Mackey256

Just wrapped up the final edits to this project. Feel free to hit myself or oojason up for a download link.

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) Broadcast Recreation Project

Project Status:

Chapter		Status
1-6		✅ Done	
7		🔶 Missing Intro
8-9		✅ Done
10		🔶 Missing Outro
11-20		✅ Done	
21-25		❓ No known Intros/Outros *

* Still verifying if these existed. While these chapters don’t seem to have intros or outros in any of the sources I’ve found, I’m still trying to confirm whether those ever aired that way or if they were lost to time.

Edits & Notable Changes:

Chapter 1: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 2: Ending sequence unique to TV broadcast; Hyperspace scene trimmed on home media releases

Chapter 3: Chapter 2 cut ending used in previously on segment; Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 4: Chapter 3 cut ending used in previously on segment; Opening sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 5: Chapter 4 cut opening used in previously on segment; Opening sequence cut short on home media releases; Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 6: Chapter 5 cut ending used in previously on segment; Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 7: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 8: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 9: Chapter 8 cut ending used in previously on segment; Extended opening pan-down cut short on home media releases; First two shots reversed; Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 10: Extended opening pan-down cut short on home media releases

Chapter 11: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 12: Opening shot cut short on home media releases

Chapter 13: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 14: Chapter 13 cut ending used in previously on segment; Opening shot cut short on home media releases

Chapter 15: Opening shot cut short on home media releases and talking character used different lip movements

Chapter 16: Chapter 15 opening used in previously on segment and talking character used different lip movements than in Chapter 15; Next Time segment uses a different take for the first shot then what is used in Chapter 18

Chapter 17: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 18: Opening unique to TV broadcast opening sequence; Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 19: Chapter 18 cut ending used in previously on segment; First two shots reversed; Opening sequence cut short on home media releases; Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 20: Alternate takes used in the previously on segment; End Credits Added

Chapter 21: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 22: No Changes

Chapter 23: No Changes

Chapter 24: Ending sequence cut short on home media releases

Chapter 25: Extended opening pan-down cut short on home media releases; End Credits Added

A YouTube video on all of these changes and what was done to fix them can be found here - https://youtu.be/yGyl9eoWi00

Special Thanks:

GabinDayback for the incredible groundwork edits this is based on and sharing rare source files.

The fans and preservation communities all over the web that have helped with this project. From providing high-quality DVD/VHS rips, to giving us information on how the show originally aired and overall supporting this effort.

Well that is super exciting news! I can’t wait to check it out when your done!

Work continues over here. I got some more footage back from Topaz Starlight and it’s looking good. Still a few things to upconvert before I call this project finished. Next weekend?

For those wondering about my process I made this quick video talking about the changes I’m making. Hopefully it helps someone with a similar project in the future. (Sorry it’s long)

https://youtu.be/yGyl9eoWi00

Nice work! These look great!

Thank you so much for the kind words, Phase3, that really means a lot.

And huge congrats to GabinDayback on officially wrapping up this incredible restoration. It’s been amazing to watch this come together.

That said, I’m still quietly working on my own version of the series. Mine’s aiming to be a 100% broadcast style cut, recreating how the episodes originally aired, complete with intros and outros where possible (aside from a couple of truly lost bits we just don’t have). I’m still refining a few tricky shots and making some last tweaks before it’s ready for prime time, but I’m hoping to have it finished in the next few weeks.

Also, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to GabinDayback not just for all the work he’s done, but for generously letting me use his restoration as a starting point and for sharing rare footage along the way, this project wouldn’t be where it is without his efforts. It honestly started as a curiosity in what had changed and grew in the process.

Really excited to share more with you all soon!

For now, here’s a finished shot from the Chapter 9 opening I’ve been working on. I’ll also be recording a behind-the-scenes breakdown soon to go over all the differences and show how a lot of this was put together.

https://youtu.be/PDgIJ18ZvAw

The ending sequence in Chapter 2 and the opening sequence in Chapter 18 were both assembled from multiple sources. I picked the best frames from each, then ran them through Topaz Project Starlight several times to AI upscale them to 1080p. In some cases, I slowed the footage down to 20% speed to give the software more time to process each frame.

After creating that upscaled 1080p footage, I went through again, selected the strongest frames, and ran the remaining ones that needed work back through Topaz Starlight, this time setting it to one second per frame to really let it work. In a perfect world, I’d give every frame that treatment, but the free version of Starlight limits us to 300 frames (12 seconds) per upload and only 3 uploads a week. That’s about 36 frames if you’re doing the full one second per frame method.

You might catch a hint of ghosting if you really scrub through it frame by frame, but during normal playback it holds up great as all the worst offenders have been fixed. In another year or two, the tech will probably make this kind of thing effortless, but for now, this is about as clean as it gets without paying to process this footage.

That said, I’m really happy with how both of these sequences turned out, and I can’t wait to share the rest of this project when it’s ready.

Here is a before/after example of what Topaz Project Starlight is doing to the footage from the first shot of Chapter 18.

