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[Edit] Fundraising store is up! Not long ago I was in San Diego, rummaging through a storage space full of old film and wondering what I'd gotten myself into.  I'd been tipped off about an e-bay auction that no one had bid on, probably because the freight was too high. It was boxes upon boxes of 16mm and 35mm film, titles that had lapsed into the public domain, all of which had belonged to a distributor called Emerson Films. Emerson's properties were familiar to anyone that had watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 back in the day, and on the list a few familiars jumped out at me. Six copies of The Atomic Brain in 16mm. Hamlet in 16mm and 35mm. Two copies of Manos: The Hands of Fate (Wikipedia IMDB) in 16mm. "A piece of film history", I had thought only half sarcastically, not intending to do much about it. But the more I thought about it the more I was wanting to get back into 16mm collecting, which is a hobby that can have an enjoyable social side to it. Who doesn't like to host a movie night and show actual film? I e-mailed the seller and made an offer on a small slice of the collection, about what you'd expect to pay for two or three 16mm prints, and offered to pick them up. I'd decided that I'd like to own The Atomic Brain and Manos, assuming they were in good enough shape. I got a reply the next day: "You can have all the boxes... if you choose to eliminate some of them, so be it... (we are) moving to Florida on the 27th, and we don't want them to be part of the move." The following Sunday I was driving back from San Diego with my car completely stuffed, a bill of sale tucked onto my dashboard. In Los Angeles, I knew I could flip and sell the prints I didn't want, and more than break even. I had looked at a few reels on a loupe and found them in great shape, with no acidic odor. The one Manos reel I had been able to inspect was a little faded but otherwise good. Considering its rarity, it was well worth the trouble. I looked forward to checking out the others. When I got home, I found the other copy of Manos. Immediately I saw the label, which read "WORKPRINT".  And the leader, which had an alternate title I'd never heard of.  When I unwound a bit of the film, I noticed dual perfs and an immaculate Ektachrome image staring back at me.   It seems that, in a cost cutting measure, Manos: The Hands of Fate had been shot on 16mm reversal stock and edited using that same stock. From that, a 35mm blow-up internegative had been made and theatrical prints had been produced from that internegative in turn. Audiences at the time would have been watching a copy of a copy, and along the way cheap labwork had cropped the image and compromised the color. A VHS transfer made from this material after 30 years of wear and tear is the version most commonly seen, and it's no surprise that, compared to the workprint, it looks like you're watching it through a shower drain. Workprint:  DVD:  A common refrain I've heard is that without Joel and the Bots, the movie is "unwatchable", but I suspect a big part of that is the bad visual presentation that the movie has always had. When you divest Manos of its grimy, unpleasant patina, you are still left with an amateurish, weirdly edited, small town horror film. But with a clearer view of the production design (paintings, metalwork, and stone sculptures by Tom Neyman, a local artist who played The Master), the off kilter handmade world the film presents, and the shaggy but poppy Ektachrome photography by Robert Guidry, 45 years later Manos assumes a different identity as a fascinating bit of 1966 ephemera.    Here is a truly independent horror film from the 60's, a contemporary of 1962's Carnival of Souls and 1968's Night of the Living Dead. The main difference being, of course, that those movies came from career filmmakers Herk Harvey and George Romero, who had already made commercials and industrials and knew how a set should be run. Hal Warren, director of Manos, did not have that sort of experience and the deck was truly stacked against him. Although he had not yet infamously sold fertilizer- that would come later- he was a good salesman and was able to rustle up a reported budget of $19,000 (over $132,000 in today's money) to get his script made. His cast and crew worked for a "percentage" that never materialized.  If you yourself have ever been involved in an independent movie, Manos becomes somewhat poignant as you see evidence of the problems that have arisen and have been worked around or willfully ignored. Actors dropping in and out of the production, a broken leg that stranded two in a car for their entire screen time...  A lack of reliable electricity, which creates a murky, crudely lit effect at night and forces your photographer to spring-wind the camera when the motor can't be powered...  Animals that were unwisely written into the movie and refuse to cooperate...  It's all very relatable stuff. And because this is a movie where the artifices of filmmaking are constantly crumbling and being rebuilt, a little shakier every time, it holds a certain fascination to film buffs that places it above worse and more boring films (which there are no shortage of, then or now). Simply put, it's memorable. If you've seen it you'll remember Torgo and the Master. You'll remember the interminable driving that opens the movie, the weird squabbling of the Wives, the loungey soundtrack, the unconvincing dubbing, the Scorpio Rising-esque invocation of Manos, God Of Primal Darkness. All this in a film that's only 70 minutes and change.  So rather than have Manos fade away as a footnote with only a cruddy video transfer to remember it by, I've resolved to make it a personal project to restore it. I put up a simple website to share my project with friends, https://www.manosinhd.com and recently made it public. The very idea of seeing Manos on Blu-ray started as a joke but now has become something more real and, in a way, natural. Making a living as a cameraman I've become familiar with postproduction and the steps necessary to properly remaster Manos. The scans you see were made by me on a simple desktop scanner so I could better share the potential of this workprint- a professional motion picture film scan will look even better with far more dynamic range. The spare 16mm print will be used as a source of audio and as a reference to the movie as it was originally edited. The workprint has undergone a professional cleaning and been properly stored, and after I secure funds it will be captured in 2k to DPX files and given a touch of digital scratch removal with a PFClean suite. All the while I will be taking pains to preserve the original grain structure of the Ektachrome film (which in that era was quite prominent). In addition to making a digital restoration of Manos of sufficient quality to produce a new print or digital projection files, I will be creating a limited run Blu-ray and making the restoration available for repertory screenings. While I have no illusions that this film is for anything but a niche market, I also feel that if I don't restore it no one else will.  Film restoration is something that too often falls by the wayside in troubled economic times. Though it's doubtful I will change anyone's minds about Manos, I would like to send a message that every film, regardless of the place it holds in movie history, deserves a fair shot to be maintained and presented in the best way possible.  Although I hope and pray with every fiber of my being that 45 years from now I won't hobble over to my holocomputer and see a thread like this about Meet The Spartans. Ben Solo fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Sep 3, 2012 |
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Nov 23, 2011 04:33
