[In progress] Spider-man (2002) "Open Matte" restoration

Let me first say this is both an open matte and NOT an open matte. The original film was shot on 35MM film at a 1.33 aspect ration, finished at 1.66 and cropped to 1.85 for some theaters and all widescreen home releases, with the 1.66 version being entirely absent from home video and 1.33 only on fullscreen DVDs with cropped VFX shots. This edit will take a 35MM scan, crop it to 1.66 to remove stuff you're not supposed to see, Microphones and other equipment, then overlay the Blu-ray source video to match with the scan and give it a higher bitrate, detail, and match for colors. Depending on the disparity between the stabilization, I may just use the open matte with a grain plate. The final version will be put out at the max quality I can muster of 1920X1080 (Pillarboxed) at target 38MBPS and it will use the same audio as the official Blu-ray.

I did a test of a specific scene which I posted to my You-Tube a while back. Let me know what you think:
Full Open Matte:
https://youtu.be/VlqekVxzhOs
Re-Cropped Matte:
https://youtu.be/Y64Dbwcayz8

     In the Full Open Matte; you can see things like Boom-Mics and shades for the camera to limit exposure. You also see the aspect ratio change for VFX scenes, thus defining the way the film is actually meant to be seen. The second video should illustrate the larger image rather clearly. If you're still skeptical, you can check the 1.85 crop that the studio released here:
https://youtu.be/jM7Eou4bV-Q

[spoRv]

Nice project!

Eagerly waiting to see it completed.

Did you think to use UHD-BD instead of BD? And, would you also insert the (few) missing frames from the 35mm - possibly using the open matte 1.78:1 version?

Did you think to use UHD-BD instead of BD? And, would you also insert the (few) missing frames from the 35mm - possibly using the open matte 1.78:1 version?

I'm not going to use a 4k because my source isn't 4k. It's a 1440p scan which I'm going to crop to 1080p, thus, a UHD isn't going to do much. A high bitrate Blu-ray can fit the film at spec quality with the original audio. I understand some people really like their 4K, but the scan isn't good enough. I had a heck of a time getting my hands on it and it's honestly the best I can do. I think it will look really good, but manage your expectations. Technically, someone does have a full 4k scan, but I couldn't gain access to it, so the 1440p one will be my source.

Missing frames is not an issue. The scan is complete. Unless you mean to use the full frame open matte and only zoom for the VFX, aka, a hybrid edit. I'm opting for a pure 1.66, not a dynamic aspect ratio, as the film was finished at 1.66, thus meaning it's the "correct" way to watch it. When cropping to 1.66, any things that are supposed to be out of the shot which show up will not be present. This includes the previously mentioned equipment in frame.

The OM is NOT 1.78, It's 1.33, and that's not the correct aspect ratio. The film was finished at 1.66. Opening a 1.85 matte to 1.78 has a negligible effect on the film's picture and wouldn't be worth it for this edit. Since it's going from 1.85 to 1.66, it's going to be a lot bigger with significantly more picture on the top and bottom. Funnily enough, this is the EXACT same thing that happened to the original Robocop, a 1.85 Blu-ray of a 1.66 movie.

I have a small issue with the film scan. It's at 24FPS, not 23.976. I don't know if I should slow it down in the editing software, if it would simply be interpreted and slowed down automatically, try to match two frames and manually stretch the video, or, to be safe, render out each individual frame as a still and import it at the correct framerate, thus fixing the issue with no chance of messing up the timing or compressing the frames.

[spoRv]

Actually, there are few missing frames compared to BD (and UHD-BD) - a dozen, perhaps; example: frames 25768/25769

There is a 1.78:1 open matte (on web), and the 1.33 full screen (on DVD).

24fps is the standard theatrical speed: if you want to use the BD audio track, you should run the video at 23.976fps - no conversion needed, just a flag in the AV container; in this case, you must cut the audio where the scan lacks frames, or add missing frames from another source and leave the audio track untouched.

The scan is a pure 35MM theatrical print. It's not the 1.78 "Open Matte" you claim is on the web; there's a lot more picture than that. I'm going to use one video source and make it frame perfect with the BD so people can add subtitles easily and so I can remux the original audio.

[spoRv]

I'm well aware that the 35mm scan is NOT 1.78 open matte, nor I claimed that is the web version...

To be clear, the following frame sizes are available:
- 1.xx full frame 35mm 1650x1440 - depending on shots, the AR varies from 1.146:1 to around 1.63:1
- 1.33:1 full screen DVD
- 1.78:1 open matte WEB 1080p
- 1.85:1 letterbox BD, UHD-BD, DVD

now, for the 35mm scan to be frame identical to BD, you need to insert frames from another source -I guess from 1.33:1 DVD is the best choice - or black frames.

Awesome sounding project! Will you be including the audio commentaries from the blu-ray as additional audio tracks by any chance?

Awesome sounding project! Will you be including the audio commentaries from the blu-ray as additional audio tracks by any chance?

The final disc will contain all US Blu-ray audio tracks.

I'm well aware that the 35mm scan is NOT 1.78 open matte, nor I claimed that is the web version...

To be clear, the following frame sizes are available:
- 1.xx full frame 35mm 1650x1440 - depending on shots, the AR varies from 1.146:1 to around 1.63:1
- 1.33:1 full screen DVD
- 1.78:1 open matte WEB 1080p
- 1.85:1 letterbox BD, UHD-BD, DVD

now, for the 35mm scan to be frame identical to BD, you need to insert frames from another source -I guess from 1.33:1 DVD is the best choice - or black frames.

I would like to see a UAR version