I just watched all your videos on vimeo and it's outstanding and utterly inspiring stuff!
Seriously though, the one with the stormtroopers in the death star, comparing blu-ray, reliance and then your work in progress and I nearly burst out laughing when you said 'no... fuck no... closer...' :D
May want to edit your post, mate... :)
Is it the swearing? If so, edited! Don't want to offend!
michaeldc said:
Is it the swearing? If so, edited! Don't want to offend!
No, I think it's re: your flight.
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
Ok great, edited the swearing back in!
(I'm pretty new to this project so forgive my ignorance on certain things)
Haha - much better! :)
Thanks - so glad you are enjoying the work!
View the Restoration and join the discussion at StarWarsLegacy.com!
I really am, sometimes when I see these things happening I just can't believe it. I get the same feeling when you 'reveal' the restored image compared to print images in your videos as i do when I see ProjectBlu's upscale or Harmy piece together a scene from 5 different sources. It's just astounding and I'm so glad I get to witness it from a technical point of view as well as a fan of the films.
I'm trying to make my way through this entire thread and while only up to page 20 I have noticed a few things regarding the fact that this will not shared. I'm of the opinion that simply knowing that an extremely accurate 4k restoration (that blows the blu-rays out of the water and in some circumstances puts the reliance scan to shame) exists and that the excuses that have been fed to us over the years (that it would be impossible to do) were now invalidated. I understand that it's not your place to release it but knowing that it's out there and will (presumably) end up in the hands of Lucasfilm/Disney/Fox/Whoever means that the argument can shift focus from 'we can't do it' to 'we won't do it' or... 'ok, we will do it' - which is what we all want. I believe the vast majority of fans would greatfully accept this 4k restoration as the end of the matter and knowing that it will be an option for the powers that be is much more exciting than having absolutely no hope whatsoever.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that one day I'm screening this for my children.
Thank you for sharing this, I can't wait for the day the website with the scans is uploaded, I'm sure I'll view every one!
Michael
As a small aside, I signed up to your forum but... even though it says a confirmation email has been sent (to the right address), I haven't received any in any folder or junk mail, is there anything I can do?
I just validated your account, but I'd check those email settings if I were you.
"Can't" is an outright lie, and always has been. It has always been "won't."
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While I don't doubt you or others 'in the know', as Joe Public I can assume it's a lie. Knowing this is here certainly removes all doubt and that leaves me with a warm feeling!
I checked my email address and it's right and my email settings don't specifically block anything or stop them going into junk mail or anything so I'm at a bit of a loss. Regardless though, thank you for validating my account.
mverta said:
Happy Easter.
Speaking of Lord Christ Almighty... take a look at this shot:
_Mike
I spent the entire day yesterday watching your comparison videos, and wow amazing work
I think Mike here has the right approach because he knows he has something, that won't be matched by people just doing a job for money. Like the Blu-Rays or the reliance clips we have seen.
And to be honest, It's about time someone dangled a carrot over this film and said... "I have a superior version do you want it or not....Because everybody else wants it"
And I think that is a strong enough message unto itself.
Keep going Mike and try to think of a way to get your messages out to more people so people will feel cheated out of what is the "Standard" and not some lame excuse of a release that quite frankly is not acceptable, should not and will not be peddled out to the public in the current state it is in.
Ronster said:
I think Mike here has the right approach because he knows he has something, that won't be matched by people just doing a job for money. Like the Blu-Rays or the reliance clips we have seen.
And to be honest, It's about time someone dangled a carrot over this film and said... "I have a superior version do you want it or not....Because everybody else wants it"
And I think that is a strong enough message unto itself.
Keep going Mike and try to think of a way to get your messages out to more people so people will feel cheated out of what is the "Standard" and not some lame excuse of a release that quite frankly is not acceptable, should not and will not be peddled out to the public in the current state it is in.
to be fair to reliance, (and I hate their work more than anyone) I am not sure the shots in their trailer are fully timed
I did notice that other films in their show reel looked a lot better than star wars or Empire Strikes Back... Perhaps the source they have been commissioned to work on is just way beyond what is reasonably acceptable for the price that has been paid?
I mean like there needs to be a point where someone realizes that it's just not comparable to what people expect. I thought the Star wars clips stood out in comparison to True Lies and Raiders for example on their show reel as a lesser quality.
If the "new" scans come out and look like that then it's another screw up from them.
But I will only judge them then
I suspect that the Reliance shots weren't actually indicative of any plans for a new home video release at all. They were probably commissioned to do work for the planned 3D theatrical screenings, and then when that project fell through, the work was scrapped before completion. They could well have had it up on their website just to show that it was something they had done, but weren't expecting people to latch on to it as an indicator about a new release. The video was taken down pretty quickly once the online rumors and speculation started, so they didn't want to give people the wrong idea.
This seems all the more likely given that this digital release is apparently just recycling the 2004 master yet again. If they had a new and complete master, you'd really expect them to actually use it, SE or not.
dvdmike said:
to be fair to reliance, (and I hate their work more than anyone) I am not sure the shots in their trailer are fully timed
I don't know but if they hadn't been timed at all, the duel in ESB wouldn't be teal and orange. It has never looked like that before.
I guess the reason all this is continually speculated about is because hope springs eternal, and we just can't believe this nightmare is real.
