ChainsawAsh

I know the title doesn’t make sense, but bear with me.

As you can tell from my avatar, I’m a huge Futurama fan.  With Comedy Central’s announcement that a new season of Futurama (production season 6, aired season 7) consisting of 26 episodes will begin airing on June 24, I’ve decided to start this project.

So what does that have to do with this project?

The four DVD movies (production season 5) were split up into 4 episodes each and aired on Comedy Central as aired season 6.  These episodes use different opening title cards, added “Previously on Futurama” segments, and different edits of the episodes entirely.

But since the movies themselves were released on DVD, I don’t foresee these versions ever being released, doomed to air occasionally in reruns while they’re forgotten otherwise.  I believe that season 5 (or 6, depending on if you go by production seasons or aired seasons) deserves to be preserved the way it aired, just as seasons 1-4 (or 1-5) were in the four DVD sets.

So here’s the plan:

First, I need to find TV recordings of the Comedy Central aired versions of Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender’s Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder (they advertised them as TV-movies, and aired them in 2-hour timeslots, but they aired them as 4 back-to-back episodes rather than the unedited movies).  This is probably going to be the most difficult part, so any help in finding TV recordings of the movies would be greatly appreciated. 😃

Then, I’m going to use Blu-Ray/HDTV rips of the movie versions I’ve been able to procure, and basically treat this whole thing like an online edit.  I’ll lay the TV rip in the timeline, then over the top of that, make the DVD/Blu-Ray/HDTV rip match the TV rip’s video track exactly.  Any shots that are missing from the DVDs (there are a few) will stay in fromt he TV rips.  The TV audio will be used.

Planned disc-by-disc contents (English Dolby 2.0 Surround Audio, menus that probably won’t be animated, though I may surprise myself):

Futurama - Volume 5DISC ONE

• _Bender’s Big Score: Part 1
• Bender’s Big Score: Part 2
• Bender’s Big Score: Part 3_

DISC TWO
_- Bender’s Big Score: Part 4

• The Beast with a Billion Backs: Part 1
• The Beast with a Billion Backs: Part 2_

DISC THREE_

• The Beast with a Billion Backs: Part 3
• The Beast with a Billion Backs: Part 4
• Bender’s Game: Part 1_

DISC FOUR

• _Bender’s Game: Part 2
• Bender’s Game: Part 3
• Bender’s Game: Part 4_

DISC FIVE

• _Into the Wild Green Yonder: Part 1
• Into the Wild Green Yonder: Part 2
• Into the Wild Green Yonder: Part 3_

DISC SIX

• Into the Wild Green Yonder: Part 4
  - Bonus Features:
    - Everybody Loves Hypnotoad Episode 3H312: Amazon Adventure (maybe)
  _  - Futurama: The Lost Adventure_ (video game cutscenes edited to make an episode) (maybe)

I’m splitting them up that way because I want to use single-layer discs to make it easier for people who don’t have dual-layer burning abilities.  Spreading them out to 3 per disc means there’s only about an hour per disc, which should prevent any loss in quality from compression.  I may do an alternate 3-disc dual-layer set as well, but I haven’t decided yet.

But of course, in order for any of this to work, I need to find TV rips of the broadcast versions of the movies.  So if any of you can help find them, I’d greatly appreciate it.  😃

Gillean said:

I was actually considering posting a tutorial exactly on this topic earlier this week, so apparently there is interest. I'll have to think more about it.

I'm quite interested indeed - I can't get the thicknesses of the outlines to match properly at all, and if I use Photoshop's contract-selection tool, I get too many rounded edges where there should be sharp edges, and I'm too lazy to go fix them all myself.  I suppose I'll have to end up doing that eventually, though ...

Gaffer Tape said:

What's so bad about The Godfather Part III?  I think it's great!

It's not a bad film in itself, but it completely destroys the point of II - that even someone as good as Michael can be so corrupted by power that he becomes irreversably evil.  But then III comes along and all of a sudden, he's done a complete 180, and it's ridiculous.  It's like while he sat on that bench at the end of II, he decided "Well, I should stop being evil.  I think I'm going to," and then spent every moment of his life from that point on being a paragon of the good mafioso.

People don't do that.  Ever.

Handbrake (at least on Mac) will now convert MKV files, and it's fairly easy to figure out how to use.

You don't need that much.  Besides, some operating systems won't recognize more than 4GB of RAM (I have a dual-core 2.6 GHz processor with 4GB of RAM, and my Windows XP partition won't recognize more than 3GB of RAM).  I wouldn't go more than 6 or 8GB - any more than that and you're just wasting money on something you can never use (at least right now).

I have this problem occasionally, but it usually happens when I'm watching very high-bitrate 1080p stuff.  My solution is to re-encode at a lower bitrate, but not low enough that it degrades the quality too much.  My Planet Earth 1080p H.264 mp4 files are all encoded at 10,000 Kbps (average bitrate), which brings them to around 4GB apiece.  This doesn't stutter my system if I'm watching them on my computer with nothing else running, and they're all slightly less than 4GB which lets me throw them on my FAT32 hard drive to watch on my PS3.  I don't have any 720p files to give you a bitrate estimate for that.

