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Star Wars Trilogy 7" 33 1/3 book and record set (Released)

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Hello again!

After a while off I have returned with yet another project underneath me for the winter time. This project concerns the Star Wars Trilogy 7" 33 1/3 24 page book and record sets. These were all I had growing up to satisfy my jones for Star Wars until VHS tapes were available. There were 8 of them produced by Buena Vista Records from 1978 until 1984, I recently downloaded a set of them from Readalongadventures.com. I must say the scans are in rough shape but the audio it was sourced from is pretty good.

Considering myself somewhat of an audiophile I used a program called Spin It Again to clean up the audio source material somewhat and it is a fairly pleasing result. I manually cleaned up each picture using GIMP (like Photoshop). My niece is just learning how to read and I have turned her into a Star Wars nut with the set of docs and DVDs I have of the original unaltered trilogy.

I am putting each book into Powerpoint and syncing the audio to each page so that it turns like a real book. The outcome is, in my eyes at least very enjoyable. What I am wondering here is two things. Does anyone out there have a decent set of quality scans of the books and clean audio copy. These book and record sets deserve a high quality preservation.

Secondly can anyone recommend a better program to use aside from Powerpoint which takes a lot of time to sync audio and offers fairly wimpy page transitions. The other anoying thing is that you have to be really close to the screen to read the pages. This is not a huge deal because you do have the audio to listen to and she has a laptop she can watch it on.

I am curious if someone here has already tackled this project. I also plan on doing the same thing for about 15 other read along books. The audio and graphics seem to be in much better shape for those except The Last Starfighter which has very poor scans of the pages. Anywho, let me know what you all think…

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Interesting project! I'm looking forward to seeing the result(s)!

You may want to look into "Media Studio". It's what Loose Cannon uses for their Doctor Who reconstructions.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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Sounds cool. Would it be possible to perhaps make a DVD with selectable stories and then there's sound and pictures moving?

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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Well what I am planing on for now is finishing each book and then bundling it all on a DVD with each section having it's own chapter i.e. All the Star Wars books, Indiana Jones, Star Trek etc... If you want to see scans of each page they are available to the public on picasa web albums. Don't think I'll sync the movie to the soundtrack as the dialogue in the story books has been edited and it is hilarious to hear the original voice overwork they did. You thought David Prowse had a bad accent as Darth Vader? wait till you hear this guy!

oohh think this is the link to find it.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

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If you need any help with restoring the hi-res images, tell me. I'm a professional digital image restorer and recently released an e-book of restored 1970s concert/tour programmes.

Gimp's ok, but it just doesn't have the functionality of photoshop.

For anyone with the books, please scan at least 300dpi

Audio-wise, I'd be getting uncompressed rips (mp3 is no good at all, especially for preservation), and release as FLAC.

image restoration:

 

 

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raphael said:

If you need any help with restoring the hi-res images, tell me. I'm a professional digital image restorer and recently released an e-book of restored 1970s concert/tour programmes.

Gimp's ok, but it just doesn't have the functionality of photoshop.

For anyone with the books, please scan at least 300dpi

Audio-wise, I'd be getting uncompressed rips (mp3 is no good at all, especially for preservation), and release as FLAC.

image restoration:

 

raphael, You are my new best friend! I could use oodles of help in restoring these photos to their former glory. I was just looking at them and they are really quite awful although vintage looking, but I know how finicky true Star Wars fans are about things looking just so. PM me and we can work something out. The images I have aren't the best so be warned. If anyone has any uncompressed rips of this I'm all ears!

 

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I think what is needed is the help of other people.

Hopefully someone has the original vinyl and booklets that can be captured uncompressed and in a high-resolution.

ie, WAV/FLAC for audio; for images a minimum 300dpi BMP/PNG/TIF

 

Alternatively, get the credit cards out!

for example, here is an unopened Empire read-along. And on cassette, which is arguably easier to work with (no pops or crackles).

