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Uncle Boogeyman
Jul 22, 2007

having finally watched the restoration, i've come around to kind of loving Manos. i don't know i'd call it a good movie, but i don't know i'd call it a bad one either. it's just so loving weird. the vibe isn't quite like anything else, and it's very funny to watch even without the MST3K commentary. it's a great background movie, in part because so little happens (and in part because of the dope music).

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Artsygrrl
Apr 24, 2007


I'm just here.

Grimey Drawer
I felt the strong urge to yell at the characters just as much as poor Joel did. :newlol:

The Time Dissolver
Nov 7, 2012

Are you a good person?
So much has been said about the film by the time this project came around I didn't think there was gonna be anything else really, really revelatory to discover about it, and then on the commentary "It was edited in about four hours" nearly made me :vince: laughing.

Cemetry Gator
Apr 3, 2007

Do you find something comical about my appearance when I'm driving my automobile?

Jack Gladney posted:

Nazi nerds must be lonely because so much sci-fi nerd stuff is made by jews. Do you think they're ever like, "well William Shatner is Jewish, but I don't see anything suggesting that Captain Kirk is!"?

And the Vulcans are basically Jews in space. Leonard Nimoy got a lot of Vulcan's customs from various strands of Judaism, and has claimed that playing Spock help him get in touch with his Jewish faith. For example, the Vulcan hand sign for "Live long and prosper" is something that Jewish priests would do during ceremonies. So, I don't know how they can reconcile that.

Actually, please don't let me know how they reconcile that. It can only be bad.

GoutPatrol
Oct 17, 2009

*Stupid Babby*

I'm one of those international people who still hasn't gotten their Blu-Ray yet Ben :ohdear:

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

GoutPatrol posted:

I'm one of those international people who still hasn't gotten their Blu-Ray yet Ben :ohdear:

We're still within a plausible international shipping time, but be sure to write me via the Kickstarter Messaging System if you haven't already.

Even as I'm following up on the "Manos" shipments, "Atomic Brain" will be ready to campaign next week, and then we'll see if enough people like the idea. Here's a video.

https://vimeo.com/144064204

Artsygrrl
Apr 24, 2007


I'm just here.

Grimey Drawer
That looks impressive! Let us know when you get the Kickstarter set up. :neckbeard:

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Artsygrrl posted:

That looks impressive! Let us know when you get the Kickstarter set up. :neckbeard:





"The Atomic Brain" is now fundraising!


Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

(Edit) Aaaand the referrer is saying my that my first $300 backer came from here. Not sure if you'd like to be anonymous at this time, but thank you!

Ben Solo fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Nov 17, 2015

Uncle Boogeyman
Jul 22, 2007

Ben Solo posted:



"The Atomic Brain" is now fundraising!


Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

(Edit) Aaaand the referrer is saying my that my first $300 backer came from here. Not sure if you'd like to be anonymous at this time, but thank you!

oh hey, cool! i have a cooy of the Five C's of Cinematography that i've been chipping away at for a while, i'm definitely curious to see a Mascelli directed b-movie.

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

Cemetry Gator posted:


Actually, please don't let me know how they reconcile that. It can only be bad.

I'm guessing they approved of ST09.

Timby
Dec 23, 2006

Your mother!

Ben Solo posted:

Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

I'd say keep it in this thread. The OP has the fascinating story about how you dug up all those film reels. Just PM a mod and ask for a title change to something like "Why I'm saving old B-movies." :)

Ballz
Dec 16, 2003

it's mario time

Ben Solo posted:



"The Atomic Brain" is now fundraising!


Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

(Edit) Aaaand the referrer is saying my that my first $300 backer came from here. Not sure if you'd like to be anonymous at this time, but thank you!

Hey let's post this on the Criterion forum and see if that crazy person will back you again, and then demand his rewards after receiving a refund. :v:

egon_beeblebrox
Mar 1, 2008

WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.



Ben Solo posted:



"The Atomic Brain" is now fundraising!


Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

(Edit) Aaaand the referrer is saying my that my first $300 backer came from here. Not sure if you'd like to be anonymous at this time, but thank you!

I am pretty stoked for this.

2DCAT
Jun 25, 2015

pissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssss sssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss

Gravy Boat 2k

Ben Solo posted:



"The Atomic Brain" is now fundraising!


Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

(Edit) Aaaand the referrer is saying my that my first $300 backer came from here. Not sure if you'd like to be anonymous at this time, but thank you!

Looking forward to this! I'll be backing as soon as I get home.

Neo_Reloaded
Feb 27, 2004
Something from Nothing

Ben Solo posted:



"The Atomic Brain" is now fundraising!


Seems like a good time to ask: start a new thread about "The Atomic Brain", or talk about it in this one?

(Edit) Aaaand the referrer is saying my that my first $300 backer came from here. Not sure if you'd like to be anonymous at this time, but thank you!

One concern about the backer-exclusive nature of the Blu-ray: BD-ROM replication has a 1000-unit minimum. Unless this project becomes a runaway success, there will presumably be far less than 1000 backers at the Blu-ray level. Do you expect to press BD-ROMs regardless, or would you go the BD-R route?

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Neo_Reloaded posted:

One concern about the backer-exclusive nature of the Blu-ray: BD-ROM replication has a 1000-unit minimum. Unless this project becomes a runaway success, there will presumably be far less than 1000 backers at the Blu-ray level. Do you expect to press BD-ROMs regardless, or would you go the BD-R route?

That'll be determined by the level of interest. I expect duplicated BD-Rs to win out, but if the price becomes justified, I'll replicate a limited run of 1000 units and put the remainder up for sale. I'll be discussing that matter further in the FAQ once I'm sure I've found the best quotes for both options.

Either way, the budget will account for professional labeling and packaging, so you'll always be getting something better than a loose disc with sharpie on it.

Neo_Reloaded
Feb 27, 2004
Something from Nothing

Ben Solo posted:

That'll be determined by the level of interest. I expect duplicated BD-Rs to win out, but if the price becomes justified, I'll replicate a limited run of 1000 units and put the remainder up for sale. I'll be discussing that matter further in the FAQ once I'm sure I've found the best quotes for both options.

Either way, the budget will account for professional labeling and packaging, so you'll always be getting something better than a loose disc with sharpie on it.

I personally think it'd be a shame to do all the work involved in the project and then cheap out on the very last step that represents the product that most people will actually use to view the movie. BD-Rs are not compatible with all players, and, if their durability is anything like CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, they will have significantly shorter working lives than a pressed disc.

That, and I imagine there will be plenty of people who don't back the kickstarter for whatever reason (not seeing it in time, not liking to kickstart things, etc.) who would be interested in a Blu-ray once people have the disc in hand and can review it. Manos certainly seems to bear that out, though Manos does have more built-in name recognition due to MST3k, etc.

However, I do understand that, for example, it's approximately a $1500 difference between duplicating 300 BD-Rs and pressing 1000 BD-ROMs, so I respect that you have to go with what you think makes financial sense.

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Neo_Reloaded posted:

However, I do understand that, for example, it's approximately a $1500 difference between duplicating 300 BD-Rs and pressing 1000 BD-ROMs, so I respect that you have to go with what you think makes financial sense.

I hear you, and I want professional replication very much as well. That being said, if our budget is $16,000, the cost of pressing and packaging a thousand discs isn't insubstantial. If it makes the difference between this film getting restored versus sitting on the shelf indefinitely, it's no contest. Similarly, the amount set for our initial goal is just enough to make it happen, not what's required to make the best possible restoration. Exceeding $16,000 would be necessary to get a "perfect" result, and the type of media we use would factor into that perfection.

Simply put, the only way we can upgrade to BD-ROMs is to campaign hard and exceed our fundraising goal.

If you prefer to wait and see what happens before you commit, it's a fair choice. I want to make it absolutely clear that this project is designed to be scalable with our budget, and if the possibility of a BD-R is a turn-off for you, I don't want you contributing at this stage. Instead, pass along the link to people who might be interested and help get us to the quality level you want to see.

Cemetry Gator
Apr 3, 2007

Do you find something comical about my appearance when I'm driving my automobile?
So this will be presented in widescreen? It wasn't one hundred percent clear on the Kickstarter page, but I'm probably a moron.

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Cemetry Gator posted:

So this will be presented in widescreen? It wasn't one hundred percent clear on the Kickstarter page, but I'm probably a moron.

I don't know how I missed your question! Yes, it'll be in widescreen, as it was intended to be shown. If we exceed our goal, I just might be able to squeeze the open matte version in as an extra. It's mainly an "if" because the extra screen real estate translates into quite a bit more cleanup work.