And here’s a before/after example of why you let Topaz process a frame for a full second (24 frames) versus the three frames it was originally fed:

3 Frames (Slowed Down to 20% Processing Pass)

24 Frames (Final Processing Pass)

Hey everyone, happy weekend!

I’ve kind of gone down a road that’s turned this into a full on passion project. I’ve been reworking all these episodes to create 100% Broadcast Complete versions. Things are moving along pretty well, and I’ve got a solid timeline mapped out for most of the remaining work. Hoping to share some stuff with folks soon!

That said, I’ve hit a couple of snags and was hoping someone here might be able to help track down a few missing pieces of footage:

• Chapter 7: Missing the intro
• Chapter 10: Missing the outro
• Episodes 21–25: These don’t seem to have intros or outros in any of the copies I’ve come across. I’m not sure if they were ever broadcast with them, or if they’ve just gone missing over time.

If anyone happens to have copies of these segments, or knows for sure whether those episodes aired without intros/outros, I’d really appreciate the info.

I’ve been using Topaz Starlight for my upscaling needs and it works pretty well after a few rounds of uploads. I’m stuck using the free version for now, so I have to wait for my credits to refresh before I can knock out a few more pieces of footage. If anyone wants to help out, let me know, it’s not much (less than 1 1/2 minutes total), but I’m limited by the 12 second per clip upload cap on the free version. Also, if you’ve got other upscaling ideas or tools you swear by, I’m all ears.

Thanks in advance for any leads, advice, or insight — and as always, thanks for being such an awesome community!

I just discovered some more missing footage on the DVD release of this. At the end of Chapter 24 and the beginning of Chapter 25 there was a wipe on the DVD which removed a small bit of footage from these Chapters.

https://youtu.be/30e0_hUjOG4

I made the above video to show what was cut off.

I’ll have a bit more free time coming up and thought it’d be fun to work on some of the intros and next week’s segments. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any luck finding those segments online. I know it’s a long shot but does anyone have a source or know where I might be able to track them down?

Any suggestions on where to start looking at that stuff? I’m completely new to all of this.

I ran some of the low-quality Clone Wars video through Topaz Project Starlight to see how well it could clean things up. While it did improve sharpness and reduce some noise, the results were ultimately limited by the original footage; bad in = bad out. It’s a decent quick fix for minor enhancements, but don’t expect miracles if your source is garbage.

https://youtu.be/EtRCpDsWCbQ

Just for fun I’m experimenting with a few shots to see if I can improve them. It’s been fun analyzing how this show was put together.

For instance, I’ve been working on cleaning up this speeder shot, as it gets cut off early in the DVD version.

Chapter 9 - Opening Shot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV7bljJZA40

Very few “Next Time” and “Previously” on segments are available online from what I can find. The “Next Time” segments are literally 3 second teasers for the next episode while the “Previously” segments are a bit longer but easy to edit.

Chapter 9 Previously & Next Time HD Rebuild

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpeEHE4Lp0c

I did take a stab at a few missing segments which were replaced by wipes on the DVD Versions.

Chapter 8 Ending - Replaced with a wipe on DVD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzV4LRUd2og

Chpater 9 Ending - Replaced with a wipe on DVD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJSl9X54A50

While neither of these two tests are prefect, they are blink and you’ll miss them changes. Both shots are under 15 frames of content. It would still be nice to have them back at some point.

Chapter 9 - Replaced with a wipe on DVD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTfRVtQKcU

One more blink and you miss it shot. This is also the result of a wipe being added to the DVD version of this shot.

Like I said, I’ve just been playing around with these in my downtime. I just wanted to share what I’ve been playing with.

I appreciate the thanks but all the credit goes to @GabinDayback who did the real work. Without their knowledge to start from I wouldn’t even know what was different.

Alright this is a video version showing the TV vs DVD differences.

https://youtu.be/4ZrzqemayF4

Hopefully that clarifies things for folks.

Drats

In that case ignore my previous message…

I guess I don’t have access to the TV Versions. If anyone wants to share them I’d be happy to create a side by side comparison though.

If anyone is curious I made this quick video to show what is missing from the TV versions and the DVD release. It’s really less than I thought.

Link Deleted (<-- NOT THE TV VERSIONS - MY BAD)

Just watched the updated versions and they look and sound great. Thanks for the continued effort on these.

Yeah thanks for the hard work thus far. It’s a fun way to watch the series for sure. Greatly appreciated.

I assumed it was a lot more footage left out. Would it be possible to make those three episodes as separate downloads for completions sake?

This is good news all around and I can’t wait to check out version 2.0

I watched this today and it turned out really good. Congrats on the restoration project!

It’s in the first post

Here are both frames on top of each other with the top one set to difference in photoshop.

Great news. Thanks for all your hard work on these projects. It is greatly appreciated. 😄

These look amazing. Thanks for all the hard work Rob!

Terrible news about the computer. I’ve had hard drives die and take out full projects in the past and it’s always a terrible feeling let alone losing the whole computer. Good luck with your projects in the future.