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Rogue One Cinematography/Film Techniques of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Discussion in 'Anthology' started by PymParticles , Apr 10, 2016.

  1. Vader0706

    Vader0706 Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2017
    The editing was weird only during the first half of the film for me. Mostly when it cut off to different planets and when Jyn was observing her father's hologram, while Krennic fired the Death Star simultaneously. It somehow took a bit of enjoyment from the Death Star firing when it was cut between that scene and the hologram scene.

    That being said, the editing didn't bother me so much and I LOVE the film. Seen it 6 times and with every next viewing, those things bothered me less and less. The editing is probably due to the re-shoots, but it is nothing too weird or distracting (perhaps you should check out Suicide Squad... there the editing was atrocious).
     
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  2. JawaShuffle

    JawaShuffle Jedi Knight star 3

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    Apr 22, 2016
    For my first viewing I thought the editing was jarring...but now it doesn't bother me. As Vader0706 said, I reckon the re-shoots (even though quite normal) may have contributed to it.
     
  3. Jester J Binks

    Jester J Binks Jedi Master star 4

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    Dec 19, 2016
    I thought the editing of the Galen hologram / Death Star Jedha destruction was wonderful. As Galen is talking about the Death Star as something that could be unleashed soon, it is literally unleashed at that very moment. Really hammered home the idea that life doesn't fit around your schedule. It isn't going to just wait for your pilot to deliver the message, allow viewing, decide what to do and then take care of it before it goes into service. That's life in a nutshell. Plan B being required before you even decided you needed a Plan A.
     
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  4. moreorless12

    moreorless12 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 4, 2016
    I think you do clearly have a phase of the film between the opening flashback and Jyns arrival at Yavin where the editing style of the film differs from the rest of it. During that phase the cutting between the different plots is much more rapid with less time spent developing atmosphere/location. Tough to know whether this was by choice or due to having to rework the film and not having the footage but I do think its possible it was some of the former. You look at lots of spy thriller/theist kind of films and even some war films and they do sometimes kick off in this fashion skipping around highlighting the "pieces in the game" without going into detail that's then brought up latter when the different threads merge together.

    I'd agree the Galen/DS editing was very good indeed and really helped build up the menace of the latter and the importance of the message.
     
  5. TCF-1138

    TCF-1138 Anthology/Fan Films/NSA Mod & Ewok Enthusiast star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    Interesting, I didn't have any serious problems with the editing of the film. I generally prefer a somewhat slower editing style (like Lucas used to do) than in R1, but I found the editing of this film to serve the story and the emotional context. A lot of time the editing is hectic, but the entire film is hectic - they're always (or almost always) working against the clock, and the quick editing serves to make the audience feel that. It's not "unprofessional", it's a certain style, and a certain storytelling device. And it's still not edited at all as fast as, for example, the Bourne movies.

    The cross-cutting between the Galen hologram and the Death Star firing sequence stands out as a highlight to me - a masterful use of montage editing.
     
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  6. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2014
    Never noticed it as a problem personally. I'll have to see if I notice it on my next viewing. But usually quick cuts are something I don't like and I didn't notice it feeling too quick in RO.

    But Prequel_Rubbish seeing as its a prequel to SW then your name indicates you would have found an issue somewhere ;)
     
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  7. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

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    Oct 31, 2012
    Updated the title so that it's less bashing. We can discuss all facets of the editing in this thread.
     
  8. Guidman

    Guidman Skywalker Saga Mod and Trivia Host star 6 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 29, 2016
    Thought the editing was overall pretty good. Only problem was some of the straight cuts when jumping between planets at the beginning. Maybe this is where they had used wipes in the early cuts like Edwards had mentioned. then changed them. I enjoyed the cuts between the Death Star firing and the hologram. I liked seeing what was going on with both sides at the same time.
     
  9. kegs202

    kegs202 Jedi Knight star 2

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    Jan 26, 2013
    I didn't notice anything wrong with the editing. Then again I haven't become cynical and I don't go to see a Star Wars film to try and find fault with it. I simply go along to watch what I love for a couple of hours and let the movie take me to a galaxy far far away.
     
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  10. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    The quick cuts from editing didn't annoy me nearly as much as the handheld camera work. Why doesn't anybody use Steadicam anymore? Watching images bouncing and jerking around is a pain, especially on the big screen.
     
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  11. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

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    Oct 26, 2009
    The handheld camera work was an inherent part of the war aesthetic Edwards and DP Greig Fraser were going for, but the ultimate effectiveness is questionable. The street combat scenes in Jedha are purposefully chaotic, but the editing never quite gives us a crucial sense of spatial relationship in those scenes. It's a bit better in the beach and bunker firefights on Scarif.
     
  12. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998


    I can see the point of the jostling and jerking in a violent battle scene, that's OK, but I don't like it in dialog scenes. I'm trying to focus on a character's face to read their feelings and thoughts, and the image is bouncing around so I can't get a good look. That's annoying to me.
     
  13. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

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    Oct 26, 2009
    On a macro level, I was really disoriented by the editing of first act on my first viewing. All of the planet hopping made it really difficult to get my bearings, and the rapid fire character introductions added to that confusion. The second viewing made it more digestible, but structurally, I think you could push Bodhi's introduction to just after Cassian, Jyn and K-2 leave Yavin IV, that way everything on Jedha feels more streamlined.
     