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/SEALED-STAR-WARS-EMPIRE-STRIKES-BACK-READ-ALONG-ADVENTURE-/310427272948

 

There are actually quite a few available on Ebay

 

In terms of audio quality we should be aiming for what was done with the Story Of LPs(see thread below). 16 and 24bit captures and cleaned. Well worth the download.

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-Trilogy-LP-Preservations/topic/14575/

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If anyone with some disposable cash is eager to help out...

Star Wars (used)

The Empire Strikes Back (used)

Return of the Jedi (new!)

Edit: I just noticed Raphael's post. It'd be preferable to go with the version of The Empire Strikes Back that he linked to, if possible.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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aaaand here's a sealed vinyl version of Empire:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STAR-WARS-EMPIRE-STRIKES-BACK-451-Buena-Vista-Read-Along-Book-Record-Set-SEALED-/261107426966?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item3ccb372696

 

a sealed version of Star Wars on cassette

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STAR-WARS-1979-Read-Along-Book-Cassette-New-Sealed-24-pages-Free-Shipping-/140755169839?pt=Music_Cassettes&hash=item20c5a9722f

 

and a 'lightly used' version of Star Wars on vinyl

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-Star-Wars-Original-Motion-Picture-Read-Along-Book-and-Record-Gently-Used-/300763771859?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4606eaf3d3

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Excellent finds, Raphael!!!

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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I have a bunch of them that I'm posting, as and when I find the time. I have:

Star Wars (1979 Read-along):

http://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/starwars/post/2012/09/07/Star-Wars-read-along-%281979%29.aspx

I also have high resolution scans and Mp3 audio of:

Return of the Jedi (1983 read-along)

Return of the Jedi (1997 read-along)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980 Read-Along)

The Empire Strikes Back (1997 Read-Along)

The Ewok Adventure (1984 Read-Along)

The Phantom Menace (1999 Read-Along)

Star Wars - A New Hope (1997 Read-Along)

The Battle For Endor (1984 Read-Along - MP3 Audio only)

Which I will post on the same site when I have time.

TheStarWarsTrilogy.com.
The007Dossier.com.
Donations always welcome: Paypal | Bitcoin: bc1qzr9ejyfpzm9ea2dglfegxzt59tys3uwmj26ytj

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Thank you everyone for responding so well to this topic. I appreciate all of your feedback. In talking with Raphael it seems the sources I have are too far gone to restore. Besides the audio is atrocious at only 192 kbps. I want this to be a project I can be proud of and something you fans can relive day to day forever and pass on to your children. Therefore we have to have the best source for the graphics and the best source for the audio.

However in doing my research online I may have found a happy alternative. For just a little investment I can procure all 8 Star Wars read along adventure sets still in shrink from Amazon.com. It will be roughly $134.00 to buy them which I think is pretty darn pricey if you ask me. What we are talking about after all is 8 24 page books along with 8 7" records.Vintage paper and plastic is expensive!

So I ask you all, is there a serious enough interest in this project that would warrant me purchasing this set, as pricey as it is. This is a serious investment and would take some time to finish properly. Could I count on some of you to guide me through presenting this in the best intended way possible?

I would need someone to help me work on the audio, I could work on it with Cool Edit Pro but I am only a learner so my skills are minimal at best. Raphael, would you be able to work on photo restoration if I scanned them in uncompressed? We can settle that part later. Once I marry audio with the graphics, what program should I use to present this? I want it to be just like picking up a book only on a DVD with each book's pages turning automagically for you while in sync with the record.

I have currently applied this concept in Powerpoint using fades at the end of each page and I think the results are pretty good if I do say so myself. I've seen this done as a flash program but I don't really like flash and it needs to be compatible with all DVD players which is why each page should turn for you. Is there a better program than Powerpoint that has more options or control?

SO MANY VARIABLES TO CONSIDER!

Give me your thoughts......

Cheers!

