years Ago"
[+] Added 3D House of El animation and custom film title sequence
[-] Removed the Rondor yelling into the sky
[-] Removed all the scenes depicting the coup as Jor-El flies to the birthing chamber
[-] Trimmed Jor-El getting off H'Raka, moved his and Kelix' conversation accordingly
[-] Trimmed Zod's stare at the council, now he answers after only a brief pause
[-] Removed Zod spitting on the council
[-] Removed one of Zod's "I will find him!" lines so that the scene flows more naturally
[-] Removed the wideshot of the Penis Pods ascending into the prison ship
[+] Moved the shot of the councilor looking up to before Lara herself looks up, sound moved accordingly
[+] Phantom Drive closing hard-cuts to black
[+] Added date subtitle: "Three Weeks Later"
[+] Sent Here For a Reason" plays over top of Clark's journey to Earth
[+] Added location subtitle: "EARTH"
[+] Added date & location subtitle: "SMALLVILLE | Twenty Years Ago"
[+] Moved the bus crash/Pa Kent talk scene to immediately after the pod lands on Earth
[-] Removed much of Pa's musings on Clark's impact on the world, now he simply says "We talked about this. You saw how Pete's mom reacted."
[-] Removed Clark yelling "Tell me!"
[+] Moved Clark being bullied as a teenager to here
[+] Added date subtitle: "Eight Months Later"
[+] Moved Clark's northern hitch hike to here
[-] Removed the tinkle exchange between Lois and Col. Hardy
[-] Removed Lois asking "Where the hell are you going?"
[/] Created close-up shot of the command key sitting in the ignition
[-] Trimmed polar bear footage
[-] Removed "a shadow of him"
[-] Removed "I have so many questions"
[+] Moved Lois speaking to Pete Ross here
[-] Removed Lois driving up to the Kent's farm and speaking to Ma Kent
[+] Moved Clark coming home and speaking to Martha here
[+] Moved Lois and Clark at Pa Kent's grave here
[+] Added footsteps to indicate Clark walks to the grave, not flies
[-] Removed the entirety of the tornado sequence
[+] Moved Clark's line "What do you think?" here
[+] Moved Lois being scolded by Perry here
[+] Moved Swanwick's introduction here
[-] Trimmed some of the international communities watching Zod's message
[+] Connected the two church scenes into one continuous sequence
[-] Removed the priest's fearful swallow
[-] Removed the military readying their weapons on Clark
[-] Removed Superman's demands that Lois' be unharmed and let go
[-] Removed Clark leaving the military soldiers
[+] Moved Zod releasing the world engine here
[-] Removed Clark and Lois' kiss atop the rubble
[/] Created artificial zoom during Metropolis fight
[-] Shortened Zod's death to appear more spontaneous and frantic and time-sensitive
[-] Removed Clark's screams as he kneels
[+] Moved Clark checking in on Martha and the house damage here
[+] Moved Clark and Martha visiting Pa's grave here
[-] Removed Clark and Ma talking about how Pa would be proud
[-] Removed flashback to Clark as a child
[+] Added "Superman: Last Son" title card
[+] New credits sequence spliced with First Flight footage
[+] Moved the satellite scene here to create new mid-credits sequence
[+] Added date subtitle: "Four Months Later"
[+] Moved shot of Clark flying around the Earth to the end of the film to close out the credits before the WB logo appears

Cutlist Legend
[+] Additions/Movement
[-] Removals/Trims
[/] Technical Changes

Original runtime is 2hr 28m, but my edit has been trimmed down to just over 2 hours. The cut content is justified by the more focused, less muddled plot, the better pacing, and the new emphasis on character motivation and the events that cause the plot to move forward. The film no longer hits a slow point an hour and a half into it.

This edit is the first in my New DCEU series, a fanediting project that intends to streamline the DCEU film franchise. You can learn more about it HERE.​
 
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Malthus

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TinyBreadMouse said:
What do you think of the date subtitle? The final outline color will be solid black, I was just experimenting with the blue. Is it too big? Should I pick a better font? What about spacing?
How are the cuts? Is the new editing of the scene coherent?

