THE MATRIX EVOLUTIONS (V3 DVD-9 Now Available)

[ab5tract]

Thanks for sharing the insights into your thought process with M:E, JasonN. In addition to your comments on the fanedit.org review page it becomes quite clear what you are going for.

I personally love this edit. I've been meaning to write a proper review of it for some time but things keep getting in my way. Soon!

The DVD9 version looks spectacular. Since I know you are planning to do a V3 release, I was wondering if you could add a DVD menu page or an audio track that could clarify your intentions as you have just done here. I think for some people the nature of the ending is not clear, and can easily cause upset if people think you are going for the cheap "it was just a dream" trope. I unfortunately had the experience of showing this to someone as their first fanedit and they were hypercritical of not only this edit but the concept of fanedits in general. (I have since decided that Dune: 3rd Stage is the ideal "first time" fanedit because no one can make any qualms about "not respecting the director's vision").

In the case I just described I think your explanations would have proved soothing to this (overreacting) person.

 

[JasonN]

The DVD9 version looks spectacular. Since I know you are planning to do a V3 release, I was wondering if you could add a DVD menu page or an audio track that could clarify your intentions as you have just done here. I think for some people the nature of the ending is not clear, and can easily cause upset if people think you are going for the cheap "it was just a dream" trope. I unfortunately had the experience of showing this to someone as their first fanedit and they were hypercritical of not only this edit but the concept of fanedits in general. (I have since decided that Dune: 3rd Stage is the ideal "first time" fanedit because no one can make any qualms about "not respecting the director's vision").

I've been thinking this issue as well, and I think I will add several "About this Edit" pages to the V.3 DVD to explain some of my thought processes behind this fanedit (which would be less taxing on me than doing than an audio commentary, which I've struggled with doing in the past). I'll be sending out the V.3 of Evolutions to Throw when I finish up my SW: Attack of the Federation and Advent Children: Reunion DVDs.

 

[ab5tract]

Yeah, I wasn't thinking an audio commentary so much as an audio track that you could select while the screen scrolls some pictures or even does nothing at all.

But obviously, given the fact you've poured years into M:E, whatever you're willing to put in is more than any of us have the right to ask.

That is, I think that text is probably the right way to go.

 

[TV's Frink]

JasonN - are there significant changes for V3? I'm a free RS user and it takes a few weeks to download a DL DVD, so just wondering if i should bother upgrading from V2.

 

[JasonN]

JasonN - are there significant changes for V3? I'm a free RS user and it takes a few weeks to download a DL DVD, so just wondering if i should bother upgrading from V2.

The V.3 edits are mostly cosmetic cuts (little snips to a few characters' dialogue to quicken and improve the pacing), but the major/significant edits is that I removed the first half of Morpheus "samurai" sword fight with the Agent on the semi-truck (you can find a preview of that scene in my Evolutions thread) and I color-corrected the "Enter the Matrix" scenes so that they better matched the "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" footage (they did have some CC applied to them in V.2, but I thought it could've been further refined).

 

[TV's Frink]

Hmm...thanks for the info. I like the idea of the color correction, but I'll probably watch v2 before deciding if I will go for v3.

 

[JasonN]

Hmm...thanks for the info. I like the idea of the color correction, but I'll probably watch v2 before deciding if I will go for v3.

Yeah, that's probably a good idea to watch the edit first and see if you like it enough to get the V.3 (especially if you have slower RS download speeds).

 

[JasonN]

Been a while since I put out any info on the V3, so here's the rundown.

In addition to the DVD9 release of the V3, I will be putting together a special "2-Part" DVD5 edition of The Matrix Evolutions V3: this edition will divide the film into a Part 1 and a Part 2, similar to what Criteron did with their DVD release of Seven Samurai, with the first part of the film on disc 1 and the second part on disc 2 (just put the Part 2 disc into the DVD player and the film will pick right up where it left off). These two releases (the single DVD9 and 2-part DVD5s) will be sent out together along with my SW Prequel edits to another FE member for upload once I've finished those edits.

 

[ab5tract]

I've made my trailer for Evolutions available via Youtube and have place it on the first post of this thread.

For my final version of this fanedit ("Version 3"), there's really not much different from Ver.2 apart from some minor tweaks and cuts to some dialogue for better pacing or tension. However, there was one major edit to V.3 where I've cut Morpheus's samurai swordfight with the Agent in half (it went too long in the original and I think it's more accurate to the nature of the Matrix Agents) - I've uploaded this sequence to Youtube so others can see it and help me determine whether or not to make this V.3 release available as well:

Just like every fight in the sequels, you mean? :lol:

Looks good. Love how absurd it is that that constitutes a "major cut," when held in relief to nature of this edit. Hope you did manage to get a little explanation of your philosophy in there. I showed this to a friend who quite enjoyed it but still had the impression it was all just a dream.

 

[JasonN]

Looks good. Love how absurd it is that that constitutes a "major cut," when held in relief to nature of this edit. Hope you did manage to get a little explanation of your philosophy in there. I showed this to a friend who quite enjoyed it but still had the impression it was all just a dream.

