Mango

Since official restorations seem to be on the way, I decided I should dial back the project a bit. I still want to release something, so I’ve decided to just do what I was going to do in the first place. Preserve the three classic compilation films without the use of AI upscaling.

The original 1993 cut of The Complete Truth About De-Evolution is exporting now, transferred and enhanced in HD from a recording of the original laserdisc (sans bonus features for the initial release, though they may be done some other time). Audio is from the 2003 DVD, except for R U Experienced which is take from the LD. Extensive work has been done to color correct and denoise while retaining original detail. No AI was used. Next I’ll finish up We’re All DEVO from a recording of the 1984 LD with audio taken from a VHS recording found on Internet Archive since my disc is a little rotted, and Devovision from a recording of the 1989 VHS re-release.

I’m kinda sad this is ending not only abruptly, but not as extravagant as I had hoped, but I am very optimistic that official remasters are on the way. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Devo after all, and theres been several hints about them dropped. Everything will be up later today as both raw MOV files and blu-ray ISOs with artwork.

~ Mango

So uh, I got a boyfriend. 😃

“An American Werewolf In Paris” is just as good as “An American Werewolf In London”.

One of my friends who is close to my age doesn’t know what a Tamagotchi is. I’m 26, he’s 22. Am I really that much older?

CloakedDragon97 said:

The official upscale is DNR’d into oblivion. Yours is way better.

Comments like this keep me going. Thank you. ❤️

The left image is the official upscale currently on iTunes and Youtube. The right image is my upscale minus color/contrast correction.

I’ve been looking at the new HD versions closely. They’re terrible! I’m not even going to bother to use them as a base. They’re unusable, except maybe Eat It.

CloakedDragon97 said:

Are they also upscales or actual HD scans?

They are upscales, and on closer inspection, not even very good ones. I’ve been working on video upscaling without the use of AI and have gotten some fair results. I’ll keep working on this in the background and see what I can do.

Vevo just updated all the youtube versions to HD remasters. This project may be kaput.

I feel like my dad has been disappointed in me since I came out as bi a few years ago. I didn’t think that would make him change his entire perspective of me, but it’s starting to drive me insane.

A little preview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWTs0OWFbE

stwd4nder2 said:

That looks pretty bad tbh. Very waxy and unnatural face.
Do you have a shot of the original to compare it to?

It was shot on Beta. Not much more you could do without the master.

And you may find yourself in 4K!

In celebration of the upcoming 4K remaster of Stop Making Sense, I have decided to make an HD upscale of Storytelling Giant, a 1988 compilation video by Talking Heads. The original cut of this compilation video was only released on VHS and LaserDisc, but an extended version was released on DVD in 2003. The project will restore the original 1988 version of Storytelling Giant upscaled in HD using Topaz and some other methods, as well as a complete videography collection including the videos that were missing from the 1988 version. I have lovingly titled the secondary compilation with all the videos (excluding segments from Stop Making Sense that occasionally aired on MTV), The Name Of This Compilation Is Talking Heads.

Thankfully, some videos have already been officially restored in HD, (they will be further restored using Topaz) and the DVD of Storytelling Giant is an excellent source. One of the best looking DVD’s I’ve ever seen. Other sources include Youtube uploads and iTunes Versions.

Expect MKV and BluRay versions later this month.

I feel like I never should have gotten interested in A/V restoration and film preservation because it led me to waste six years of my life talking to someone I met on the internet who expressed interest in my work. They were annoying at times, but in all truth, we did have a LOT of good times together. Then something happened. They committed an inexcusable crime. Even If i wanted to be their friend again, I’d risk feeling like an evil person for enabling and associating with someone depraved enough to commit such a horrible act. Even worse, this week marks the 1 year anniversary of me vowing to never talk to them again.

In the years Since I’ve joined this site, I’ve announced so many projects, and only completed 2. I make so many empty promises. People tell me they like my work, but I have no work to give. All I’m know for is “being the guy that scanned a 35MM Shrek Print”. There are so many other things I want to offer to the world, including some of my own fiction. I’d love to make movies myself. I’d like be known as an innovator in horror fiction. But I can’t bring myself to work on such things, because I’m afraid of failure.

I feel like I’ll always just be “that guy that was friends with an evil person and did 2 projects out of almost a dozen promised and couldn’t make art to the world because he was afraid of judgement.”

Paramount+ is a complete joke. They’ve seemingly given up on remastering the entire series. This project will restart this summer and I’ll try to crank out the pilots and seasons 1-3 by then.

Something to consider. Hope this means an official blu ray is on the way.
https://news.wgcu.org/show/gulf-coast-life-arts-edition-with-john-davis/2023-02-23/music-video-pioneer-chuck-statler-screens-an-all-devo-program-of-newly-restored-music-videos-and-early-pre-mtv-films-at-the-rauschenberg-gallery

Version 2 is exporting now. It has a nearly shot by shot color correction based on a theatrical 35MM print and a description of a 70MM print. Audio is the original stereo track restored from a laserdisc copy.

At last, Topaz Labs have released a completely new version of their Video Enhance AI software. Now that upscaling technology has progressed, it seems that I can finally create the look I was going for with this project.

Expect a release later this month or early next month. My laserdisc Player is out for repairs, so it’ll take longer to get the commentary tracks done then I’d hoped, but everything else for the project will be ready very soon. Over the next few days, I’ll upload a couple of restorations to youtube, (the ones I can get away with anyway).

Duty now, spuds!
~ mango

Sorry for the delay. I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life for the past few years. Sometimes I have long periods of time where I wonder whether my projects are even worth doing. My anxiety tells me “nobody will care” even though I know that’s untrue. I’ve made a lot of empty promises to you guys and I’m very sorry. This year was supposed to be really involved for me, but health issues came creeping in, and long story short, I now have a pacemaker.

I hope nobody feels like I’ve cheated them on these projects. Working with SD sources is extremely difficult, especially with the bare minimum of technology and software to edit things. AI upscaling while quite impressive, is still in its infancy. It takes much more than just putting a file through an upscaler. Everything has to be adjusted for each individual video. This is why this and my DEVO project have been taking so long. I was attempting to just come up with a simple one step solution for every video, but now I realize it takes a lot of tweaking and experimenting.

I promise I will at least deliver a small group of videos from this project by christmas, say the first 3 albums worth. This little A’V restoration community means the world to me, and this hobby has given me a way to pass my time that doesn’t stress me out and feels rewarding. I love you all. Thank you so much for your patience and support.

After closer inspection of the 4K version of Eat It, it seems al was barely able to remaster that video, as the film elements were in poor condition. It seems to be a one time thing that was apparently only done for his new movie. The remaster is also missing a sight gag where Al’s breath causes the camera lens to fog up.

I’m sorry for the abrupt cancellation. That was my mistake. Project is still underway, and I hope to have some things ready soon.

BREAKING NEWS:

Just after I posted that update, the youtube version of Eat It was upgraded to a 4K remaster from the original film. Looks like official restorations are underway. This is the best possible outcome, and I’m officially canceling this project. 😄

Working on this yet again. Hopefully will be ready in time for Christmas, and Project DEVO will be ready early next year.

SpacemanDoug said:

American Movie is getting an official blu-ray from Sony

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/American-Movie-Blu-ray/322631/

Excellent news. Sad that it doesn’t include Coven though…

Mike Schank, friend of filmmaker Mark Borchardt from the 1999 documentary “American Movie”. He was 56.