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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Edits

First of all, awesome work Stromboli Bones!
I don't know about everyone else, but I feel this is the way to go. It's a natural fit for the miniseries format. As we all know, fanedits have always struggled with the transition from AUJ to DOS, and having a miniseries structure basically solves this problem automatically, since one simply has to coincide episode 2 ending with AUJ ending (btw, M4's fanedit uses an intermission here). It feels natural and the cliffhanger isn't really all that necessary, the audience knows the journey is still ahead. Whichever the final decision, this is definitely the best Hobbit fanedit around. Miniseries is definitely the way to adapt the Hobbit, which is an episodic book in nature. Cheers
 
Stromboli Bones said:
As I continue to get lots and lots of feedback, I've been wrestling with whether I implement the suggested changes, because I like(d?) my edit how it is now.

However, does that mean there isn't room for improvement? No, but what is "better?"

Oof.

Anyway, probably the most commonly suggested change is the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 2, so I whipped up a sample of how I'd handle it differently. I will probably go this route, as the end of 2 currently seems to confuse a lot of people (most recently, some family members had never seen it before and didn't understand the jump to DOS)

BUT I'm not 100% sold yet. Figured I'd put this out there in case anyone feels like weighing in!

(Note, I skipped most of the intro to episode 3 just to make the video shorter)

Click to expand...

I actually had no issue with the original version.

This new one though, is more clear.

I feel you, it will be a tough decision.

If a lot of people get confused about it, its probably better to change. The new version works well for the episodic format.

However, I would absolutely keep the original in the single film version.
 
JPePe said:
If a lot of people get confused about it, its probably better to change. The new version works well for the episodic format.
Click to expand...
ibuk27 said:
I don't know about everyone else, but I feel this is the way to go. It's a natural fit for the miniseries format. As we all know, fanedits have always struggled with the transition from AUJ to DOS, and having a miniseries structure basically solves this problem automatically, since one simply has to coincide episode 2 ending with AUJ ending
Click to expand...
I'm going to render out new Episodes 2 and 3 tonight and sit on it, but I think I'll probably end up being just as satisfied with it this way, and if this makes it better for the most people, that's a Win in my book.

Thank you both for the insight and the kind words :')
 
Stromboli Bones said:
As I continue to get lots and lots of feedback, I've been wrestling with whether I implement the suggested changes, because I like(d?) my edit how it is now.

However, does that mean there isn't room for improvement? No, but what is "better?"

Oof.

Anyway, probably the most commonly suggested change is the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 2, so I whipped up a sample of how I'd handle it differently. I will probably go this route, as the end of 2 currently seems to confuse a lot of people (most recently, some family members had never seen it before and didn't understand the jump to DOS)

BUT I'm not 100% sold yet. Figured I'd put this out there in case anyone feels like weighing in!

(Note, I skipped most of the intro to episode 3 just to make the video shorter)

Click to expand...

Great! Loved this transition between the episodes, even if it comes so close to the original movies.

And heres why - Episode 2 here ends with a happy 'win' sceene that the 'worst is behind us' and when the viewers plays in episode 3 the direction suddenly starts with the previuos (orc) enemies and even a greater one A bear, and says to himself 'Wait, what!? Wasn't it believed that this bad was all behind them..and now even badder is ahead!?'. More emotional impact at my part.
Would even suggest to prolong the final rock scene (if possible) by few mili/seconds.

The start as I mentioned, gives another darker/threatening meaning to the movie which is great! Only the light humour chat with "excellent burglar material" throws it off the seriousness of the danger. Would the talk continue smoothly without it!?

At the end, I am glad that even thou you love(d) how you made the transitions, you took our feedback at heart and did a change!
Excellence!
 
I just noticed a new (minor) audio glitch right at the start of 3 that I'll fix tonight ,but otherwise:

The new versions of Episode 2 and 3 are being uploaded right now! I made a new folder that has the old versions of both, just in case some people do prefer it that way, but I'm mostly content with this new version. Thanks for all your feedback friends :)

(I'm not SUPER happy with the audio transition that happens with Beorn's roar -> Bilbo running down to tell the group, but the people I've showed it to haven't had any problems with it, so.... we'll see! It's definitely possible that I'm not satisfied with it because I've heard how the song originally goes approximately 6 million times)
 
OKAY folks, I have finished all the subtitles! I had them all in their own folder, but I just realized I can use mkvtoolnix to embed them, so I'm going to do that with every episode over the course of the next few days, as well as get the different Single-Film versions uploaded (I got distracted)

BUT that's all minor stuff, and so as of now I am officially done tinkering for a while.....At least until I get more feedback from this new wave of people I've given it out to recently. Thank you again for all your valuable feedback, and most of all:

Thanks for watching :)



Edit- Actually I'll probably hold off on embedding the subtitles until @ibuk27 proofs them all for me, that way I don't have to re-upload entire videos if there's a goof or a weirdly formatted line!
 
Stromboli Bones said:
...That's all minor stuff, and so as of now I am officially done tinkering for a while.....At least until I get more feedback from this new wave of people I've given it out to recently. Thank you again for all your valuable feedback, and most of all:

Thanks for watching :)
...
Click to expand...
It's been a pleasure!

Take some time of, then sit back, relax and watch it as you would watch any film (without analyzing too much) and Enjoy! 😃
 
Stromboli Bones said:
as of now I am officially done tinkering for a while
Click to expand...
Somebody say Sike right now...

