Celebrating pro-PT articles/videos

"Audiomachine's Protect and Defend was the BEST choice for the song overlaying your tribute. It makes this tribute video...something of a masterpiece. No joke. The way we hear the Kaminoan conditioning playing over the eerie strings, it captures their emotionless and almost sterile attitude, and almost feels hypnotic and soothing yet cold and tense at the same time. That escalating further and further into tension when we hear the Chancellor's declaration over the rain, cutting to the Clones keeping guard on Kamino as the bass strings begin to fluctuate; the Kaminoan voice continues over the war, even through the scenes of formality. This adds to another element: the harsh yellow sun juxtaposing the white and empty environment on the Cloning factories gives this sense of dread, as if what the voice is saying will not prepare them for the harshness of the Clone Wars. This whole first segment sets up the dread and foreboding of the Clones' ultimate fate, being left in the trauma, fires, and conditioning of war.

Then after hearing Rex's own monologue, we now see the battlefield of Geonosis as the dust clouds everything they see, with the BASS dropping and putting us at the edge of our tension. The dust emphasizes their undying loyalty, while Cut's reply leaves a morally grey questioning to the mis-en-scene, all while the bass drop reflects the intensity of the conflict and the dangers of their conformity. And then we hear Tup's Order 66 rambling as the Geonosian fight continues into the murder of General Tiplar, offering credence to Cut's idea without undercutting the horror faced by the eventual biochip trigger. I also love how you have that disorienting effect where you layered another video on top of the main clip, as if from a dream or a drousy feeling. And the way the bass keeps dropping in and out allows for us to sink in the severity of the situation: the clones were always born to betray. And the way we keep cross-cutting to Rex and Cut's conversation and to Five witnessing Tup's examination brings a new layer to the Clones' brotherly bond, but with the grim reminder that their self-made free will is not everlasting. And then with Five's death, it brings us back to reality and the horrors faced by the Clones. And then the way we hear Nala Se's line..."Magnificent, aren't they?" Objectifying them while smash-cutting to a Gunship being blown up as the bass drops again; it's a neat way of introducing their sense of expendability. Also, before that is a snippet of a 212th Clone from Umbara (I forgot what his name was, I'm sorry...is it Waxer?), emphasizing their expendability even more and foreshadowing themselves as the real enemy, though that idea juxtaposed with Waxer's face reflects their lack of free will in the matter.

The way each bass drops feels like a stamp. A fact that cannot be changed. This is apparent when we see how this always cuts to moments that reflect the Clone themes: lack of free will, undying loyalty, expendability, humanity.

1:42 Oof, that gets me every time. Another bass drops to sell the impact of Five's warning, soon after cutting to Appo and the brainwashed 501st, and then seeing more scenes of Clone brutality as the motif of Order 66 and the Kaminoan programming becomes more apparent...finalized with Cody's compliance with the order and the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge

Then we have Temuera Morrison's voice clip from OG!Battlefront 2 overlaying the music as it now goes into a full dramatic fortissimo. That contrast, where Morrison says how "quiet" it was contrasting with this fortissimo directly addresses the weight of their actions and the hard choices they made along the way, as well as emphasizing the mind-wipe of several characters the audience learned to love and care for.

OH, and the way the music starts to close out by escalating further, you use this to your advantage PERFECTLY. Showing the murder of Aayla Secura to juxtapose Five's demise, finalizing the severity of his warning and letting it sink in for the viewer about how much was on the line. And of course, that line from Morrison, "it's a good thing we were wearing helmets, because none of us could bare to look her in the eye." While this line is the result of being from Legends material (where the clones were just following the rules, no biochip at all), it still sells the impact of their suffering and guilt for annihilating their friends and comrades in the war, no matter what little they remember about it. And THIS is where the music starts to shriek, escalating further and further to emphasize their doom.

And that last line when we cut to black...I don't need to explain why this is such a good line.

Overall, your choice of music really works well here, and highlights the plight and tragedy of the Clone Troopers, which of course is what a tribute film should do. I know I talked more than just the music here, but everything here is what makes the video work! Your editing, this haunting song, the Prequels and the Clone Wars themselves. It's a testament to how interesting the boundaries of storytelling can be pushed, and how that can reflect the plot's tragic outcomes; your tribute captures that part REALLY WELL. AN INFINITIES WORTH OF THUMBS UP."