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I'm back in my home town with my family for Thanksgiving, which of course means I spent all day with a pickaxe helping dig up a brick patio that needs redoing. Coming back to see the thread stickied and a whole lot of support like this really blew me away! Clearly I have shared this project with the right people. Since I started this I've met quite a few individuals who have been touched by Manos, such as the incredibly nice Jackey Neyman Jones, who played the little girl Debbie. As her father did all of the production design and acted, her dog Shanka played the Master's Hound, and her mother was the mysterious 'Jacqueline' in the credits, I feel like her family had a bigger stake in the film than even Hal Warren himself. It's been worth it to hear her reactions to the scans of her father's sculptures (none of which he was allowed to keep). I'm flattered that people feel this movie is Criterion worthy or even Synapse worthy and have tipped me off to lots of topnotch people to contact. The big question mark for me, and something I will be consulting more experienced people to answer, is whether the restoration of the workprint will be sufficient to earn a copyright as a work in its own right. The fact that the film is public domain is a turnoff for many legitimate distributors, who don't feel the investment into a restoration would have a sufficient return when anyone is able to duplicate and distribute the result. That's why I'm looking into releasing it myself. But to look at it another way: if Manos is in the public domain, it belongs to the public- you, me, and everyone. Any film student can use footage from it or remix it in any creative way they please. If the film belongs to the public, the public could and should have a hand in the restoration. Kickstarter seems like a good bet, but I need to line up some worthwhile incentives first because I estimate a minimum of $10k to bring us from raw materials to a Blu-ray (and yes, a DVD too). Egbert Souse posted:MST3K at least used a proper video master, probably made from one of the 35mm prints in Emerson's holdings. Confirming this because I also received an official Emerson NTSC video master on both reel-to-reel and beta. Even contacted Shout Factory about it because at the time their special edition Manos release was still forthcoming. Unfortunately I was a little too late and their discs had already gone to print. penismightier posted:So, wait, does the title screen in the print also say "Fingers (finggers) of Fate"? Noxville posted:This looks fantastic and I'll definitely be getting a copy of the Blu-Ray when it's done. How long are you expecting it'll take for the restoration? Egbert Souse posted:This needs to have new 16mm and 35mm elements created as backup, along with digital files. iCloud Strife posted:
CrimsonAuthor posted:Please do a kickstarter or something. I want in on this. Any chance you'll work on blus for some of the other movies too? Atomic Brain, Hamlet, etc? It's looking like a six month job from start to finish, unless something crazy happens. There is some damage that I haven't shown off that will require some real work with After Effects and PFclean. If there's any reason for me to look for a profit in this, it's so Manos can be transferred from 2k to 35mm film for preservation. That process will cost more than the entire rest of the project combined, so the 2k clean up / remaster comes first. Maybe selling Blu-rays and DVDs will be enough to foot the bill, but either way when I have something to show it will be easier to obtain the resources to secure the future of the film. Something Weird Video has a pretty clean DVD of The Atomic Brain derived from 35mm that beats anything I could do with my 16mms. However I do have the internegative of Hamlet, both the english language and german tracks, and a fine grain positive, along with similar elements for a Finnish film called Make Like A Thief that I can't seem to find on video. Unlike Manos they are all 35mm and when it comes to storage they are kind of an albatross around my neck. I'd like to do something with them, but at the moment restoring Manos is both more affordable and more appealing. I'll be putting the first post from this thread on my website when I get a chance, with some edits. Here I can talk a little more freely about opinions and hypotheticals (like exactly where Hal's budget might have gone), while there I think it's best to stay as neutral as possible, like Switzerland.
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Nov 24, 2011 04:02
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You're gonna get paid for redeeming Manos The Hands of Fate.
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Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a real distributor that could put this scruffy puppy I've adopted on the shelves at Best Buy, and there's every reason to believe it is possible. I just want to make it clear that I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to see this material turned into a Blu-ray of excellent quality that anyone can buy, even if I have to do it myself. I can't speak to exactly what is necessary in the U.S. to classify something as a distinct, derivative work of a film originally in the public domain, but it is a fascinating issue that I will look further into. I think it's safe to say, though, that the VHS transfer that can be bought on Alpha Video / seen on Archive.org / found as an extra on the Shout Factory DVD didn't come from nowhere- at some unclear time it was made by an individual or company (not Emerson) in the interest of making a profit, but a lack of legal protections resulted in it proliferating. I have no problem with Manos proliferating, but first I need the resources to secure its preservation- on film, not on hard drives. And before any of that, I'm going to concentrate on the restoration which is much more in my area of expertise. snipermonkey posted:Make like a thief (juokse kuin varas) is already digitised and archived by YLE, but YLE might be interested in any film you have, might be worth it to contact them. Nice! I would very much like to watch it and see if it's any good, but without a flatbed editor I doubt that will be possible (as the soundtracks I have are separate from the image). Egbert Souse posted:Here's the main title in vector format if you need it: Wow, did you just make that or did you... have it lying around? While I could vectorize and copy everything in the end credits, I think it'd be fun to make a font... of fate. Discount Viscount posted:Ben Solo, make sure to document and film the restoration process for a possible documentary, preferably edited to be a note-for-note parody of the one about the restoration of Metropolis. I should actually do this. Ever since I read Brownlow's great book about the making and restoration of Napoleon I've always wanted to be involved in restoring a silent film. Manos, having been shot silent, is the next best thing if you ask me.
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Nov 24, 2011 17:56
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ACRE & EQUAT posted:Also, I noticed that your site has an "outtakes" section. How exactly do you define an outtake for this movie? I don't intend to be misleading. "Outtake" refers to frames that I can't find an equivalent to in the PD version. There are a few instances where the very beginning or ending of takes have been left in the workprint, and you can see the slate or simply what looks like an idle actor (with 'Manos' it is a little hard to tell). It's difficult to say how much longer these bits and bobs make the movie without being able to project the workprint, but if no 'corrections' were made by me it could extend the runtime by anywhere from few seconds to a couple of minutes. Belteshazzar posted:I for one would love to see this preserved at archive.org eventually. I've been in touch with a good array of film scanning services and am basing my initial budget on an Arriscan 2k workflow- a very good scanner, and some models feature an infrared layer to assist in damage detection. If the fundraiser is more successful than expected, I want to upgrade to a DFT Scanity (which is the Rolls Royce of film scanners and costs twice as much as the Arri).
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Nov 28, 2011 02:32
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Sporadic posted:With Mike Nelson's appearance and Ben Solo's silence since, I hope that means some serious talks with Legend Films have started. Mike and Bill and I have gotten in touch, but that's all I think I should say at the moment. penismightier posted:Ebert just tweeted about this. This is the least likely part of this whole unlikely project! Wonder if he's seen Manos or if he just knows it by reputation? If only it were still possible to have one of his awesome DVD commentaries- but I guess I can only reread my copy of 'Your Movie Sucks' and dream... LP97S posted:The only problem I see with this is that the film doesn't have a soundtrack. Maybe that other 16mm print does and they can transfer it or something? Exactly, and since it isn't missing any footage at the beginning or ending it's not a bad source at all. Though I do have a lead about where to find a clean soundtrack IF it still exists... not gonna be easy though. JBark posted:If a short HD clip ever gets posted in the future after the scanning is complete, I'll probably force the guys here to run it through the conversion process, just to see how it turns out. Move over, Episode One! Y-Hat posted:Pressure's on, Ben Solo- important eyes are watching. I swear I won't undergo a meltdown before this project is finished like that gentleman who was restoring The Thief and the Cobbler.
