Fan Edits Discussion - Book I The Return of the Shadow

[Alatar]

I'm looking forward to watching the 3 Hour Hobbit in April. Apparently two Faneditors who came up with similar versions are joining forces to create a "definitive" There And Back Again edit once the Bluray is out in April. There may need to be another edit once the EE comes out of course, particularly if Thorin's funeral is in.

[Elentári]

Cool! Though I hope the edit won't be completely 'book-only' material...

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm looking forward to watching the 3 Hour Hobbit in April. Apparently two Faneditors who came up with similar versions are joining forces to create a "definitive" There And Back Again.

Is one of them the one who produced the Dol Guldur edit? I know he made a 3 hour edit.

[Alatar]

Yes, here's the details:

http://definitivehobbitcut.tumblr.com/

"There and Back Again" BIG Update!
First of all, thank you so much for the immense amount of feedback I’ve received for this edit. I knew some people would appreciate it, but fans writing 5-10+ page thank-you emails with tons of excellent feedback on a daily basis was way more than I was expecting! So thank you again and please read the following huge updates! Summary:
(1) there’s subtitles now!
(2) I’m collaborating with another amazing Hobbit editor!
(3) the links are all down! but don’t worry about it because….
(4) some things to look forward to in the final release in April.

Big Update #1: Subtitles
After over 30 emails requesting subtitles so viewers can translate for their families, so their elderly parents can hear, or a number of other reasons, an AMAZING fan has stepped up and volunteered to create a subtitle file for the entire edit! Paulo Avelar has produced this .srt file. All you need to do is download it and place it in the same folder as the movie, then select the subtitle track in your movie player. He’s also on board to do the subtitles for the final release in April, so now hundreds more families around the world will be able to enjoy it. Thanks again Paulo!

Big Update #2: Collaboration
Around the same time I produced this edit another editor over at https://ahobbitsholiday.wordpress.com/ made an extremely similar cut! We didn’t do everything the same, but I think it greatly improves on mine in a few areas, while mine is a little better in other areas. Instead of competing with other edits, I thought it made sense to reach out to him and collaborate for the final release in April, after all, he even called his the same thing! So now there will be a single, definitive “There and Back Again” that will combine the talents of East Coast and West Coast, as well as applying the wealth of feedback we’ve received.

Big Update #3: Where are the links?
All the links are down! The truth of it is that this really was a trial run to collect responses and criticism. Without this, the April release would not be nearly as polished as it’s going to be - I wouldn’t have the feedback - I wouldn’t have the subtitles - and I wouldn’t have this amazing collaboration. So I don’t have any desire for this current inferior version to roam the internet anymore, almost everything about it will be improved so vastly any confusion with the old version would be upsetting. So if you missed the chance to find it - I’m sorry! You’ll have plenty to look forward to in April (and hey, ask around maybe you can find it from somewhere else, or maybe someone decides to post it again somewhere…I couldn’t stop you…) And if you’re really itching for a 3 hour Hobbit movie, watch the one made by the guy I’m collaborating with in the link above - it’s really good!

Big Update #4: Some Changes to Look Forward To!
I’ve received literally hundreds of pages of notes/praise/criticism from people, so obviously not everyone is going to get the changes they think should be made! Not to mention if we follow everyone’s notes this thing would be well over 4 hours long - and we’re back to square one! But I hope you trust us to make the calls about what advice to follow and what sacrifices we need to make to keep this a coherent (and not ridiculously long) movie. But some things you can definitely look forward to in April (or whenever The Battle of Five Armies is released):
Blu-Ray quality from beginning to end!
more Beorn!
more Rivendell!
more Bilbo running down the Shire hill!
shorter/better Misty Mountains song flashbacks!
more coherent Stone-Giant scene!
cleaner VO areas and editing! (like transition from movie 1->2)
no gold-dwarf statue wasting Smaug’s (and your) time!
less Mirkwood/more elven capture!
cleaner goblin king scene with improved continuity!
different final battle scene even more similar to the book (again, see the other edit)!

Anyway, these are just a few of many that almost everyone has had something to say about, there are a lot more that certain were very adamant about, so definitely check out the final edit and see if your suggestion made the cut! No matter what - this is going to truly be a definitive version all Hobbit fans can agree upon.
Thanks again! I’ll post more updates as they come. It will ultimately be up to ALL OF YOU to put the word out on this final version when it’s released, it’ll be up on multiple sources and will certainly have to compete with other versions - but I’m confident with the new collaboration, taking the best ideas from both edits as well as many of your suggestions - along with your help spreading the word this will be the definitive Hobbit cut.

[Alatar]

Well, I just watch Beorhtnoth's edit of Unexpected Journey. Have to say I loved it. Will I start a new thread?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Why not?