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Hackers: The 56K Upgrade

futon88

futon88

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Primary Objectives
  • The soundtrack remains one of the best in my opinion, but while the sourced songs have stood the test of time, the material composed by Simon Boswell now feels a bit dated to me. I'm giving myself a +5 year anachronistic license to bring in more material to fill it out some, mostly so I can lean heavily into Mezzanine from '98, which I'm sure they would have used had it been available.
  • Remove or replace the "formulas in space" nonsense used to convey hackers deep in thought.
  • Replace some of the computer screens that look more like screensavers than actual user interfaces. Note: I'm not going to go too far with this. Viewers still need to be able to read the screens to follow along, so this will still feature lots of "movie friendly" displays.
  • As much as I want to completely re-do the computer room at Ellingson Mineral Corporation it's really outside the scope of my abilities. We'll be keeping the ridiculous 3D, "flying through the operating system" moments, but I'll be trimming them substantially. Note: I'm not sure how I'll tackle the stupid scene near the end with all the viruses...
Secondary Objectives
  • Remove some of the cringey miss-steps in the screenplay (Joey agonizing over handle names, the group ogling the girl in red, etc.)
  • Trim The Plague's lines some to make his character seem a little more thoughtful.
  • Generally make Margo seem less dumb, and cut down on the bickering between her and The Plague.
  • Improve the flat soundscape a bit (city noises are largely absent).
  • Downgrade the appearance of the Davinci virus so it looks less like real video.
  • Replace some of the poor quality typing sounds with direct recordings from my authentic IBM Model M
  • Fix the Phreak's, "28.8 bps modem" line. It should be "kbps".
  • Minor colour grade adjustments here, and there. In particular The Plague's house which looks a bit like a soap opera set.