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Dec 2, 2011 05:56
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Ballz posted:on “Manos in HD”. The gentlemen who owns the print and I have spoken at length. Barring any contract bog-downs, I am planning on funding his restoration. And tho he has a “working” print. I have legal possession of the “Originals” (all of them) and I also have 6 canisters of outtakes/edits/bonus mats! I had the idea to restore “Manos” in HD 2 years ago. Jackey Neyman-Jones (Debbie)sent me the link to the guy making “Manos HD”. So, I was like: WTF? (so was Hall Warren’s son, He is tired of everyone raping his dads creation, tho it was his own fault for not copyrighting the film). So, I approached the young man and since he is so passionate about the material, offered to fund the project. To that end, he is more focused on keeping the history alive, whereas I want to do something more. I plan on releasing a “special edition” of “Manos” w/ new footage, sound design, voice acting, edits, soundtrack…all from ideas from Hal Warren himself! (he had told his son of plans to do so). So, there will be an HD version of “Manos” and my “special edition” (for fun… I know this will piss off a lot of peeps, but… relax, lol). I will have cast commentary, interviews, and tons of fun features. Keep in mind, as I’ve said before… I am sharing all my profits w/ the original cast members and (in some cases) their families. I encouraged the young man to do the same… however, I don’t think he shares my vision/ethics in this. That could ultimately be a deal breaker. But, if he prefers to go it alone, I will still pursue this myself. I just prefer us to be working together. After all, I always try to work w/ people who are passionate for the material. Ok. Off to the desert. Peace~ Torgo Hmm. This guy (Rupert) has talked to me on the phone a few times but I really don't know where he got these ideas. I distinctly remember telling him that he would have to donate just like everyone else. He did offer me a  'percentage' for compensation though.
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Dec 2, 2011 18:55
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Quote is not edit...
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Dec 2, 2011 18:56
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I've got a meeting next week with someone here in Los Angeles that could mean very good things for the future preservation of Manos! It's a person I respect a great deal professionally, and I hope he likes what he sees (no, it's not a celebrity).Sir Lemming posted:There's something wonderful about the possibility of dueling Manos restorations. Full transparency time: when we were talking a little while back, Rupert and I did manage to agree that we're making two legally distinct projects. He's not interested in maintaining the original 1966 edition after all, but in copyrighting a new Special Edition of the original to supplant the old one, which anyone is legally free to attempt. Joe Warren, son of Hal, recently signed over the rights to his inherited Manos outtakes to Rupert's Special Edition (although this was sight unseen, and we don't know yet how long his outtakes are or what they consist of) and up till now they were just going to go with a budget HD transfer in Arizona, where Joe is. I did ask the two of them if I could negotiate a good 2k scanning session on their behalf and oversee the digitizing of whatever outtake footage they have, regardless of length, with no rights given or implied. That way I could at least go home satisfied that Joe's unique footage is preserved well. But if he won't bite, I'll have no choice but to drop the idea and end what little association we've had up to this point. Supercar Gautier posted:Hahaha, delusion confirmed. In his mind, your project is already his project. While I'm a tad bothered by this, and Rupert's refusal to use my name in association with my work, and his assumption that I'm cool with him using my publicly funded restoration as raw material for his Special Edition, I think this little etiquette problem is best resolved somewhere other than the internet. Assuming he isn't already running around El Paso with his Canon 7D, I'll be giving him a little phone call today. thunderspanks posted:If you ever look at actually re-dubbing dialog or otherwise toying with the production audio let me know. I am unfortunately being laid off from my current position as the sound engineer at a production company but I will still have access to their equipment and have been given the blessings of my now former employer to use it for any personal projects as long as it doesn't interfere with any of their productions. ADR, editing, mixing, location recording, the whole shebang. The first priority would definitely be some audio cleanup on the vintage materials we do have. Any chance you're in Los Angeles? I don't have PM here but if you're on the facebook group, message me. Brown Moses posted:Start taking donations for the project, and then do a fan dub as an additional soundtrack on the DVD/Blu-ray using all the people who made the largest donations. This is a beautiful, wonderful idea. Ben Solo fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Dec 2, 2011 |
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Dec 2, 2011 21:08
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Greasyfries posted:Ben Solo, you might want to try to work out a deal to have the film scanned on an Imagetrends Scanmaster 4000 I've actually been looking at the stats for this one. How would you say it compares to the DFT Scanity? Sir Lemming posted:It'd be nice for the proceeds to go to "Manos survivors", but we don't even know if there will be proceeds yet. It seems like the wrong thing to focus on at the moment. Right now it's just about having enough money to restore the movie. Angela Christine posted:I can see his point if someone were to make millions off the original film. The amount of profit the film is likely to generate isn't worth it though. Track down everyone in the credits, or their heirs, and send them what would probably work out to less than $20 each. All that effort and potential drama, for what will buy them dinner at Denny's. If I could I would, but I just won't promise something I can't deliver. The cost of new film preservation elements will almost certainly eat up any profit that is made, and even then I might be looking for supplemental funding. The film is 45 years old now and counting, and the fact that the camera original even still exists is incredible. To give Manos a full restoration, to find it new viewers, and to treat it like a notable film should be treated is how I am paying tribute to the work done by these people. As someone who mistakenly bought the Night of the Living Dead 30th Anniversary Edition back when it came out I believe the idea of a special edition is, to say the least, a mixed bag. While there's nothing wrong with someone having fun and experimenting with the film to make a whole new product (that's the beauty of Public Domain, after all) I do think adding modern production values to a vintage film and calling it 'official' will always create a great deal of cognitive dissonance. The collision between old and new is something that can either work in an artist's favor, like it does in Craig Baldwin's beautiful film amalgamations, or it can make you an object of ridicule like John Russo when he attempted to make his 'official' but now embarrassing and forgotten revisions to Night.
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Dec 5, 2011 00:36
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This project took me somewhere very cool yesterday... though I can't share the details just yet. I'm budgeting the fundraiser out right now and at the same time negotiating rates for resources to be used in the restoration. I want to make sure that every dollar donated goes as far as possible while also delivering as many incentives to the donor as I can. Some great people have come forward to help me out so far, and there's also something special I'd like to get that's worth a little extra wait time... though not too much. Also am working with someone to bring into play the same scanner that the Criterion Collection uses at a reasonable price. If this works out, it'll be an exciting time for anyone that loves both film restoration and absurdity.
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Dec 6, 2011 20:39
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But can Rob Schneider deflect perfectly good bullets with only a stare? Let's find out. Jigg posted:With the quality of that print, it almost looks like it could feel like a prototype for a David Lynch film. Egbert Souse's comparison to the look of Scorpio Rising is not far off, and the section with the invocation of Manos has that same sort of illicit feel, though I doubt anyone working on Manos had seen it (maybe Tom Neyman?). If anything, this has made me wish more regional, independent and outsider films from the 60's had survived (in spite of everything) in this condition. Great cinematographers Conrad Hall and William Fraker, for instance, shot the Esperanto language Incubus with William Shatner very early in their careers in 1966, but the only beat-up print that survives has french subtitles permanently burned on. It was nearly lost not because of bad film stock, but because of negligent archiving by distributors. I can't help but wonder when I shoot something digitally today if anyone will be looking out for its preservation down the road. I think in 50 year's time you'll be seeing a lot of 4k-shot movies that only survive in 1080p because a hard drive failed or an LTO tape wasn't copied in time.
