LotR Limited Ed. DVD Extras - The Improv....
I know that everyone browsing this entry has seen the little improv Billy, Dom, and Elijah do while sitting around waiting to be called for what looks like the Farewell Party Scene, judging from the waistcoats Dom and Billy are wearing and the tents behind them. (Unfortunately, Elijah's robe is covering up the beautiful waistcoat Ngila's crew made for Frodo.)
In this clip, which we all saw in the FotR EE DVD Extra, "A Day in the Life of a Hobbit," the three actors pretend to be talking behind each other's backs as they each in turn pretend to be called away.
I never did get around to making any screencaps of this scene (or of any of the material that's in the EE DVD Extras except Elijah's farewell), so I decided to go ahead and make them as I watched the new DVD last week.
I am so glad I waited!
I mentioned in my last post ("Elijah laughing..."), that the picture quality of the Costa Botes material was decidedly better for that scene on the new DVD, compared to what is on in the FotR theatrical release Extras. Out of curiosity, after I made the caps for the "improv scene", I decided to do another comparison.
It was the same thing all over again: the picture quality for this scene on the new DVD Extra is much better than what is ion the FotR EE DVD Extras. I am beginning to think either the process of copying and editing the footage for the previous Extras diminished the picture quality, or else they really spruced up the Costa Botes footage for this "Limited Edition" package.
Therefore, I think I will have to reassess what I had said before about the new DVD's not being worth buying. If it turns out that the picture quality for the behind-the-scenes material in this new set is consistently this much better, I'd that if this footage really appeals to you, especially if you want to make screencaps, the new DVD's are worth getting.
~*~
Below are examples which show the difference in quality. I'm sure it will be clear to you at once how much better the screencap is that comes from the new DVD. The colours are more saturated, the resolution is far more crisp, and the exposure much brighter. Comparing them, the older image also looks stretched -- as if it was made to conform to the wider-screen format -- so that it's a little distorted.
Right below those two, I have posted a copy of the new DVD screencap tweaked, to show the sort of adjustments I typically make. I have brightened the image and sharpened the focus, besides trimming off the black border.
~ Screencap taken from "A Day in the Life of a Hobbit" on the FotR EE DVD Extras, unretouched:
~ The same frame take from the new "Limited Edition" DVD of FotR, unretouched:
~ The "Limited Edition" screencap tweaked for brightness and sharpness of focus:
Again, I am SO glad I never made caps of this from the EE Extras. After seeing the new caps, I would have just thrown the old ones out. I am sure you will agree, the frames posted below are beauties.
I really love Elijah in this succession of images. His face is not only amazingly fresh and beautiful, but charmingly and variously expressive. He goes from looking like a giggling or starry-eyed ten-year-old, to a serious/thoughtful/seductive adult.
As anyone can tell, I never tire of looking at this face.
~ Elijah with Billy and Dom doing their comic improv while waiting on set for the Party Scene, from the "Limited Edition" DVD extras for FotR:
Listing of all Frodo and Elijah screencaps HERE.
~ Mechtild
In this clip, which we all saw in the FotR EE DVD Extra, "A Day in the Life of a Hobbit," the three actors pretend to be talking behind each other's backs as they each in turn pretend to be called away.
I never did get around to making any screencaps of this scene (or of any of the material that's in the EE DVD Extras except Elijah's farewell), so I decided to go ahead and make them as I watched the new DVD last week.
I am so glad I waited!
I mentioned in my last post ("Elijah laughing..."), that the picture quality of the Costa Botes material was decidedly better for that scene on the new DVD, compared to what is on in the FotR theatrical release Extras. Out of curiosity, after I made the caps for the "improv scene", I decided to do another comparison.
It was the same thing all over again: the picture quality for this scene on the new DVD Extra is much better than what is ion the FotR EE DVD Extras. I am beginning to think either the process of copying and editing the footage for the previous Extras diminished the picture quality, or else they really spruced up the Costa Botes footage for this "Limited Edition" package.
Therefore, I think I will have to reassess what I had said before about the new DVD's not being worth buying. If it turns out that the picture quality for the behind-the-scenes material in this new set is consistently this much better, I'd that if this footage really appeals to you, especially if you want to make screencaps, the new DVD's are worth getting.
~*~
Below are examples which show the difference in quality. I'm sure it will be clear to you at once how much better the screencap is that comes from the new DVD. The colours are more saturated, the resolution is far more crisp, and the exposure much brighter. Comparing them, the older image also looks stretched -- as if it was made to conform to the wider-screen format -- so that it's a little distorted.
Right below those two, I have posted a copy of the new DVD screencap tweaked, to show the sort of adjustments I typically make. I have brightened the image and sharpened the focus, besides trimming off the black border.
~ Screencap taken from "A Day in the Life of a Hobbit" on the FotR EE DVD Extras, unretouched:
~ The same frame take from the new "Limited Edition" DVD of FotR, unretouched:
~ The "Limited Edition" screencap tweaked for brightness and sharpness of focus:
Again, I am SO glad I never made caps of this from the EE Extras. After seeing the new caps, I would have just thrown the old ones out. I am sure you will agree, the frames posted below are beauties.
I really love Elijah in this succession of images. His face is not only amazingly fresh and beautiful, but charmingly and variously expressive. He goes from looking like a giggling or starry-eyed ten-year-old, to a serious/thoughtful/seductive adult.
As anyone can tell, I never tire of looking at this face.
~ Elijah with Billy and Dom doing their comic improv while waiting on set for the Party Scene, from the "Limited Edition" DVD extras for FotR:
Listing of all Frodo and Elijah screencaps HERE.
~ Mechtild