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mverta

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15-Apr-2004
Last activity
26-Sep-2020
Posts
521

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Post
#216899
Topic
StarWarsLegacy.com - The Official Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/216899/action/topic#216899
Time
Ok, I've done some checking and I can confirm for you that there are at least two different composites of the first shot. There are any number of reasons why this may have been done, most likely having to do with crawl issues, but the matte painting, starfield and foreground ships were optically composited in the printer at least a couple of times, leading to variations in versions. I'm not 100% sure, but I will be once I finish checking, but it appears that both versions here use the same starfield, only one of them is reversed horizontally and slightly higher up.

That is, that "Y" shape appears about halfway between the moon and the horizon of Tatooine in one version, but flipped and much closer to the horizon in the other version. I think some of the other differing patterns in star intensities is due to the fact that it's an organic, imprecise optical composite and not a digital composite, so you get different looks as the light actually passes through the system. I'll do a more thorough comparison, but if you want to check yourself, go find the part of the shot before the Star Destroyer comes in and identify the Y shape, then do the requiste flipping and repositioning in Photoshop to see if they match. No matter how you cut it, this shot was composited at least twice.

_Mike
Post
#216880
Topic
StarWarsLegacy.com - The Official Thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/216880/action/topic#216880
Time
In answer to your first question: Neither is correct. The laserdisc is too bright and the DVD too dark. I have no proof of this, and in truth, when it comes to timing film, it was probably all over the map even from the beginning, but I'm willing to bet that the intended exposure is somewhere in the middle, and that's where I put it. When a cinematographer exposes, it's generally for both the brightest and darkest areas of the frame, and you can just sort of tell where the falloff curve was intended to be, unless a deliberately stylized look is planned (think Fincher silver-retention Fight Club look). There's no question that Star Wars was intended to be grittier than not, but still the DVD just has that overly crunched curve to it, where the laserdisc and CERTAINLY the VHS's have that clearly washed-out, overly bright midground. Also remember that things like this "gamma" balancing can only be approached satisfactorally if you have a calibrated reference monitor and signal path. That is no small undertaking. And of course, the results will appear radically different on consumer televisions, 99.9% of which people leave in the horrifically overbright, aliasing-ridden, oversharp and color imbalanced factory-preset modes. My consumer televisions have all been calibrated by ISF technicians, but still I check the factory modes to see what the rest of the world would see, and they're night and day. Although I do use the consumer mode to check things like garbage mattes, because on a properly calibrated monitor, you can't see them, but the overbright consumer modes show them right away. (In truth, I simulate consumer television response curve through an adjustment layer in the computer - I don't actually have to output to a television).

On the starfields: There is a blend between CG elements and original elements in the starfield. The original starfield has in some places been replaced, and in some places been enhanced. The original starfield, as a result of Lowry clean-up, had most of it's subtler stars eaten and the bigger ones lost their photographic bloom, so it can be hard to spot. But the crawl needed to be replaced, so it was impractical to use the original field for that section of the opening. But past the pan-down, it's mostly original. It's original in the next shot with the Star Destroyer approaching, too, as I recall. I have had to roto and re-balance every single starfield in every shot of the film, because no matter what the source, the original balance between background and foreground elements has long since been lost. Again, it's something you can sort of "see".

I had done digital grading for quite a few years before I took on Legacy, but I have learned more since I started than I would've thought possible. In many ways, ANH is like a grading final exam. So many worst-case scenarios. And without separate elements to recomposite, it means a lot of rotoscoping. In fact, it's mostly rotoscoping. And this would be true even if you had a pristine 4K scan - it'd just be easier to see where to roto.

_Mike
Post
#216639
Topic
Info: found - Revenge Of The Sith in 1080i
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/216639/action/topic#216639
Time
Suspension of disbelief is largely a relative experience. The prequels are so utterly CG - both foreground and background - that the whole "stylized" look sort of reinforces itself and you can get used to it without it looking horrible. Some people can still see that looks fake (I'm certainly one of them) but it's difficult to tell just how much so until you cut back and forth between prequel footage and OT footage. When you do that, the prequels suddenly look like cartoons.

_Mike
Post
#216062
Topic
**Mini-Contest: Legacy Edition Logo - $150**
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/216062/action/topic#216062
Time
Hey guys...

Yes, I do this stuff for a living and can make my own logo. But I'm approaching burn-out on the LE and want to save my energy for the restoration itself. I know there are at least a couple of pro's here, but whether you do it for a living or not, everyone is welcome to enter. Contest closes July 1, 2006. Winner gets $150 and one of my embroidered Han Shot First long sleeve T's.