Adam

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Has anyone checked this site out?

http://www.readalongadventures.com/flash/downloads.htm

I have the books for the three original movies that I had as a kid, I may have records for one or two of them still also, I'd have to dig them up.  I have a couple of unopened ewoks ones too, like planet of the hoojibs.  I can scan these things and make a video of them if I can get the missing audio if anyone wants me to help.

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TK421138 said:

anyone out there interested?

I'm interested!

I agree that $134 is expensive for that set, so I'd like to offer some advice as an individual already knee-deep in expensive equipment, materials, and time needed for a preservation project.

First, and foremost, be 100% certain of your motivation(s). Are you more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to do this preservation project? A good question to ask yourself in making this determination is: will I do this even if nobody is interested?

Second, know that releasing a preservation project is usually a thankless affair. It's unfortunate, but most downloaders of anything you release will probably do little to demonstrate their appreciation. Big projects like Harmy's seem to get a lot of replies, but they only seem that way because the scale is huge; e.g., thousands or hundreds-of-thousands of downloads.

An OT member found this out the hard way recently and, in response, suspended his efforts. Will you do the same if 100 people download your release, but nobody leaves as much as a simple ``thanks!''? I doubt that would happen around here, but it's something for which you've to be prepared.

OT resembles a gift culture (like the Free and Open Source Software movement), but anonymous downloading corrodes the very fabric upon which such a culture is built. You need tough skin and a ratio of intrinsic:extrinsic motivation that's greater than 1 to be happy with releasing a preservation project intended for this community.

This kind of problem impacts other online communities similar to OT, but I believe OT is the best (woohoo! :-) of the lot.

(My own stance on this is unique enough to share. I'm intrinsically motivated (mostly), as I'm an archivist at heart, so I view releasing as doing something similar to a giant distributed backup. A lack of appreciation from OTers wouldn't bother me much because I'm doing my preservation projects for me and the downloaders are doing my backups for free!)

Please consider the aforementioned prior to making any decisions related to this (or future) preservation projects.

If you choose to continue, then that would be great! You'll have, at least, as many of my resources and as much of my support as I can give. I'm sure other OTers would offer the same.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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Thank you AntcuFaalb for your excelent post. You really have a way of cutting right to the heart of things. I wouldn't take on a project like this if I didn't think that there would be an interest in it. I know that creating something like this to the best of my abilities will no doubt bring with it a mix of both compliments and criticism.

I'm not doing this for the admiration though, I am simply expressing the creative effect that Star Wars has had on me and in my life. I want to share that with you all, but I also want to make sure it's something that hasn't been done to death yet. In combing these forums I don't see that anyone has undertaken this before so I am excited to try it out.

I am going ahead with this project. I will be posting screens as I go along and update as I make progress.

Cheers,

Adam

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Brooks, thank you, I have checked that site out, in fact that is what spurred me on do do a proper restoration of each book. I use it as my guide for what the project could be. Though it probably will no be Flash based. I have not been able o contact the creator of that site, my last attempt was more than a month ago. Would you be willing or able to scan in a few samples from the books you have so I can see what it looks like?

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Sure, tomorrow I'll venture down into the basement and look for them. :)

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TK421138 said:

... I want it to be just like picking up a book only on a DVD with each book's pages turning automagically for you while in sync with the record.

This sounds like a cool idea.  I'm wondering if there is software out there to create this kind of effect for you?  Some type of slideshow software that could render the entire thing to HD video.  That would be compatible with pretty much everything.

You could release the audio and image data files as an extra included on the disc.

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I am going ahead with this project. I will be posting screens as I go along and update as I make progress.

This is very exciting news! :-D

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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AntcuFaalb said:

TK421138 said:

anyone out there interested?

I'm interested!

I agree that $134 is expensive for that set, so I'd like to offer some advice as an individual already knee-deep in expensive equipment, materials, and time needed for a preservation project.

First, and foremost, be 100% certain of your motivation(s). Are you more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to do this preservation project? A good question to ask yourself in making this determination is: will I do this even if nobody is interested?

