Petition Support Video

I'm going to write out a script for a support video, showing why we want/need the OOT on Blu-ray. Sadly, I don't have the tech to do the video myself (I wish I still lived on the college campus I used to), but hopefully I'll inspire someone to use my ideas.
Script should be up soon.

[Narrator with Star Wars music in background, clips should play silently in the background or low volume.  Video should be formatted 16:9, with the URL of the petition in the black area under the 2.35:1 clips.]

[2004 ANH: "A long time ago" to the receding logo]

Since the format debuted, Star Wars fans had wanted the original trilogy on DVD.  Finally in 2004, Lucas released a new version of his 1997 Special Edition exclusively on DVD.

However, something was missing.

[Lowlights from the 2004. Bad colors in general during the first part, further changes in second part, ex. 2004 ANH: Greedo shoots at the same time as Han, then again in slow motion showing Han actually shooting twice.  2004 RotJ: Ghost Hayden]

While the 2004 edition was very high quality, the colors were (messed up) and some of the changes brought even further debates on the merits of the Special Editions in general.  Fans asked for a choice.

[Screenshots of the original petition and signatures, the DVD cases, etc. ending with the "Long Time Ago" to the GOUT ANH logo]

Originaltrilogy.com led the charge with a petition to release the unaltered theatrical versions on DVD alongside the 2004 Special Edition, even after Lucas claimed this wouldn't happen, that the Special Editions were the way it was always meant to be.  Fans still wanted a choice between Lucas' "final" vision and his original vision they fell in love with.  After (so many) signatures, the theatrical versions were released in 2006 as a bonus disc with the 2004 version.

Still, something was missing.

[Scenes from the GOUT unaltered (i.e. with black bars all the way around the 16:9 image, showing what you get if you just put it in your DVD player), leading to the example images showing the flaws.]

The version released was a non-anamorphic copy scanned in 1993 for the last laserdisc release.  As fans zoomed in to fill their wide screens, more flaws presented themselves.  (Gate weave, compression artifacts, and general blur) plagued the copy.  The fans were not pleased.

[Screenshots of the new petition, followed by pictures/examples of the Blade Runner and Close Encounters releases]

Starting in late 2009, a year after the Blu-ray format won the high definition war, Originaltrilogy.com is trying again.  Since the release of the 2006 versions, multiple films have come to the Blu-ray format in all possible versions.  Ridley Scott had all possible versions of Blade Runner rescanned and released in one set, even ones he didn't care for.  Lucas' friend Spielberg released all three versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in high definition around the same time.  However the rumored 2011 Star Wars Blu-rays are still looking to be only the 2004 version, if not an even further enhanced version.

Fans still want a choice.

[Shots from fan edits / restorations showing how some people have tried to fix the SEs, Darth Editous, Adywan's AVCHD, etc.]

Lucas should feel free to release as many enhanced versions of his films as he wants.  However, he should also take a cue from his director friends and release all of the versions or at least the original ones along with it.  The theatrical versions of the original Star Wars trilogy should be rescanned from the original film, if not all from the original negative that Lucas claims was destroyed to make the Special Editions, than from a print.  Fans want the versions they saw in theaters, that they grew up remembering.  They want the colors to be restored, (more stuff)

[Grow the URL to fill the screen as it finishes]

Don't let fans continue to do the work Lucas should have done already.  Sign the petition to let Lucas know that we want the original theatrical versions in a high definition format that we can show our children.  Let us have a choice.

Please, please, this is a first draft and needs a lot of work.  Help me tweak it and someone needs to make it happen.

Your double spacing before every new sentence is interesting. Haha. Anyway, it's well written overall. In the last paragraph, might it be better to put "the work Lucasfilm should have done already"?

Ripplin said:

Your double spacing before every new sentence is interesting. Haha. Anyway, it's well written overall. In the last paragraph, might it be better to put "the work Lucasfilm should have done already"?

It's all about

dramatic pauses.

Thou shalt not...hesitate!

Still, something was missing.

[Scenes from the GOUT unaltered (i.e. with black bars all the way around the 16:9 image, showing what you get if you just put it in your DVD player), leading to the example images showing the flaws.]

The version released was a non-anamorphic copy scanned in 1993 for the last laserdisc release.  As fans zoomed in to fill their wide screens, more flaws presented themselves.  (Gate weave, compression artifacts, and general blur) plagued the copy.  The fans were not pleased.

[Screenshots of the new petition, followed by pictures/examples of the Blade Runner and Close Encounters releases]

Starting in late 2009, a year after the Blu-ray format won the high definition war, Originaltrilogy.com is trying again.  Since the release of the 2006 versions, multiple films have come to the Blu-ray format in all possible versions.  Ridley Scott had all possible versions of Blade Runner rescanned and released in one set, even ones he didn't care for.  Lucas' friend Spielberg released all three versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in high definition around the same time.  However the rumored 2011 Star Wars Blu-rays are still looking to be only the 2004 version, if not an even further enhanced version.

 

Here are some suggested changes in the text, with specific words underlined that i think are better choices...

"Still, something was amiss."

"The version that was released came from a transfer of the film originally done for the 1993 laserdics release, which by 2006 was technologically outdated to say the least (or... "using a method that by 2006 was far from state-of-the-art").  And unlike its companion Special Edition disc, the Original Theatrical version disc was not anamorphic, meaning it was not formatted for optimal viewing (or... "proper viewing") on widescreen TVs, a DVD format which by 2003(?? i'm guessing here) had become industry standard.  As viewers zoomed in to fill their widescreens with the film image, more flaws presented themselves. Blah blah blah, etc."

"Starting in late 2009, a year after Blu-ray won the high-def format war, OriginalTrilogy.com has opened a new petition and is once again providing a voice for those who believe that the original versions deserve a high-quality release worthy of films of such historical significance.  Blah blah blah, etc."

Also, I don't think it is a good idea to show/discuss fan efforts to make changes themselves.  I believe that muddles the point.  It is quite simply: these are important films that deserve the proper respect.  Lucasfilm can release whatever other versions they want, just please also include these at the same level of quality.

I did not have any problem whatsoever with compression artifacts on the original version dvd's. I even got to view them on my vcr/dvd combo which has a zoom feature and even magnified to the max, they still look pretty good without pixelation. And this dvd player does not have nearly as sharp a playback as other ones I have. Just not that detailed because it is a letterbox and not a 16x9 scan of course. So I'd drop that line.

Fantastic!

Good, but I was hearing an awful crackle/static on the audio - I assume it's not my speakers?

I'm guessing he made it sound like an LP to justify all of the record scratches.

Great job, Dayo! Faved, "liked" and commented on. ;)

Dayo said:

Haha, that was intentional. There is only static when it shows the 2004 shots.

I think this was an unnecessary effect, and I actually find it so loud to be slightly annoying.

Otherwise, good video, well done.