Transformers: Attack of the Score - May the force be with the Autobots!

[blueyoda]

If you didn't already guess from the trailer, this is a mashup of Transformers and Star Wars.

Basically, I removed most of the original Transformers soundtrack and replaced it with selections from all six Star Wars soundtracks (except in two chapters where it simply wasn't possible). Because when you think about it, there's a lot of similarities between Star Wars and the Transformers animated movie: the basic concept of good and evil, of course, but also the idea of a "chosen one" as well as a giant space station which can destroy worlds.

It all began about 5 years ago when I had the idea of playing "Duel of the Fates" over Optimus Prime and Megatron's epic battle, just to see what it would feel like. I LOVED the result. The cues seemed to fall into place almost as if the composition had been made for Transformers all along. It just felt right.

So I decided to experiment on more scenes, never really intending to create a fanedit out of it. And I came back to it from time to time until I decided a couple of months ago that since I had re-scored most of the movie, scene by scene over the years, and even completely remade the sound mix in some parts, that I should probably just finish the job and create a fanedit out of it.

So here it is! Transformers: Attack of the Score. I'm very satisfied with how it came out; the various themes fit each characters and situations very well in my opinion. The "Imperial March" fits Megatron like a glove, and "Yoda's theme" fits Optimus Prime's personality.

This fanedit is far from a perfect project: some parts work better than others but overall I think it hits enough marks to please both Transformers and Star Wars fans. Bottom line, this fanedit is just an excuse to watch the animated movie again and to experience it in a brand new way.

 

[Rogue-theX]

You did it, AWESOME!!!

 

[jamesianozi]

Very nice

 

[Kal-El]

bluejoday, is a DVD version in the making? So far I can only find an avi on .info
That teaser is magnificent! You NAILED ​it!

 

[Rogue-theX]

nvm

 

[Menbailee]

Bwahahahahahaha!

<gasp... gasp... gasp...> Excuse me a moment while I compose mys...

BWAHAHAHAHA!

All right. Sorry. I'm done. I think this is great.

For all the nostalgia of us Transformers fans, the animated movie was godawful, and its cringe-inducing soundtrack was one of the reasons why. Certainly they had an all-star cast for the voice acting. But the movie killed off well-loved characters in ways that showed that the forces behind these storytelling decisions had no motivations other than selling a new toy. Other than Optimus Prime's final scene, the deaths felt callous, and the original score drove home that callousness. Using the Star Wars themes helps to change this.

Your choices for re-scoring at most points are spot-on. Keeping the opening moments of the movie nearly silent worked effectively to set the stage for the destructive horror to come, and we certainly have the right music playing for the opening of the Matrix. I also got a kick out of the new sound effects, like Megatron's light saber.

I would've enjoyed seeing your creativity applied in at least some limited ways to the film's structure. Although the Quintessons proceed to matter in season 4 of Transformers, their introduction in the film (and most things that happen on their planet) feel clumsy and random in the movie. The larger-than-life Star Wars music doesn't work quite as well when we're in the midst of silly side adventures.

Unicron and the Decepticons represent very different forces, in a way distinct from the Death Star being a tool of the Empire. Megatron definitely deserves the March, whereas Galvatron is something of a madman and overpowered puppet. Ideally, they would have very distinct leitmotifs. I don't think the Star Wars score really offers us that option, though.

It's very strange to hear "Dare" mixed in there! Not quite as off-putting as I'd expect, though.

All in all, this edit serves as a lesson for just how much difference the score can make. I have to call the original movie glaringly ugly, and this rescoring makes it more fun to watch a large proportion of the time.

 

[Gatos]

nevermind

 

[Uncanny Antman]

You'll have to pardon my ignorance, but...is all this neverminding a 'thing' now?

 

[Frantic Canadian]

I don't want to be "that guy", but does this really qualify as a fan edit if all you did was change the score? Sounds more like a custom disc to me.

 

[ThrowgnCpr]

I don't want to be "that guy", but does this really qualify as a fan edit if all you did was change the score? Sounds more like a custom disc to me.

please stand by. this is being discussed amongst the team now.

 

[tranzor]

I don't want to be "that guy", but does this really qualify as a fan edit if all you did was change the score? Sounds more like a custom disc to me.

Don't feel so bad because I was about to ask the same thing

 

[Uncanny Antman]

To quote the site itself, "A TRUE FANEDIT is an alteration of a movie, TV show or film that is significantly different to the original version."

Seems pretty cut and dry to me, what with the film now being significantly different to the original version. (Not to mention there's a lot more work involved in score replacement when done right than there is in trimming a few scenes out.)

 

[Dwight Fry]

To quote the site itself, "A TRUE FANEDIT is an alteration of a movie, TV show or film that is significantly different to the original version."

Seems pretty cut and dry to me, what with the film now being significantly different to the original version. (Not to mention there's a lot more work involved in score replacement when done right than there is in trimming a few scenes out.)

+1. My thoughts exactly.

 

[Frantic Canadian]

To quote the site itself, "A TRUE FANEDIT is an alteration of a movie, TV show or film that is significantly different to the original version."

Seems pretty cut and dry to me, what with the film now being significantly different to the original version. (Not to mention there's a lot more work involved in score replacement when done right than there is in trimming a few scenes out.)

All that's different though is the score. I'll admit that different music can change the tone of a film, but I wouldn't call it anywhere near significant enough of a change to qualify as a fanedit.

 

[QuickCut]

All that's different though is the score. I'll admit that different music can change the tone of a film, but I wouldn't call it anywhere near significant enough of a change to qualify as a fanedit.

Eh. I think it would qualify. The entire tone of the film is changed and a lot of work has been put into this. Imho it's a much more drastic edit than this or this (no offense to those editors).

Isn't the point of a fanedit to provide a new experience of the original? To me it looks like this is significantly different. I think the people who DON'T think it should be an edit are forgetting that changed music can have just as much impact as a cut scene.

 

[TV's Frink]

Gentlemen,

In my opinion this thread is not the right place for this discussion. If someone would like to start a new thread, be my guest.

 

[Rogue-theX]

Eh. I think it would qualify. The entire tone of the film is changed and a lot of work has been put into this. Imho it's a much more drastic edit than this or this (no offense to those editors).

Isn't the point of a fanedit to provide a new experience of the original? To me it looks like this is significantly different. I think the people who DON'T think it should be an edit are forgetting that changed music can have just as much impact as a cut scene.

^ This.

 

[Neglify]

Gentlemen,

In my opinion this thread is not the right place for this discussion. If someone would like to start a new thread, be my guest.

In my opinion, since the conversation IS about Transformers: Attack of the Score and the work blueyoda put into it, this discussion is fine.

And also, there is no question in my mind that blueyoda's edit is different than the source material and that a lot of hard work went into making it. I'm hoping that something official from reave is posted soon.

 

[njvc]

I honestly don't see what the problem is. If the site allows edits that remove 5 minutes of footage, how can an edit that replaces the entire score not be considered a fanedit?

 

[blueyoda]

Thanks for the review, Menbailee. And thanks for the support, guys. I really put a lot of work into this and in my opinion the result is indeed significantly different than the original version. It's a completely different experience.