But the discussion is actually over. No commercial release of Star Wars will get what it actually needs; it's just not revered enough. Nobody in a commercial venue is going through every element of every frame like I am, armed with decades of research, passion, consulting with the original crew, willing to take all the time necessary, develop all the tools necessary to get it done right. There's nobody saying, "Here's a blank check, let's get this right once and for all no matter what, and put it to bed; let's give this landmark film what it deserves." That dictum would have to come from the top, and Star Wars has never had that. It's own creator distanced himself from it. And fans don't run studios, don't allocate resources. There is no reason to do this project; people are buying whatever they're given. That is so true, in fact, that the new films are already taking victory laps a year before the film is even out. Toys are made, sequels in pre-production, spin-offs funded. It used to be you had to wait to see if what you had was successful before you committed to anything else. But they don't have to wait anymore. They know it will be bought. People will buy it and like it. They'll buy whatever they're given, no matter how shitty. The entire landscape of commercial cinema is billion-dollar-making disposable, forgettable pieces of shit with tie-ins. That's why there has to be a new Avengers every year or whatever; they can't ride on the wave of reverence and success that a quality film generates. A couple of weekends, and it's off like a fart in the wind, now; time to make another one quick, before they forget entirely!
Star Wars was 3 films, not 10 plus spinoffs. It endured - so much so that they eventually made some prequels. They were shitty beyond description and STILL couldn't kill the nostalgia. Of course, it's Darth Vader and Luke and Leia that are in the new films; it's those characters and costumes and toys that sell. Nobody gives a shit about Jar Jar Binks, or Kloo Tu Fuck Tu or whoever from the prequels - we just sort of forget all that happened. Nobody's dressing up for Halloween as one of those lame-ass droid army, roger-roger things. Come to think of it - I don't follow this - does the 501st even HAVE a clone trooper division? They must. My mom might think they're stormtroopers, but she's thinking of the originals. Anyway my point is that the original films were powerful enough to plow through the mountain of shitfail that is the prequels and get us to a whole other set of projects. So all the indications are there that the films are deserving; they just don't get what they deserve. Never have. I don't believe they will, unless one of us does it, and makes them an offer they can't refuse. They'll probably refuse anyway. That's certainly my goal, and it's nice to think positive. But if I thought Star Wars was in better hands, I wouldn't be here. MAYBE the Reliance clips are not actually the new restoration for any number of reasons we can think up to make ourselves feel better, yeah. MAYBE. MAYBE it'll rain beer. You know, you never know. In the meantime, there is nothing to do but head down and show them how to do it right.
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mverta said:
I don't believe they will, unless one of us does it, and makes them an offer they can't refuse. They'll probably refuse anyway. That's certainly my goal, and it's nice to think positive. But if I thought Star Wars was in better hands, I wouldn't be here. MAYBE the Reliance clips are not actually the new restoration for any number of reasons we can think up to make ourselves feel better, yeah. MAYBE. MAYBE it'll rain beer. You know, you never know. In the meantime, there is nothing to do but head down and show them how to do it right.
At this point, I don't even know what I'm hoping for anymore.
If there's even a slim chance that they would ever consider working with you in the future, Mike, I hope the RM version is SE. If they've already completed a botched OOT, they're not going to do it again with your help, regardless of all you have to offer.
But if there's exactly a zero percent chance of them taking an interest in your work, I would still hope for the botched RM OOT. It's better than nothing, and at least it can be broken down to scrap for use in Harmy type projects.
Hi Mike, sorry I am sure these questions have been answered before but I was wondering if you were planning to work on the other two films and how much is left to do on Star Wars before you feel that it is finished?
Thanks,
Mike
mverta said:
Come to think of it - I don't follow this - does the 501st even HAVE a clone trooper division? They must.
Because no question should go unanswered: Yes, of course they have them.
mverta said:
Nobody gives a shit about Jar Jar Binks, or Kloo Tu Fuck Tu or whoever from the prequels
Whoa, hold the fuck up buddy. You had me right up until this sentence.
Star Wars characters in order of coolness:
1: Han Solo
2: Darth Vader
3: Kloo Tu Fuck Tu
4: Luke Skywalker
I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times, but because I'm lazy and not very knowledgeable about the more technical stuff that gets discussed here - What soundtrack do you use? The 70mm mix, or the ordinary stereo/mono mixes?
I was thinking about the Reliance clip again and I've been curious about if their source was the 97 SE. I dug up the good old TB broadcast (which is the best version with most preserved detail by the way) and used the script we used for the TeamBlu version and then I cranked the saturation up like crazy in Photoshop and balanced it a bit to Mike's work-in-progress Tech print shot. Here's what came out:
Now the weird thing is that when I tried to do the same with the Reliance version, it was like everything was the same color, a bit monochrome-like as Mike put it. The GOUT lacks color on the walls in this shot too so it's weird that one could get the most color out of a TV broadcast of the 97 SE, compared to all other versions, yet Reliance who probably had access to superior material could not. (Or didn't want to) Or maybe their DVNR algorithms ate up whatever color information was hidden within the original grain.
It could be that enough color information was still present in the film sources in 1997 that it can be retrieved from scans made at that time, but that additional fading in the following years has made newer efforts come out looking worse in terms of color, even though the film scanning equipment itself is greatly improved.
What soundtrack do you use? The 70mm mix, or the ordinary stereo/mono mixes?
The answer to this is 'all of the above', but the source must remain undisclosed.
Stinky-Dinkins said:
Star Wars characters in order of coolness:
1: Han Solo
2: Darth Vader
3: Kloo Tu Fuck Tu
4: Luke Skywalker
I agree; Kloo Tu Fuck Tu has become my favorite character ever since I heard about him. I think he's going to be the focus of one of those spinoffs that keep getting mentioned, isn't he? ;)