Second, know that releasing a preservation project is usually a thankless affair. It's unfortunate, but most downloaders of anything you release will probably do little to demonstrate their appreciation. Big projects like Harmy's seem to get a lot of replies, but they only seem that way because the scale is huge; e.g., thousands or hundreds-of-thousands of downloads.

An OT member found this out the hard way recently and, in response, suspended his efforts. Will you do the same if 100 people download your release, but nobody leaves as much as a simple ``thanks!''? I doubt that would happen around here, but it's something for which you've to be prepared.

OT resembles a gift culture (like the Free and Open Source Software movement), but anonymous downloading corrodes the very fabric upon which such a culture is built. You need tough skin and a ratio of intrinsic:extrinsic motivation that's greater than 1 to be happy with releasing a preservation project intended for this community.

This kind of problem impacts other online communities similar to OT, but I believe OT is the best (woohoo! :-) of the lot.

(My own stance on this is unique enough to share. I'm intrinsically motivated (mostly), as I'm an archivist at heart, so I view releasing as doing something similar to a giant distributed backup. A lack of appreciation from OTers wouldn't bother me much because I'm doing my preservation projects for me and the downloaders are doing my backups for free!)

Please consider the aforementioned prior to making any decisions related to this (or future) preservation projects.

If you choose to continue, then that would be great! You'll have, at least, as many of my resources and as much of my support as I can give. I'm sure other OTers would offer the same.

Very well stated.  It is a very thankless position to be in...but, I believe the pro's outweigh the con's with such efforts.  My own personal experience with the DTS audio archive has been an amazing experience.  With the help of this site, fellow members giving up some of their own time and experience, and the spleen I've been able to share the "back ups" with others so as to insure they are available for future projects.  Some of what I've shared is already being utilized to create some cool projects.

I did it because I wanted to help make a difference, no matter how small.  I will benefit, along with everyone else, from everything that was brought to the table, from everyone involved.  That is where it pays off and that is what truly makes it worth it.

Cheers to ya!!!!

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guiser said:

TK421138 said:

... I want it to be just like picking up a book only on a DVD with each book's pages turning automagically for you while in sync with the record.

This sounds like a cool idea.  I'm wondering if there is software out there to create this kind of effect for you? ...

 

I know you can do this in premiere and aftereffects, I've done it before.  I'm pretty sure you can do it in FC too.

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OK, the books have been purchased, it was a big investment but in the end I think it will prove to be the best option for quality sake. I should receive them all no later than the end of the month.

The next part will be scanning the images in, granted I don't have a super high quality scanner, I think it should do the trick. Perhaps I can lean on some of you to help me out in restoring them to their best look possible! I'm so excited I can't wait!

I checked out Adobe's rather expensive software and I just don't have the dough for it. The next step for me to do is scan in the pages and try to record high quality lossless audio. Any suggestions as to the best way to do this would be much appreciated. Again I use a program called Spin It Again which is pretty darn good but the output is still MP3.

Onwards and upwards!

Cheers,

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Brand new find!

While digging around in storage I found the old copies of the book and record sets from my childhood, very rough shape, but soooo cool!

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TK421138 said:

OK, the books have been purchased, it was a big investment but in the end I think it will prove to be the best option for quality sake. I should receive them all no later than the end of the month.

The next part will be scanning the images in, granted I don't have a super high quality scanner, I think it should do the trick. Perhaps I can lean on some of you to help me out in restoring them to their best look possible! I'm so excited I can't wait!

I checked out Adobe's rather expensive software and I just don't have the dough for it. The next step for me to do is scan in the pages and try to record high quality lossless audio. Any suggestions as to the best way to do this would be much appreciated. Again I use a program called Spin It Again which is pretty darn good but the output is still MP3.

Onwards and upwards!

Cheers,

For audio processing, Audacity is free and would be able to do the recording and output to .wav format.

:)