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Hello everyone,
I've finally decided to finish off my Hobbit edits with an edit of the third movie, THE SIEGE OF THE LONELY MOUNTAIN (title idea from my friend Joseph Mertes so thanks to him!) and after this a 2-in-1 edit of Desolation of Smaug & Battle of the Five Armies (called There and Back Again) followed by a short about Legolas, Tauriel, and Kili. These won't be my last fanedits in 1080p ever, as I have ideas for Metropolis (1927) and Fantastic Four 1 & 2, but they're definitely my last 1080p edits before I start making edits in 4K.
Anyway, this thread is for my edit of the third chapter of my trilogy. Like my previous two Hobbit edits, take inspiration from other edits. My primary influences are @kerr, @TM2YC, and @M4_, although I have other inspirations which I will list in my change list. I'm still actively working on it, so the change lists won't be absolute for now, and I will update them as I go.
Final Changes (as of June 2023)
I've finally decided to finish off my Hobbit edits with an edit of the third movie, THE SIEGE OF THE LONELY MOUNTAIN (title idea from my friend Joseph Mertes so thanks to him!) and after this a 2-in-1 edit of Desolation of Smaug & Battle of the Five Armies (called There and Back Again) followed by a short about Legolas, Tauriel, and Kili. These won't be my last fanedits in 1080p ever, as I have ideas for Metropolis (1927) and Fantastic Four 1 & 2, but they're definitely my last 1080p edits before I start making edits in 4K.
Anyway, this thread is for my edit of the third chapter of my trilogy. Like my previous two Hobbit edits, take inspiration from other edits. My primary influences are @kerr, @TM2YC, and @M4_, although I have other inspirations which I will list in my change list. I'm still actively working on it, so the change lists won't be absolute for now, and I will update them as I go.
Final Changes (as of June 2023)
* Color corrected the whole film.
- Brought forward scene of Azog's army marching across a plain to link in with Gandalf watching them depart, to form a new 'The Battle of Five Armies' titlecard. This early placement of the scene also serves to give an explanation of what happened to Legolas between DoS and BotFA, so his doesn't later just appear out of nowhere. (TM2YC)
* Moved up the Dwarves searching for the Arkenstone and Bilbo sitting on the ramparts, showing us that the stone is in his possession. (Kerr)
• Then we cut to the shores of the long lake and the survivors of Smaug’s rampage, with some color correction applied to match the time of day of the previous scene. (Kerr)
- Removed Alfrid pushing someone down the water and rolling over. (me)
- Removed shot of Alfrid screaming "Why me!". (TM2YC)
- Cut Alfrid standing up, then Bard pushing him back to the ground (me)
• Restored music to the end of the long lake scene. (Kerr)
• Restored music to the four Dwarves entering Erebor. (Kerr)
• Cut Bilbo saying that Thorin “has been down there for days”, which doesn’t make sense continuity-wise. (Kerr)
- Removed Bard mentioning the gold in the mountain being cursed. (M4)
- Removed Alfrid being mean to an old woman (TM2YC)
• Cut Gandalf’s telepathic communication with Radagast. (Kerr)
• Restored music to Galadriel confronting the dungeon keeper. (Kerr)
-Cut the line "If you try to stop me, I will destroy you". Sounds kind of silly. Nothing more from the battle in Dol Guldur in the Extended Edition was used. (Samspider3)
• Trimmed the dungeon keeper’s death. (Kerr)
• Restored music to Galadriel lifting Gandalf and carrying him. (Kerr)
• Elrond attacks the Ringwraiths immediately after saying “You should have stayed dead.” (Kerr)
• Used a mix of the theatrical and extended versions of the White Council battling the Ringwraiths. (Kerr)
* Rescored Galadriel banishing Sauron (me)
• Added some lines of exposition from Saruman (taken from the extended edition of AUJ): “Without the ruling ring of power, Sauron can never again hold dominion over Middle-Earth, and that ring was lost long, long ago.” (Kerr)
- Removed Thorin yelling "Am I not the king?!" to his friends. (M4)
- Removed 2-seconds of Balin mentioning "Dragon sickness". (TM2YC)
• Restored music to Gandalf riding towards Erebor. (Kerr)
- Slightly zoomed 1st shot of Gandalf riding to line the composition up closer with the 2nd shot and rotated it to level out the horizon. (TM2YC)
- Rotated 2nd Gandalf shot to correct the impression he was suddenly somehow riding up hill, on a vast flat plain. (TM2YC)
- Added camera shake/movement to simulate the movement of Gandalf's horse, on this 3rd originally wierd static shot. (TM2YC)
- Removed 8-seconds of Thorin saying "One of them is false" in an over exaggerated way. (TM2YC)
• The were-worms have been removed, and Azog’s subtitles have been rewritten (along with some changed audio) to establish that they’re using existing mining tunnels to sneak up on the Dwarves, and a mention of the Gundabad army in order to transition to the next scene has been inserted. (Kerr)
• Restored music to the Orc army leaving Gundabad. (Kerr)