Here's the contest: A logo, in vector or high-res raster format, for my Star Wars Legacy Edition restoration. ANH only. NOT COVER ART... just the Logo itself : Star Wars Legacy Edition. Should reflect the "classic" nature of the restoration, but beyond that, it's up to you. Enter as many times as you like.

Post entries here in the thread, and I'll judge them on the 1st.

Could be an easy $150... Good luck!


_Mike
Post
#216029
Topic
Info Wanted: Someone Fill Me In Here... the "X0" project
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/216029/action/topic#216029
Time
The X0 project is generally accepted as the most comprehensive and highest quality fan-based restoration being made available. There are a couple other projects of superior quality and comprehensiveness, but they are not being made available for a variety of either legal or personal reasons. Bottom line, XO is the best bet.

_Mike
Post
#215581
Topic
The Most Boring Commentator Ever
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/215581/action/topic#215581
Time
YES!! I remember that! For some reason - a family curse, no doubt - I've had to direct a lot of commericals that feature children, and as difficult as they can be to work with, they're the best to audition. You can tell right away if they've got it or not, and they're far more inventive than adults during the audition. Anyway, I remember the kid you're talking about, and he was a clear standout. And I'll bet anything he wasn't the only one, but I remember thinking at the time that if those had been MY dailies, Jake Lloyd wouldn't have made it past round 1.

Also, my other favorite part of that piece was the fact that it ends with the shot of the theater of excited fans BEFORE the movie starts, not a second of footage after they'd finally seen it.

_Mike
Post
#215571
Topic
The Most Boring Commentator Ever
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/215571/action/topic#215571
Time
Actually my favorite commentary moment is on the EP 1 DVD, but I can't check because I use the prequel DVD's as drink coasters now (yes, really) - it might be in one of the supplements... but anyway, Ben Burtt is editing, and he's talking about how George basically makes the movie up in the edit bay as he goes along. The thing is, Ben OBVIOUSLY thinks the whole thing is ridiculous and is trying to figure out how not to come right out and say that. I think he eventually likens all the post-shooting bs to a slippery slope. In any case, the best moment is one where they cut away just as he's saying that the process creates more problems... I think it's actually on the word, "problems" so they could patch it with something more positive. Ben's at Pixar now. He wants to direct. Someplace where they know how to do that kind of thing.


_Mike
Post
#214553
Topic
Post all emails to Lucas Film and replies here
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214553/action/topic#214553
Time
It's a nice letter; you obviously took some time with it. Unfortunately your letter is 11 paragraphs too long.

"To Whom it May Concern -

I will not purchase an unrestored version of the original Star Wars trilogy. Release an original trilogy remastered to the best of current technological abilities and I will buy it immediately. Thank you."

They don't have armies of people going through mail. They have a few people who open and scan and if they don't see yes or no right away they don't bother. They're not interested in the heart-felt poetry of thousands of fans, just a bottom-line assesment so they can get a pulse on the public reaction. Yes or No is really all you need. Giving a brief reason why is good, as is a brief How to Turn my No into a Yes. Brief. Brief.

For a stronger letter you might want a "boycott" sentence in there: "I will not purchase an unrestored version of the original Star Wars trilogy, nor any version of the Special Editions - ever - until such original restorations are produced. Further, I will not support future Lucasfilm projects, promotions, or product offerings of any kind until this is done. Release an original trilogy remastered to the best of current technological abilities and I will buy it immediately. Thank you."

They don't care about you being nice. They care about money. You don't hurl insults or be an a-hole, you just state the facts and move on.

_Mike
Post
#214275
Topic
We have to buy this set atleast to preserve it for the next generation of fans
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214275/action/topic#214275
Time
You know what? The OUT DVD is going to sell like gangbusters. Especially to a lot of people who talk about boycotting it on message boards. The greatest bluff Lucasfilm can call is on fans not slurping up what they give them, because we always do. Always. I'm sorry, but if the fart-laden Jar Jar fest can generate that much money, we've lost all our credibility in terms of what we will and won't pay for. We'll pay for whatever they give us and like it. They know it. I know it, and if you don't know it, then you don't want to know it. The 1% of the people on this board who are going to stick to their "this is bullshit" guns, are the same 1% of the people in the world who stick to ANYTHING they say. Each and every one of whom, by the way, has a beer on me next time I see them.

_Mike