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ocpmovie

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22-Sep-2004
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10-Mar-2008
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Post
#166451
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166451/action/topic#166451
Time
Hehehe - thanks Pelle. Thanks for your help with the subtitles too ... guess we'll figure that out ....

Paul --

Sure, send me your stuff, I post other people's choices for covers and labels in the usual place at orangecow.org/starwars. Great stuff from great people to be found within.

I always make sure to do my own disc labels, because I don't usually print out the covers so the disc label is what I'm looking at constantly.

For other releases, we even had some nice disc labels by Coov, but I always did my own first and used them for my own burns. =D


I like the idea that people can pick their own covers, since Star Wars fans are such individuals and want things EXACTLY their own way. (See earlier in this thread, I knew people would slaughter me for Oola, and even Han's line!) I'm the same way - I know exactly what cover I wanted, and usually wound up creating it myself eventually, if no one else made it exactly that way first (certain people, including recently Coov, have a habit of getting it right without my involvement) ... but there are so many great covers and labels that people can choose from, and that's nice.
Post
#166446
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166446/action/topic#166446
Time
Eh, I can handle it. I've done it how many times before ... the dual layer thing is the main problem because I've never had to deal with that before, but hey, I can handle it. Usually, eventually it works out moneywise ... not at first, but eventually. At first I lose a lot of money and freak out, but gradually things get okay, if enough people order and I just get into the swing of things enough that it overwhelms the initial cost. I don't keep all these blank DVDs around to not be used. =D

I always assume I'll just handle the first wave of trouble, and a few months down the line (MANY months down the line in the case of my releases to date) someone will post them somewhere for people who don't do the mail thing.

I do enjoy sending them out, printing the labels, getting feedback on them and all that. I know that Deleted Magic has been downloaded thousands of times from myspleen, but I got almost no feedback from that, and certainly no sense that people were trying to pay my work back, which I do get from the mail, I get more feedback, more of a personal touch, whether I lose money or not (and I always lose a couple hundred dollars with the big mailings, bigtime). But I still prefer the mail way, I'm used to that and have fun with it, and I know it's the only way I myself would want to get the disc (I wouldn't download 4 gigs via torrent!) ... also I have a HUGE collection of discs and I'm really into copying things.

What I love about the myspleen stuff though is the feeling that soooooooooo many people are getting the disc for free, hopefully with relative ease. The Deleted Magic torrent still seems to be going after such a long time.

Also, with no limits on disc space it's pretty damn ideal for a dual layer release like Jedi - though I hope that people who can only burn single layer know how to shrink a disk down after downloading!



So, let's roll with both methods of distribution.


But please, yes, GET EMPIRE ON MYSPLEEN. I've been waiting for that for a while. =D Also Return of the Ewok. How 'bout Special Edition Hype too, maybe even the Auditions remix ....

There's a point that gets reached after about a month where it's clear that people aren't getting the discs from me anymore, and they need to really be pushed on torrents and the newsgroups to reach that other audience ... because I think it is a different audience, for snail mail, torrents and newsgroups, all different people rely on different means, and when it can get into the hands of slimy dirty bootleggers, there's also the convention crowd, and even the Ebay crowd, where people are getting scammed on prices, but it's reaching a different audience which is nice. When you've worked hard on these things you want to see them gradually reach all the different audiences.

I certainly consider snail mail the first front, as it would be my own choice, and I hear from a lot of people that they would never attempt a big torrent or newsgroup, couldn't get that to work. I know I've never downloaded anything that big via torrent, successfully. Heh. And there are so many dialup users ... you know. There will always be the need for snail versions.
Post
#166423
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166423/action/topic#166423
Time
Okay, I've thought about the dual layer thing.

Guys, I'm broke. My bank account is overdrawn. I can't afford dual layer discs.

And most people will be getting the single layer anyway.

What I'm thinking is - if I get enough people asking for the dual layer before the disc is released, and I can sustain the demand, I'll see about buying a stack of dual layer discs.

Hm.
Post
#166418
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166418/action/topic#166418
Time
Dual layer discs cost about 7 dollars apiece, whereas single layer discs cost about 50 cents apiece. Paying 14 times as much for discs adds up quick, especially since I always lose money and overdraw my bank account whenever I send out discs like this (and my bank charges something like $100 every time I overdraw ... bastards).


Anyway. We'll see.


