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Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends UK Series 1-2 Original Broadcast Version Reconstruction (WIP) — Page 2

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rwinger24 said:

James and the Express, and the entirety of Series 2-3 do not include a remastered stereo soundtrack.

Thanks for pointing that out. I wasn’t aware of “James and the Express”, but I knew about Series 2 and 3. Still the best versions available sadly.

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I’ve just purchased “Thomas & Friends: Cranky Bugs & Other Thomas Stories” 2002 US NTSC DVD (which is Region-free by the way) as it includes the Series 2 nameboards, which are MUCH better quality than my VHS copies and syncs up with the PAL VHS which I’m overlaying it on. I really wanted to avoid using NTSC sources for this but this seems to be the only option for now, unless someone knows of any DVD/digital PAL sources anywhere.

One drawback with this disc is, like the “Truckloads of Fun” AUS DVD, the nameboard shots are framed differently and is slightly zoomed in compared to the PAL VHS so I don’t know how I’m going to get around that.

I’m also using Dr Dre’s colour matching program for any still shots I need.

This is taking me way longer than I thought so I’ve no idea when it’ll all be finished. I’ve made the mistake of attemting all 8 VHS restorations in one go so I’m losing track of where I am half the time and thinking of new ideas along the way. Hopefully it’ll be worth it when it’s finished.

UPDATE - I have overlayed the nameboards from “Cranky Bugs” DVD as they are, minus the BoCo, Harold and Trevor shots and those shots have the episode titles on the VHS. I not ideal, but the best I can do given the sources I have.

I’ve also, reconstructed the “Next Story Cuming Up!” still shot with a snap of “Duck Takes Charge” from the Series 2 DVD and the text taken from the VHS overlayed on top. It’s not perfect, but again, it’s the best I can do fow now.

I’ve just ordered “Thomas Gets Tricked/Percy’s Ghostly Trick” US DVD double feature (Region 1 locked) which has more useful material for this project.

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I’ve just completed a reconstruction of “Percy Runs Away” & “Coal” from Series 1 with a nameboard sequence included, just as it appeared when it was originally broadcast and on the “Further Adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends” 1985 VHS. It’s not perfect, but considering this version has not been aired/released since 1985, it’s better than what’s out there.

PM me if you want to have a look.

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UncutIsSuperior said:

alloneword said:

I’m sorry to report that Michael Angelis, the narrator of Thomas & Friends from 1991-2012, has passed away aged 68;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-michael-angelis-dead-thomas-22114357

I might include a little tribute to him in my Series 3 preservation.

Oh, no. Well, I’m sure every Thomas fan will miss him. Myself included.

He was great. I will always prefer Ringo as narrator as that was who I grew up with coupled with Series 1 and 2 being my favourites, but Angelis also did an amazing job and did it for so long. In many ways he was better than Ringo as I felt his narrations were more lively and he put more enthusiasm into the role and the voices of each of the characters.

For my tribute to him in my Series 3 VHS preservation, I’m thinking of putting it toward the beginning just before this screen;

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/2/20/TimeforTroubleandotherstoriestitlecard.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120226132103

I initially thought about placing it at the end so as not to alter how the original VHS tapes play out but then I thought it would seem redundant doing it like that. Therefore I think placing it just before the “Time for Trouble” title card would be best and have it fade in/out in a similar manner.

I’d love to do the text in the exact same font so if anyone could please confirm what font that is I would appreciate it.

Sources differ regarding his year of birth. Some say he was born in 1944 and others say 1952.

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I’m in the process of re-capturing all my VHS tapes as a base for this project as my Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket is capturing the colour grading more accurately than my DVD Recorder. The recordings i did back in 2007/8 (particularly for Series 2) had very blown-out contrast and loss of colour/detail that I originally put down to age and how much they were played back in the day.

This is taking a lot longer than planned as I’m still pondering over some editing decisions with regards to the yellow line split transitions. originally going to be clever and chop each frame up and crop/uncrop the DVD footage in line with the split but I’m not 100% satisfied with the results and is headache-inducing to the point where I just get fed up and don’t have the energy to pick up again. I am considering to just cross-fade from VHS~DVD~VHS so that it’s not as jarring and easier on the eyes, especially with the new VHSrips I’m doing.

Another thing that’s holding me up is that I would love to obtain some of the original Norwegian/Swedish/Danish DVD’s which used original masters with original episode titles and scrolling credits (no nameboards though) and in English. I’d love to purchase these but they’re almost impossible to find and to import to the UK, especially now. If anyone can help me out there, that’d be great.