Five Cent Deposit

Alright, I call on the power of dvdtalk to help me find evidence of something weird that only *I* seem to remember. I am convinced (100%) that the first few times I saw the teaser or trailer for SW:Ep1 TPM, when Natalie Portman was shown in her full "Queen Amidala" get-up, her lines were electronically modulated about an octave or two down. I am certain that people were freaked out about it, like WTF was up with that shit? Lucas has lost his mind! I distinctly remember that when she said the line I quoted in the title, she sounded like Buffalo Bill in SOTL.

"I will not condone a course of action that puts the lotion in the basket!"

I'm reminded of how I saw a teaser for Terminator 2 almost a year before it came out, and my best friend and I turned to each other in our seats and basically said (again) WTF when we saw Kyle Reese. But... he died, how can this be? We waited til the movie came out, and I desperately hoped that it would all make sense. Only Kyle Reese was nowhere to be seen in the final film. My friend conveniently forgot ever seeing him in the trailer until many years later when he saw the omitted scenes on a DVD and voila, my memory was suddenly corroborated.

So is there anyone out there who remembers (and can find evidence of) this case of post-production tomfoolery from The Phantom Menace?

The Infidel

I don't personally think there was any tomfoolery involved. An actor/actress, or even a person is general, is capable of simply speaking in tones different than their normal register. The idea in Phantom Menace is that we're not supposed to realize that Amidala is Padme until later in the film, so Lucas probably just had Nat deliver her early lines in a slightly deeper voice.

I haven't looked at them, but aren't there trailers and such on the PM disc? Maybe they can corroborate what you're remembering.

HN

Not sure what the question is (are you looking for the trailer or someone to agree?) but here's the trailer with the line.

http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/re...menace_320.mov

The Infidel

OK...looks like the OP was right...sort of. I hadn't seen the trailer in a while, but it's obvious her actual voice is in the trailer, and in comparing that to the movie, either she did re-record her lines in a lower voice, someone else overdubbed her lines, or they did something electronically to Nat's voice. It's not quite "an octave or two", but it's a lower pitch in the movie.

Now I'll have to listen to the commentary to hear if they say anything about it.

RogueScribner

Except the OP isn't saying it's lower in the movie, he's saying it's lower in the trailer, which doesn't seem to be the case.

hdtv00

Its called compression...I dont think anyone sounds right in that link.

Y2K Falcon

In a theater, or via QuickTime?

The Infidel

That's why I said he was "sort of" right, in that there is a discrepancy between the trailer and the movie.

Kal-El

Two words:

"Take two." or "Take three" or "Take four."

you get the idea.

digitalfreaknyc

actually...you're wrong. I'd have to look for the source but Lucas had Natalie re-dub all of her dialogue to sound more "imperious" or something. I guess her natural speaking voice was too young and weak which, shockingly enough, she was when they filmed. So as a result, she ended up sounding deeper in all her deliveries. I remember reading this before the movie even came out because I noticed the change the first time I saw it.

Listen to "get to your ships" in the trailer and then in the film. Sounds totally different. THAT makes me more angry when watching TPM than Jar Jar ever did.

DealMan

Different takes are often used in the trailer then the ones in the feature film. Aragorn's "A Day may come, when the courage of men fails..." speech from Return of the King is considerably different in the trailer and the actual film, although the words are the same.

digitalfreaknyc

Again...NOT a different take. A different AUDIO take...but only because it was George's last minute request.

Groucho

Isn't that line delivered by Keira Knightly?

caligulathegod

Nah, she doesn't have any lines in the trailer. There ARE 3 brief shots of KK in it, though. She is wearing black with the feather headdress.

Five Cent Deposit

Okay, to address all of the responses:

First, I just re-read my OP and I realiize that I wasn't expressing myself very well. I posted right before going to bed and was tired/rushed/whatever. I hate to post incoherently, and I'm sorry if I derailed my own thread before it even got going. Second, I work as an apprentice editor in feature films. I am very familiar with the post production process. I'd love it if we could assume that I (regardless of my industry experience,) like most people here, know at least a little bit about movie making. So responses to the effect of "Take one. Take two. Duh" don't get the discussion very far. I know that sometimes people do come in out of nowhere with some pretty stupid questions, but mine wasn't. I will rephrase it in a moment. We all know (perhaps some know better than others) that in the months of editorial work prior to a film's release, many ideas are tried out. Most are bad ideas. We also know (as I tried to establish, poorly though I might add, with my T2 trailer anecdote) that the content in trailers does not often reflect the finished product. Finally, it should be obvious to all that technology can do some pretty neat things with sound and images- what you see and hear is never pure "source." My question assumes this level of familiarity.

I recall seeing an early trailer for TPM, either on the internet or in a theater(by the way, the trailer linked above is not the first one that I saw) in which Portman's delivery of certain lines was clearly altered to a pitch well below her comfortable range (not an octave, I was just being hyperbolic.) I do not imagine that she is or was capable of delivering them in such a way. Try talking in the lowest tones you can produce. It isn't intelligible. My theory is that Lucas decided in post that he wanted the lines lower than she had delivered them. Early on they achieved this with artificial modulation that sounded silly. They then realized that they would need to either loop the lines (new performance) or back off the pitch shifting to a less ridiculous degree. Furthermore, I think that the goofy sounding trailer or teaser was only out for a very short time and it is perfectly believable to me that Lucas would destroy it. I don't expect anyone to actuall find an intact example. But does anyone else at least remember it the way I do? It would ease my mind a little. I guess.

Five Cent Deposit

This jibes with what I remember. I think I may have read about it as well. The scenario that I suggest is that the early trailer/teaser was done without (prior to) the new looped lines. I could be crazy though.

Note: the "jibe" link isn't necessarily for you, it's there in case any smartypants wants to try to shit in the thread by questioning my use of the word.

Fincher Fan

An apprentice editor? Does that mean you make the coffee?

Five Cent Deposit

That, sir, is the height of wit.