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The MST-HD Remaster Project Vol. 001 Godzilla vs The Sea Monster

SeaCom

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The MST-HD Remaster Project Vol. 001:
Episode 213 – Godzilla vs The Sea Monster


Pretty straightforward idea here: put the MST3K silhouettes in front of the latest HD version of the movie being riffed. The host segments remain, but when we move into the theater the film is playing in the best possible quality and in the original aspect ratio.

I plan on doing three MST episodes and posting a how-to package with project files for anyone who wants to keep the series going. I’ve chosen Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster to begin the series since it’s probably my favorite episode of the show. And since there's such a gorgeous print of the film in the Criterion collection I though it'd be the perfect candidate to bump up to HD.

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The gist:
-First it’s a matter of lining the HD movie up with the movie in the episode. Most movies on MST3K were cut down either by the show or by the distributor they licensed the movie from (or some combination). I used Criterion’s version of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep from the Godzilla Showa Era box set.
-Next the silhouettes from the episode are isolated (no easy task nailing this 100% of the time) and more theater seats are added to fill out both sides of the screen. For the countdown doors I’ve composited out the hole in the last door so I can have it open on the new HD theater.
-The only other big issue is working around the fact that Joel and the bots walk in and out of the theater through an invisible door in the middle of my new wider frame:

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I’ve employed a few workarounds without actually trying to keyframe their movement yet. First is to let the last countdown door cover them up until they’re all through “the invisible door”. When there’s no countdown door as they enter/exit I’ve added a greenscreen red curtain effect that opens/closes to start/end the segment.


I have two other episodes in the works as well (a Mike and another Joel) but I don’t want to reveal them yet since I want the focus to be on Vol. 001 and celebrating this episode.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Thread moved to ITW. The Special Projects Forum is for approved projects by approved editors. Once your project is completed it can be submitted for review and listing on IFDB. Reach out via PM to staff with any forum questions. Happy editing!
 

Dwight Fry

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There's another downside: sometimes the shadows would physically interact with the images on screen, kissing the characters or picking their noses and so on. That'd be lost in a reframed version. Otherwise, cool project!
 

dkerin

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I like the idea of this! A fan of MST3K, and the Godzilla and Gamera ones were definitely some of my favorites. Yes, properly matting out the silhouettes could have its challenges! Cool idea.
 

asterixsmeagol

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This is a brilliant idea and your still images are beautiful!
 

SeaCom

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Thread moved to ITW. The Special Projects Forum I'd for approved projects by approved editors. Once your project is completed it can be submitted for review and listing on IFDB. Reach out via PM to staff with any forum questions. Happy editing!
Thanks DigiModiFicaTion. I got a little ahead of myself.
 

SeaCom

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There's another downside: sometimes the shadows would physically interact with the images on screen, kissing the characters or picking their noses and so on. That'd be lost in a reframed version. Otherwise, cool project!
Yeah, that's come up a few times in one of the other episodes I'm working on. I'm playing with zooming in and reframing the HD movie for those shots so hopefully they line up. A few moments actually fit perfectly, I guess because the cropped version they were watching was centered for those shots. And then there are a few I'm not sure I can fix.
I like the idea of this! A fan of MST3K, and the Godzilla and Gamera ones were definitely some of my favorites. Yes, properly matting out the silhouettes could have its challenges! Cool idea.
Someone on youtube has upgraded a couple of the Gamera films: Gamera vs Barugon and Gamera vs Gyaos . They're a little less refined than what I'm going for but I was very happy to come across them. And they announced Gamera vs Jiger for season 13!
 

addiesin

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And then there are a few I'm not sure I can fix.
This place is great for pooling suggestions and "bugfix" ideas. I'm sure we'd all love to help if you have any specific problem areas pop up.
 

thebutcher

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Looking good! I did pretty much the same thing for my MST3k edit, although I had clean silhouette footage from the end credits unlike VHS tapes! The workaround of the curtain is a good idea too, not too intrusive.

It also reminds me of the Youtube user who synched the MST3k audio to HD copies of the movies. I don't recall his name but I know his channel was deleted which is a shame.

You could crop Joel and the bots tighter around them rather than using the entire row of seats, then add a smooth silhouette of seats so there's less artefacts anywhere else than necessary.
 

SeaCom

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This place is great for pooling suggestions and "bugfix" ideas. I'm sure we'd all love to help if you have any specific problem areas pop up.
Thanks! I'm posting to incentivize myself to work through the issues. I have a cut assembled, there are just a few pieces I want to clean up before I consider it presentable. I'm just starting to dive into some of the technical forums.
 

