2016-11-01, 07:41 PM
So, this is an idea I have been toying with for the last couple of years, started at one point, and am now finally coming around to getting back to it...
As some of you know, due to some copyright BS, after the theatrical run of the film and the initial rental VHS/DVD release in the US, the sculpture has been CGIed... more info here for those that don't know what I'm talking about...
Anyway, I posses a copy of that first DVD and a nice HD version from the BD that came out a few years back, so this project is very doable. I intend on "patching" in only the sculpture back onto the HD footage, after I have upscaled the DVD, and given it some "TLC" to match as closely as possible to the HD footage.
I already have most of the footage processed and it's now just a matter of finishing assembling it all, rendering the project and... well, that's it for that part, LOL
However, I do have some issues with the BD release. So, yes, it's a decent release. The picture is pretty sharp and detailed, most film grain is retained, and the picture is artifact-free (no scratches, film specs, etc.) BUT, I believe that the color timing is just slightly off and that the contrast is also slightly off and some of the blacks look too dark as a result, to the point of being unnatural. I have an old 1080i HDTV broadcast from before the BD was released, that uses the old HD transfer directly from film (still has scratches, dirt and other film specs) which has the original color timing (and perfectly matched the first DVD release, which is why I know it's the old master) and would make blending the "patched" footage seamless, BUT there is some massive macroblocking here and there in the footage and the image is a little softer than the BD. Not because it's an upscale, or because it could have used a higher bitrate, but because I think the print was softer due to generational loss or something... anyway, I digress...
I've been going through all of it and am testing to see if I can easily match the color-timing of the BD to the original as that would be the best outcome in terms of PQ. Am still kinda busy with life, but slowly getting to all of this within the last few days. Got all my sources together, the sculpture part of frames ready to be patched in, and now just need to do some tests to make sure it all looks right in motion so time to start some test renders
Now, this covers the "uncensored" part, but there is also the "extended edition" that I've really wanted to do over the years... BUT, I NEED HELP WITH A SOURCE HERE PRETTY PLEASE... I have all of the extended/deleted scenes, as they were included on the DVD (albeit, the DVD only had a commentary track with it) and on the BD... The ones on the DVD are already on my computer, along with the film. However, I managed to rip the film off my BD, but NOT the extended/deleted scenes because the disc is scratched there thanks to my kids
Is there anyone here that could demux the extended/deleted scenes from the BD and share them with me? The length is 47 minutes and 4 seconds and it's an SD source, so it's not a huge file. There are TWO reasons that I need it (for those of you wondering):
- first, I will get much better PQ results if I upscale the footage using two different sources, as they will help "fill each other in"
- second, and MOST important, the DVD only contains a director's commentary track during these scenes. On the BD they fixed this and included the original audio as a first audio track and the commentary track as a secondary track. I need the audio to be able to do a true extended edition.
For the extended edition, I plan on using the HDTV footage exclusively, because I think the overall softer image will blend better with the upscaled extended/deleted scenes, which are rather rough in quality and I believe that if I used the BD as the main source, the transitions would be too jarring...
I will post some screenshots comparing the HDTV vs BD soon...
SIDE-NOTE: To "my" people's in the community, it's good to finally be able to resume working on these kinds of things. I really missed it these last few months, missed a lot of you, and am looking forward to getting back into the "groove" of things... Will be catching up on stuff that some of you are waiting on to be completed, as well... so... yeah. Peace
As some of you know, due to some copyright BS, after the theatrical run of the film and the initial rental VHS/DVD release in the US, the sculpture has been CGIed... more info here for those that don't know what I'm talking about...
Anyway, I posses a copy of that first DVD and a nice HD version from the BD that came out a few years back, so this project is very doable. I intend on "patching" in only the sculpture back onto the HD footage, after I have upscaled the DVD, and given it some "TLC" to match as closely as possible to the HD footage.
I already have most of the footage processed and it's now just a matter of finishing assembling it all, rendering the project and... well, that's it for that part, LOL
However, I do have some issues with the BD release. So, yes, it's a decent release. The picture is pretty sharp and detailed, most film grain is retained, and the picture is artifact-free (no scratches, film specs, etc.) BUT, I believe that the color timing is just slightly off and that the contrast is also slightly off and some of the blacks look too dark as a result, to the point of being unnatural. I have an old 1080i HDTV broadcast from before the BD was released, that uses the old HD transfer directly from film (still has scratches, dirt and other film specs) which has the original color timing (and perfectly matched the first DVD release, which is why I know it's the old master) and would make blending the "patched" footage seamless, BUT there is some massive macroblocking here and there in the footage and the image is a little softer than the BD. Not because it's an upscale, or because it could have used a higher bitrate, but because I think the print was softer due to generational loss or something... anyway, I digress...
I've been going through all of it and am testing to see if I can easily match the color-timing of the BD to the original as that would be the best outcome in terms of PQ. Am still kinda busy with life, but slowly getting to all of this within the last few days. Got all my sources together, the sculpture part of frames ready to be patched in, and now just need to do some tests to make sure it all looks right in motion so time to start some test renders
Now, this covers the "uncensored" part, but there is also the "extended edition" that I've really wanted to do over the years... BUT, I NEED HELP WITH A SOURCE HERE PRETTY PLEASE... I have all of the extended/deleted scenes, as they were included on the DVD (albeit, the DVD only had a commentary track with it) and on the BD... The ones on the DVD are already on my computer, along with the film. However, I managed to rip the film off my BD, but NOT the extended/deleted scenes because the disc is scratched there thanks to my kids
Is there anyone here that could demux the extended/deleted scenes from the BD and share them with me? The length is 47 minutes and 4 seconds and it's an SD source, so it's not a huge file. There are TWO reasons that I need it (for those of you wondering):
- first, I will get much better PQ results if I upscale the footage using two different sources, as they will help "fill each other in"
- second, and MOST important, the DVD only contains a director's commentary track during these scenes. On the BD they fixed this and included the original audio as a first audio track and the commentary track as a secondary track. I need the audio to be able to do a true extended edition.
For the extended edition, I plan on using the HDTV footage exclusively, because I think the overall softer image will blend better with the upscaled extended/deleted scenes, which are rather rough in quality and I believe that if I used the BD as the main source, the transitions would be too jarring...
I will post some screenshots comparing the HDTV vs BD soon...
SIDE-NOTE: To "my" people's in the community, it's good to finally be able to resume working on these kinds of things. I really missed it these last few months, missed a lot of you, and am looking forward to getting back into the "groove" of things... Will be catching up on stuff that some of you are waiting on to be completed, as well... so... yeah. Peace