Just play around with the encoding.  Pick a 5-10 minute section that exhibits this problem a lot (usually action-heavy scenes), and play around with re-encoding that section at lower bitrates until you find a bitrate that plays smoothly on your setup and isn't too heavily compressed.

sans_fi said:

ChainsawAsh, it wouldnt make sense "then perhaps she will" since Leia shouldnt be force sesitive...

Goddammit, I hate this idea.  The great thing about the Force in Star Wars was that it felt like anyone could be a Jedi if they had the right amount of dedication, while some people were just "gifted" and already had a great deal of sensitivity to the Force without any training (like Anakin should have, going by Obi-Wan's comments in Star Wars).  The idea that your parents had to be "Force-sensitive" for you to have any chance at being a Jedi ... ugh, it just makes me think of midi-chlorians all over again.

Matticon said:

I am no means an expert. So I will first source my information, as the work of Micheal Kaminski in his 600 page book "The secret history of Star Wars". A must read for every SW fan in my opinion.

You might be interested to know that Mr. Kaminski has been a member here for a very long time, going by the screen name of zombie84.  And his book is absolutely brilliant.

Matticon said:

trouble with the MPAA (Steven Speilburg wanted to direct ROTJ but the MPAA wouldn't let him)

It was actually the Director's Guild of America.  Since he refused to put Irvin Kershner, a DGA member, in the opening credits of ESB, even though Kershner didn't care, the DGA wanted to fine them a shit-ton of money and IIRC kick Kershner out of the DGA.  To protect his director, Lucas himself accepted the fine and quit the DGA.

This had the unforunate drawback of preventing him from ever hiring a Guild director again - and Spielberg was (and still is) a member of the DGA.  So he hired UK director Richard Marquand instead.

Since this is a technical question and I know the answer, I'll respond to this one (I have the option whether or not to see your posts):

If you're doing something else while watching it, then it means that you shouldn't be.

If it happens in the exact same spot every time and looks exactly the same every time, then it's a problem with the video encode.

If it happens randomly, and you can go back and watch the same section that it happened to later on and it looks fine, and you have no other programs running while you're watching it, it means your computer isn't fast enough (either you don't have enough RAM, or your processor isn't fast enough - probably RAM.)

I don't think it's difficult at all.

First, cutting it from Episode III is the easiest thing in the world.

Second, "There is another" from ESB - someone (forget who) mentioned that Yoda could be talking about Anakin himself, that if Luke dies it may push Anakin back to the good side somehow (the way it was explained in the other thread made a lot more sense than what I just said though).

Third, this allows you to easily cut Obi-Wan/Luke's conversation from ROTJ out entirely (which is something that I believe is highly unnecessary, and it works better to show that Luke is really on his own if we don't see him until the end), and Vader could simply sense that Luke cares deeply about Leia (because he's in love with her, but lets Han have her because he doesn't expect to live, and he sees that she really loves Han and not him).  He says "Her" or "Leia" instead of "Sister":

"Your feelings for them are strong.  Especially for ... Leia/her.  Your feelings have now betrayed her too.  If you will not be turned ... then perhaps she will."

I think it would benefit the saga as a whole to cut the Leia/Luke sibling relationship out.  However, it's something that will divide people even more than the PT did, just because you're changing something that has been a part of the Star Wars "canon" since 1983 (see JasonN's "Last of the Jedi" thread for evidence of the very heated reactions to this idea).

I've got an HP Photosmart C5280 that includes a CD/DVD printing tray, and I love it.  I haven't quite exactly gotten the size right, so there's always some extra on the sides and the hub that need to be cleaned off after the rest of the label dries, but other than that, it's fantastic.

Knightmessenger said:

they were too lazy to spend any time or money digging up the rest of the stuff. 

Exactly.  That's what pisses me off about it.

The deleted scene from ROTJ that takes place between the destruction of the sail barge and the Falcon and Luke's X-Wing taking off from Tatooine.  Basically, they go to the Falcon in the middle of a sandstorm, and the scene is largely redundant because the majority of the dialogue is said again over the radio as they leave Tatooine.

It's the same probe droid shown twice.  Ady's not changing this.

Janskeet said:

ChainsawAsh said:

Janskeet said:

I find the Revisited crawl text to be too orange for my taste. I don't like where Adywan chose the music cues to happen either, I liked it to happen right at the title of the movie, not right at the episode number.

He changed the music cue to the way it originally was in 1977 - adding the episode number and subtitle in screwed it up.  Watch the GOUT - the crawl text comes in at the same time Ady's does.

I don't care what was originally intended, I want it to be the way I want it.

