TV's Frink said:
Thank you for the detailed review
seciors! I have to say, you've been doing a great job reviewing edits. You always put a lot of thought and effort into your reviews and it's very much appreciated.
You are very welcome Frink!
I feel like editors are owed a detailed review given the amount of work they put into an edit. But that's just my own personal decision, I respect people who approach reviews in other ways and also I know (usually) even a short review is better than no review at all!
I must admit though it does pain me to add a review to an edit when I my overall rating is lower than the average. I hope in these cases the editor can focus on the positive things I mention (which is why I do feel inclined to go into detail). I'm pretty sure you fall into this camp, but it is something that still bothers me, perhaps given my newness to reviewing on this site.
The new voice is Johnny from The Room. Did you have problems with all his dialogue or just when he had his helmet on? With his helmet off I used the untouched audio from The Room, so (weird accent aside) there shouldn't have been a problem with the quality. With his helmet on, I purposely degraded the original audio to make it more realistic. I tried to not push it too far, but if you aren't familiar with the movie it might be hard to understand what he's saying.
Let me preface my comments by saying I was listening via headphones on my computer and thus I was experiencing a stereo downmix of your surround sound.
With the helmet on, it was a little harder for me to hear, and I do get why you would do that. Without the helmet or with it on, I just felt the audio itself had a different quality to it as compared to the rest of the dialog - like it had less expansiveness to it, or was from a mono source...hard to explain, I only even brought it up because it was used so often, given the character's prominence in the edit. I was ok with the fact that I couldn't understand some lines due to the accent, as that happens in real movies to me sometimes. ;-)
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is one of the inspirations for these edits, and in particular this idea:
http://www.toledofreepress.com/2011/01/05/mcginnis-‘the-right-people-will-get-this’/
I heartily approve of the idea expressed in that article and in fact I think it applies to many fan edits. To me, those are the best ones actually, since one is staying true to a specific vision and artistic/creative goal. Hopefully it came across in my review that even though I was one of those that fell on the side of "not getting" more of the jokes this time around, I still recognized your artistic/creative approach, and acknowledged respect for it (and if not, please let this serve as that acknowledgement!)
But where better to use it than a boring deleted scene?
Touché.
We know that humor is subjective, but it's always very interesting to me when I confront that fact head-on. The Obi third-person and Padme senator jokes are often referenced by some people as great bits. But of course you loved some stuff that other people didn't care for...ultimately I just have to do what feels best (and funniest) to me and let the chips fall where they may. Regarding the voices that don't fit, you might be surprised at how many things I try out and ultimately discard because of audio issues. Usually it's when the dialogue I've created is just not understandable, but sometimes I do reject ideas because the audio sounds so rough. Having said that, sometimes when a single word I've cut in is different in inflection than the rest of the sentence, it actually make me laugh more.
Yes, I totally am on board with everything you said! And I do think you ultimately HAVE TO "do what feels funniest (and best) to [you]" as that is part of the artistic process, whether you are making a fan edit, a movie, or any artistic creation. The more bold you are, the more divided your reception will usually be (except in very rare cases).
My 12 yr old daughter is very into art, and I tell her how there will always be people who won't like your work, but you must always be true to your own vision, and not let negative reviews or opinions get you down. I tell her it is much better to get a strong reaction than none at all, or an "it was ok" type of response. Because that means you have touched upon a person's emotions, and you have affected them in some way...which is the goal of art, I think! I used this as a way of helping me getting through some of the many pages (you know the ones) of my work in progress thread, in fact! (And using it as an example for my daughter.) and I think I will need to take that advice myself when my current edit is released!
Anyway, this thread is about
your work, but I do think the same principle applies to it. Which is a Good Thing, in my opinion!
As I said in that version 2 thread that Gatos made, I might consider revisiting these edits someday to shorten them up. Maybe a "purist" version.
Well, you know I am on board with that, but in the end, I support whatever decision you make, as any work you decide to invest your valuable time on should be enjoyable for you. so I also understand if you decide not to do this. Your work already has pleased many people!
Your edit entertained me and I don't regret watching it; maybe that doesn't sound like high praise, but really it is considering my opinion of the source material!
Again, thank you so much for the review.
You are welcome again, and thank you again for your gracious and thoughtful reply to it! And I am looking forward to your Episode III!