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Dec 12, 2011 01:02
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EnsGDT posted:I just saw the NPR interview and I seriously can't believe that you're not only a goon, but you're a loving FSU film school grad. I'm currently an MFA second year It made the 11/10 report, but that was a little bit before things took off. I'll be giving her more updates soon. If you wanna shoot the breeze a little, I'm reachable on facebook. LP97S posted:I just hope that the sound-transfer from the other 16mm print is decent and that the Son of Manos or whatever people don't go crazy and do something dumb. I'm not sure I know what "gooned" up means... but it doesn't sound good, so I'll try to avoid it. My reference to how the final product should look is somewhere between the vivid color of the Kenneth Anger transfers and the accurate grain of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Blu. I want that nostalgic reversal film look to stay, since this is not a brand new movie and shouldn't pretend to be one. Now would probably be a good time to mention that I have been corresponding with Joe Warren, son of Hal Warren, in my search for better sound elements- the material he has in storage might just include what we need. If original audio elements still exist I'll find them, and recent adjustments to my budget should allow me to pay him (up front) for their use.
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Dec 13, 2011 06:51
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Egbert Souse posted:The prospect of reconstructing the soundtrack from the original recordings sounds interesting. A lot of restorations tend to resort to worn prints as a sound source, even when the original negative is used for the picture. While I don't know exactly what we'll find (Joe's apparently got plenty of film cans but they aren't all well-labeled) I'm optimistic. We can at least compare his materials and mine to come up with the best audio source possible. Greasyfries posted:While you're at it, could you confirm with Joe Warren whether or not that Torgo Lives kook actually did end up with the original camera reversal of the film? Rupert doesn't own any film himself, but he made a deal for rights to use some of Joe's materials and outtakes in his special edition. From what I can tell Joe has the 35mm blow up internegative which should be an okay source of video if it hasn't faded, but it's likely to still be cropped. His outtakes, if they aren't duped, would be on original Ektachrome like my materials. They are planning to redo the entire soundtrack with new music (by Rupert), foley, and voice actors. Armyman25 posted:Interesting bio for the actor who played the cop: By all accounts he also did the legal paperwork for Manos.
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Dec 19, 2011 21:01
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Thank you everybody for your enthusiasm! I gave the fundraiser all of January since I thought everyone was going to be a bit cleaned out after the holidays. Getting 45% pledged over the weekend was a very pleasant surprise. I took Brown Moses' suggestion about a special audio track with donors tackling the dialogue... I figure they deserve a few fun easter eggs in their honor. The ones on the rewards list right now are just what I know I can do offhand- there might be a few more ways I can show my appreciation as the project progresses. Instant Grat posted:On the $50 level, would it be possible to get both a digital download and a blu-ray? This is something I will address further down the line, but I can work something out with anyone who wants both digital and physical delivery. I will be contacting everyone to discuss fulfillment and special requirements (for instance, if your internet is patchy and you need the download on a disc or USB). Ballz posted:Edit: Hey Ben, might I suggest updating the OP with a link to the kickstarter? And someone with more Photoshop talent than me should consider making a banner ad or two we can link to this thread, especially now that the fundraising ball is rolling. Will do, Ballz! I'll have no access to Photoshop for a few days, but banners are on my to do list. And anyone with more graphic sense than me is welcome to whip one up too. Ballz posted:Wow... someone actually pledged $1,000. Happy Noodle Boy posted:I haven't seen this level of goon support for a film since Swap.avi That wasn't a goon, that was Bryan Jennings, son of the man who played the sheriff! And a pretty nice guy, it looks like.
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Dec 26, 2011 08:33
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I'm really blown away here! The initial goal was met and then some in only one long weekend. Manos in HD will no longer be hypothetical, but very real, very soon. Both my website and Kickstarter provide me with a list of referrers, by the way, so trust me when I say that this could never have happened without you- all of you- in this thread. I have a lot of work ahead, plenty of progress left to share, and a month of additional fundraising left, but it's not too early to thank you all for adopting this shaggy dog along with me. MisterBibs posted:To get the 10k, all Ben needed was to find 200 people willing to spend 50 bucks for a high-res restored copy of Manos: The Hands Of Fate. When looked at from that angle, that's not very hard. This is a film that is one of the iconic shows of a cult classic, whose descendants (well, Rifftrax) are borderline mainstream. To be specific, donors at the $50 level and above get a copy of the Blu-ray early, a pin, a special 'Manos Restoration Team' t-shirt and their name in the credits. There were many logistical and budgetary factors that kept me from placing the Blu-ray at the $25 level, but I've still tried to make it the best deal I could. It's not pledging money just for a Blu-ray, really, but for the restoration required to make that disc exist. Now that the disc is really going to happen, more donations will allow me to make a better Blu-ray. Dissapointed Owl posted:I wish I had 500 dollars to blow on this. A 16mm print of a restored Manos? Holy crap. I really wish I could offer this... the 16mm film print reward is not Manos, but another movie from my collection. Donors will choose from a list of titles at fulfillment time, first donated first served. Odds are good it'll be an Emerson Films print, too... Egbert Souse posted:Great work - although, I'm hoping there's more than enough so that 35mm preservation negative is created, along with the other necessary film-based materials. You and me both! I had thought that the preservation negative (the fantastically expensive end goal of this entire project) would have to be funded by a combination of proceeds from disc sales and if possible a grant to speed the process along. Any further donations from here on will help make the film-out a reality much, much sooner.
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Dec 27, 2011 08:29
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Greasyfries posted:Will the preservation negative be printed optically from the 16mm materials, or a film-out from digital files on an Arrilaser or something? If I could do this restoration photochemically, I would. But with the kind of damage we're correcting the work will have to be done digitally, meaning it'll be a 2k to film-out. It's too bad that wetgate scanning isn't common since it would save plenty of hours of labor, but infrared detection is the next best thing. Probably Infected posted:Generally speaking, how much does the creation of the preservation negative run? It's hard to say since prices are always changing and I'm still looking around, but good laser 2k to film-outs are in the ballpark of $40-50,000. Getting a negative made is the hard part though, since new 35mm prints are not comparatively expensive to strike. HKR posted:shipping should be included. Correct. Donors overseas might have to work out shipping options with me, though, depending on rewards chosen and how fast they would like fulfillment. When in doubt, message me on Kickstarter.