• Included the EE scene between Bilbo and Bofur, but I’ve placed it after Thranduil’s “the Dwarves are out of time”, recreating the way the scenes were edited in the theatrical version. (Kerr)
- Only one reference to "dragon-sickness" is kept: It is spoken by Gandalf who is known for speaking in metaphors, and the dialogue contributes to the plot and his friendship with Bilbo. (M4)
- Removed a bad CGI shot of the armies and re-ordered the reaction shots. So it now goes Thranduil-Thorin-Gandalf. (TM2YC)
• Used the EE version of Dain’s arrival and the ensuing battle between Dwarves and Elves. (Kerr)
- Removed Dain saying a totally generic "Oh come on?!" line. (TM2YC)
- Recut Azog’s introduction to remove Wereworms and instead have his horn be the sound that draws everyone’s attention. (M4)
• Re-edited the arrival of the Orcs to remove the Were-worms. (Kerr)
- New digitally altered shot that shows tunnels in the mountainside before the Orcs show up, hinting that they were just recently dug. (M4)
• Restored music to the Iron Hills Dwarves charging. (Kerr)
• This is where the main attraction of the edit comes in: The restructuring of the battle. I made too trims and edits that I can't list, but basically, inspired by Films&Stuff's video essay, I tried my best to simplify the geography and flow of the battle, while having as much tense AND consequential beats (if a beat is inconsequential, I cut it). I also reinstated Shore's original score in many instances, taking a page from Kerr's book. The chariot sequence, and Bofur taking control over a troll that leads to it, is inluded because I think it's one of the only obstacles in the film that are consequential, tense, exciting, and purposeful. Some of the company fighting from the Extended Edition is also included, played under some Misty Mountains fanfares to emphasize their triumphant return, and hopefully, tied everything to the main themes of the trilogy and entire Middle Earth saga. And of course, cut Alfrid from the entirety of the battle!
- Moved scene of Bard coaching his men to a much earlier point to fix a lot of the lame Dale action and verbal exposition. (me)
- Dwalin and Thorin’s discussion in the throne room is shortened to remove Thorin lashing out at Dwalin, and instead he reacts in a close-up, almost looking completely devastated at what he has become. Soundtrack adjusted to fit new dialogue. (M4, Kerr, TM2YC)
- Inserted establishing shot of Dale ravaged by battle. (Kerr)
- Added Gandalf and Bard's deleted dialogue about the progress of the battle over the shot of Dale, which leads into the next scene. (Kerr)
• Inserted Bilbo’s acorn scene from the appendices (Kerr's recut version with VFX to cover up the incomplete scene).
- Unlike other edits, I decided to keep but shorten Thorin's change of heart over the golden floor, cutting his hallucination of drowning in the gold, which is a bit over the top and on the nose--I think having him stand on a golden floor is symbolic enough. @Stromboli Bones I agree with Stromboli Bones that it feels a little out of nowhere for Thorin to suddenly have a change of heart off-screen, despite efforts to salvage it in the previous scene with Dwalin made in other edits. I understand concerns of continuity given the Erebor forge fight against Smaug and the molten gold being cut, but since we don't focus on this room before this scene I don't think Erebor having a room with a floor made of gold is that unbelievable. The scene does come in a bit later though, separated from the scene with Thorin and Dwalin, to improve the pacing.
- Rescored Thorin's charge with a custom made epic, choiral rendition of Misty Mountains. (me)
- Removed 6-seconds of Dain and Thorin exchanging some cliched and out of character dialogue ("You cannot do this, you are our king!" "That is why I must do it".) (TM2YC)
- Removed 3-seconds of Balin saying the boringly generic line "I am too old for this". (TM2YC)
• Cut Dwalin saying there are “no more than a hundred” goblin mercenaries on the way, and Thorin saying "We'll take care of them". Yes, the Dwarves are ridiculously over-powered, but there’s no need emphasize it by saying that Thorin and Dwalin have no trouble dispatching a hundred goblins by themselves. (Kerr)
+Added the scene from the Appendices where Gandalf convinces Thranduil his son is way more important than his wife's white gems. (Samspider3)
• Added a sound effect to Azog stabbing Fili. (Kerr)
• Cut Legolas flying on a bat. (everyone probably)
- Removed 16-second infamous sequence where Legolas runs across falling blocks of stone. (also everyone probably)
• Used EE shots of Beorn in battle. (Kerr)
• Moved Tauriel mourning Kili before Thorin’s death scene. (Kerr)
• Used EE scene of Thorin’s funeral, adding Gandalf’s eulogy from the Appendices. (Kerr)
* Add the AUJ credits rendition of the Misty Mountains theme to Bilbo and Balin outside Erebor (me)
* Rearranged Bilbo and Gandalf's farewell. They still talk about the Ring, but Bilbo doesn't claim he lost it, and the "quite a little fellow" / "thank goodness" dialogue is edited like the book's ending.
