Thank you so much for that high res photo, Poita! That detail is unbelievable! And to think that a full restoration will be even sharper! I don’t know how you do this, Poita, but this is incredibly fascinating to me. 😃
It’s pretty easy, we really just do this.
click on the image for a larger view
Thank you so much for that high res photo, Poita! That detail is unbelievable! And to think that a full restoration will be even sharper! I don’t know how you do this, Poita, but this is incredibly fascinating to me. 😃
Oh wow, does the sabre say “New York” on the back there??
Thanks DrDre, but really the print is doing all the work at this stage 😃
Here is the previous sabre scene as well for your research at UHD rez.
I’m not sure what you are looking for, here is a first pass (1 of 3) I’m not really going to have time to run this today for a full restoration.
I know.
If someone could post the chewbacca frame from the Blu-ray, that would be great. The Blu probably has more detail coming from the neg.
It is very different to what Mike is doing. If you want to join Fanres, I think the details are over there.
We have our own in-house software that we have developed, that is now using deep learning tools to manage grain, along with a big database of different film stocks, and modelling the lens used in our scanner. It is complicated and a lot depends on what your target resolution is, which scanner is used with which lens, and the film stocks themselves.
This is what the image looks like with some grain management and cleanup applied (just a quick go)
Closeup of what it looks like at 4K resolution…
With some grain management and cleanup it looks much closer to how the image looks projected.
Okay guys and girls, I am still saving up to get the Empire print ultrasonically cleaned, but just so everyone can get a quick look at what we have, here is some of the first reel of Empire.
It is a low quality proxy scan, so that you can see how it looks. It hasn’t been cleaned, and it is a single flash scan, and not colour corrected, the final will be triple flashed at much higher resolution.
A big thanks to Althor1138 for helping out yet again, and to everyone that helped us secure this print.
BTW, the print came with a little bonus, at the start is a teaser for ‘Revenge of the Jedi’, this was only shown in the UK with the double-bill Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back theatrical run. It is pretty rare, so that was a lucky score.
The audio is not from the print, I didn’t have time to capture the audio, Althor1138 kindly synched some audio to it to make it more fun to watch.
So here it is, about 1.8GB in 720P, I hope you enjoy it, one of the last of the unfaded Empire prints in existence!
(Note, there is a blank set of frames from when the STAR WARS logo appears, it was just a glitch when scanning, the print is complete, i.e. it is not missing those frames)
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/23bbcb9826bd8321600319fb0de924b320180829103936/fff2f315aba72705451939adbed0fa7820180829103936/ef1b87
We ❤️ Star Wars and give it all the moneys. Please don’t sue us.
The images look great! But I’m wondering, is the yellowish color noise something that would only be on release prints, or would the negative also have them? And why do those appear? They seem much different to what grain looks like.
The grain patterns look weird and clunky due to downsizing to 720P without doing any grain management. I have posted a document on grain over at fanres, I’ll write something up here if people are interested.
This is what the image looks like with some grain management and cleanup applied (just a quick go)
Closeup of what it looks like at 4K resolution…
With some grain management and cleanup it looks much closer to how the image looks projected.
It is a well known phenomenon and something that we often have to manage when doing restoration, Mike V does some amazing things, and has come up with some really useful techniques, we all learn from each other, but he isn’t restoration or film trained, so some things he doesn’t have extensive background in. He does bring his unique expertise to bear on other problems with really great results.
I will be doing a full restoration on this one, not just scanning. When I say that no colour correction is done, I mean that a proper grade hasn’t been done yet. Obviously I have adjusted the levels and gamma from the flat log scan.
Yes, the print is really great, it was stupid money, but I felt it was worth it with them all turning pink and time running out, and thought everyone would like to see what the base material we will be working with looks like.
It will look even better cleaned and scanned properly.
Cleaning costa about USD120 per reel, so that is really the holdup. Once it is cleaned, then scanning would take place within a month or so, then digital cleanup and colour correction it’s hard to say until I see it scanned.
Okay guys and girls, I am still saving up to get the Empire print ultrasonically cleaned, but just so everyone can get a quick look at what we have, here is some of the first reel of Empire.
It is a low quality proxy scan, so that you can see how it looks. It hasn’t been cleaned, and it is a single flash scan, and not colour corrected, the final will be triple flashed at much higher resolution.
A big thanks to Althor1138 for helping out yet again, and to everyone that helped us secure this print.
BTW, the print came with a little bonus, at the start is a teaser for ‘Revenge of the Jedi’, this was only shown in the UK with the double-bill Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back theatrical run. It is pretty rare, so that was a lucky score.
The audio is not from the print, I didn’t have time to capture the audio, Althor1138 kindly synched some audio to it to make it more fun to watch.
So here it is, about 1.8GB in 720P, I hope you enjoy it, one of the last of the unfaded Empire prints in existence!
(Note, there is a blank set of frames from when the STAR WARS logo appears, it was just a glitch when scanning, the print is complete, i.e. it is not missing those frames)
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/23bbcb9826bd8321600319fb0de924b320180829103936/fff2f315aba72705451939adbed0fa7820180829103936/ef1b87
This is from my 35mm print of Empire.
As for the Fox Fanfare, it was written in 1933 by Alfred Newman (not Alfred E Neuman of MAD fame) and the fanfare was extended when CinemaScope was launched in the 1950s. It hadn’t been used for a while, and was out of use by 1977, but George Lucas requested it be brought back for the release of Star Wars.
John Williams re-recorded it in 1980 and it was used on all subsequent Star Wars films, and if you buy a soundtrack, it is the John Williams version you will hear.
The big note you hear when the enormous STAR WARS logo smashes onto the screen is in the same key, B-flat major, and was designed to come in off the back of the Fox fanfare.
So yeah, it is very attached to the Star Wars franchise.
I have the original U-matic tapes for the HBO broadcast, which I think was the first time it was on TV in the US?
It has been reduced to $299?
You can’t give it away!
Where is this up to?
I’m willing to bid and take donations, also assuming I don’t have to store the prints myself.
There are roughly six days left on the auction.
Here is a paypal link to get the ball rolling. Of course all donations will be refunded if this doesn’t work out.
If you win it, I’ll send you a delivery address in LA to have it shipped to, so you won’t have to worry about storage.
There is a ROTS print for sale on the 35mmforum
If someone wants to run with this, I can give them an address to ship the print directly to, so you won’t need to store it.
It was already passed in once without a single bid, so it might go for the listed price.
I am happy to scan it, but someone in the US will have to do the actual bidding, as they won’t sell to a non-US bidder.
I know the seller, he is a regular on the 35mm forum and is very trustworthy. The print will be as described.
Hi Luke, we probably have that covered, but PM me and I’ll send you a few frames and I’ll take a look at how you go with it.
After Dre’s very generous donation, I’m $460 short to get ANH on the drives.
On the other two films, I’m still saving up, ANH has finished scanning, I’m just saving up for another two drives to get it backed up and sent out.