Before The Dark Times

This is a super well-realized, creative edit! I appreciate how the frame structure allowed for the skipping over of the worst bits of the prequels, excising a great deal of cringy dialogue and tedious senatorial stuff, while allowing the strong visuals and strong story concept to remain. I can't say how this edit would work for someone viewing the prequels for the first time, but for me this was/will be a great way to return to the prequels. Highly recommended!

(I don't know how much I can really say about the audio editing, but nothing took me out of the viewing, which I think is a good sign.)

AN ASTONISHING ACHIEVEMENT!

Not only is this a technical and narratively ambitious edit, it breaks the mould on what an edit can be.

Blueyoda, amongst others, has certainly been a trailblazer for such creative endeavours, but this edit cements many different techniques to create what I would regard as an ESSAY/DOCUMENTARY style edit, in many ways similar to Prelude to Axanar in its construction.

For those reasons, and others, my scoring may seem to be at odds for some.

AVQ 10
I viewed this edit multiple times as an approver and the final version I watched was a 9GB file, with no issues.
I would encourage all to watch the larger file.

Audio editing 9...but in fact ...I have to say, the majority of it works so well, I am exercising subjective forbearance.
10

There are hundreds of audio transitions, dialogue isolation and even NEW music added to this edit. The sheer volume of work involved is breath-taking so I for one cannot be too harsh in this category. In fact, the piano piece used is just heart wrenchingly painfully effective...

Many of these transitions are deliberately abrupt and that is a stylistic choice, which I won't mark down.
During the approval phase, I pointed out many transitions which could benefit from additional space or timing improvements and the editor made all of the changes suggested...and did so with grace and full engagement.

The many that remain are, for my taste, part of the style of this presentation and add to the quality and creativity of NOT delivering a structure and style that adheres to our expectations and the audio vocabulary that we have all become accustomed to. This edit pushes those boundaries, and I applaud their use and execution.

This will jar on some who watch this, but I am sure that many other viewers will be able to move on from what they have become accustomed to and embrace this way of delivering a new experience in storytelling.

To anyone that thinks there is audio that could be better presented, I'd say, take Any 5 minutes of this edit, and recreate it yourself flawlessly with a perfect delivery...if that is possible, I shall adjust my score to a 9. I for one, given what is available, believe this is the best it can be without access to the filamakers resources.

This is ultimately a piece of art, and art is a very subjective subject....so 10.

Visual editing 10
The TRAILER/ MONTAGE style of this edit again pushes boundaries and expectations.

There are many aggressive cuts, juxtapositions, dialogue /voiceover laid over protagonists NOT speaking and much more. That is the style of this presentation. For me, they work to perfection...and although early versions of this had some exceptionally jarring moments, again...the editor worked on these further to create the piece that has finally been released.

Images are used both conventionally and stylistically to illustrate what is being heard, or to punctuate...in places this is relentless, and the presentation benefits from this although it requires the viewer to literally forget everything you've seen before in regards to the Prequels.

There are also a few uses of a black screen, which for my tastes i really like...I use black screen in a few of my edits...sparingly...but there is and always should be a reason for that. Their placement in this edit is to get your focus back.

There remain a handful of moments that require some forbearance on the viewer’s part, but given the source materials and what the possible solutions might be, these corrective actions would diminish the presentation and the carefully orchestrated ballet that sound, image and narrative that are being juggled at high speed.

Narrative 10
The narrative construction here is a masterpiece of planning, analysis and execution.

I cannot begin to imagine how many times the editor must have viewed the sources in order to extract this smorgasbord of a presentation.

It has managed to do the impossible in my humble opinion...I DETEST the prequels and this presentation has not only made me realise what a tremendous story was hidden within, but it has made me LOVE this telling ...exceeding what I would have believed is possible.

This is NOT for a casual viewing experience. The jumping back and forth in time, the inserting of dialogue, voiceovers and images from disparately distant moments in the source material requires the viewer to PAY ATTENTION. There are no plot holes so to speak, and much of the filler and detritus from the Prequels has been omitted. What is left is a pure distillation of the Greek tragedy that is the Rise and Fall of Anakin/Vader.

In a few select places, additional dialogue has been deployed which is breathtakingly executed. There is also one section (not to be revealed) which originally was quite conventional...with no suggestions other than that observation, the result that came back was again, challenging and incredibly well executed. I leave it to you all to guess which...but I shan’t tell.

This is a truly new and novel way to experience the prequels. You must pay attention though...you will NOT be spoon-fed...but everything you need to know, see or hear, is there...What a pleasure to be treated as an intelligent adult viewer and not be subjected to over exposition, repetition and childish construction so we don't lose our spot... PHEW!

Enjoyment 10+

On my first view, many months ago...I stopped early and walked away thinking this was a mess. I then returned with an open mind...and the reward was a level of enjoyment I have not experienced since Pulp Empire.

I can only hope that there will be more presentations like this from the editor and that it starts a trend in a new way to deliver an experience...which is what this edit is.

I will echo the previous reviewer by saying that I too "highly recommend this edit as it challenges the idea of what a fanedit is and how one can approach the prequels in a new way in a sea of familiarity".

OUTSTANDING