SeaCom

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Looking good! I did pretty much the same thing for my MST3k edit, although I had clean silhouette footage from the end credits unlike VHS tapes! The workaround of the curtain is a good idea too, not too intrusive.
Thanks! That means a lot. Your extended cut of the Movie is my go-to version. Can I ask what software you were using?
It also reminds me of the Youtube user who synched the MST3k audio to HD copies of the movies. I don't recall his name but I know his channel was deleted which is a shame.
GaryInMotion! It's great to see these films in HD. Even better with the silhouettes there 😜
You could crop Joel and the bots tighter around them rather than using the entire row of seats, then add a smooth silhouette of seats so there's less artefacts anywhere else than necessary.
That's close to what I've done. I need to make a smooth set of seats and then I'd like to try upscaling the silhouettes once I've got everything clean and stabilized.
 

SeaCom

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After a a few computer issues (thankfully the project was backed up) and a lot of cleanup to the episode, I have a workprint ready. This should be the second-to-last version before release. Most everything's in place, there are just a couple fixes I need to make.

PM if you'd like to check it out. I'd like to get some extra eyes on it to tell me anything I've missed and provide an outside perspective on the whole experience watching it.

I'm also interested in possibly upscaling the SD silhouettes, but I only have the most basic of graphics cards. Any suggestions on upscale software that isn't so dependent on GPU? Or would anyone be willing to convert the footage for me? I may not even go this route since those SD silhouettes are pretty small in within the 1080 frame to begin with, but I'd like to see what kind of difference it makes.
 

INIGHTMARES

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I love it! I want I want I want! I'm a huge nerd for MST3K and RiffTrax
 

INIGHTMARES

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There's another downside: sometimes the shadows would physically interact with the images on screen, kissing the characters or picking their noses and so on. That'd be lost in a reframed version. Otherwise, cool project!
He could freeze the silhouettes while those scenes happen, losing the comedic affect, but not ruining the shot
 

INIGHTMARES

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How is this edit coming along? I really love this whole idea and goal as a huge MST fan.
 

Editzilla

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Sounds great, though you may want to seek out Kraken Releasing's Blu-Ray of Sea Monster instead since it's in better quality (slightly cropped on all sides though) and not sure about the movie itself being in widescreen.

You going to recreate the FVI credits with Son Of Godzilla as well?
 

SeaCom

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How is this edit coming along? I really love this whole idea and goal as a huge MST fan.
Thanks for checking in! I've had some computer trouble that's stalled my progress a bit, as well as being a lot busier with work, etc. than I was in December when I started this. Windows gave me a BSOD first in January, then again in March. Project files are all fine, though. They've been backed up. I was trying to salvage Windows, but ultimately just had to do a clean installed (again!)

So I'm finally able to get back to it, just need to prioritize it amongst some other things going on. And once I can get through this first one, the others should hopefully happen more quickly. In fact, they've already been started :)
 

SeaCom

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Sounds great, though you may want to seek out Kraken Releasing's Blu-Ray of Sea Monster instead since it's in better quality (slightly cropped on all sides though) and not sure about the movie itself being in widescreen.
I just looked into the Kraken blu-ray at your suggestion, but I don't think I'll be replacing the Criterion transfer. Some of the colors on the Kraken pop more, but there's a blue cast to the whole thing and it seems to have some light sharpening applied. Plus the cropping, like you said.




You going to recreate the FVI credits with Son Of Godzilla as well?
I thought briefly about recreating the FVI credits, but decided to use the Walter Reade titles instead once I found this recreation:


Since the Mystery Science Theater sits empty while the FVI credits play, we're not missing any jokes and I just thought the Walter Reade titles get things moving a lot faster. So like the curtains, it's a concession I made for this HD remaster that I figured might rattle some purists.
 
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SeaCom

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So INIGHTMARES, who has been a big help through all this, suggested using a different color curtain that better fits the MST vibe. I tried green and purple, but I'm still not sure either top the classic red curtains. But I get where INIGHTMARES is coming from.

So I'd like to put it to the group. Check out the sample video below and let me know which one you think works best. Are the green or purple more Forrester/Frank?
A little bit of the host segment is included for context. Audio for the curtain clips has been taken out so it's not so repetitive. I also threw on the countdown doors at the end for anyone curious to see how we enter/leave the new HD Mystery Science Theater.
 
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