ADDITIONAL "FINAL" FINDS RESTORED
SO...Here we go....the full lowdown.
If you listen carefully to the VHS version and the Magnum opus, you will notice quite a few issues with this.
The music cue from the VHS is different in its timing. There is a music phrase that for the theatrical etc was extended twice, listen casrefully. It obviously was extended so that the jovial portion of the music comes in 2 bars later. That places the music OUT OF SYNC with the images if you align the music as the guide point. If the music is not alingened, although you can cross fade between the two it is VERY strange....and lots of testing was done.
You will notice in the theatrical/Magnum Opus versions that just as Sonny smashes the camera, there is a small increase in volume in the music for a couple of seconds. This does NOT happen in the VHS. It is obviously where the music cue crossfade extention occurs and that was applied to extended that music cue phrase. I have also corrected that so that the audio spike is removed.
I then isolated the VHS audio and applied a 10db boost, then removed the 60hz ground loop hum. I then sampled a silent section of the VHS before the commercial break, and subtracted that from the audio; that sample will contain the precise hiss signature of that VHS machine AND and low level additional ground loop hum. Finally, a minor re-mastering filter was applied for "widening and depth" to lift some of the top frequencies and give a more consistent ambience.
The new dialogue exceeds the available HD material by a few seconds, so by syncing the music 4 bars earlier before the repeated cue, I only needed to find an extra 2 seconds of material visually. At one point I created a new exterior panning shot, but (although completed) was not true to the SAGA edit that this was sourced from. Long story short, the shot extenstion was alo achieved allowing the full dialogue to play.
If I had a 5:1 seperation on the new dialogue, I could isolate and tigten it up to fit, but since we do not have that, I looked also at speeding it up (preserving pitch), but I tested that, and even correcting the pitch, it sounds rushed and the music tempo picks up awkwardly......LOL....sounded screwed up...
So here is the final result and comparisons (for maybe less than 30 days due to YouTube BS).
VHS: Here is the original 1980 re-run telecast from 1980.
Here is the same material from the Magnum Opus with the VOLUME SPIKE, that is also corrected
Here is the abandoned version with the insert shot repurposing a previous shot, flipped and zoomed (vol spike remains)
Here is the newly restored shot FINAL VERSION
A final recovered portion of audio comes from after Michael tells Kay, "that's not me thats my family"...after the music stops, a man stands a shouts "Cent Anni". This is only heard on the SAGA version and Original Novel for TV and nNOT on the AMC and HBO versions NOR any Theatrical versions.
Further, there is a shot from the AMC version in HD of Michael turning to see what the commotion is during the recap at the start of Episode 2. This has also been restored and appears here for the first time, again in HD.
All these microscopic observations are courtesy of SonnyGFunk.
This has also been restored and will be in Don Vito's Opus 3.02o AND the Purist Cut.
Here is the completed sequence with all the components in place and sound work completed.
Replacement UBER FILES for the Magnum Opus will be loaded for one week.
Then the Purists, for one week.
Thereafter, HiBit MP4s will remain per usual.
As a consequence of this, my newest submission "UNBREAKABLE GLASS SPLIT" is delayed by a week, but this feels too important to not do or to abandon it as done.
W