We hit 50% on the 1st of December. Prepping another video preview now to mark the occasion...

GoutPatrol
Oct 17, 2009

*Stupid Babby*

Finally got my international copy in the mail today. Thanks for the help Ben!

Snackmar
Feb 23, 2005

I'M PROGRAMMED TO LOVE THIS CHOCOLATY CAKE... MY CIRCUITS LIGHT UP FOR THAT FUDGY ICING.
I watched my Manos blu-ray with some friends this week and it was wonderful. There are shots of the Master with that stark red & black that left us in awe.

The weirdest thing was how hard it was to actually play the disc on my home theatre PC.. I assumed that VLC would take care of it with a little tweaking, but I just kept coming up with forum posts from 2012 with broken links to DLLs and key files.

In the end, I found out about the free Leawo Blu-Ray Player from this reddit thread, and that worked really well. (including the menus)

Thanks for all your work, Ben

Aleph Null
Jun 10, 2008

You look very stressed
Tortured By Flan

techknight posted:

I watched my Manos blu-ray with some friends this week and it was wonderful. There are shots of the Master with that stark red & black that left us in awe.

The weirdest thing was how hard it was to actually play the disc on my home theatre PC.. I assumed that VLC would take care of it with a little tweaking, but I just kept coming up with forum posts from 2012 with broken links to DLLs and key files.

In the end, I found out about the free Leawo Blu-Ray Player from this reddit thread, and that worked really well. (including the menus)

Thanks for all your work, Ben

Thanks for the app. Finally able to watch it on my laptop!

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

techknight posted:

I watched my Manos blu-ray with some friends this week and it was wonderful. There are shots of the Master with that stark red & black that left us in awe.

The weirdest thing was how hard it was to actually play the disc on my home theatre PC.. I assumed that VLC would take care of it with a little tweaking, but I just kept coming up with forum posts from 2012 with broken links to DLLs and key files.

In the end, I found out about the free Leawo Blu-Ray Player from this reddit thread, and that worked really well. (including the menus)

Thanks for all your work, Ben

Glad you liked it! You're not the only one who's reported having trouble with playback on a PC, even in spite of the discs being professionally authored. I'll be sure to pass that link along where needed.



By the way, The Atomic Brain has hit 75%! I'm currently drafting out an update that'll outline a couple of stretch goals should we succeed.

After crunching the numbers, it seems we'd need to reach $20,000 to be able to put both widescreen (intended) and full frame (as it's always been presented) versions on the disc. The cost difference is made up mainly by the additional labor involved in fixing damage over the larger frame throughout the film.

Panty Saluter
Jan 17, 2004

Making learning fun!
I don't know if the difficulties are anything specific to the Manos disc - as I understand it Blu Ray on PC has always been dodgy.

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Panty Saluter posted:

I don't know if the difficulties are anything specific to the Manos disc - as I understand it Blu Ray on PC has always been dodgy.

True. Many PC and Mac playback issues are due to Blu-ray's fairly excessive copy protection. :ssh:

Armyman25
Sep 6, 2005

techknight posted:

I watched my Manos blu-ray with some friends this week and it was wonderful. There are shots of the Master with that stark red & black that left us in awe.

The weirdest thing was how hard it was to actually play the disc on my home theatre PC.. I assumed that VLC would take care of it with a little tweaking, but I just kept coming up with forum posts from 2012 with broken links to DLLs and key files.

In the end, I found out about the free Leawo Blu-Ray Player from this reddit thread, and that worked really well. (including the menus)

Thanks for all your work, Ben

Thanks, dude! I actually found something that will play the Grindhouse ESB file I got a hold of.

Also, thanks to Ben! There is something deeply satisfying about contributing to a multi-year project that comes to fruition.

wyoming
Jun 7, 2010

Like a television
tuned to a dead channel.
Finally got around to picking this up, first time actually watching the film, I never have sat through the MST3k episode.
Bizarre and fantastic horror film, I enjoyed the hell out of it, even if it was inept at nearly every turn.
You're doing God's work Ben, best of luck with The Atomic Brain.

Mr.Radar
Nov 5, 2005

You guys aren't going to believe this, but that guy is our games teacher.
Congratulations on hitting your funding goal Ben Solo! Also, right now your project is being promoted on Kickstater's front page.


Click for big.