 

Janskeet, I have given you the benefit of the doubt for a very long time.  I sent you a copy of Revisited, and I even sent your friend a copy when I told you I wouldn't because I felt bad about fucking up the Zip code the first time.  I've put up with your shit because I figured you were new and just hadn't quite figured things out yet.  I've watched many members of the forum put you on their "Ignore" list because of your immaturity and overinflated sense of entitlement, which is entirely undeserved - but I didn't do that because, as I said, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt.  I thought that maybe, just maybe, everyone was being unfair to the new guy just because he was new and hadn't gotten used to the place yet.

But this post has done it for me.  I know your next post will be "I was just joking!  It was a joke!  Haha please like me!" - but the thing is, it wasn't a joke.  Nothing you say after this will undo that.  And you know what?  It won't matter for me, anyway ...

... because I'll never have to read anything you write ever again.  Goodbye, Janskeet.

P.S.  I don't know if the "ignore" list blocks PM's as well, but in case it doesn't, don't bother PM'ing me, because I'll delete it without reading it.

--edit--

Ah, fantastic, there was an option to block PMs.  :-)

Demonoid.

Janskeet said:

I find the Revisited crawl text to be too orange for my taste. I don't like where Adywan chose the music cues to happen either, I liked it to happen right at the title of the movie, not right at the episode number.

He changed the music cue to the way it originally was in 1977 - adding the episode number and subtitle in screwed it up.  Watch the GOUT - the crawl text comes in at the same time Ady's does.

And the crawl text seems to be a compromise between the PT "orange-yellow" and OT "bright yellow," but the crawl colors have been so wildly inconsistent for every film (they're never the same) that I think Ady is more concerned with making them consistent than anything.  Plus, I think the original 1977 crawl was about the same color as Ady's.

Regardless, this is all nitpicking to an insane degree, and you seem to be forgetting the most important thing here:

ADY IS DONE WITH ANH.  COMPLETELY.  END OF STORY.  The files are gone, too, so even if he wanted to, WHICH HE DOESN'T, he CAN'T go back and change anything.

I like that quite a bit better than the theatrical version (though the dialogue leaves something to be desired).  Too bad it can never be changed that way now, unless ROTJ were remade completely.

sketchrob said:

DUDE how does ANY of this have to do with Adywan? PLEASE PM eachother....

We're talking about a cover for his edits ... I don't think it's off-topic myself, but I can see how you might think so.

A few more suggestions for your covers, A-man:

- Use a different starfield on the front for each film
- Use different spine catalog numbers for each film
- Use different UPC barcodes for each film (I'd suggest something along the lines of using the original VHS/Betamax/Laserdisc UPC codes for shits & giggles)
- Use a different spine picture (other than just Vader) for each film

That's all I can think of for now.  Maybe use OT.Com instead of Starwars.com for the back, as well?

I'm intrigued by the Robocop remake, but only because Darran Aronofsky is at the helm, and I've absolutely loved every film he's made so far.  Pi is like an Eraserhead that actually kinda makes sense; Requiem for a Dream is the best film about addiction I've ever seen; The Fountain is a heartbreaking metaphorical musing on how we deal with death; and The Wrestler is the best character study I've seen since Taxi Driver.  If anyone can "get" Robocop and do it properly (I enjoy the original, but it's a bit stale today), it's him.

Though I have to say, I'm quite happy his version of Watchmen never happened (although it's not like Snyder did the greatest job in the world).

There are different methods of doing triple+ layer Blu-Rays - all involve either getting a brand new player, or updating the firmware of existing players.  None can play on any current Blu-Ray players out of the box.

I don't think triple+ layer discs will ever become the standard, except perhaps in TV-show DVDs, in which case I think it's a great idea.  Imagine having an entire season on one disc, at potentially better quality than the previous multi-disc releases - that would also make complete-series sets much, much more feasible.  But for feature films, I don't think it's necessary unless it's an incredibly long film like Lawrence of Arabia, or the original miniseries cut of Das Boot (almost 5 hours long).

Casino Royale was very much true to its source.  It ignored the camp that the films had accumulated over the years, which alienated a lot of fans of James Bond movies, but it was one of only three Bond films that I feel accurately captured Ian Fleming's vision (the other two being From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service).

Quantum of Solace tried to hybridize James Bond and Jason Bourne, and it ended up feeling a lot like the Timothy Dalton films - Bond himself is very much in character, but everything around him just ... isn't.

Not entirely true - the section that is to be replaced is automatically looped and played three times with a BEEP before each time, then a fourth BEEP and the actor tries to duplicate exactly what he/she just heard, and it's automatically spliced into the audio track over the video so that whoever is overseeing the process can tell whether it's a good or bad take.  So there are automatic aspects to it.

Torrent sites like Demonoid or Pirate Bay, or fanedit dot info for rapidshare links.

skyjedi2005 said:

additional dialogue replacement.

To correct a common misconception, ADR actually stands for "automated dialogue replacement," not "additional."

Um ... a little late on the punch there, aren't you?