Frankenstein (1931) Audio Preservation

[SilverWook]

16mm Franky
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Frankenstein-Cl...2534684529
How good would the optical sound from a dupe print be?

[crissrudd4554]

Not sure exactly but if that's the censored print there's gonna be more work required.

[crissrudd4554]

Too bad I can't afford this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/35mm-Feature-Fi...SwUCZavP3U

Anyways I figured in the meantime since Jerry is MIA I may take some time this year to do a sync myself. I can't guarantee it'll be perfect but it'll be something to share with everyone until hopefully Jerry comes back. A few years ago I sent PDB the VHS audios for Dracula and Frankenstein but he never finished syncing them. If you are reading this PDB would you be willing to resume those?? Anyways I'll try to keep everyone updated when possible. Thanks everyone,

[SilverWook]

That appears to be the same print that sold back in February.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/FRANKENSTEIN-35...3065857659

[crissrudd4554]

That appears to be the same print that sold back in February.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/FRANKENSTEIN-35...3065857659

Yep the description did mention it being the restored print. Whether it’s a duplicate (most likely) or the buyer of the last one is now selling it himself I don’t know.

[SilverWook]

Both mention the opening introduction being from another print.

[SilverWook]

Frankenstein relisted.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/35mm-Feature-Fi...3555247420
Maybe the price will come down more if it lingers long enough.

[jerryshadoe]

That print is going for "only" $2900(!)


Anyway, get ready for one my "typical" posts, LOL

Go get some popcorn, it's ok... I'll wait

Ready?

Ok, so first off... before anyone asks:

- Is this project complete?

NO, it is NOT!

- Is it being actively worked on?

YES!

- Expected completion date?

Before the end of the year, most likely sometime after the summer.

- How sure am I of the completion date?

VERY confident that this will be done between September and December of THIS year. *more further on down

- How much is complete?

Rough estimate is somewhere between 50% and 60%

- What has been done so far?

ALL segments from ALL sources are synced to main LD PCM track which is synced to the BD video, so that this reconstruction can mux easily with the commercial release. Of the segments, over half have been mixed into the LD PCM track on the timeline (no rendered versions, as of yet, because not needed during mastering/mixing process in Reaper which gives "Final Output" audio so I hear all changes as will be rendered in the FINAL MIX) *more further on down

- What has not been done yet?

Nearly half the segments still need to be mixed in properly, after figuring out which ones match best, which ones have best quality, and figure out the noise plain needed to mask the transitions. Fix broken music segments due to overlaying foreign dialog in some sequences. *more further on down

- Will there be any samples of the project before completion?

This is something I have been debating for a while, but think it is still too premature at this stage of the project. As things pick up and, possibly if help is needed with opinions of results so far, then this might change. And... even then, it will probably be ONLY via PM with a select few members that have been involved in this project in one way or another (or have expressed long-term interest) *more further on down

- Why has there been no posts/updates about the project for so long?

*more further on down (LOL)







Ok, so that covers all the important stuff...

Last year was very hectic for me and I was working waaaaaay tooooooo much, to the point where I had very little time for anything. I picked away at this a little bit here and there when I had the chance, but it's very tedious, time consuming work. Especially with the amount of sources I have to work with and what I'm trying to accomplish. Anyway, at the beginning of this year, I was finally going to jump into this on a more regular basis and in the February I got hit by a truck when I was rollerblading home from work around 2-230am and ended up fracturing three ribs when I landed with them on the corner of the damn curb of sidewalk... Still went to work a few days later, thanks to painkillers. Sadly, when those ran out a few weeks later and I wasn't healed yet, I had to quit work because I just couldn't do it. My ribs finally finished healing a couple weeks ago and I'm back at life and everything in it.

I finally got to set up my computer with bluetooth (the on-board bluetooth on this laptop has malfunctioned since I've had the laptop [second-hand] and I've never cared until recently) so that I could start using my new bluetooth headphones. My wired headphones have been malfunctioning due to a cable issue and I haven't had the time to fix them. It's a good thing this happened, as the mastering I was doing was a little off.

