I’ve definitely been there
Anyway, a progress update on v0.5: I’m something like 15-18 minutes into the movie, and currently slogging through the scene where the Russian sub is destroyed. I’m having to mask off all the Japanese subtitles for the Russian dialogue using the US version source (I’d replace the whole shots, but I want to take as much from the Japanese source as I possibly can to maintain a high level of quality), which is challenging since the US source has slightly different framing, different colors and I think the image is a little distorted as well, so I’m having to fiddle with the placement and colors a lot. However, I think I’ve gotten them close enough that you can really only tell the difference if you’re looking for it. I’ve also had to do this for a good deal of location supers and other expository titles, which isn’t so bad, but the sheer number of times I’m having to do it in this scene is maddening. At this point I’m debating whether to go back and add the English subtitles after I finish masking off the Japanese ones, or just come back to them later, because I’m so sick of staring closely at the collars on Soviet sailors’ uniforms while I mess with color sliders and positioning.
Don’t get me wrong, by and large I’m having a lot of fun with this project, but god, dealing with all these subtitles is a bitch. Until this point I’ve had to do one of these masking procedures maybe once every few scenes, and in this scene it’s averaging out to something like once or twice every shot.
Also, having been provided with a 720p copy of the Japanese version at the proper frame rate by a Toho Kingdom member, I’ve been spared the ordeal of doing this test run with a DVD rip at 30fps. What’s more, while I was initially expecting to have to go back through and do the whole project over again for v1.0, this source is probably the same transfer used for the upcoming Kraken Blu-ray, which means I might be able to use the same Vegas project file and just go back through substituting the 1080p Blu-ray rip and have all the other work I’ve done (masking, titles and subtitles, etc.) remain intact.