I will be putting together several "About the Fanedit" pages on the new DVDs that discuss some of the edits/changes that I've made to the film.

 

[ab5tract]

Mr Burns' voice:

"Excellent."

 

[JasonN]

Circumstances had kept me from fully finishing the V3 DVD for several months (mostly my SW Prequel edits and college), but I got back to working on it again last week. I was about to start on finishing the "Edit FAQs" information pages when I came across this recent review (http://fanedit.org/401/#comment-9844) of the edit on the main FE site. From this rather negative reaction, I've had an realization about my "Evolutions" fanedit and why so many people seem to prefer "Dezionized" and the other "Matrix" fanedits over "Evolutions":

Most people didn't watch the first "Matrix" or its sequels for the philosophies, the mythological allegories, or the various cinematic references that the films contained: they just wanted to see some cool "kick-ass" action movies. They don't want to know why the Red Pill is red, why the Matrix is green, or why Zion is blue: they just want to see Neo perform slowmotion Kung Fu. They don't want to watch anything to do with Zion or its citizens: they just want to see people perform superhuman feats that defy the laws of physics in the Matrix. They don't want to know how the Matrix universe works or the history behind it: they were to see Morpheus and co. battle emotionless Agents. They don't want to know that a majority of the first film's inspiration came not from anime and Hong Kong action movies, but from the works of Ingmar Bergman (specifically his late masterpiece "Fanny and Alexander"): they just want see Neo and Agent Smith beat the s*** out of each other. They don't want to think critically about and later examine the story of the film that they're watching: they want to be entertained for an hour and a half.

I approached my editing of this fanedit with a ideal - to try and rewrite the plot of the sequels to feature more of the philosophies/concepts that I found so engaging in the first film. But I understand now that that's not what most people want out of a fanedit of "Reloaded" and "Revolutions": they want the action and excitement... not philosophical "nonsense".

So... I've decided not to release my V3 cut online. Most of the tweaks/edits are relatively minor over the V2 cut (such as better color correction and smoother audio transitions, although I also cut the first half of Morpheus's sword fight which I didn't previously) and even if I added a series "Edit Information" pages or even a subtitle commentary track to the DVD to try and explain my thought-processes behind the editing, I don't think that these things will improve people's views of this edit - they will have the exact same reactions to it as they would the V2 DVD.

I guess Aarkus is right: I mean, if I really regard "The Matrix Evolutions" as one of the best edits that I've accomplished, then people should stay clear away from the rest of my edits (because I obviously don't know what the hell I'm doing).

 

[Tubes]

It's a shame that you've decided to not release V3 for the internets to view. While I believe fanediting is a personal process and should be done for the editors benefit first and others second, I think that other people can enjoy and benefit from fanedits. Sure, a lot of people just come here for the "turd polishing" and want nothing, but abridged action movies with the plot cut out. However, there still are a lot of people who come here looking for legitimate reinterpretations of movies and to see what new message people can get out of completed material.

So, even if Evolutions V3 doesn't go public, I hope you still find ways to improve it and make it even closer to your vision of The Matrix sequels.

 

[Adabisi]

Geez... it was just one guy who didn't like your edit. You shouldn't give up everything because of it.

I, for one, really appreciate the philosophy in the original Matrix. It was a little heavy handed but it was a very nice balance with the action sequences. It was enjoyable for both the Michael Bay crowd and those who could appreciate it on a deeper level.

I remember being very let down by Reloaded and, because of it, didn't even bother to watch Revolutions. I haven't even been interested in the Matrix fanedits, mostly because I figured they would strip off all the deeper elements in favour of non-stop action. But after reading your description of your edit, I'm definitely going to check it out.

 

[zeppelinrox]

I agree that you should stick it out and continue refining it until you're satisfied with your result.

Not everybody likes Citizen Kane but it's still a movie I enjoyed watching.

 

[JasonN]

For those that still give a crap about this edit, I'll be adding more edits/changes to the V3 cut:
- removing the "Link/Zee" subplots (their time at home, leaving Zion, etc) from the film
- cut out more footage from the final Zion Battle sequence
- additional little trims to the fights (Burly Brawl, Freeway Chase, etc)

As for the DVD being put online.... well, I'll think about it.

 

[spelledaren]

I thought your version of the battle for Zion was great.

Just wanted to add some nice words, been such a downer here!

 

[boon23]

I for one do not care at all about fanedits that don't get released. You may want to start discussing that in fanedit ideas.

 

[TV's Frink]

And it has to be online if you want it included in my long awaited Matrix Cutlist Project

 

[JasonN]

Ah, what the hell, I guess I'll release the V3 cut anyway. :roll:
But this is the last time I will ever touch this fanedit - this is going to be the final cut, after which I will never work on a "Matrix" fanedit again.


(on a side note, I've managed to trim up the Burley Brawl even further than I thought and I think it flows quite smoothly - it now runs a little over 4 minutes long)