So, I HIGHLY recommend the Bluetooth headphones I purchased to anyone that is on a budget (I'm talking $30 at walmart) and wants something that still sounds decent. They are called: JLab Neon BT
I was reading reviews online and these kept on popping up as good budget headphones, so I gave 'em a chance and am glad that I did. Once I burned them in properly, they amazed me (although even out-of-box they sounded decent) They have pretty decent sounding bass, very nice mids and highs. The dialog is always clean, even in "powerful" loud scenes with lots of bass and other sounds. The sound isn't muddy//tin-like and is very "life-like." I just wish that the bass response time was a little quicker, but for what I paid for them, they are great. Extremely comfortable, even after numerous hours of wear (I use these things ALL the time, for music, movies, and audio editing/mastering - sometime six to eight hours at a time) and they have an average usage life of 18-22 hours (although box only states 13 hours, LOL) and they adjust very easily. Oh, and they isolate outside noise pretty damn well as well.

So why brag about the headphones? Because it has been a LOT easier for me to detect all the little changes in the audio segments and to detect which ones sound best for the most seamless joining of the sources. It also helped me figure out the settings I needed for some of the segments that didn't sound right due to an incorrect noise plain that had to be re-adjusted manually repeatedly. One of my biggest issues was my previous headphones and them being ok for listening/syncing, but pretty poor for mastering. As a result, I spent way too much time trying to adjust stuff that I couldn't detect properly (the range was off on headphones and muddied things too much apparently) Now, I hear the difference instantly and clearly, making the process easier.

Adjusting all the sources had been a pain in the neck, but not nearly as much so, as the music sequences that have segments with overlapping foreign dialog in all sources. Yes, I have been able to trim a lot out and recover more than I originally thought I would, but the fact remains that there are snippets in some places and parts missing in others, where a full reconstruction is not possible. This has posed me with a great challenge, as I have tried to see if I can loop/replicate snippets from other parts of music into those missing bits... but that has been really hit and miss and I am still trying to figure out the best approach on this. Possibly even fading in/out the part that I can, where people will have to understand that some elements of this are missing, period. This film already has such a long history of things missing and being recovered/partially recovered later - that it kind fits the narrative of where we are with this film being Frankenstein'ed together, including the audio and audio reconstruction. Excuse the pun, but I couldn't help it...

However, that last option, which might end up being the way to go (BOO!!!) will still feel "incomplete" to me, not just because it would actually be so, but because of how much I have invested into this project so far and how I want to see it come to a full completion. So...

Now, bare with me as we jump down a VERY crazy rabbit hole here...

What if there is a way to reconstruct the music "from scratch?"

So, I have a few different sources with the music parts, with foreign dialog overlaying in slightly different places, but the music is still audible (since it was part of the mix) in the background and all of the music cues consist of very simple instruments (mostly violin, trumpets, some organs, cymbals, etc.) played in very "simple" ways - what I mean by this is that most of it doesn't have an entire orchestra playing simultaneously. Although this doesn't mean that there is only one instrument playing at a time in all instances. Still, as far as it goes, these cues are relatively simple in form.

I have heard of all kinds of apps out there that can recognize music notes from stuff that they "hear." So this got me to thinking... What if, after I spend the time to review which app does these things "best," I use one of these apps on the audio sequences in question? Maybe, just maybe, between all the different sources I'll be able to have all the music transcribed to music notes via one of these apps? After some tinkering and trying multiple apps, I managed to get the first "test" sequence that I need to have figured out transcribed to music notes. Three different apps gave me pretty much the exact same results (minus minor variances around certain parts really thick with dialog, that obscured too much of the music for a note or two - still between the three apps and multiple sources I got it figured out)

Now, I hear some of you saying/thinking, "Great, now you have the music notes! So what? It's not like you are a multi-talented musician that will play and record the music yourself..." Well, yes and no.