The font and the subtitle in general look good, I didn't notice any issues with the transitions but with the audio so low it is difficult to say for certain. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this.
 

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Yeah, actually replaying it on Vimeo just now it's much quieter than I anticipated. Maybe Vimeo normalizes the audio on its own, which would have brought it way down. I may just render out that part and reupload. Thanks for the feedback though.
 

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Okay, round two for the opening two minutes. This is the state I'll be leaving it in in the final cut, unless stated otherwise.

Cutlist:
-Removed, trimmed, and rearranged some shots of Kal's birth to tighten pacing and smooth over this film's over-editing problem.
-Complete color overhaul.
-Look to the Stars begins at a later point in the track.
-Audio rearranged
-Added date subtitle "Krypton | 33 Years Ago"
-Added 3D Superman logo from end credits here.
-Removed Rondor yelling into the sky.
-Establishing shot of Krypton moved elsewhere.

 
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TinyBreadMouse

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The next scene I'd like some feedback on is the Race to the Codex, which in this cut has been drastically reduced. Now, Jor-El dispatches the SoR soldiers and tells Lara he'll be right there, then hard cut to H'Raka swooping off of the council building and flying straight for the birthing chambers, removing nearly every single frame related to the coup happening outside. The reason for this is two-fold;
  • Firstly, I wanted to cut down the CG eye candy in the opening prologue since I feel there is far too much, and it takes away from the CG eye candy in the third act.
  • Secondly, I wanted to reveal Krypton's fate more gradually than the theatrical film. Our knowledge of Krypton and its current state are dripfed to the audience now. We open with Kal's birth, then we get the revelation that Krypton has very little time left due to harvesting the planet's core, then we learn that Zod is attempting to overthrow the council and finally, after Jor-El steals the Codex, we learn that Zod has a full military force at his disposal).
As complete a cutlist I can make;

-Remixed audio.
-Removed all the scenes of Krypton at war, excluding the shot of Jor-El and H'Raka flying to the Codex, where a fireball erupts in the background, but it can be explained away by it being signs of Krypton's instability.
-Trimmed Jor-El landing H'Raka and shifted the dialog when he's talking to Kelix
-Music changed as well


I'm not fully convinced that the hard cut to Jor-El flying on H'Raka works, so any suggestions on how to smooth out the editing on that is greatly appreciated. Or, let me know if you have an alternative idea. I'm not set on how I reduce Krypton's opening, as I have several more ideas I could use instead.
 
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Zarius

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You sure that was a hard cut? Didn't notice anything that stood out to the ears
 

TinyBreadMouse

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It could just be that I know it's edited, so I have a bias.
 

TinyBreadMouse

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Thanks Addie, Zarius.

Another clip today. This one is slightly more complex. I've re-edited the scene of Zod's sentencing and imprisonment.

-Shortened Zod's pause as he stares at the councilor, now he answers after a brief pause, and we still get to see Shannon's amazing glare.
-Removed Zod spitting on the councilor. It seems too childish, too beneath someone who Faora would hold in such high regards. It just feels out of place.
-Removed one "I will find him" to make the dialog flow more naturally.
-Remove the shot of the Penis Pods ascending into the prison escort.
-Moved some scenes around for better pacing
-The Phantom Drive closing hard cuts to black.
-Added "Three Weeks Later" subtitle
-And of course the color re-grading is consistent with what I've been doing so far, keeping skin tones intact while trying to increase color visibility.

The reason for these edits, mostly, is just to help quicken the pace of the film and to keep the viewer informed. Too much can overwhelm a viewer, so I'm trying to keep the dialog short, sweet, and to the point. The date subtitles also help with chronology. I also removed the shot of the Penis Pods because I just don't like the design. You can still the cocoon harden around them, and it honestly does just look like a cocoon from the mid-section and up. Overall, the opening Krypton sequence is about a minute shorter, with all the crucial story moments, dialog, and action beats intact, but with better pacing, more cohesive visual narrative flow, and less overwhelming CG explosions.


