X0-1138

I was under the impression that a straight '93 or JSC transfer using an X0 player would be the grail.

But after seeing the black magic shot, I now know that a definitive laserdisc transfer would have to take in half a dozen laserdisc transfers and perhaps a factor of work more than I was prepared to undertake alone.

It's certainly possible, but I'd need a team of four and a year of solid, laser focused work.

I am considering it though, I promise.

Easily removed and I'd even render a new crawl using the original typesetting, colour, speed and movement of the '77 crawl.

But, of course, at that point we're getting into revisionism.

I am in a position to 're-discover' the black magic process and I have a pretty good idea of how to not only achieve it, but improve upon it.

The work needed though...

The 1080p upscale was going to be 'masterfully' undertaken.

I was going to duplicate the workflow over two versions.

Original resolution and 1080p upscale, so that I wouldn't be downsampling from the 1080p version.

You were ALL going to be taken care of!

It's just AMAZING.

I could source every fine detail laserdisc version, redo the same work etc...

But is it truly worth it?

Having looked at the 'black magic' X0 project, I'm officially disbanding this project.

http://savestarwars.com/images/x0speeder89.jpg

The audio mix will be the closest as possible to the opening night prints.

Yes this is a distinct possibility. Seamless transitions will allow me to have both theatrical and 'kitchen sink' editions within the same blu-ray disc and I may expand that to the title crawl.

I'd like to obtain accurate colour information about the 'first night' prints of each film and try to match them as closely as possible.

Yes, I have a refurbished, cleaned, tweaked and near-faultless X0 to transfer from.

Ok, I've sourced the JSC at a reasonable price and I'm going to essentially take the films back to how they appeared in the very first prints.

Of course, information on exactly how the first prints were edited will allow me to roll back any subsequent changes that appear in the JSC versions of the films. Consider this project a history lesson in how the movies appeared for the very first time on the opening nights in North America.

I intend to upscale from the beginning because it will give me a bigger canvas to work from and I do not just upscale, I carefully analyse each and every scene to ensure sharpening, colour timing and any grading issues are taken care of rather than just running the whole film through the upscaler and waiting a few hours.

I can't see any miraculous improvements to appear in upscaling technology in the near future so once the movies are completed and rendered, I shall convert from the 1080p 'master' as and when needed.

I might even create a 16:9 or 4:3 friendly version using my crazier ideas about dynamic pan and scan.

Also, how do I go about changing the thread subject title to reflect the move from X0 to JSC and also the 'history lesson' idea?

Well, I'm open to suggestions as to which laserdiscs are the best quality.

I'd be willing to use different video and audio sources, then syncing them up.

Then consider it a 'Kitchen Sink Edition'.

I also have an idea which is quite foolhardy but if it works...

I'm going to take the forthcoming deleted scenes, treat the video to match the laserdiscs as closely as possible, and then apply the same enhancements as is being used on my 1993 laserdiscs.

Essentially bring the deleted scene resolution down to laserdisc quality, flattening the colours slightly, then bringing it all back up alongside the 1993 laserdiscs.

1080p to laserdisc and then back again.

Using seamless branching, I intend to create 'Directors Cuts', not 'Special Editions'.

The reason for working at 1080p is to ensure I never have to worry about re-transferring the laserdiscs at a later date and having to redo all the work once home media devices are capable of streaming and playing 1080p content with ease.

It certainly will not look like high definition content but the laserdisc, the X0 player and the amount of work I am putting into this will allow us all to enjoy the original, unaltered trilogy as it was meant to be seen.

I shall be upscaling using a super-resolution application and using three reference monitors to ensure accurate colour on computing, televisual and portable devices.

Adywan is the best guy out there for colour timing, I wouldn't mind asking him for his input on how the trilogy should look.

Yes, I've always admired MKV for its ability to compress down well.

Blu-ray and downloadable files. These will be upscaled (1080p) high definition files so they'll be BIG.

I'll be working at that resolution so if there is a demand for lower resolution, I'll rescale.

The only non-colour corrections will be frame glitches where part of the image skews and distorts unexpectedly due to frame damage or errors during the transfer of the films to the laserdisc format.

There's a possibility that I may remove 'Episode IV - A NEW HOPE' from the beginning of the crawl but I must stress, there shall be NO alterations other than the above mentioned.

A fully restored, colour corrected, video resolution enhanced and audio enhanced transfer of the original, unaltered trilogy.

The laserdiscs will transferred using the infamous X0 laserdisc player, considered the finest consumer player of all time.

Details coming (very) soon, stay tuned.

One more thing… in this trilogy, only Han shoots.