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This project uses "The Story of Star Wars" vinyl LP audio synced up to a variety of video sources to create a unique preservation/fan-edit dvd. It is a 51 minute version of SW that is very enjoyable to watch.
Why:
I have immense admiration and respect for the community here. I've wanted to contribute something back since I discovered this place and got the original TR47 set. However, I don't own a LD player and there are enough really good LD transfers out there already. So, I was going through my old vinyl one day and came across my original copy of "The Story of Star Wars" LP, the one my dad bought me when I was 7 in 1977. Coincidentally, later that week a very high quality audio transfer of this was posted on alt.binaries.starwars. Listening to it got me thinking it would be cool to have this audio synced up to video pans and zooms using scans from the picture booklet included with the album. In essence, it would be like listening to the album and "reading" along with the booklet. I'm not a complete hack with Final Cut Pro, so I thought I'd give it a try. The initial results were very pleasing. However, when I got around 7 minutes of the film edited, it was obvious that this idea was a one-trick pony and there was no way I could watch 50 minutes of pans and zooms. I told a few members here about my project and each one of them said they thought a sync to footage would be ideal. I agreed. First idea scrapped. So, this project now syncs with video from different sources for the majority of the album and uses pans and zooms sparingly at times when there is only narration or when editing requires. It is much better this way. As far as I know, nobody's done anything like this project yet. This is for anyone that listened to this record on their parents' hi-fi over and over and over again as a kid. It will truly take you back.
Sources/Specs/Tech:
AUDIO - The true star of this project is the audio, no question. I used the mp3's made by ScottyBalls that were posted to a.b.sw. Great vinyl transfer! The mix is so unique with music, dialogue, alternate voices, takes and narration that this project needed to be done so people would be more likely to hear it.
VIDEO - A list of the video sources used
-2004 NTSC: majority of footage - color corrected
-Citizen NTSC DL: replaces the most offensive SE elements
-Darth Editous NTSC: fixes Luke's green saber on the falcon
-GKAR PAL: tractor beam meter now reads in english
This next one will upset some, but I have cropped the 2.35:1 aspect ratio to 1.78:1 to completely fill a 16x9 screen anamorphic. This was not my original intent but working with pans and zooms made this necessary. And believe me, I'm an aspect ratio snob. I would have had to add black bars to my anamorphic pan/zoom files. There was just not enough usable visual area to make this feasible. That being said, the whole project has been cropped on a scene to scene basis, sometimes shot to shot. It's not perfect, but it works. I didn't just center the crop for the whole movie and go. Really, the album itself is "cropped" so it's not all that bad.
DVD Features - Project completed/updated 6-17-06
-16x9 anamorphic main feature and motion menus
-Dolby Digital 2.0 audio - 2 streams: '77/'04 hybrid or pure '77
-English subtitles
-JACKET_P
-DVD-ROM including:
Cover and disc artwork (including slim version)
5G iPod version of main feature
The original Scotty Balls mp3's
The Star Wars Original Radio Drama mp3's
Scans of album packaging and other images
-Easter egg
Thanks go out to Scotty Balls, Rebel11_38, Citizen, Darth Editous, ocpmovie, russs15, Zion, and SKot for their direct or indirect help with this project.
Available on a.b.sw, myspleen, and rapidshare.
You can go about your business. Move along, move along.
The Story of Star Wars
The Adventures Of Luke Skywalker