• Restored small bit of music as Bilbo enters Bag End. (Kerr)
• Restored additional instruments to the music as Bilbo finds his handkerchief and hangs up the pictures of PJ and Fran Walsh. (Kerr)
- Brought forward scene of Azog's army marching across a plain to link in with Gandalf watching them depart, to form a new 'The Battle of Five Armies' titlecard. This early placement of the scene also serves to give an explanation of what happened to Legolas between DoS and BotFA, so his doesn't later just appear out of nowhere. (TM2YC)
* Moved up the Dwarves searching for the Arkenstone and Bilbo sitting on the ramparts, showing us that the stone is in his possession. (Kerr)
• Then we cut to the shores of the long lake and the survivors of Smaug’s rampage, with some color correction applied to match the time of day of the previous scene. (Kerr)
- Removed Alfrid pushing someone down the water and rolling over. (me)
- Removed shot of Alfrid screaming "Why me!". (TM2YC)
- Cut Alfrid standing up, then Bard pushing him back to the ground (me)
• Restored music to the end of the long lake scene. (Kerr)
• Restored music to the four Dwarves entering Erebor. (Kerr)
• Cut Bilbo saying that Thorin “has been down there for days”, which doesn’t make sense continuity-wise. (Kerr)
- Removed Bard mentioning the gold in the mountain being cursed. (M4)
- Removed Alfrid being mean to an old woman (TM2YC)
• Cut Gandalf’s telepathic communication with Radagast. (Kerr)
• Restored music to Galadriel confronting the dungeon keeper. (Kerr)
-Cut the line "If you try to stop me, I will destroy you". Sounds kind of silly. Nothing more from the battle in Dol Guldur in the Extended Edition was used. (Samspider3)
• Trimmed the dungeon keeper’s death. (Kerr)
• Restored music to Galadriel lifting Gandalf and carrying him. (Kerr)
• Elrond attacks the Ringwraiths immediately after saying “You should have stayed dead.” (Kerr)
• Used a mix of the theatrical and extended versions of the White Council battling the Ringwraiths. (Kerr)
* Rescored Galadriel banishing Sauron (me)
• Added some lines of exposition from Saruman (taken from the extended edition of AUJ): “Without the ruling ring of power, Sauron can never again hold dominion over Middle-Earth, and that ring was lost long, long ago.” (Kerr)
- Removed Thorin yelling "Am I not the king?!" to his friends. (M4)
- Removed 2-seconds of Balin mentioning "Dragon sickness". (TM2YC)
• Restored music to Gandalf riding towards Erebor. (Kerr)
- Slightly zoomed 1st shot of Gandalf riding to line the composition up closer with the 2nd shot and rotated it to level out the horizon. (TM2YC)
- Rotated 2nd Gandalf shot to correct the impression he was suddenly somehow riding up hill, on a vast flat plain. (TM2YC)
- Added camera shake/movement to simulate the movement of Gandalf's horse, on this 3rd originally wierd static shot. (TM2YC)
- Removed 8-seconds of Thorin saying "One of them is false" in an over exaggerated way. (TM2YC)
• The were-worms have been removed, and Azog’s subtitles have been rewritten (along with some changed audio) to establish that they’re using existing mining tunnels to sneak up on the Dwarves, and a mention of the Gundabad army in order to transition to the next scene has been inserted. (Kerr)
• Restored music to the Orc army leaving Gundabad. (Kerr)
• Included the EE scene between Bilbo and Bofur, but I’ve placed it after Thranduil’s “the Dwarves are out of time”, recreating the way the scenes were edited in the theatrical version. (Kerr)
- Only one reference to "dragon-sickness" is kept: It is spoken by Gandalf who is known for speaking in metaphors, and the dialogue contributes to the plot and his friendship with Bilbo. (M4)
- Removed a bad CGI shot of the armies and re-ordered the reaction shots. So it now goes Thranduil-Thorin-Gandalf. (TM2YC)
• Used the EE version of Dain’s arrival and the ensuing battle between Dwarves and Elves. (Kerr)
- Removed Dain saying a totally generic "Oh come on?!" line. (TM2YC)
- Recut Azog’s introduction to remove Wereworms and instead have his horn be the sound that draws everyone’s attention. (M4)
• Re-edited the arrival of the Orcs to remove the Were-worms. (Kerr)
- New digitally altered shot that shows tunnels in the mountainside before the Orcs show up, hinting that they were just recently dug. (M4)
• Restored music to the Iron Hills Dwarves charging. (Kerr)
• This is where the main attraction of the edit comes in: The restructuring of the battle. I made too trims and edits that I can't list, but basically, inspired by Films&Stuff's video essay, I tried my best to simplify the geography and flow of the battle, while having as much tense AND consequential beats (if a beat is inconsequential, I cut it). I also reinstated Shore's original score in many instances, taking a page from Kerr's book. The chariot sequence, and Bofur taking control over a troll that leads to it, is inluded because I think it's one of the only obstacles in the film that are consequential, tense, exciting, and purposeful. Some of the company fighting from the Extended Edition is also included, played under some Misty Mountains fanfares to emphasize their triumphant return, and hopefully, tied everything to the main themes of the trilogy and entire Middle Earth saga. And of course, cut Alfrid from the entirety of the battle!