  • Episode 4
    • Cropped the shot of Bard pulling back on his stupid makeshift bow to make it look more like he’s pulling back on a regular bow, rather than one that breaks the laws of physics.
    • I always knew this shot was a continuity error if you realized what you were looking at, but I never knew how to deal with it. Thanks JPePe for the suggestion!
    • Removed Maple Films’s FX shot of Bard seeing the dwarvish windlance on fire
    • It made sense to have it in Maple’s version, since Bard still uses a black arrow, but in mine they’re more a thing of legend, so it felt like the FX shot brought them up for no reason
    • Used M4’s digital removal of Bain from the clocktower
  • Episode 4.5
    • Hadn't touched this for a while because I really don't care for any of the scenes within, but I'm almost done with it.
 
ibuk27 said:
Great job with episode 4 improvements. What's episode 4.5?
Click to expand...
It'll be the White Council subplot, which is basically:

- Introduce radagast
- White Council in Rivendell
- Gandalf and Radagast exploring the High Fells and Dor Guldur
- Sauron etc
- The Nine
- Gandalf returns and warns Bard and Thranduil about the orcs
- Bolg's army (because it's not broad daylight)
- Bilbo hands over the arkenstone (I'm gonna make a version with and without this scene)
 
It serves the same function (more or less) as Dustin Lee's "Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery" but I wanted it to fit into my edit like an additional episode with a linear story, rather than as a companion piece/collection of deleted scenes. So, I didn't include the Battle of Azanulbizar, the Prancing Pony flashback, or any other scenes that have Thorin and Co.
 
Stromboli Bones said:
- Introduce radagast
- White Council in Rivendell
- Gandalf and Radagast exploring the High Fells and Dor Guldur
- Sauron etc
- The Nine
- Gandalf returns and warns Bard and Thranduil about the orcs
- Bolg's army (because it's not broad daylight)
- Bilbo hands over the arkenstone (I'm gonna make a version with and without this scene)
Click to expand...
Cool!
As you know, I swear by including the scenes with Gandalf returning, warning about the orcs, and Bilbo handing the arkenstone in beginning of episode 5. 😅There's so much bloat in film 3 that it's a pity leaving out one of the few good narrative scenes in that film (plus, it's in the books). Perhaps you could consider having an alternate version of episode 5 with that one in, or at least consider asking in the forum what people think? :) It would still be a quite original take (keeping the suspense by the end of episode 4 with Bilbo slipping away, and starting episode 5 with Gandalf arriving and cutting right away to the night scene where Bilbo arrives and hands in the arkenstone – never seen a fanedit do that).
Anyway, curious to see how 4.5 turns out!!!
 
ibuk27 said:
Cool!
As you know, I swear by including the scenes with Gandalf returning, warning about the orcs, and Bilbo handing the arkenstone in beginning of episode 5. 😅There's so much bloat in film 3 that it's a pity leaving out one of the few good narrative scenes in that film (plus, it's in the books). Perhaps you could consider having an alternate version of episode 5 with that one in, or at least consider asking in the forum what people think? :) It would still be a quite original take (keeping the suspense by the end of episode 4 with Bilbo slipping away, and starting episode 5 with Gandalf arriving and cutting right away to the night scene where Bilbo arrives and hands in the arkenstone – never seen a fanedit do that).
Anyway, curious to see how 4.5 turns out!!!
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I couldn't just make an alternate of 5, I'd have to redo how episode 4 ends AND redo parts of 5 to incorporate that. Otherwise it'd go:

- Bilbo sneaks off at night
- Gandalf arrives in the morning
- Bolg
- Bilbo arrives a full 24 hours later

I've changed a lot of things based on feedback, but there are a few things that I just can't get on board because they would hinder MY enjoyment of the edit, which is the case with this sequence, and is counter-intuitive to the whole purpose of making one XD
 
I understand, it's your edit! :D
Just to clarify, what I'm suggesting doesn't warrant redoing episode 4:

- Bilbo sneaks off at night at the end of episode 4;
- Episode 5 starts a bit earlier with Gandalf arriving in the previous morning (so yes, non-linear storytelling here, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this being done all over. Plus, it's barely noticeably for the audience. Or you could even have a "Earlier that day in Dale" subtitle to introduce Gandalf's counseling with Bard and Thandruil).
- Leave Bolg out, just have Gandalf warn there's orcs coming.
- Bilbo arrives during the night and hands the arkenstone; episode 5 timeline meets episode 4 timeline.
- The orcs showing up is still a bit of a surprise, cuz Gandalf does sound a bit mad that day. When the orcs arrive, the audience is like "oh, crazy Gandalf was right all along! That sneaky wizard, where was he all this time?!"

Btw, this would render episode 4.5 a true extra episode, with no bits from the book. If I recall Dustin Lee's Durin's Folk correctly, he ends his episode with Gandalf riding off to Erebor, which is the logical way to end such an extra take, IMHO.

This simply serves to clarify my feedback! It's YOUR (awesome) fanedit, you should have it your way!!! :D
 
ibuk27 said:
The orcs showing up is still a bit of a surprise, cuz Gandalf does sound a bit mad that day. When the orcs arrive, the audience is like "oh, crazy Gandalf was right all along!
Click to expand...
Hmmm actually I hadn't really thought about it that way. Thranduil definitely tries to paint Gandalf as the boy who cried wolf. Cashing in on that actually doesn't sound too bad...

I think if I do go that route though I WILL redo the end of Episode 4 (it'd be super easy and that's how Anti-Cringe did it)

Maybe I'll toy with it a bit and see how I feel, for an alternate at the very least.
 
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