Changes
  1. Custom "futon88" logo courtesy of @DyslexicFcuker
  2. Added dedication.
  3. Changed music during initial raid scene.
  4. Added custom title.
  5. Removed what appears to be a very long hair from the "SEVEN YEARS LATER" plate.
  6. Desaturated Dade's computer screen in three shots to draw less attention to it.
  7. Adjusted VFX during ARPS takeover to look more like a typical terminal.
  8. Dade now cuts off the "America First" guy sooner. No longer says, "yak yak yak, get a job!".
  9. Removed Joey proposing possible handles.
  10. Created custom transition to Cyberdelia.
  11. Changed music during school hack and sprinkler test.
  12. Removed Cereal getting blamed for eating the fries.
  13. Different music when Joey hacks the Gibson.
  14. Different SFX soundscape when Joey hacks the Gibson.
  15. Custom keyboard foley when Joey hacks the Gibson.
  16. Removed all of The Plague's lines when Penn calls him. He no longer calls Penn a technoweenie, and no longer insists on being called "The Plague".
  17. Removed cut back to the server room for the phone call. We hear everything Hal says over the phone.
  18. Colour-corrected Joey's Gibson flyover. It's green in that first shot, while it's more cyan in all other shots.
  19. Shorted VR OS flyover when Joey connects.
  20. Different VFX when Joey connects to The Gibson.
  21. Removed shot of Gibson with electricity flowing up it.
  22. Different VFX when Joey finds and starts downloading the "Garbage File".
  23. Several microcuts to better align music during Joey's hack.
  24. Removed weird sound coming from Belford's PC.
  25. Removed code vision when Joey looks at the garbage file.
  26. Removed VR OS flyover when Plague echos Joey's terminal session.
  27. Removed Joey lunging for his computer when they come to pick him up. The butt shot is as awkward as his mom's reaction.
  28. Removed Margo making fun of of how Eugene dresses.
  29. Removed Eugene blaming Margo for not changing her password (the blame is clear from the look he gives her)
  30. Removed Margo being dumb about what it means for a tanker to flood its tanks.
  31. Belford now says, "...a virus" instead of "...the virus".
  32. Downgraded appearance of DaVinci virus.
  33. Different music during DaVinci briefing and escalator.
  34. Fixed the audio on, "What the hell was that all about?". All of the lines in this scene are clearly looped except that one, which was used from audio on set. There's a lot of background noise that's carried with it.
  35. Removed Margo telling Eugene to "get the file, otherwise you'll lose all your toys."
  36. Removed the Hacker's Manifesto scene. None of our core characters are in this scene, and the manifesto is a touch cringey in 2023.
  37. Removed Phreak and Cereal's weird teasing after they mention Kate will be at the party.
  38. Different music when Belford is in the VR simulator.
  39. Different music when the secret service intercepts Dade at home.
  40. Removed shots of Dade doing rapid fire things on the laptop.
  41. Removed "Blow me" / "Thank you"
  42. Removed atmospheric music during Dade / Eugene conversation.
  43. Remove Cereal's nonsense at the party; it's all badly looped audio anyways and doesn't align to his mouth.
  44. Removed the guys talking about the girl in the red dress and Nikon doxxing Lisa. Having a good memory doesn't explain why he knows everything about her...
  45. Removed the "Look at that pooper...spandex is a privilege...etc." line.
  46. Fixed Phreak saying "28.8 bps modem". Now he just says, "28.8 modem", which is also acceptable.
  47. The guys no longer watch Kate making out for as long. Dade gets her attention much sooner.
  48. Different music while Plague is doxxing Dade's mom.
  49. Removed "I hope you don't screw like you type.". Wanted to restore "fsck", but the whole line is badly looped anyways. Cleaner to just remove.
  50. Removed "RISC is good".
  51. When they are messing with Gill, during the classified ad hack, we no longer see/hear what Dade types. It's left to our imagination.
  52. Shortened scene with people calling into Gill re: the classified ad.
  53. Different music during dream #2
  54. Different music when Dade receives the laptop.
  55. Different music when Joey gives Phreak the disk
  56. Removed Phreak's dream sequence (the movie has already given us a dream fake out).
  57. Removed "Deja vu!"
  58. Added music when Kate gets the disk from the place where Phreak hid the thing that time.
  59. Different music when Dade delivers the disk to Eugene.
  60. Different music when Dade decompiles the worm.
  61. Custom keyboard foley when Dade decompiles the worm.
  62. Removed all code vision shots when Dade decompiles the worm.
  63. Partially corrected visible guide wire for the flare gun.
  64. Different music when Plague launches the virus.
  65. Removed Urban Dance Squad cameo.
  66. Moved "Good Grief" to background digetic while Dade and Kate are waiting to see R&B
  67. Removed Dade getting thrown off stage and crowd-surfing back to where he started.
  68. Removed, "Where were you!?"
  69. Custom keyboard foley for the various laptops.
  70. Fixed weird white splotch on "BARF BAG".
  71. Enhanced VFX when Dade first connects to the Gibson.
  72. Different music during the big hacking montage (spinning phone booths, etc.) [this is Hooverphonic's "Autoharp" with the "Dr. Walter Doo-Dahs" removed]
  73. Removed Margo's "Flu shot, cancer, brain cancer" line.
  74. Enhanced VFX while Dade is searching for the garbage file.
  75. Removed, "type cookie, you idiot". [this one was hard, but the removal leads right into "run antivirus", which makes a ton more sense in response to "what should I do?"]
  76. Removed "I'll head them off at the pass"
  77. Removed code vision when Dade finds the garbage file.
  78. Downgraded DaVinci's appearance (in a few places)
  79. Removed "zero bug, unholy files"
  80. Removed "die dickweed"
  81. Removed "send a flu shot"
  82. Removed "rabbit, flu shot, someone talk to me"
  83. Removed "Cancer!?"
  84. Removed "Is that all you've got, etc."
  85. Removed Davinci yelling, 'HELP ME!!!'
  86. Removed "arf arf, we gotcha"
  87. Removed "viruses everywhere!"
  88. Enhanced VFX when Dade finds the garbage file.
  89. Removed code vision while Joey copies the file.
  90. Different SFX when Joey copies the file.
  91. Different music when they kill the Gibson.
  92. Different music when Dade is arrested.
  93. Removed Margo's laugh during the champagne moment.
  94. Removed Eugene and Margo dashing towards the bedroom.
  95. Different music during Cereal's broadcast.
  96. Removed shot of Margo groping around the bed looking for Eugene.
  97. Removed Cereal's "kinda feel like god" line.
  98. Removed Margo yelling, "Eugene!"
  99. Different music when Margo is arrested.
  100. Different music when Belford is arrested.
  101. Removed shot of Satellite in orbit.
  102. Removed "Stewardess! I'll never fly this airline again!"
  103. Different music during Crash and Burn's date.
 