This is why there is a single layer version. Which most of you will be getting. If I send the dual layer data on two discs, it will NOT be readable in your DVD player directly.


Chapter selection for these discs is identical to the 2004 official releases, for reasons which ought to be obvious.
Post
#166337
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166337/action/topic#166337
Time
Man, 338 thread views in a matter of hours. I feel loved.

>> In fact, the only changes ocpmovie has ever left in throughout these projects have been the only changes you could approve of.


That's the idea. =D

"Close the blast doors!" was in the original mono mix and was in fact (for SWCE) taken from that mono mix, not from the SE!

"It's all right, I can see a lot better" was also in the original 70mm as far as I know, so it stands as perhaps more accurate than "trust me."


ABOUT THE DUAL LAYER:

I plan to mail out dual layer copies in two parts to save money. I'll split the info across two discs, rather than buying expensive dual layer discs. Those getting copies like this will have to burn their own dual layer copies after getting the data.

I hope that's all right. I suppose I'll buy a few proper dual layer discs for the heck of it, but they cost more than I've got.


>> I expect the finished product to be infinitely better than the highly-compressed JPEGs you posted.

We also ran into this problem with Empire. People don't realize how good the film actually looks until they see the parts of the film that HAVEN'T been taken from some ratty old laserdisc. You tell them it's in pure 2004 DVD quality, but the screen grabs you have to post are from laserdisc, for the few shots that aren't from the '04 discs. When they see the real thing, they get it.

That said, I think those screenshots look good. So.


Hey Coov! You rock! All three covers look great! Saves me the work of doing my own. =D Can I see the Photoshop files for those covers? Particularly the "official cover" one? I'd like to see what you've done close up, and maybe work with it further what with the text and all.


>> this horrible movie


I will admit that Jedi is poorly directed (particularly the first section with Jabba), kind of poorly edited and sound designed and a bit of a mess.

But the parts that work are some of the best moments in all three movies. It's an excellent film. Also, it was my favorite when I was a kid. I like it now for completely different reasons. It's certainly Mark Hamill's best performance in any film, and the Emperor/Vader/Luke stuff is amazing, as are the effects in the second Death Star run. Pisses over anything in the prequels, certainly.

Its status as a classic film is made clearer in this edit compared to the 2004, I'll say that.


>> A shame DL versions of the other 2 weren't made.

They didn't have to be - Star Wars was done in a different way which made it not require 2 layers at all.

Empire was only like 5 gigs large, so it didn't have to be released as 2 layers. It would have been a huge waste for zero change in picture quality.

(I did save an Empire double layer actually, it exists somewhere.)


>> What's the sound on this? 5.1 or original PCM?

5.1 mixes weren't done in 1983. As with the others, it's been mixed carefully in stereo.
Post
#166189
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166189/action/topic#166189
Time
Neither can I ... so I'll post now.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic.jpg

The opening crawl. As is now tradition for these editions, the stars have been brightened and the text darkened.

Due to the bizarre multi-language encoding of the crawl on the DVD, I was unable to crack the opening shot. I captured the crawl itself analog (eagle eyes will see some dot crawl), which was no problem since it's just text ... and pieced together the opening shot from lots of different short clips visible in what was otherwise a mess of different multiangle feeds. Took a lot of work, but you can't tell, so that's nice.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic1.jpg

Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker. Anakin is from the 1997 Special Edition, Yoda and Obiwan from the 2004 DVD. This shot is broken up into two shots in the special edition. A lot of clever work was required to restore it. Missing frames inbetween are covered with a subtle dissolve for Obi-Wan and Yoda, and original footage from Moth3r's transfer restores missing frames of Anakin's face.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic2.jpg

A much easier shot. =)

The celebration in general was a really interesting challenge, because the Special Edition version heavily shortens most of the important shots, which kind of ruins Luke's emotional journey. Restoring the original was tough, because I had PORTIONS of each Luke shot, but not the whole thing, and I had to seamlessly dissolve/morph from the clear new 2004 transfer to the muddy old transfer.

I'm incredibly proud with the result. What made it work was color correcting. I spent a lot of time color correcting each shot so that the two versions would match - often very difficult. When that was accomplished, the shots blended seamlessly. On many shots, I can't even notice the change, it feels natural and doesn't stand out. Good stuff.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic3.jpg

Sy Snootles rocks out! Most of the original Lapti Nek sequence did not survive for the Special Edition, with a lot of interesting alternate footage from the original shoot being used in its place. For the most part, this scene appears from laserdisc, although again, portions of some shots appear in the 2004 version, and were seamlessly dissolved into the 2004 version .... in many shots, you can't really tell when the extra footage begins ...