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  14. DarthAlgar

    DarthAlgar Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 7, 2002
    After watching Suicide Squad it's hard for me to call any other movie's editing bad. That's my new low bar for a blockbuster movie with bafflingly awful editing... But we're talking about Rogue One. Nothing really felt too off to me about it. The Galen hologram/destruction of Jedha City scene stood out in a positive way as has already been mentioned. Oh, there is that awkward cut from Krennic to Tarkin then back to Krennic where Krennic's position changes kind of drastically. Chris Stuckmann pointed that one out in his review and as soon as he said it I knew exactly which scene he was talking about. Can't really think of any especially bad editing moments besides that though, and that's one specific cut.
     
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  15. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

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    Oct 26, 2009
    I've mentioned this elsewhere, but from a structural perspective, I also would have liked for the Vader massacre / Leia reveal to take place prior to the Death Star firing on Scarif. That way, the story ends with the heroes we've been following the entire film.

    Of course, we'd then be robbed of that gorgeous shot from space of Scarif's destruction tilting up to Vader's shuttle making its way towards the Rebel fleet.
     
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  16. Pro Scoundrel

    Pro Scoundrel New Films Expert At Modding Casual star 6 Staff Member Manager

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    Nov 20, 2012
    THREAD MERGE, AND UPDATED TITLE.
     
  17. Too-Gon Onbourbon

    Too-Gon Onbourbon Jedi Knight star 2

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    Jan 23, 2016
    This movie has some of the most delectable shots ever. It is a joy to my eyes.
     
  18. Blue 5

    Blue 5 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Jan 6, 2017
    Cinematography was great IMO.

    Two insignificant scenes I will mention, because they truly are insignificant in the scope of things:

    1. When Jyn, Cassian and K-2S0 go to Jedha and they are in the battle, and they go to the alleyway: right after Jyn melees storm troopers, the part where she fires her blaster up until shooting the Imperial droid that looks like K2, and her shocking "oh no" reaction, brilliantly captured her essence in a unique way. Look for it next time.

    2. During the space battle above Scarif (the best space battle ever IMO), it is filled with amazing shots, but there was this one majestic shot where a squad of X-wings start out on the bottom left and come zooming up to the upper right...freaking fantastic shot.
     
  19. Ghost Ryder

    Ghost Ryder Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 16, 2016
    The Scarif sequence is full of nice touches: a couple of nicely flowing transitions from the battle to the data vault, Blue Leader's X-Wing and the U-Wing each shifting to the background as they go down, the POV shots, etc. I even love the shot of the crew approaching Scarif; the camera pans to follow them and goes right under a Star Destroyer. Here as well as in TFA, the camera seems more active than in the others, and that's fine by me (though to be clear, this aspect alone doesn't carry the films).
     
  20. Gigoran Monk

    Gigoran Monk Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Dec 2, 2016
    The slow pan up from the destruction of Jedha to the Death Star was a frakking work of art. Blockbusters just don't do shots like that. But Edwards does.

    Which is why I want LFL to keep employing young, raw directors with real artistic talent. Will help ensure that this franchise doesn't go the way of the stale, and IMO, often artless MCU.
     
  21. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 1, 2014
    Absolutley loved the shots from Raddus's command module in his ship above Scarif, really dizzying and the contrast they got between space and the planet beneath them worked really well during the battle.
     
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  22. Satipo

    Satipo Force Ghost star 7

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    Mar 29, 2014
    Yes. I thought this sequence was very powerful.
     
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  23. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 1, 2014
    Watching it again and I thought I'd try and see if my untrained eye would pick out anything editing wise that jumps out. Overall theres hardly anything that bothered me, I liked its look and feel which was something a little different for a SW film. The only exception isthe scene where K2 is holding off the Stormtroopers and the camera angle is high up and quite shaky as it shows the troopers coming at him from 2 directions. The other slight thing I only noticed after watching Chris Stuckmanns review, as the wave envelopes Cassian and Jyn, you see Jyn open his eyes and look to his left.
     
  24. PymParticles

    PymParticles Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 1, 2014
    I love the MCU, but I predominately love it for the characters, who are nearly uniformly perfectly cast and portrayed, and for seeing a universe I've loved on the page since I was a child faithfully adapted. However, I'll be the first to admit that they are, by and large, not well shot films. For all of Civil War's strengths in regards to story and balancing about a dozen "action figure" characters, it's a pretty bland movie cinematographically. Guardians of the Galaxy I consider to be an exception to this rule, Vol. 2 looks to be in the same vein, Doctor Strange had some inventive visuals (non-effects shots were pretty typical though), and the pictures that were released from Thor: Ragnarok today look joyously colorful and vibrant, but on the whole the MCU films could stand to look less homogenized.

    Tl;dr, scripts, casting, and acting are all extremely important, but definitely keep hiring people who know how to shoot a goddamn film. The Force Awakens and Rogue One have both been impeccably shot, and I'm sure Rian Johnson and Phil Lord & Chris Miller will continue that with The Last Jedi and the Han Solo film respectively. Just keep hiring people like that.
     
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  25. Gigoran Monk

    Gigoran Monk Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Dec 2, 2016
    Agreed all around. You and me, we gots the same mind.
     
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