And one more thing; I'm toying with removing "Jor-El was right." I initially appreciated Zod and Jor-El's friendship in the film, but as Zod shows later in the film, his ties to Jor-El are entirely severed. But the last time the two interact is Jor-El's murder. My interpretation of this arc is that Zod truly ceased being the respectable man he was, like Jor-El said, when he murdered a former friend over his idealistic crusade. At that moment, Zod was truly lost. In that respect, I don't think he would openly admit to Jor-El being right, even if he did honestly agree (which I don't think he did, as it sounds more like he's just trying to hurl mean words at them). Let me know your all's ideas on this.

As always, let me know what you guys think.

 
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Zarius

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Good work there again. The pacing was simply that much more tightened. Glad you also just about  tried to keep to the movie's font with the 'two weeks later' too
 

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Today's update pertains to what made my original cut of this film so unique (imo); the narrative restructuring. This cut of the film plays very linearly, unlike ZS's original, which I feel was trying to imitate Batman Begins' nonlinear structure (though, a Man of Steel edit that played identical to Batman Begins would be really cool...). Anyway, because of this, drastic narrative changes have been made, such as the schoolbus accident flashback and the school bullies flashback being combined into one long sequence that covers eight months of time. I can't show you that, as Youtube blocks it for copyright strikes, even though I'm not attempting to monetize the video, so instead you get to see the scene revealing Lois finding Pete Ross who leads her to the Kent farmhouse, with Superman coming home soon after and speaking with Lois about wanting his identity kept secret. In this edit, the tornado death scene is completely removed. Now, Lois simply sees the gravestone, listens to Clark's reasoning, sees how deeply it affects him, and just decides to back off. No CGI spectacle to be seen here.

Cutlist:
-Moved Lois speaking to Pete Ross to after Jor-El shows Clark his ambassador robe and explains the family crest
-Removed Lois driving up to the Kent's farm and speaking to Ma Kent
-Moved Clark coming home and speaking to Martha here
-Moved Lois and Clark at Pa Kent's grave here
-Added footsteps to indicate Clark walks to the grave, not flies
-Removed the entirety of the tornado sequence
-Moved Clark's line "What do you think?" here

 
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Zarius

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The editing is fine and I like where you take the conversation with Lois, but I do feel we need to absorb the interaction with Martha more before we cut to Lois at the grave. I feel like we're missing something otherwise.
 

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Zarius said:
The editing is fine and I like where you take the conversation with Lois, but I do feel we need to absorb the interaction with Martha more before we cut to Lois at the grave. I feel like we're missing something otherwise.

Decided to just keep the entire scene with Ma Kent. In my edit, we don't see Lois go to the Kent's farm, we move from her speaking to Pete Ross to Clark coming home to tell his mother the good news regarding his heritage, she tells him Lois has come by asking questions, and we move to Pa's grave where Lois is found waiting for Clark.
 

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This edit is officially finished. Rendering now, will notify mods to have it reviewed when I wake up. PM if interested in viewing.
 

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Rendered and uploaded to Mega. I'll be submitting the IFDB listing tonight.
 