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Dec 29, 2011 22:01
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Annakie posted:This is probably a "who cares" thing, but this is on the internet because in like 1995 I went to UT El Paso and spent about 20 hours digging around microfilm editions of the El Paso Times until I found these ads and the original review that was written up about the official premiere of the movie. I didn't even have access to a scanner at the time or any way to host images, so I mailed them to one of the bigwigs of the MST3k fan community and he touched them up and put them on his website. Someone at some point added the color. You're the one who put those on the internet back in the day!? Well we definitely owe you. In addition to being really cool, those scans were the only 'poster' for the film and the best evidence of when, where and how the movie was released for quite a while. Vincent posted:Ben would it be possible to get some prints or something to that effect of certain frames? I might sell made-to-order Lambda digital C-type prints on the website after the fundraiser is done and we have our raw 2k scan to work with. I want to see if it's possible to devise a system where you could request literally any frame from the film as a print. In the meantime one of my fundraising rewards (at the $500 level) will be a nicely printed book full of choice frames, also from the 2k files. While I don't want to detract from the value of the photo book, I suppose it's possible to deliver a few select frames digitally to donors under a creative commons license, and allow people the freedom to print professionally, photoshop, make a wallpaper or whatever they might want to do. It might be a nice low-level reward for people who didn't want to spring for the whole package... what do you guys think? bobkatt013 posted:Torgo's hand is burned There's no point in mentioning this, but I really wanted to make one of the low-level donation incentives a flipbook of Torgo's hand getting blown off and him running away waving the flaming stump. Unfortunately it wasn't cost-effective, so I had to scrap the idea... well, a man can dream...
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Jan 7, 2012 02:50
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DEAD MAN'S SHOE posted:I would guess the people making the sequel are worried that it 'dilutes the brand' that they have already thrown money at. Which is quite silly - shared publicity helps reach many more people. At least with Kickstarter you don't need to worry about being screwed over in your projects. As one of the sequel cast told me when he donated, "a rising tide floats all boats", and I agree. DEAD MAN'S SHOE posted:Does anyone know how they are restoring Manos: The Hands of Fate? The restoration Rupert refers to is actually a 'Special Edition' package and the main feature will be a revisit of the movie from the ground up overseen by Joe Warren. The Special Edition will have a modified script, new voice acting, new editing, new music, new footage from original outtakes, and possibly added visual effects. The score will be written by Rupert, who does incidental music for reality TV shows for a living (his credits include 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'). The Special Edition, unlike the original film, can be copyrighted and therefore will finally make it possible for Joe, and Rupert, to profit from 'Manos'. If I had accepted Rupert's original proposal, my restoration would have been included on the disc as an extra feature. I only have a little information about their work because the project is so secretive, but it is very likely Joe has a 35mm blow-up internegative for them to work from. This would be a pretty good source for video, although it might contain all the optical problems of the original labwork (cropping and defocusing). If he has outtakes, they are probably Ektachrome like my materials and would look very nice. One thing that concerns me: I haven't gotten a straight answer about how Joe's film has been stored. Joe lives in Arizona, so if the film was kept in the attic or in a self-storage unit for 45 years the reels might be salad dressing by now. I do know they were only planning to transfer Joe's film into HD, not 2K, at a company in Arizona. So I've offered to broker a deal to transfer Joe's materials into 2K alongside mine here in Los Angeles, with no rights given or implied to me. I figure if Rupert really had the money to fund my restoration as he has claimed, he can more than afford to foot the bill for Joe's scanning at a lower price than he'd pay for HD. BooDoug187 posted:So the other rear end in a top hat says Joe Warren isn't involved... yet he is letting Ben check out his films and helping with the sound track... His remarks in Fangoria were likely made back in mid November, before the fundraiser or my talks with Joe Warren. Rupert's efforts have succeeded in slowing down my negotiations with Joe, at least for the moment. With a little luck and fan support, I think I can convince Joe that I'm not the competition and that both projects can coexist in the end. We'll see what he says...
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Jan 8, 2012 00:44
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wheatpuppy posted:Am I the only one who saw this as an Not at all, it was one of the first things Rupert told me about himself and he seemed very proud of the fact. Ballz posted:It should be abundantly clear by now that your plans and Rupert's plans with Manos are quite different and both can quite easily co-exist. It sounds like Rupert wants to go all Star Wars Special Edition with his project, and that's totally fine. Absolutely. I have no problem with the idea in principle, especially if it gives Joe Warren a film to call his own at the end of the day. I'm curious to see what they come up with. For my part, I just want to focus on preserving the film as it was made in 1966, which is already a monumental and expensive undertaking. It is not as simple as transferring the movie to a hard drive and slapping it on a Blu-ray. There will be many, many hours of labor ahead as we clean up each frame, color correct, edit, fix up the audio, and so on. And while I don't exactly require Joe Warren's input to create a satisfactory restoration, I definitely want it. If he brings some good audio elements to the table then it would be well worth it to compensate him accordingly.
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Jan 8, 2012 05:45
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We're getting close to the midpoint of the fundraiser. I can't believe that we're already within spitting distance of $25,000! To properly say thanks, I'll be working on a special treat over the weekend that everyone can enjoy...Annakie posted:I've only had time to do two pages but they're scanned in 300dpi. Again, we're working with 14 year old paper printed off 40+ year old newspapers. I hope this is useful for the project or for anyone who wants to do something with them: Amazing! It's great to finally see these newspaper articles in a form other than the same low-res files that have been passed around for so many years.
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Jan 12, 2012 04:58
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Annakie posted:Thanks! I hope you don't think I'm hijacking the thread with all this! Not at all! This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping would pop up when I posted this thread.The t-shirt designer I'm working with went nuts over the newspaper ad when I showed it to him. He wants to vectorize the movie's ad logo- I'll be sure to post it when he does. Remember when I said I was working on a special treat? Well here's a little preview: an image you're all familiar with, now in startling 2k straight from the Scanity:  [edit] Oops, Imgur compresses these things... better quality here. Ben Solo fucked around with this message at 10:51 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 05:06
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Wow, we've got enough comparisons in here now to make your head spin! When I saw the first 2K images come up and could finally see Margaret's freckles, I knew I was in for a treat. The MST print is 'better' because it did in fact come from Emerson Films (and I have what I think is the same transfer on Betacam SP). The Alpha / Shout Factory release apparently comes from a collector's print, and is riddled with splices and cuts. Young Freud posted:Ben, in what ratio are you going to present the finished restoration? It's obvious that previous versions cropped the hell out of the print and, since we're talking about the necklace, it would be a shame for stuff like that to get cut out. What you see here is about how I would like to present it: the full frame from edge to edge. This will require a slight windowbox on the home video, but I think it's worth it. There will be a side effect of this choice, though- full frame will allow you to see the occasional bit of debris printed on the edge of the image that came from dirt or hair in the film gate during shooting. Since those are notoriously difficult to remove digitally and were, after all, always present on the film, I'm thinking it might be best to leave the majority of them in. The same goes for light leaks from the camera, which are sometimes visible on the right edge of frame. I'll bring the image as close as possible to how it looked right out of the camera, but I won't make any revisions to the image itself- none of the huge moths that wander into frame will be digitally removed while we're at it.