- Moved scene of Bard coaching his men to a much earlier point to fix a lot of the lame Dale action and verbal exposition. (me)
- Dwalin and Thorin’s discussion in the throne room is shortened to remove Thorin lashing out at Dwalin, and instead he reacts in a close-up, almost looking completely devastated at what he has become. Soundtrack adjusted to fit new dialogue. (M4, Kerr, TM2YC)
- Inserted establishing shot of Dale ravaged by battle. (Kerr)
- Added Gandalf and Bard's deleted dialogue about the progress of the battle over the shot of Dale, which leads into the next scene. (Kerr)
• Inserted Bilbo’s acorn scene from the appendices (Kerr's recut version with VFX to cover up the incomplete scene).
- Unlike other edits, I decided to keep but shorten Thorin's change of heart over the golden floor, cutting his hallucination of drowning in the gold, which is a bit over the top and on the nose--I think having him stand on a golden floor is symbolic enough. @Stromboli Bones I agree with Stromboli Bones that it feels a little out of nowhere for Thorin to suddenly have a change of heart off-screen, despite efforts to salvage it in the previous scene with Dwalin made in other edits. I understand concerns of continuity given the Erebor forge fight against Smaug and the molten gold being cut, but since we don't focus on this room before this scene I don't think Erebor having a room with a floor made of gold is that unbelievable. The scene does come in a bit later though, separated from the scene with Thorin and Dwalin, to improve the pacing.
- Rescored Thorin's charge with a custom made epic, choiral rendition of Misty Mountains. (me)
- Removed 6-seconds of Dain and Thorin exchanging some cliched and out of character dialogue ("You cannot do this, you are our king!" "That is why I must do it".) (TM2YC)
- Removed 3-seconds of Balin saying the boringly generic line "I am too old for this". (TM2YC)
• Cut Dwalin saying there are “no more than a hundred” goblin mercenaries on the way, and Thorin saying "We'll take care of them". Yes, the Dwarves are ridiculously over-powered, but there’s no need emphasize it by saying that Thorin and Dwalin have no trouble dispatching a hundred goblins by themselves. (Kerr)
+Added the scene from the Appendices where Gandalf convinces Thranduil his son is way more important than his wife's white gems. (Samspider3)
• Added a sound effect to Azog stabbing Fili. (Kerr)
• Cut Legolas flying on a bat. (everyone probably)
- Removed 16-second infamous sequence where Legolas runs across falling blocks of stone. (also everyone probably)
• Used EE shots of Beorn in battle. (Kerr)
• Moved Tauriel mourning Kili before Thorin’s death scene. (Kerr)
• Used EE scene of Thorin’s funeral, adding Gandalf’s eulogy from the Appendices. (Kerr)
* Add the AUJ credits rendition of the Misty Mountains theme to Bilbo and Balin outside Erebor (me)
* Rearranged Bilbo and Gandalf's farewell. They still talk about the Ring, but Bilbo doesn't claim he lost it, and the "quite a little fellow" / "thank goodness" dialogue is edited like the book's ending.
• Restored small bit of music as Bilbo enters Bag End. (Kerr)
• Restored additional instruments to the music as Bilbo finds his handkerchief and hangs up the pictures of PJ and Fran Walsh. (Kerr)
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