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic4.jpg

Bright white lightsabers! Many people complained that the lightsabers were strangely dulled-down on the 2004 DVDs, coming out looking pink or candy-colored rather than glowing white.

No such problem here - the lightsabers have been brightened, but the rest of the image is unchanged.

Actually in this image I've brightened up the emperor a bit so you can see him better ... you can even see the painted-in "slugs" on his robe!

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic5.jpg

The 2004 explosion (in the middle) is combined with the 1983 explosion (around the edges) .... to make one heck of a kaboom.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic7.jpg

Anakin Skywalker's eyebrows have been restored - this was a painstaking matter. I had some quite clear footage from the 1997 special edition, and carefully put just the eyebrows from 1997 over the 2004 face ... due to frame rate troubles, sometimes the motion didn't quite match, and the eyebrows had to carefully be motion-mapped onto the face frame by frame until it looked right.

I must admit that Sebastian Shaw's acting is much more powerful when you can see his eyebrows properly - he also looks less creepy. An appropriate level of creepy. I'm not sure why you can have sound in space but no eyebrows on an old man.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic10.jpg

Pan up to fireworks - a deceptively simple looking shot that's really quite tricky. 2004 footage "dissolves" seamlessly into a combination of three elements .... The trees are from 2004, a still image. The fireworks are from 1983, carefully color corrected to match the 2004 colors, which was very difficult as originally the shot was blue, and now it has a sunset feel. A third element is added - the fireworks themselves are recomposited over the image one last time, so that they appear more white. Otherwise, with the color correcting, they'd be yellow and orange, and not match the 2004 footage.

The result is seamless - we pan up to see fireworks, and that's all the viewer needs to know.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic14.jpg

Three shots of Boba Fett were flipped for some reason in the release print. It looks ridiculous. I've flipped them back, to give Fett some respect.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic15.jpg

Sail barge from 1983, courtesy of Moth3r. I would have used the cleaner recomposited 2004 version instead, but it was too different from the original to fit in with the footage.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic18.jpg

A difficult shot - a "matte" was drawn around the images, to carefully merge the 2004 and 1983 versions. The bottom of the shot is from 1983, but the figures visible at the top are from the clearer 2004 print. This took about 30 tries to get just right.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic19.jpg

The 1983 transfer is "juddery", it shakes a bit compared to the 2004 clear DVD, giving it away. Again it was necessary to "motion match" the sarlacc beneath Luke in to match the movement of the camera, on a frame by frame basis. That's the Moth3r Sarlaac and the 2004 Luke.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic20.jpg

The sarlaac at the bottom, and part of the skiff floating above it, are from 1983, composited on a 2003 image.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic21.jpg

One of my favorite shots. A 2004 stuntman falls into the 1983 sarlaac as the camera pans down, and even I can't tell that anything's changed! It just looks like one shot.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic22.jpg

Same with this great shot of a 2004 stuntman falling into the 83 sarlaac ...

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic23.jpg

The Sarlaac has eaten Boba Fett, in another 2004/1983 merger. As it burps, the left side of the frame is from 1983, the right from 2004.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic24.jpg

1983 Sarlaac composited in at bottom left.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic25.jpg

1983 Sarlaac composited in at upper left.




---------


Dec. 29, 2 AM:

I burned off the first test copy of Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi tonight. It has no menus and was just intended to see if the edit worked out.

It did.

Normally, the first test version is terrible, and shows me just how I have to redo everything to make the edit work.

But this time round, it came out perfect the first try. The audio is even in sync, and I had made no effort to put the audio in sync, figuring it was just a scratch track. But I've done this so many times before I guess I've learned all the tricks, and did it right, quickly, first try.

Yeah, it's good. It's a good edit.

What's most amazing to me is seeing how much better the movie is this way. The Ewok celebration at the end, the final moment of the entire saga ... in the Special Edition, it was reedited clumsily, into a choppy mess, removing much of its emotional impact. Putting in the poorly-Photoshopped head of Hayden Christensen turned it into a joke, and it's hard to watch the sequence now and feel anything but frustration. After working on this version for a bit, I had actually forgotten that Hayden was in there, and I felt really creeped out and violated all over again, seeing the shots that way. It was nice to restore the scene, but it was even nicer to realize how the editing suddenly made sense and had a logical flow, giving a great emotional payoff as our heroes reunite for the last time onscreen .... moments cut down to nothing in the Special Edition.

