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I mean, I have spent 4 years on this edit and am continuously trying to achieve the quality of an 'official release,' I don't think that has ever been a question. There are more things to consider than just eyelines, a fairly small detail. The overall structure of the scene is more important to me in this particular case.I mean, I would at least consider trying to cut it completely. It's an obvious visual inconsistency because their eyelines don't match.
It all depends on how much of a sucker for visual consistency you are, though. I always aim for a cut that's as close to an 'official release' look and feel as possible. But this particular scene is such a headache (as you know, I've struggled with it myself haha)
Without the shot, Thorin is knocked to the ice, and nearly 60 seconds pass including a death of a main character, Azog is staring at an unknown person, before we see what the heck happened to Thorin, our main hero.
Now you are right there are 2 more shots I actually could potentially use, one which is a wider shot of Thorin before the Orc is right in front of him, the other is from legolas POV but it would feel kind of random to have that angle.
Regardless, none of this may end up mattering because
There will only be 1 version, so I will have to make it work. I am considering putting the ice fight back because you actually make a good point. It is only about 40 seconds long in my '23 version, the original inspiration to replacing it with a 2nd sad montage was: a) it's shorter by about 15-20 seconds when you factor in the re-using of the Bats shot b) I have lengthened Laketown & other moments so I desperately need to shorten somewhere else and c) it respected the book more. But if it's really going to ruin the Azog/Thorin moments I'm not sure.In your previous versions, there was much more footage of Thorin and Azog fighting before the Eagles showed up, including multiple parts in which Thorin fell down and had to struggle to get up. That way, when it cut back to him pinned down by Azog after the Eagles scene, it felt much more natural and self-explanatory. The footage you had included of the ice/flail fight felt like proper setup for it. With it gone and nothing that really works as a substitutionary setup, the scene just doesn't feel right/properly set up to me.
Fair enough. I guess for me, the problems with the stone flail bother me less than the problems with the other two options. Your last version of the Book Edit was almost perfect for me.
Regardless of whatever editing decisions you wind up going with, might you leave your previous version uploaded (with a version number to indicate that it's an older version) in addition to uploading your new one, so people can choose which one they prefer?