So I’ve got a copy of the workprint for Apocalypse now. It’s so interesting, but the quality is really low, as VHS workprints tend to be.

Point is, I was thinking about trying to clean it up. The Complete Dossier DVDs have a lot of deleted scenes which seem to be straight chunks of the workprint, and some footage of it cut with special features that look and sound much better than the bootleg.

So, the idea is to swap in the higher quality footage from the DVD, any footage I can from the Blu Rays of the film, and maybe replace The Doors songs with The Doors HD Tracks releases of their music. For a better viewing experience? For preservation? For shits and giggles? I dunno, man.

The problem is that the workprint, and the DVD scenes are encoded dreadfully. They all have this timecode that shows they’re hardcoded to 30fps, and interlaced on top of that. It’s easy enough to deinterlace it and get it back to a smooth 30, but at that point, the source is a solid 30. I can’t really get it to 24, because it’s a 30fps video with the timecode.

So, I’m asking if anyone can help me get that mess of fields and frames back to 24fps for editing, and if anyone knows any other places I can get better quality workprint footage.