I had always liked the Special Edition version actually, I didn't have much against it.

But seeing it restored with the original music .... in glorious 2004 DVD quality ... ye gods. It gave me chills. It's great.

Aanyway, even though the edit is fine right now, I will go back and redo everything anyway, just because it's me, and I want to wring some more quality out of it. As with Empire, the restored scenes are combined directly with the pure, raw data from the 2004 DVD, and the quality of the 2004 DVD is sharper than you can really recreate on a home system with home equipment. At this point I notice that my own inserted scenes sourced from the 2004 DVD look "softer" than the real 2004 DVD scenes which surround them, and I want to see if I can reduce that feel with careful sharpening.

Also, I used the soundtrack from the Cowclops Definitive Laserdisc, and it sounds great but I'm wondering if I should use the 2004 DVD soundtrack instead for much of it, as it tends to be clearer. I don't think Ben Burtt changed much in Jedi soundwise for the SEs. So I'll see about that.

A few tidbits of info:

This DVD WILL be released also as a dual layer disc, for those interested. The raw movie itself is 6 gigs, and that's too big for me not to want to save the dual layer version. (Which wasn't true for Empire or Star Wars, which fit comfily on one layer - Jedi is a longer movie, and more of it was unchanged and is thus left in straight from the '04 DVDs so that's big on disc space.)

Just for fun, as promised I did leave in the scene of Oola in the Rancor pit, from the Special Edition. It's a nice little bit and contains no CGI, so it fits in well with the 1983 footage. I thought it would be a fun touch to throw in as an extra. I will make it skippable for those who don't like it.

I will also be using Han's line "It's all right, I can see a lot better," from the 70mm and Special edition. It's funnier than "It's all right, trust me."

More news coming ...
Post
#166187
Topic
Classic Edition: Return of the Jedi by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166187/action/topic#166187
Time

Throw away your laserdiscs.

Throw away your '04 DVDs.

This is the only version of Return of the Jedi you’ll ever need.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic1.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic3.jpg

RETURN OF THE JEDI

Classic Edition

by ocpmovie

http://orangecow.org/starwars/coovjediclassicsm.jpg
(cover by Coov)

NEW! Article about the creation of this DVD!

“How I did it …”
http://orangecow.org/starwars/how i did it.rtf

Here are the menus.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassicmenu1.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassicmenu2.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic5.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic6.jpg

From the creator of Deleted Magic and the Classic Editions of Star Wars and the Empire Strikes back comes the ultimate restoration of the final classic film in the Star Wars saga.

It looks exactly as good as the real 2004 DVDs.

Because it’s made from the 2004 DVDs.

But this is the original 1983 version of the film. No special edition material to be found here.

The definitive preservation of this classic film.

As always, you can email me at *****.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic7.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic8.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassicmenu4.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassicmenu3.jpg

For those of you unfamiliar with the Classic Edition process perfected for The Empire Strikes Back, basically, the raw video data is taken directly from the 2004 DVDs whenever possible. Since only about 10% of the movie was actually changed for the special editions, it was possible to use the 2004 DVDs for 90% of the film - so you’re actually watching the 2004 DVDs, with all the amazing crystal clarity that entails.

I don’t need to post screen grabs from the DVD - you’ve seen them. You’ve got the 2004 DVDs at home. You know how good they are. With the Classic Editions, you can have that quality and still be watching the original 1983 version.

Moth3r’s lovely transfer of the PAL laserdiscs has been used to restore scenes like Lapti Nek and the Ewok celebration, in their original incarnations, in good quality considering. The 1997 special edition, from the TB PAL digital broadcasts, has been used to restore Sebastian Shaw. The old footage is seamlessly blended and merged with 2004 DVD elements, switching from one version to the other often in the same shot. Actually, I’m constantly letting shots subtly dissolve/morph from their 1983 to their 2004 versions within the same shot. In a lot of cases, it’s very hard to tell where one version ends and the other begins! I’ve watched shots over and over and still am unable to find the break. And I made them!