I was thinking something similar. Now I have the music notes, but what do I do with that? That sent me on a wild chase over the internet for the next few hours, reading multiple interesting things, checking reviews and acquiring some software. Turns out that there are some rather awesome apps written exactly for my "issue." (Well, not exactly - but bare with me)

So, it turns out that there are apps made for musicians that READ MUSIC NOTES and can PLAY THEM BACK FOR YOU using different instruments. The apps are meant to help musicians learn how to read/play music and will even correct a player if they are off-key, by playing the correct notes.

Of course, this got me to thinking if I can utilize this to literally reconstruct the music from scratch. Once I have the music re-created, all I have to do is downgrade it enough to match the music sequences I already have, overlay it with the correct noise plain to match the rest of the audio and I should have a completely reconstructed audio track that will include complete music cues.

Naturally, this looks better in writing, than works in practice. Yes, it can be done. Easily? We'll see. In order to get all the notes, I've had to do a few passes, per source, through the music note transcribers. Make sure everything matches, make potential edits to those that need it. Then, load it into the second app and mess with the settings until I have an instrument that sounds like what is used in the film. It's not enough to just have the music notes, as the instruments have to be exact as well. A lot of back and forth between apps going on here. A lot of matching and so on...

For now, I am NOT revealing which apps I'm using for this process - nor am I posting too much about the details of this reconstruction. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, I've spent a lot of time on this already and detailing everything would slow things down even more (this doesn't rule out a tutorial on audio remastering/reconstruction AFTER this project is completed) Next, for now I want to leave my method for this, especially the more nuanced stuff, as a "trade secret," because a magician doesn't reveal all their secrets. And in this case, I really feel like a magician.


Anyway, this is moving forward and I intend on finishing it this year unless I get hit by a bus or some other EXTREME circumstance. However, I'm not sure how soon this year, as there is still much to do. This project (in terms of the audio work that I've done over the course of roughly the last two decades) is the most complex, challenging work I've ever undertaken and I doubt that there is anything that will ever match it in the future. This audio project is my "great masterpiece." Every artist has one "great" and I believe this will be mine.


All right, now it's time to get back to the project...

P.S. PLEASE DON'T BE ALARMED IF YOU DON'T SEE AN UPDATE FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS! I'm more interested in working over discussing the project at this time. Of course, comments are welcome and I will get to them, but don't be surprised if it will take a while.

[crissrudd4554]

First off glad to see you back in this thread. I knew you wouldn’t have been gone for as long you were if stuff hadn’t been going. Sorry things were so hectic and I’m glad you’ve healed up after that accident. That’s insane dude but at least you’re alive and well!

Maybe the little Universal Monster marathon they were doing yesterday on Retroplex should have been an omen for something to come. Even though it’s been a while since we had an update my enthusiasm for this project has not diminished and I look forward to seeing your results.

As for the issues regarding the music, I think you could be on to something. There’s only so much you can deal with when it’s a vintage track that’s mono. Recreating music, and in some cases dialogue, can be common with reissues of older films. They had to it with the old Phantom serials. Also when Jaws was upgraded to surround a part of the music was replaced with an alternate take due to tape damage.

Sure you could argue it lessens the authenticity of it all but when I assume you are recreating it and combining it with the pieces you already have that are usable and using the necessary tools to make them blend together I don’t see too much wrong with this.

So I guess you got some work to do. Well as I used to say no rush. I knew you’d be back eventually and the time finally came. Good to hear from you again my friend! Good luck and until next time.

[monks19]

Indeed. Glad you're back Jerry after all of what happened to you and that you've recovered. Don't worry, this time now, we'll leave you alone with this job. Glad also that this project is progressing (the audio anyway). But what about the image ? Do we have any element(s) available in order to repair the "fixes" Universal did on Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein ? I think those two tiles should get our priority on this collection (for both image and audio).