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Oooh, colour me interested!

If it doesn't turn into too much work, it could be a fun gag to use shots of the source code of nmap as replacements for some of the more exuberant computer displays - given that this is the code most frequently used (or at least, recognisably used) to try and depict people either writing/looking at code, or people actually hacking/attempting to hack.
 
That One Guy said:
If it doesn't turn into too much work, it could be a fun gag to use shots of the source code of nmap as replacements for some of the more exuberant computer displays - given that this is the code most frequently used (or at least, recognisably used) to try and depict people either writing/looking at code, or people actually hacking/attempting to hack.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea.

For one of the screens, I've replaced it with me throwing random commands at telehack.com.

Here's the before:

term1-original.png


It's goofy because those coloured columns are just dancing up and down. If they were scrolling it might work but alternating up/down gives it away.

Here's a clip of my replacement:


I used white on black text and found a command that outputs columns that are somewhat close to the original. Then on the "ARPS" wipe, it's actually those original coloured columns, but I've selectively desaturated them so it feels like a transition from my telehack clip. It happens so fast that I think it works.

This is my first attempt at screen replacement...I stabilized the shot to make it easier, but there's still 2-3 frames at the end of the clip where I had to adjust the position by hand.

Does it work?
 
I like the look of that! I think what you've got is almost there. The only very end of the transition into the ARPS interface feels very slightly off, and I think it's because the tape robot's arm starts moving immediately at the end of the fade.

You could try shortening the fade by a few frames onto a still image of the ARPS interface - I think that would probably be enough.
 
The bit from 00:20 to the end is unchanged, but that slow wipe is indeed a bit weird. I may try to improve it as you suggest.
 
Joey hacks the Gibson
  • Different music.
  • Removed Cereal being blamed for eating the fries.
  • Different sounds when Joey connects, including a 56k dialup handshake.
  • Shorter 3D OS sequence when Joey connects.
  • No "code vision" for Joey when he finds the garbage file.
  • Different colour grade for The Plague's pad.
  • No longer switches to Pen Gillette in the server room. Instead, we just hear him over the phone.
  • The Plague no longer call's Gillette's character a "techno-weenie". Doesn't say anything at all, in fact.
  • No 3D OS sequence when they echo Joey's terminal.
 
The Music works really well but then again Massive Attack always works well (y)
album cover GIF by uDiscoverMusic
 
When I started this project earlier this year I had two options for source: The 20th Anniversary Edition from Shout Factory (2015) or the slightly newer release from 88 Films (2018). I went with the latter even though it was harder to acquire because Shout's version only shipped with 2.0 audio. Lots of gnashing of teeth over that on release, apparently. Shout claiming the original 5.1 mix wasn't true surround sound, or some such. I'm not equipped to say whether the 5.1 mix I've been working with from the 88 Films disc is true surround of "faked", but it's been working fine for my needs. The image quality, on the other hand, is rather garbage. LOTS of white and black specs.