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic11.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic12.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic13.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic14.jpg

Enjoy this folks. You don’t need to throw your other versions away, but you can let 'em gather dust a little. You won’t be watching them as much anymore.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic15.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic18.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/rojclassic19.jpg

It’s the original version of Return of the Jedi, in quality so clear it’s just like George had bothered to restore it and release it himself.

Time to celebrate …

Post
#166083
Topic
Info Wanted: What are the Best OT Laserdisc Transfers?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/166083/action/topic#166083
Time
>>My DVDs have audio that has been pitch-corrected.


I was referring to the picture, not the audio. It, and also the TB and Gkar Special Editions, runs faster than the film is supposed to, which caused me problems making my Classic Editions. Since Jedi uses your transfer and the TB set so heavily, I should have done more than I did to make them 24 fps compliant, but with ESB it was much less noticeable so I didn't change my methods much. Hm.
Post
#165965
Topic
.: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/165965/action/topic#165965
Time
>>As far as I know, ocpmovie was working from the 2004 DVDs and undoing most of the SE elements as best he could, which is more in the vein of creating an "ideal" version (like mverta or Darth Editous) than preservation as such.



"Most" of the SE elements? Try all of the SE elements. I was not creating my own idealized version mixing and matching versions, I was recreating the original theatrical versions in high DVD quality as best as humanly possible, presenting the best possible version of the films.

Doing this does require you to make certain choices on which version of the film to emulate, particularly with sound. For Star Wars, elements of the mono or stereo mix. For Empire, elements of the 35mm or 70mm.

I made specific choices to create the best theatrical quality experience. The result is Star Wars as it was, in high quality.

The result is infinitely preferable to watching a poor quality laserdisc, and should be enjoyable even for pedants.

Jedi is coming very soon.
Post
#165961
Topic
Classic Edition: The Empire Strikes Back by Ocpmovie (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/165961/action/topic#165961
Time
I included "This is it!" as I like the line, he moves his lips to say it onscreen, and it was in the 70mm. Watch it for yourself.


I'm actually almost finished with Jedi Classic. I still have to do the sound, and menus and etc. I'll start its own thread and discuss it in more detail soon. I will say that if your expectations were set high by the previous Classic Editions, this one will impress you even more.

As far as Jabba goes, the subtitles will be done as subtitles. I haven't done them yet.

In fact, that was a big problem, because the burned-in subtitles on the laserdisc, when I removed them, made one shot of Jabba look not as good as I'd have liked. It's my least favorite shot in the edit. But 95% of the work, I'm quite pleased with. Most of it is amazingly seamless, and it's certainly a much better version of the film.
Post
#165661
Topic
Star Wars DVD Covers
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/165661/action/topic#165661
Time
Looking for some ideas for an "unusual" Return of the Jedi cover for the Classic Edition.

Are there any good paintings out there, I mean REALLY good, that depict Jedi scenes, and can be scanned full page?


Otherwise, I'm thinking the best route might be altering the normal Jedi poster and doing odd things to it. Giving it a red and green color scheme (Luke's saber green, background red), merging that with the "Vader" poster from Revenge of the Jedi.

There is that "fireworks" Jedi poster that depicts 3PO and R2 and some fireworks, that might be a nice element to use. I'm really not sure. I don't like a lot of the Jedi posters, apart from the official one. The painting just isn't any good on them. I don't like the UK one with Luke holding Leia, and the one with the Death Star exploding (badly painted) in the middle is merely "okay." The painting on the official one, on the other hand - really top notch.
Post
#165569
Topic
Help Wanted: looking for... Moth3r's Return Of The Jedi preservation
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/165569/action/topic#165569
Time

So I’m working on the Classic Edition of Return of the Jedi. I wanted this to be a surprise, but I need help. The copy of Moth3r’s Jedi that I have is corrupt. It fails during the last few chapters. I’m using this transfer VERY HEAVILY in this edit, and there’s not much more I can do editwise until I have the last bit of this transfer.

What I need specifically is the Death Star 2 exploding, and the Ewok celebration (starting with the shot panning up to the fireworks in the sky, and ending with the last shot before the credits).

Any chance someone could rip the M2V video for the second to last chapter from Moth3r’s transfer, and post it somewhere or email it to me? The file size shouldn’t be huge, for just one chapter. It’s definitely a case of “emergency, need it right now. Todayish.”

Thanks if you can. Tygerbug at yahoo.com is the address.