TinyBreadMouse

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Oct. 26th
I had many issues with the theatrical cut - mostly its pacing, the colour palette and a few plot points. A few edits tackled these issues fairly well - for example, TM2YC's An Ideal of Hope fixed the palette issues in a spectacular way, turned the film into an eye candy, as well as resolved the pacing issues. For me, TinyBreadMouse's edit did all that while also fixing the plot points that bothered me.
Pacing - While the TC spent roughly forever on Krypton, in this edit we see just the essential bits that help the story better, I assume that the chronological structure of this edit has prevented the use of these scenes as flashbacks later in the film (a trick used in some edits), but I think this opening works well.
The absence of flashbacks really helps the plot move forward throughout this edit, and especially in the first half of the film. While I liked seeing Clark learn how to master each of his powers, it really slowed the TC and in retrospect diminished my enjoyment of it. So thumbs up on that decision.
Plot Points - I really disliked Jonathan Kent's death in the TC, and didn't feel that Clark momentary guilt really changed anything in the plot. So removing the tornado scene altogether was a wonderful decision.
Another plot point which annoyed me in the TC was the final battle in Metropolis - I felt that Superman should do anything and everything to take the fight elsewhere, and especially to avoid killing Zod. In this edit, however, it was much clearer that Zod would kill everyone and everything if Clark didn't fight him to the death. So well done again.

To summarize - a wonderful second entry in your New DCEU series.

-boazz750 

Thank you boazz750 for the lovely review. My initial edit that I began working on back in 2018 had the opening consist solely of Clark's birth and his launch in the small phantom drive ship before transitioning straight to adult Clark on the boat, but it never sat well with me. So then I decided to uproot the entire opening prologue and repurpose it as a flashback, as many did before me, during Jor-El's exposition dump to Clark. But I didn't keep it simply because many others had tried that, and it strikes me as uncreative if everyone can find their way to that conclusion, so I challenged myself to keep it as a prologue while keeping it tonally and visually consistent with the rest of the film, and I'm proud to say that I appear to have succeeded.

And the last thing I'd like to point out is the new emphasis on Clark and Zod's fight. In the novelization, based on the original script, Clark is described as being too exhausted to keep up with Zod.

For Clark, he'd just been sedated in an entirely new atmospheric composition he couldn't handle, briefly fought Zod, was beaten up by Faora and Nam-Ek (and the US military), and finally flew across the planet to deal with the World Engine. Zod on the other hand, bullied a middle-aged human woman, was briefly exposed to his X-ray vision, and took a flying ship all the way back to Metropolis. He had conserved energy the entire time. He was at peak performance. Clark was outmatched.

The film doesn't convey this at all, because Snyder typically chooses interesting visuals over visual storytelling. That's why I removed the kiss between him and Lois and created the artificial camera zoom during one of their hand to hand skirmishes. An exhausted Clark probably isn't worried about kissing Lois, let alone dropping that terrible line about Earth Girls. And the camera zoom focuses the fight back on Zod and Clark, not on the crumbling buildings surrounding the two. Now you can see, front and center, Zod beating the shit out of Clark. And of course, I shortened Zod's death as much as I could to help convey Clark's hopelessness.
 

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Dec. 13
I first watched this movie a few months after it was released so I can't remember it in the fullest but from what I remember I mostly enjoyed it although it did drag on a bit, so the scenes removed helped speed up the pace and all the audio and video edits are perfectly executed and wouldn't be noticeable to a first time viewer as I've only seen the original once and didn't notice. This will be my go to version if I ever feel like watching Man of Steel again due to being shorter then the original which made it a more enjoyable experience.

-youngy94
Thank you for the lovely review
 

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I'm finally getting around to an updated version of this edit. Some color grading needs to be fixed, especially the snowy scenes. They looked fine on my last monitor, but not so much on the newer one.

Additionally, I'm creating a mid-credits sequence for the film that will consist of a condensed version of Bruce Wayne during the Black Zero Event. We open on the city of Metropolis watching the World Engine in shock as a well-dressed man (identity currently unknown) arrives on the scene. As the chaos and panic ensues and buildings are leveled, this man runs into the dust and rubble to save civilians. After rescuing a young girl from falling debris, he holds her in his arms and peers overhead at the two god-like beings who are destroying everything around them; Superman and General Zod. As the camera dollies out, we see a crumpled sign; Wayne Financial. This is Bruce Wayne. Cut to credits.
This works fine on it's own for a MoS edit, but losing that entire opening for BvS really hurts the film's pacing and takes away Superman's impact on Bruce.
 
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