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Jan 15, 2012 22:25
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It's no coincidence that this particular reel (which amounts to 1/7th of the film) was chosen for the first scan: it's in the best condition of the bunch. It is visually representative of the quality we will aim for during our digital clean-up, and believe me, some sections of the film will really need those extra donations to properly cover the labor involved in fixing them up. When I post some test clips soon you'll be seeing an image that is more or less raw, with uncorrected damage, and synched up to the public domain soundtrack. Not ideal, but if you could see what I'm seeing here you'd want to share it too!Egbert Souse posted:The flatbed scans were nice enough, but I'm genuinely surprised by the crispness of the Scanity work. It's like every grain was captured intact. This is going to be demo material for Blu-Ray. Not to imply that one specific scanner can automatically make things look great, but in experimenting with the resulting files I can see that there is tremendous latitude for us to work with, plus damage information already in the alpha channel that will save us a great deal of time later. It's no wonder Criterion likes this scanner so much for archival elements that exist in poor shape, like Island of Lost Souls. Fortunately Manos is only around 70 minutes or so, which means we can be fairly generous with the bitrate of the Blu-ray. It will take a bit of testing, I'm sure, to determine which codec will treat the grain the best.
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Jan 16, 2012 09:03
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I like the transcriptions, those might just come in handy! I'm putting together the scene with Debbie and the Hound to post later this week, and even I'm not 100% sure what the hell she's saying. Her voice really goes to town on your eardrums...knife_of_justice posted:I agree that the interrogation scene is totally incomprehensible. I guess the real Debbie must have feigned illness, or discovered boys or something before they got a chance to record the soundtrack. Apparently copies of the script exist (Bernard Rosenblum has it I think, according to 'Torgo Lives') so that could clear up any discrepancies. In a conversation on facebook recently, Jackey Neyman Jones and Bryan Jennings confirmed that all of the female voices (even Diane Mahree) were done by a single professional voice-over actress in Dallas who had never been on the actual set. I'm guessing she was paid by the hour, not by the character... More voice surprises: the cop (William Bryan Jennings) is actually reading his own lines, which is hard to believe considering how much he and Hal sound alike. He was the main producer / lawyer on the film and was naturally present at the recording session. Torgo's voice is done by Tom Neyman in a reasonable imitation of John Reynolds' actual performance. So there are only four actors in total: Unknown female, Warren, Neyman, and Jennings. feedmyleg posted:Maybe after all this is settled, we'll have a great audio track from that other guy, an amazing visual track from Ben, and then we can al lay the MST3K soundtrack over it and get the best possible version. Clean, original sound elements are ostensibly in the possession of Joe Warren, the son of the director, and no one else (with the possible exception of the score's composers, but they're MIA). Rupert is licensing whatever footage he is going to use directly from Joe, so there's no reason I can't do the same for audio. Keep in mind I haven't laid eyes on any of it yet, but what Joe Warren supposedly has is an original 16mm optical audio master and, I'm told, a box of Nagra tapes. What's on them? That's what I intend to find out. The 16mm audio track I already have to work with is way ahead of the PD version in quality, but I can't ignore a potentially good alternative source like this one. It might still sound like a Blind Lemon Jefferson recording, but we'll see... Ben Solo fucked around with this message at 10:50 on Jan 25, 2012 |
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Jan 25, 2012 10:48
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Magic Hate Ball posted:I love that he pulls a gun on his own daughter. I also love that she's obviously voiced by an adult doing the worst impression of a child ever. What I wouldn't give to edit this film... I also can't help but wonder if a better (Lynchian?) sound design could make the film more engaging even without cuts. That's beyond the scope of this project, but it'd be an interesting / challenging experiment. It should be said, though, that when you watch 'Manos' from a print it somehow seems to go by pretty fast. Another good argument for a film-out. Aatrek posted:Okay, so this one took a while. Fantastic! Mind if I put this on the Tumblr? hyperhazard posted:Well, that's it. You forced me into it. I don't mind at all, it was a tasteful nod! The clips I've posted so far are Creative Commons'ed and I'm interested seeing what might happen.
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Jan 28, 2012 02:40
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hyperhazard posted:Congrats on your place of honor! http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/manos-restoration-project.php That would explain why this happened on Kickstarter:  Did I mention you guys are the best? Detroit Q. Spider posted:Sorry if this has already been covered but - how is this different from the normal edit process? I kinda figure you'd edit on a safety copy and the actual theatrical prints would be a couple of generations out. It's not far off, but most workprints at the time would have just been a black and white dupe. What we have to work with here is a combination of honest-to-goodness original camera material and nice reversal dupes. A lucky break, because it means this Ektachrome workprint is an accurate representation of the original image. I think it's likely that the film was edited at a TV station by someone who was accustomed to handling local news footage as-is. In the workprint, the only shot in black and white is the stock footage of the Rattlesnake. It'll have to be sourced from the theatrical print unless I can figure out where it originated (some claim it's from a Disney nature film, but that might just be a rumor). Count Chocula posted:I just read the front page. OP, if you'd like to have the film shown in Australia when its been restored please let me know. I'm friends with people who run both the Mu Meson Archives (http://mumeson.org/), a tiny cinema that shows b-movies and old films, and the Chauvel Cinema (http://www.palacecinemas.com.au/cinemas/chauvel/) (which does something similar). Sounds great! Contact me via Kickstarter or at master(at)manosinhd.com.
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Feb 1, 2012 06:23
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Pledges have all officially been collected! We only had 5 people whose payments failed completely, but from what I understand that's pretty good for Kickstarter.Jerusalem posted:I honestly cannot read these closing lines without immediately hearing the ecstatic wooping/cheering/laughter of every single audience I've ever seen this movie with. The horrific ending just fills me with so much joy, this movie is so loving awful and the promise that this dreadful nonsense continues on in a never-ending cycle of new Torgos is just so delightful. You've summed it up beautifully. Egbert Souse posted:FYI, I work for a company that produces pins if you want a price quote. Sure, I'm always up for comparing- message me via the Kickstarter if you can. And I really, really wish I could speak freely about what is happening with Rifftrax, but there's still a lot of back-and-forth left to do, not to mention a lot of film to scan...
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Feb 14, 2012 11:32
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Gherkin Jerkin posted:I'm hoping that as this project nears it's completion, word will spread to a broader audience. I just heard about this today, but with no timeline announced it's going to be tough to keep my new-found enthusiasm. If it helps, Screem magazine is doing an article on us and there might be some more podcasts down the road. It's a touch harder to find time to promote while we're actually working on it, but I'll do my best to stay visible. When it's done I'll also be looking into university / film club screenings and festivals... anything that gets large groups watching Manos in the same room is totally OK in my book. My goal is to have it screenable by late summer. If a distributor picks us up, the discs might take longer than expected to fulfill but the quality of the whole package would go through the roof- a fair trade, in my opinion. Ballz posted:Speaking of updates, Ben just posted this on the Facebook page: This beaut of a lapel pin was designed by CineD's very own Egbert Souse. Hire this man! On a similar note, T-shirts are also being finalized right now, and the design should be posted in a day or two. They'll be printed by Stuart at Vacord Screen Printing, who you might know from his occasional SA banner ads. He's been very communicative and worked within our budget to make sure we could have both male and female sizes available rather than just unisex. I can't wait to see the results. Midnight Raider posted:I hope after all is said and done there's still SOME kind of merchandise besides the movie itself that us who were too late to donate can snag. Even just a mini-poster or something. While getting the restoration finished is my first priority and distributing the Blu-ray with some good extra features is the second, I'd like to do more fun merchandise. Expect 'em to pop up closer to the release date.