HungryMedusa
Apr 28, 2003


Really don't care about The Atomic Brain, but if Ben wants to keep making bad movies beautiful, I will support it via Kickstarter. Am I the first to say restored Torgo is kind of cute? Ugh. I might need to get out more.

The Time Dissolver
Nov 7, 2012

Are you a good person?

HungryMedusa posted:

Really don't care about The Atomic Brain, but if Ben wants to keep making bad movies beautiful, I will support it via Kickstarter. Am I the first to say restored Torgo is kind of cute? Ugh. I might need to get out more.

My roommate watched it with me and kept saying, "He's hot!" during close-ups of Torgo. I don't understand it myself but whatever floats your boat.

wyoming
Jun 7, 2010

Like a television
tuned to a dead channel.
Torgo's a qt, but I'm still in awe over how strikingly gorgeous Margaret is.



:swoon:

Ballz
Dec 16, 2003

it's mario time

wyoming posted:

Torgo's a qt, but I'm still in awe over how strikingly gorgeous Margaret is.



:swoon:

Not at all surprised in the least she went on to have a very successful modeling career, and her Miss Texas anecdote on the bluray is pretty awesome.

Ben Solo
Oct 23, 2004

I take care of the place while the Master is away.
Now that it's okay to talk about the copyright disputes, I think it's high time I started sharing some of the correspondences we received while restoring "Manos".

quote:

The way we see it, you essentially have three choices:

a) Work with us, ink a deal with us, and go on to produce the most awesome "Manos" ever seen and everyone wins

b) Pack it up, return the donor's money, and move on with your life, having nothing else to do with our property

c) Bluff it out, and face possible repercussions from misuse of Kick Starter Donor Money, as well as any court actions we ourselves might be forced to take

We are sincerely hoping things can work out. It should ultimately be about people working together for something we all feel passionate about.

Take Care,

...Torgo Lives, LLC

We're in the last few days of The Atomic Brain Fundraiser, and our backers are metaphorically on fire after having pledged over $23,000 total!

If we make it to $25K, I'll digitize my tape master of the complete German "Hamlet" (the only MST3K film not available uncut on video) and release it alongside the digital rewards. This should help tide us over until it can be fixed up. Is it to be, or not to be?

Panty Saluter
Jan 17, 2004

Making learning fun!
Not to derail too hard but you username is funnier to me now that I've seen The Force Awakens :v:

e: I love it when dumb people try to sound Officious and Lawyery and just come off like a Nigerian scammer (especially with the caps abuse).

If someone is too dumb and/or cheap to hire a real law office to send legal threats they probably don't have a leg to stand on. Fuckin' patent trolls, man...

Panty Saluter fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Dec 29, 2015

Marshal Prolapse
Jun 23, 2012

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Panty Saluter posted:

Not to derail too hard but you username is funnier to me now that I've seen The Force Awakens :v:

e: I love it when dumb people try to sound Officious and Lawyery and just come off like a Nigerian scammer (especially with the caps abuse).

If someone is too dumb and/or cheap to hire a real law office to send legal threats they probably don't have a leg to stand on. Fuckin' patent trolls, man...


Eh copyright actually...but your point is still incredibly valid. You'd be surprised just how often "Cap Abuse" occurs, it's the first sign that you are dealing with unprofessional people who are not represented by counsel...and can't get people to proof their emails.

Panty Saluter
Jan 17, 2004

Making learning fun!
Well the term I always heard was patent troll and I think that covers both nicely anyway :v:

duz
Jul 11, 2005

Come on Ilhan, lets go bag us a shitpost


Panty Saluter posted:

Well the term I always heard was patent troll and I think that covers both nicely anyway :v:

Not really, it's why the term copyright troll exists :v: (altho it's usually just fraud or abuse and not trolling)

duz fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Dec 29, 2015

kalel
Jun 19, 2012

Panty Saluter posted:

Not to derail too hard but you username is funnier to me now that I've seen The Force Awakens :v:

lol I thought the same thing.

And there is a huge, important difference between copyright and patents. In simplest terms, copyright protects "forms of expression" while patents cover inventions. The principle of the troll in either category is the same.

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Artsygrrl
Apr 24, 2007


I'm just here.

Grimey Drawer
Happy New Year*, everyone! And what an impressive run with the Atomic Brain restoration. I cannot wait to see the final results. :)

*in roughly 4 hours and 13 minutes.

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