Charles Threepio

Does “Ma klounkee!” ring a bell?

Version 1.1 of the Blend file is linked to below for the next week. Still no textures nor animation, but preliminary materials and lighting are set, plus corrections have been made to account for the possibility of using a 100mm IMAX lens like the ones used in some old outer space documentaries made by IMAX.

https://we.tl/t-gozupcRn2n

Well, so I have a way to kill time in the age of COVID-19, on 12 Beran 0 A.C.V. local time, I figured I might as well do some actual work on the effects. For example, I was hoping to include an option for viewing parts of the opening sequence, i.e. most shots that take place in outer space, in IMAX, kind of like how IMAX redid that part of the film for a Nova documentary on special effects. For the time being, of course, I’m going to have to do the IMAXified shots in Blender, and since I feel I’m going to need some guidance for such a large-scale effort to recreate the shots in IMAX in a way that meshes well with Rogue One and the sequel trilogy, I’ll do a gradual breakdown of the sequence.

Linked below for the next week is my Blend file in its 1.0 state. No animation, just an initial attempt to get Tatooine and its moons in a good position for where the very first shot finishes up.

https://we.tl/t-6wH9WT3Es6

ETA: Forgot to mention, there are also no textures in this incarnation; I figured I’d ask for input on the texturing before I applied anything. However, there is an initial rendition of the IMAX starfield, which I created using this tutorial.

I tried making a version with custom Spanish titles recently, it isn’t perfect plus much of the credits are still in English due to insufficient materials, but I figured that’s what a Mexican Spanish version might have looked like, more or less.

Right now, I’m working on A Magic School Bus Halloween, and I’m using the DVD clips as much as possible, and the original videotape recording the rest of the way through, i.e. where no equivalent has yet seen a DVD release. Everything is generally cropped only 16 pixels each at top and bottom, with additional cropping only to hide artifacts, but I’m going to have to redo the closing credits sequence due to my source being cut off at the end.

benduwan said:

crissrudd4554 said:

Plus nudity, violence and language is reduced.

… 😮 😒

why would someone watch a cut version?

They’re probably curious as to how it was sanitised for television.

I’m now working on Season 2.

I’ll try to list the production order for each episode as well.

Jules and Jim is now available, PM me for links.

Jules and Jim will be made available sometime this week, most likely tomorrow.

This is a KCET motion picture anthology consisting of films from the Janus library. All films are presented in their original languages, with subtitles. As I currently cannot access the interviews that were broadcast alongside each episode, I’m doing them as vanilla with the usual PBS trimmings, including the Xerox sponsor tag, but as a bonus, I’m also doing them in their respective original aspect ratios, and including trailers for upcoming episodes of the anthology.

The episodes are as follows:

• Jules and Jim (1:56:46) [TV-14 L] - available now
• The Blue Angel (1:56:46) [TV-PG S]
• Grand Illusion [TV-PG LV]
• M [TV-14]
• Seven Samurai [TV-14 V]
• Beauty and the Beast [TV-PG]
• Ivan the Terrible Part I [TV-PG V]
• The 39 Steps [TV-PG V]
• The Rules of the Game [TV-PG V]
• Intimate Lighting [TV-PG DL]
• Potemkin [TV-14 V]
• Barrier [TV-PG]
• Classic Shorts I [TV-PG]
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [TV-PG]
• Orpheus [TV-PG]
• Knife in the Water [TV-14 LSV]
• The Overcoat [TV-G]
• Our Daily Bread [TV-G]
• Yojimbo [TV-14 V]
• The Last Laugh [TV-G]
• Sawdust and Tinsel [TV-14 DLS]
• Man of Aran [TV-G]
• L’Avventura [TV-14]
• Classic Shorts II [TV-PG]
• Two Daughters [TV-PG]
• The Young and the Damned [TV-14 DSV]

Links will be made available via PM on request as they’re released.

Currently prepping The Magic School Bus Hops Home.

Also, I just today got a reminder that Topaz Gigapixel AI might not have been the smartest way to go for this kind of project anyhow.

(Actually, now that I’ve had a chance to view the transition in real time, it looks too unnatural.)

OK, maybe the optical flip isn’t a good idea after all. But it did look good from my Blender console.

Anyway, what do you think of my using the NVG masters as my primary source instead of the Warner masters?

Update on The Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie. I decided to do an optical flip from the opening scene at the Tennelli house to Ms. Frizzle’s classroom, just because I thought it’d look good, and also because the fact that there was no fancy transition in between presented an opportunity.

Or maybe I’d want to start out at 720p?

(BTW I’m using Cinedigm’s The Complete Series release as my primary source, so presumably it’s going to look better than if I went with the Warner masters; however, for obvious reasons, the Warner masters are my source for the funding credits sequences, book promos, and closing logos.)

I wonder if my script would do any better than Topaz Gigapixel? (Course, I’m not switching to Topaz Gigapixel, I’ve committed myself to using only free software in my restorations.)

Oh, I just found out the actual Season 4 funding credits may have used a still from the Arthur funding credits of the time for the “Viewers Like You” card.

I actually thought the Dash/Dot logos would be more interesting to use in a “what-if” scenario such as “what if TMSB continued in reruns on PBS past 1998?”, for instance.