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Mar 23, 2012 09:37
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Vincent Van Goatse posted:Hey Ben, whatever happened to that alternate audio track idea and do you need guys to voice it still? No one donated the amount required to initiate this reward, so it's no longer planned. If they had, we'd have used the top ten donors based on pledge amount and pledge date as our voice actors. There'd have definitely been men in women's roles, and the donor in last place would have been stuck with the role of the dog. I'll put those resources to good use elsewhere on some very classy extra features, including an informative audio commentary with as many people involved in the original movie as I can get. LaptopGun posted:In hindsight, the timnetable for the Manos restoration and transfer for the hypothetical theatrical release probably required perfect and fast execution. Neither of those go together. Now when it comes to the eventual home release of the live show, I wonder if Mike and Co. would sync a version for Ben's restoration. That's pretty much it. The Rifftrax Live events are a big undertaking and must be planned and written far in advance on a very tight schedule. Meanwhile, the Manos restoration has to be rebuilt from the ground up editorially, damage and sound cleaned up, color corrected, and so on. Everyone involved did everything possible to iron out the logistics, but it became clear that our respective timetables for completion would not and could not line up. Though I'm disappointed the restoration won't be simulcast in all its eye-searing glory live across the country, everybody at Rifftrax was nothing but nice to me and in the end I think it's better that no one had to compromise the quality of their respective work. Mike, Bill, Kevin and company are bringing all their skills to this event and I look forward to watching them to knock it out of the park. For my part, I'm thinking that if the total running time of the restoration differs from the theatrical in any substantial way, we could work with them to arrange a downloadable version of their Riff that can be played along in the usual fashion. One way or another, we'll make it possible to enjoy the Blu-ray with the guys that got us all fixated on Manos in the first place.
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Apr 1, 2012 06:22
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 Courtesy of Egbert, here's a peek at the final pin fresh from manufacturing! mod sassinator posted:drat that is impressive, the mark is gone but nice grain is still there. It's mainly a process of comparing the information from frames before / after the damage. Not always perfect (it can't help persistent vertical scratches) but with a bit of supervision it can be extremely useful, especially for locked off shots. It's one of those restoration innovations that's simple in theory but only recently became available to projects on our budget... another example of the stars aligning to save Manos.
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Apr 17, 2012 03:33
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Sporadic posted:The fact that they are cleaning up a print from a private collector themselves in-house makes me think that Ben and Rifftrax/Legend Films couldn't come to terms (or that this was already in progress for awhile at Legend Films and they didn't need Ben's print) Nothing sucky about it! While it's not a vibrant ektachrome, I know that the source they're using is a good uncut theatrical print. It won't be hard for it to blow the previous versions we've seen out of the water (you'd never want to see the Archive.org version on a giant screen) but the restoration is still so much of a step up that the notion of 'competition' doesn't even factor in. Instead, it's much more about enabling a healthy coexistence. I don't speak for Rifftrax on the business side of things, but even during our talks I knew that it made the most sense for them to a) strike while the iron was hot and b) use a ready-made theatrical source. Very little prep work will be required, audio is already in sync (as much as Manos audio can be), and it is undeniably public domain. No matter how the restoration itself will be distributed or made accessible, Rifftrax won't have to worry about their rights lapsing further down the road. At the end of the day a public domain print, synched to their riff, can be distributed in far more ways and seen by many more people. It's to their credit that they made a sincere effort to use the restoration despite the potential restrictions it could have placed on them. As long as people are still being entertained and new audiences are being exposed to the 'joys' of this film, everyone benefits. Just as I don't see Manos as belonging exclusively to me, bringing the film to more viewers is a collective effort that we all play a part in, mainly just for the thrill of doing so. The new riff, just like the restoration (and long-term preservation) of the film, is still a direct result of the tremendous interest shown in this thread and on the internet at large- a double victory for all of us.
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Apr 19, 2012 00:39
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Ballz posted:It's been too long since a post was made here. Guess I'm just looking for any kind of status report, being the impatient little weenie that I am. Things going easier than expected so far, Ben? Harder? About the same? The work is moving along nicely! Reel 3 has had a trial color correction pass done on it and I'll be reviewing it tomorrow. For my part, I'm laying out the edit and seeing what minor differences exist in the work print compared to the theatrical. Also will be trying to determine if the scenes shown in the end credits consist of outtakes or shots that already exist in the edit. This'll determine if we can recreate them from scratch or not. LtKenFrankenstein posted:Does anyone know if Ben still checks the Kickstarter? I just sent him a message there because I'm changing addresses soon and was hoping to get my DVD/Shirt sent to the new one. As of today, I'm officially caught up on address updates. I'll send along messages via kickstarter to confirm it. Welcoming me home today were ten massive boxes from Vacord:  As of now, all of the pins for $10 backers have been sent. People who've donated at the $25 level or above will have their pin / t-shirt delivered within the next month, ahead of the rest of their incentives (posters must be shipped in tubes, and the discs will be shipped last of all).
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Jun 1, 2012 01:42
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Ron Burgundy posted:As a fellow film collector, finding something like this would be a dream come true. The sorry state of film preservation is such that many things we collect will invariably be rare, but I have nothing with anywhere near the cache of Manos. When acquiring films, I always thought about what I'd do if I ever found anything truly one-of-a-kind. As luck would have it I found a one-of-a-kind turkey, but restoring it has been a total joy. Another nice thing: more restorations of rare public domain films are starting to pop up! Just recently a trio of lost H.G. Lewis films were successfully funded for restoration on Kickstarter (http://kck.st/KtKMIc). Finally we'll all get to find out the truth about Black Love. I've got even more appreciation now for the incredible archival properties of film. After 45 years on a shelf we can pick up and view even the cheapest old b-movie today, clean it up as well as our budget permits and release it. Meanwhile, I have no assurances that any of the digital material I helped shoot this year will be properly taken care of for even a decade. CaptainViolence posted:Just got my shirt and pin today, they're pretty awesome! I will wear them with pride. Good to hear! The shirts weren't really supposed to ship until July, but I wanted to get started early in case anyone wanted to wear 'em to Comic-Con. Also, packaging and mailing them is a one-man operation so it felt like a good idea to begin now. Let me take this chance to ask- would anyone be interested in buying a 'Master' shirt with proceeds going directly to Tom and Jackey Neyman, AKA The Master and Debbie?