I was about to order the 20th Anniversary Edition to use for the video (basically just hoping it's a cleaner transfer and ignoring the audio entirely), and what do I see but a new 4K release coming from Shout later this month ("Collector's Edition"), featuring..."5.1 Surround DTS-HD MA" plus "4K Scan And Restoration Of The Original Camera Negative". So either they're going with the faux surround after all, or they found/created a proper mix. Anyways, seems it'll be available in a couple weeks, so I'll be swapping that in when I can!
 
Dade decompiles the worm

The original scene has a bunch of head-spinning-formulas-in-space-fibonacci-fractal nonsense mixed in. I thought I'd have to replace it with something else, but I think the scene is effective just with Dade typing like mad.
  • Music is "Pearl's Girl" (Underworld)
  • Keyboard sound is my Model M sped up 200%
The mix sounds a little off with vimeo. I need to figure out if it's vimeo or me...
 
Right on time...

hackers-shout-select.png


I'm hoping I can do a straight-up source replacement in Vegas and everything will line up...

I'll share some observations on relative quality when I can. I don't have the Shout release from 2015, but I can do some comparisons with the 88 Films release.
 
Damn.

They swapped in the new high definition Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo and it's two seconds longer than the original. My cuts will be out of sync if I try for a simple replacement in Vegas.

If I can chop-off the exact amount I need from the beginning of the file (ie. while encoding my production master in handbrake), maybe it'll work...I can then fix the MGM logo...But it's got to be accurate to the frame...

It'll be worth it. This new image is stunning compared to the earlier release. Much sharper, but not in a way that looks artificial. Colours are slightly cooler. Aspect ratio is slightly different: 2.39:1 vs. 2:35:1
 
Ahh nuts. And they removed 5 frames when it switches to the title sequence further in, and lots of other tiny differences that stack up. At least one instance where it's a clean cut between shots in the 88Films, and a 2 frame crossfade in the new one. I'll need to start from scratch.
 
futon88 said:
Ahh nuts. And they removed 5 frames when it switches to the title sequence further in, and lots of other tiny differences that stack up. At least one instance where it's a clean cut between shots in the 88Films, and a 2 frame crossfade in the new one. I'll need to start from scratch.
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. I started my Star Trek Generations edit using the 2009 Blu-ray and switched to the 2023 release about 75% of the way through. It was less work starting over than it would have been making readustments.
 
If the audio mix turns out to be the same as the 2018 release, I'll just match up the video and reproduce all the cuts. Might not be so bad.
 
88 Films (2018) left, Shout (2023) right

dade1.png
 
I've tried various strategies for doing an inline replacement of the video, including naively cropping the front, and manually rolling each clip in the timeline to align to the original cuts, but none of it's working. On every major scene change, it appears 2 frames have been lost on this new transfer. It's actually surprisingly consistent. The new source is also 24.0 fps instead of 23.976, but a simple conversion doesn't make it magically line up. I'm manually replacing the video now and it's going fairly well. As far as I can tell, the audio is identical to the 88 Films release, so I'm sticking with that for now.

UPDATE: And I think I might end up adjusting the colours. Somewhere in between left/right above...
 
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futon88 said:
I've tried various strategies for doing an inline replacement of the video, including naively cropping the front, and manually rolling each clip in the timeline to align to the original cuts, but none of it's working. On every major scene change, it appears 2 frames have been lost on this new transfer. It's actually surprisingly consistent. The new source is also 24.0 fps instead of 23.976, but a simple conversion doesn't make it magically line up. I'm manually replacing the video now and it's going fairly well. As far as I can tell, the audio is identical to the 88 Films release, so I'm sticking with that for now.
Click to expand...
That seems so crazy, to have a different frame rate, identical audio, and missing frames on each cut (to compensate for the framerate maybe?) It's confusing. My first instinct was to say something must have gone wrong in the rip but if you're comparing frame by frame and only seeing the missing frames at cuts that suggests it's just how the source is.
 
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