Though, for A Magic School Bus Halloween, I figured I’d use the 1992 general PBS logo instead, since hour-long PBS Kids specials tended to use that logo around that time (looking at you, Shining Time Station).

FTW here’s the AVS script I’m currently running:

SetMemoryMax(512)
SetFilterMTMode(“DEFAULT_MT_MODE”, 2)
SetFilterMTMode(“FFVideoSource”, 3)
PluginPath = “C:\Users\-----\Downloads\MeGUI-2896-64\tools\avisynth_plugin”
LoadPlugin(PluginPath+“DCTFilter.dll”)
LoadPlugin(PluginPath+“Deblock-x64.dll”)
LoadPlugin(PluginPath+“masktools2.dll”)
Import(“C:\Users\-----\Downloads\Deblock_QED_MT2Mod.avsi”)
LoadPlugin(PluginPath+“ffms2.dll”)
LoadPlugin(PluginPath+“nnedi3.dll”)
FFVideoSource(“C:\Users\-----\Videos\The Magic School Bus\The Magic School Bus For Lunch.mov”).ConvertToYV12()
Deblock_QED(quant1=24, quant2=26, aOff1=1, aOff2=1, bOff1=2, bOff2=2, uv=3)
Blur(1.0)
nnedi3_rpow2(rfactor=8)
Sharpen(0.25)
LanczosResize(2880,2160)

SD video AFAICT, but it’s not for a lack of trying to get improvement that I’m not getting much improvement.

After nearly two decades, I’m finally getting back into The Magic School Bus, and I figured, why not do a 4K restoration to make it resemble a potential primetime rebroadcast?

Each episode will consist of the following:

• The 2019 opening PBS logo
• The original funding credits
• The opening sequence
• The episode itself
• The Producers Segment
• The closing credits (with original South Carolina ETV and Nelvana logos)
• The original funding credits
• A PBS Kids Dash/Dot logo
• #ILovePBS social media promo (only on Season 2)
• Book promo

And, of course, I’ll be assembling the masters in Blender and doing all upscaling in Avisynth.

All episodes are presented in 4K, with the original stereo audio in English and Spanish. As I intend this restoration for those who grew up on the series as I did, and not just today’s kids, most episodes will be TV-G; those that are rated higher, the reason is displayed right next to it on this page.

SEASON 1 (sponsored by National Science Foundation, Microsoft Home, U.S. Department of Energy, and Carnegie Corporation of New York)

• The Magic School Bus Gets Lost in Space (27:16) [TV-PG] (Reason: the infamous “block of ice” scene)
• The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Plays Ball (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets Ready, Set, Dough (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed (27:16) [TV-PG] (Reason: inadvertent upskirt)
• The Magic School Bus Gets Ants in Its Pants (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Hops Home (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus in the Haunted House (27:16) [TV-PG] (Reason: pervasive frightening atmosphere)
• The Magic School Bus For Lunch (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie (27:16) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets All Dried Up (27:16) [TV-G]

SEASON 2 (sponsored by National Science Foundation, Microsoft Home, U.S. Department of Energy, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS)

• The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top (27:46) [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Flexes Its Muscles [TV-G]
• Butterfly and the Bog Beast [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Wet All Over [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus in a Pickle [TV-PG] (Reason: intense peril)
• The Magic School Bus Revving Up [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Taking Flight [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Going Batty [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Getting Energized [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Out of This World [TV-PG] (Reason: inadvertent upskirt)
• The Magic School Bus Gets Cold Feet [TV-G]
• Ups and Downs [TV-G]
• A Magic School Bus Halloween [TV-PG] (Reason: pervasive frightening atmosphere)

SEASON 3 (sponsored by National Science Foundation, Microsoft, U.S. Department of Energy, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS)

• The Magic School Bus in the Arctic [TV-PG D] (Reason: race joke)
• The Magic School Bus Spins a Web [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Under Construction [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus in a Beehive [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets a Bright Idea [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Goes Upstream [TV-14] (Reason: sexual references, specifically the class being ejaculated on by a salmon)
• The Magic School Bus Works Out [TV-MA] (Reason: drug references, specifically blood doping, and brief realistic female human anatomy)
• The Magic School Bus Family Holiday Special + The Making of the Magic School Bus [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets Planted [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus in the Rainforest [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Rocks and Rolls [TV-G]

SEASON 4 (sponsored by National Science Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and PBS)

• The Magic School Bus Cracks a Yolk [TV-PG] (Reason: inadvertent upskirt)
• The Magic School Bus Goes to Mussel Beach [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Goes on Air [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets Swamped [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Goes Cellular [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Meets Molly Cule [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Sees Stars [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gains Weight [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Makes a Stink [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets Charged [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Takes a Dive [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus in the City [TV-G]
• The Magic School Bus Gets Programmed [TV-G]

Another confirmed series is The Magic School Bus, which will feature the PBS Kids Dash/Dot logos at the end and the current PBS logo at the start… and, perhaps, some content disclaimers regarding the now-outdated science depicted in the series.

IIRC the mix we’re most used to, featured on newer releases such as the Anchor Bay and Blue Underground releases, was used for international releases of the English dub, typically with the “Zombies 2” or “Zombie Flesh Eaters” title.