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Jun 14, 2012 08:23
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Ensign_Ricky posted:Follow up question that just occurred to me today. Torgo's knee prostheses are worn correctly, but the costume just lacks any other details to sell the Satyr effect. Here's a picture of Pan. You can see how if you put a pair of pants on him and gave him shoes, he'd look sorta like Torgo. But he'd also look kinda ridiculous (like Torgo). I've scrutinized every long shot and I can't say for sure if Torgo's got proper fake hooves or just black shoes, but either way they don't register well on film. Why they didn't just spirit gum some fake horns on under his hat and make a big reveal of it later on? I'll be sure to ask the Neymans when I get a chance, but I can guess right now that the answer is either "budget" or "directorial indifference".
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Jul 1, 2012 07:00
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RagingBoner posted:Ben, I pastebinned the transcript that was made earlier in the thread. Hope it helps! This will help a lot! I wonder if the shooting script looked as monosyllabic as this does on the page? Presto posted:At what point should I start worrying if I haven't gotten my shirt/pin? Not yet, unless you changed your address and didn't tell me... that could be a problem. Glass Joe posted:Depends on how much you contributed I think. If you put in $50 for the Blu-Ray/DVD, I think you'll get yours with the movie itself? I dropped the single-package plan when the Rifftrax Live event was announced. Enough people wrote me about wanting to wear one or the other to the event that I decided to ship the shirt and pins immediately all across the board. One little side effect of this is that packaging, postage and delivery are still going on right now as I work my way towards the bottom of the list (yes, I'm personally packing everyone's stuff). I bought a Dymo thermal printer and software to help organize the whole process- the ability to print postage really streamlined things. Here's a shady-looking box full of poly mailers with postage ready to go:  Shipments go out in batches three times a week via First Class mail, and we're still on track to have them all delivered in time for the Rifftrax Live Event. The posters and discs are going to be comparatively faster to ship since sizes aren't involved.
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Jul 15, 2012 08:37
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RagingBoner posted:What method of shipping has everyone's stuff come? USPS, UPS, FedEx, Pony Express, Kevin Costner as The Postman...? USPS First Class mail, in a poly mailer that should fit into most mailboxes. Unfortunately, that means they aren't trackable, but you should have yours in hand by the first week of August.
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Jul 24, 2012 19:32
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Geekner posted:If you look, there might be a Hong Kong postal tracking number. If you pull up the status on their site, it'll tell you when the package hits the US. From there it was about a week before I got my package. Not sure what you mean by this, everything's being sent from my local post office in Los Angeles.
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Jul 25, 2012 03:43
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The El Paso screening of the work in progress went great! I was able to forget the little sections here and there that still needed fixing and just enjoy it for once as a movie with a crowd. It played very well, and I'm glad that the audience found the awkward edits as consistently entertaining as I do. After communicating online and over the phone for months, this is the first time I've actually met Jackey Neyman Jones (AKA Debbie) in person. She's a delightful person to spend time with, very much an open book and with many great stories to tell. The change of venue from the restored movie palace to the ballroom was an unfortunate necessity (as luck would have it, this brought us only a few feet away from where the original premiere had been), but since this was just a work-in-progress screening I wasn't too bothered by it. If they want to exhibit the film again in the future, I'll make sure that El Paso gets it. The ballroom at first made the event feel a little like a Bar Mitzvah gone weird, and I'm definitely not used to moderating a Q&A, but pretty soon we all got into the swing of things and the audience (many fresh from the Rocky Horror showing) brought a tremendous amount of energy to the evening. I'm sure the fact that the hotel set up a bartender in the corner didn't hurt! Xenomrph posted:Edit-- should the pin have come with the shirt, or is it mailed separate? Because all I got was the shirt. The pin is in a little baggie and should be folded into the center of the shirt when you get it, but check the remnants of your mailer. A couple of people e-mailed me only to find that they dropped their pin on the floor near where they opened it, or located it stuck in a corner of the package. If you still don't find the pin, message me via Kickstarter! I'm visiting with family now but will be able to send along a new one when I get back to Los Angeles. The shirts and pins of all U.S. backers should be in the mail, as well as most internationals. Some internationals are left that needed special attention, as they have addresses that require double checking on my end (or involved special characters that my labeler didn't want to display). Any backer who is able to attend a Rifftrax live showing should have the option of wearing their shirt- if you don't get it by then, write me via Kickstarter.
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Aug 7, 2012 18:59
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Ballz posted:The Can't go into too much detail, but I know exactly where last night's print came from and it wasn't the sequel guys. Although Rifftrax was nice enough to save my group a great set of seats at the Belcourt, I never requested to promote the project at the Rifftrax screening. I thought that shilling for the Restoration would have been a confusing fit for the evening's entertainment if it wasn't being shown. I don't much mind- if anyone Googles 'Manos', they'll find me quickly enough. Crocuta posted:I think Rupert wants to promote his restoration over Ben's. I look forward to seeing the first screenshot or clip from his "restoration", especially since he claims to have had a two year head start on me. Rupert Munch is not his real name, by the way.
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Aug 18, 2012 00:17
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side of me speculates the Manos print used in the riff came from Rupert himself, and some of the conditions he put in place to allow the Rifftrax guys to use it were that no mention of the Manos restoration could be made and that they must plug his sequel.
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Personally, I loved Rifftrax's treatment of the film. Though I've had to watch the film many times over in the course of this project, Thursday night was like seeing 'Manos' through fresh eyes. The baggage carried by the old jokes quickly fell away and we were back to enjoying it as the truly perplexing film discovery that it is. Though it wasn't the restoration, if you went to the screening you saw a transfer of an honest-to-god vintage print with character, true to what you might have experienced in a 1966 Texan drive-in. As prints for this title are extremely scarce (I only know of three in existence) I'm glad things worked out to begin with. By the way, here's a peek at the trio of shirts that'll be available for pre-order starting this week. I had a limited quantity of these printed for the El Paso showing as a special treat and was happy to see so much positive feedback. Hope you'll like them- any suggestions or comments are welcome before they go public.  The much-requested "Hands" T-shirt. Believe me, I looked into making a snuggie and it just wasn't as cost-effective.  A modified Torgo shirt (without the 'Restoration Team' text) for those who missed out the first time around. Excising the text gave us room for a larger graphic and the underlying shirt has been changed from 'Tan' to 'Old Gold'. All proceeds from the above shirts will support the printing of a new preservation negative. Finally:  The Master himself, authorized by the Master himself! "Sinister" isn't descriptive enough: the image on this one is huge and extremely impressive. Proceeds from the 'Master' shirt will go straight to Jackey Neyman Jones (Debbie) and Tom Neyman (The Master). It'll be the first profit of any kind they have seen from this film. Ben Solo fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Aug 20, 2012 |
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Aug 20, 2012 23:29
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