PS78: Pre-ANH Star Wars Bootleg VHS from 1978 ***"RAW" DVD RELEASED*** — Page 4

Well this has exceeded my expectations. I've only had chance to flip through it but the thing that really strikes me is the nice clean filmic texture it has and the deep and intact colours the print has (ignore whats been lost via the transfer for a second). It has the similar feel to the video clips of the ib technicolor screening, as if someone had pointed their camera at a projecting print in a really good state of repair.

I can't wait to look more closely at it but so far this looks like it is easily has the most consistent quality among bootlegs of an original print of SW.

Nice job AntcuFaalb, thanks for working on this and the incredible turnaround between announcing the find and sharing it with this forum.

AWESOME STUFF!

AntcuFaalb wrote: none: Is it the mono mix? I heard "Blast it, Biggs! Where are you?" and Porkins' scream(s).

Ops my mistake, late night typing.  changed the post.

I always associate 16mm with having a slight 'haze' over it because of its coarser grain like this:

A shot like this from the PS78 makes me think its 35mm because of the crisp detail of the rocks and the crispness of C3PO's copper colour, and the distortion of the transfer chain is making it 'soft' but not 'hazy', if that makes sense. Of course the 16mm would be a blow down of 35mm(?) so I have no reference for how that would look.

Well I suggest youre going to want to redo it if you desire top class preservation! I really think this tape deserves it (historical importance and all that) but if you are going to go for a second attempt don't burn out on this - better to take your time and not get sick of it - just as long as you keep the tape inside a shoe box filled with cotton wool and sleep with one eye open and a gun - it shouldnt go anywhere - it must be a lucky tape anyway to have lasted 34 years.

Here are some comparison pics of some of the random things which show up in PS78.  First up a few shared by PS78 and mthr:

Blue object on far upper right:

frame rip like object just above windshield

the white mark (hamill)

And here are two items specific to PS78:

smudge next to Luke's glass:

Three objects over top left rock:

Most of the items found tend to be the size of one of the three blobs from above, kinda small.  Didn't notice any hairs or writings.  Here's a listing of some unintended frame objects:

PS78_DivX.avi

Frame Number : Location : Item
-------------------
8407 - upper right blue frame error
4640 - Tantive Orange Error
*17029 - blue orb by 3po's head
19937 - middle right frame error
20375 - center 'flash'
22237 - middle lower left frame rip?
23664 - middle just above sandcrawler is a blob
25314 - lower half of the frame is interlaced (R5)
34533 - middle left vertical line behind 3po
34665 - Multiple frames lost at first reel change
41482 - middle far left - blob above console
42982 - lower left - dirt blob
48614 - far upper right corner - small line
49376 - far upper right corner - two small dots
49835 - upper right - line crosses hill and sky to right of bantha
50553 - upper right - brown spec
* 52380 -- black mark by R2D2's head
* 52686 -- white mark middle-right
52862 -- Weird big mark above Obi-Wan's head
* 54611 -- really big black spot upper right
* 55874 -- huge scatter of black spots upper left
* 56515 -- big black spot on upper right
* 56605 -- big white spot upper/middle righyt
58___ - in Ben's hut the recording device readjusts to the window opening brightness
63___ - Sounds gets noisy
69502 - second reel change looks good
70988 - middle far right - large rippish looking thing (seen in mthr)
71290 - upper middle - brown splotch
71313 - upper middle - white splotch
71492 - upper middle - dot
72265 - lower right - white stroke
76156 - middle upper left - dot over hut
77548 - upper left blob on building
84717 - upper left - window burns thru next shot
99952 - middle - white object over Alderaan
107875 - large gap at change over (can anyone 'hear' is this sounds like an authentic change over)
114719 - upper middle right - blob on Falcon
?114___ - Is the audio off sync for reel 4?  Video lags few frames behind
121093 - far upper right - white spec
133015 - middle right - white blob
141553 - réel change (audio still off)
163400 - far right - blob next to R2's head
171947 - right - blob on Yavin
172336 - middle top - small blob
173925 - middle center - white spot
179491 - reel change
179736 - lower right - fleeting shadow
192417 - holy crap that table is blue...
209366 - dead center - white mark
2104-- - audio fade down
212126 - John Williams credit close together

AntcuFaalb wrote: When did they first broadcast SW on TV?

Around 82 on pay systems, and 84 for public airwaves.  http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/SW-on-TV-Idents-Bumpers-Commercials-Promos-Trailers-Station-IDs-Adverts-Breaks/post/424299/#TopicPost424299

The flicker IS caused by my capturing device!

I was thinking more of the telecine? camera setup.  Would the electronics of the 70s have been as quick to adjust as they do today.  One side of me says, yes, as it's all electrical impulses, but old tech is old tech....

I can't follow none's Holmesian focus. So a couple of my vague things - if you crank up sharpen in VLC its starts to look more like 35mm could it be the original 1978 capture was not as in focus as it could have been? As well as the flicker the motion seems a bit jerky and theres slight light trails on some of the ships - could this be a disparaty between the frame rate of film and the frame rate it was captured at in 1978? Some of this stuff might not be able to be remedied by a better vcr/capture card.

Also: this is still a really good preservation to have out there

everytime you tease a frame -1 its impressive but also a little depressing - i want to see 24 of these a second dammit!!*

*provided no one gets in hot water as a result

negative1 said:

here's our version of the blue dot,

and the windshield tear:

======================

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-Tantives-Orange-Items-Thread/post/582994/#TopicPost582994

 

later

-1

is it weird that I'm salivating?? :)

I tried to keep my hand off the vlc image adjust settings, I really did, but I could'nt help myself. This is very subtle tweak (no hue change) and makes the colour 'spread out' a little more on my monitor. Adding a bit more yellow to sand, hair, skin etc. However I'm fairly certain this is pretty needless i.e. the print behind this bootleg I think is probably as good as it gets possibly 100% correct and its only the 1978 capture which can't by its very nature display the whole of the 35mm range with one setting.

contrast 0.98, b 0.93, h 360, s 1.02, g 1.38, also sharpened 0.16