EPISODE II: Shroud of the Dark Side Movie FAQ   What is this? This is a non-profit fan-created project due to come out in 2006. It is based on the 2002 Star Wars film entitled “Attack of the Clones,” and it is the most radical departure from the original film ever produced. This type of thing ordinarily would be called a “fan edit”, but this title seems inappropriate given the amount of new material that has gone into it. The roles of Anakin Skywalker, the Prime Minister of Kamino (Lama-Su), the robot in the Jedi Analysis Temple, Uncle Owen, and various residents of Coruscant are all being filled with new voice actors. They are being recorded and mixed into the audio track in place of the originals (for the purpose of new plot points or better delivery and timbre). The Nemoidians and Jar-Jar Binks are also being recorded in alien languages and subtitled, in the same system as in Episode I of this new series. New music has been composed and recorded specifically for this film as well. However, this project is not merely confined to a straight editing, reworking, and dubbing of the film. Special attention is going to seemingly minor aspects, such as the saturation and the overall colors of the picture. All throughout the movie, the computer generated images have been muted, toned down, and re-colored to make them blend into the picture with the live actors and to make the images seem real. Zooms have been added for dramatic effect. Frames have been cropped differently and sometimes, the full-screen DVD has been cropped and utilized in the interest of improving the cinematography. Some FX has actually been modified. Much special attention has also been given to the sound mix beyond the ADR work; for example, all of the lightsaber sound effects (originally badly done and not synchronized with the picture) have been replaced with the type from “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back”. Most of the music score has been rearranged or replaced, and for many scenes, the sound mix has been completely redone from scratch, with excruciating attention to detail. The result is a practically new “old-fashioned” style stereo mix in extraordinary uncompressed quality on disc to go with the new, more realistic video. A 5.1 Dolby Digital mix and/or a DTS mix also might be part of the project, depending on the timeframe. If there is enough demand, there will eventually be a surround mix. When will it be done? This concept for this project was born in March of 2005, and the creation of a set of notes began shortly thereafter, but the actual physical editing of the film did not begin until July. A rough cut was started before this but was largely abandoned. The editing has continued ever since and work has proceeded at short and long intervals, depending on the schedule. The original scheduled release date was December 2005, but after this became impossible, the release date was moved to some time in 2006. When will it be done? See above. Has any previous research gone into this project? Yes. Multiple “fan edits” of Episode II have been analyzed in preparation for this project. Various other forums and “Reasons to hate Episode II” lists have been studied for ideas to improve the film. These ideas, combined with those of the editor and those of the other forum users that contribute to the thread combine to make this editing process an extremely well informed one. Does Lucasfilm have anything to say about this type of project? "At the end of the day this is about everybody just having fun with Star Wars.” - Jeanne Cole, spokesperson for Lucasfilm “The Internet is a new medium; it's all about doing things like that." –George Lucas “Go be creative.” -Jeanne Cole They go on to say that as long as these fan edits are not sold without authorization by Lucasfilm, and as long as they are in good taste, then reediting of the Star Wars films is encouraged. Read the full article here: www.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/0,1259,---6903,00.html So this is legal? I believe so, particularly because this is not to be sold under any circumstances, and it is only to be given to those that own all of the materials that were used in its creation. It is not only done in good taste, but the intent is only to improve the movie and promote film editing. There is no malicious intent whatsoever, and of course, George Lucas and everyone else that produced “Attack of the Clones” deserve the utmost credit. Without “Attack of the Clones”, “Shroud of the Dark Side” would not be possible. In any case, were it illegal, Lucasfilm would probably not have encouraged and endorsed these endeavors. Again, see above. What are the plans for release/What are the planned technical specifications? This is to come out as a single layer and dual layer disc. Dual Layer Version: Anamorphic widescreen (2:35:1 aspect ratio) Lifted directly from digital files on official DVD before editing: re-encoded afterwards Sound: PCM stereo English subtitles 50 chapter stops Extra Features: Audio commentary by Trooperman about the editing process- Dolby Mono Test footage synched with original test recordings reveals the process behind dubbing Anakin “I Have a Dream”- The Creation of the Nightmare Sequence Film Trailer included (originally released online) Split-screen crawl comparison, comparing “Attack of the Clones” crawl to “Shroud of the Dark Side.” Cover art, off-line “archive” edition of OT.com thread, original pictures and video released online, and other content included on DVD-ROM Single Layer Version: Anamorphic widescreen (2:35:1 aspect ratio) Lifted directly from digital files on official DVD before editing-re-encoded afterwards at lower quality Sound: Dolby Stereo 2.0 English subtitles 50 chapter stops Where can I talk about this film/leave comments or suggestions/learn more? The “project thread” is located in the originaltrilogy.com forums. You can locate it here: http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=9&threadid=1895 The thread pertaining to the entire series of new Star Wars films can be found here: http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=9&threadid=3886 Registration is required to leave feedback. I would love to hear your comments, criticisms, or ideas. Will this film ever be redone in HD? If it means doing the whole process over again from scratch…no. I may have a way to simply plug the HD files into the existing templates and project files (assuming Lucas doesn’t change Ep. II for the next release). If so, we may be in luck, although I would still need Ep. II HD in fullscreen, and also any films that I utilized for footage. Anyhow, it depends. Who else is involved? This project blossomed into something far bigger than I originally had intended due to the fabulous comments and feedback I have gotten through the OriginalTrilogy.com forums. These comments and suggestions have ranged from very small to very large and radical re-workings of the script and of the story line in general. To all these folks, I am extremely grateful. This project would simply not be anything close to what it is becoming without the criticisms, feedback, and support afforded by MTHaslett, InfoDroid, Commander Courage, Nanner Split, Rebel1138, Erikstormtrooper,Twister111, Klokwerk, and all the other fine people that frequent the forum. Thank you. And a big thanks especially to forum member InfoDroid and all the others who have united in a great endeavor to create an Episode I of at least the same caliber as SOTDS in this new series of Star Wars prequels. I would not have gotten to the project personally for several years, and it would not have been as good even at that point. Thank you all.   May the force be with you! -Trooperman (Editor of “Shroud of the Dark Side”) Return to the Starkiller Ranch Main Page