ALOHA- New Splitscreen Edit & Bonus?

[JRtherealJR]

With the 40th anniversary of Aloha next year- can we expect anything special? I've never been completely satisfied with the different edits that we have been given over the years, in fact I prefer the Japanese broadcast version of Aloha because it has better camera angles and a longer opening- showing the stage being set up and the crowds entering the HIC etc.

ALOHA will never be HD because it was only videoed onto tape, but let's talk about the 4:3 Tv picture ratio. To fit this onto modern widescreen TV's, you wither have to chop off the top and bottom of the picture or alternatively show the whole 4:3 with black bars on either side of the picture.

I hate the thought of cutting off 2 thirds of the picture as you lose Elvis' belt in a lot of shots- so what could be done?

One way is to give ALOHA the On Tour split-screen treatment- use footage from other cameras and place them either side of the main presentation to fill up your 16:9 TV. So the centre box is the main version of the show which we know and love, and then either side have either alternate angles of Elvis or shots of the audience or band.

This would all look stunning on a 16:9 LED TV and we would be getting Maximum Elvis without having to distort the picture just to fill up the screen or worse still- cutting the top and bottom out.

I know that the split-screen used in EOT is unpopular with some fans, but I have always been very fond of it and in recent years this technique has had something of a resurgence which began with the "24" TV show.

I liked a lot of the audience shots from the original Aloha broadcast, but these were cut out of the 2004 Deluxe edition. And by the same rule, a lot of the new Elvis shots in the 2004 release were stunning but they cut out a lot of the audience. So the only way to have the best of both worlds is to have Aloha in wide multi-screen.

Where are the Japanese master tapes now? Is there any reason why EPE cannot access them and combine it with the already released material and make an "Ultimate Aloha" edition?

It would look something like this:
NEW ALOHA MULTI-SCREEN WITH ALTERNATE CAMERA ANGLES TO FIT 16:9 RATIO
http://i42.tinypic.com/5of7up.jpg


Otherwise, all we would have is a cropped picture with dramatically less Elvis to fill the 16:9 screen:
http://i44.tinypic.com/iqd646.jpg

[Erhan]

Have you got old TTWII DVD one side is wild screen other is 4:3 for ordinary TV.
If you watch my aloha videos mostly better with 16:9 better than original there are few moments are not good for cropping they can be good for multi screen it's good to see Elvis face close up IMHO...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG6WQwdobLk

[ThreeCornPatches]

Have you got old TTWII DVD one side is wild screen other is 4:3 for ordinary TV.
If you watch my aloha videos mostly better with 16:9 better than original there are few moments are not good for cropping they can be good for multi screen it's good to see Elvis face close up IMHO...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG6WQwdobLk
I got a version of jailhouse rock from the ultimate film collection saying that its 4:3 on one side and the other side 16:9 but when i turn the disc in my computer it doesnt give anything i only can play one side am i doing something wrong?

[Erhan]

I got a version of jailhouse rock from the ultimate film collection saying that its 4:3 on one side and the other side 16:9 but when i turn the disc in my computer it doesnt give anything i only can play one side am i doing something wrong?
Have you ever try to Play on DVD Player ?

[Lonniebealestreet]

I think it's a great idea. Of course they did add some brief splitscreen action in the most recent edits but they were basically teasers and not employed as an answer to the aspect ratio conundrum you address, JR.

[JRtherealJR]

Have you got old TTWII DVD one side is wild screen other is 4:3 for ordinary TV. If you watch my aloha videos mostly better with 16:9 better than original there are few moments are not good for cropping they can be good for multi screen it's good to see Elvis face close up IMHO...


Yes, I have that release and I've always preferred to watch the widescreen version- even on an ordinary TV. I dislike cropping because you always end up losing something- even if it can be arguably better for some shots where Elvis is in closeup. One of the reasons why Aloha is so special is because it has some great closeups of Elvis in profile, and when the Deluxe DVD release came out you could really see Elvis' face in amazing detail.

Even though Aloha was only recorded onto videotape, the detail in some of the shots are really stunning. And I agree with you- it is always good to see Elvis' face in closeup!

I wish EPE would get their hands on all of the extra footage which was shown in the Japanese broadcast of Aloha and include that on any future releases. The jeep arrival in particular was filmed from the other side of the jeep and it shows a lot more of Elvis and the camera appears to have been closer to him as well.

Does anyone know if this was filmed by a Japanese crew or was it NBC?

If it was filmed by NBC, then it was dissappointing that EPE chose not to include it in the Ultimata Aloha in 2004.

[Sonny]

I do believe, going by memory that that particular footage was from the Japanese news coverage at the time.

[Jungleroom76]

Certainly an interesting idea, and one that definitely would be neat to watch!! :hmm:

Perhaps the idea you present JR could be part of a deluxe 40th anniversary package, like was done with the last package where both the worldwide and U.S. telecasts were presented. Because not everyone in the world is up to date technologically, having a release featuring only the 16:9 aspect format you suggested probably wouldn't be a feasible idea, because (and you'll have to pardon my limited technological know-how) wouldn't this type of a release look funny on TV's that couldn't handle the 16:9 format? BUT, if a presentation like this was INCLUDED in a deluxe package along with the previously released cuts of the show, then it would definitely be a nice bonus for those fans that had TV's capable to viewing the special in that format!! (y)

Definitely a GREAT idea and something for EPE to perhaps consider... ;)

TCB!
Mike

[Albert]

When recording on tape, you cannot speak about resolution. This is only when recording (or viewing) digital. When transferring analogue to digital, one has to decide to which resolution this will be done. This is based on a wide section of criteria like the sort of tape, the brand and the budget. This is why you can buy true 1080P versions of ancient movies from the 30s up to the 90s.

Just watch Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas and Elvis On Tour and you'll know what I mean. These are dedicated remastered hd transfers and not to be misaken by the poor job that most broadcast channels do when showing HD versions of old movies. They simply 'blowup' the imahe with some enhancements. Often doing poor resizing and cropping. Incomparable with the frame-by-frame transfer proces.

[JRtherealJR]

When recording on tape, you cannot speak about resolution. This is only when recording (or viewing) digital. When transferring analogue to digital, one has to decide to which resolution this will be done. This is based on a wide section of criteria like the sort of tape, the brand and the budget. This is why you can buy true 1080P versions of ancient movies from the 30s up to the 90s.


The reason you can get HD versions of ancient movies is because they were all filmed onto celluloid film. Celluloid film is even greater resolution than HD's 1080 x 720.

Aloha From Hawaii will never be HD because it was only recorded onto videotape.

Celluloid film= HD

Video cassette Tape= SD

[vivaelvis]

The reason you can get HD versions of ancient movies is because they were all filmed onto celluloid film. Celluloid film is even greater resolution than HD's 1080 x 720.

Aloha From Hawaii will never be HD because it was only recorded onto videotape.

Celluloid film= HD

Video cassette Tape= SD

It may not be true HD but Aloha's video feedback is as good as you will get from 1970's technology. They did not use regular TV cameras to film the special. They went with new camera technology back then for that special moment. The plan was to capture Elvis as if you could reach out and touch him which is what it did for the viewers. However, TV's were not built with dynamics and high quality that they feature today which allows Aloha to look like it was filmed in HD. With the 40th anniversary coming up next year for Aloha, I expect EPE to try and do something in HD format the best they can. There's a lot of technologies today that did not exist the last time Aloha was remastered for DVD.

[vivaelvis]

I got a version of jailhouse rock from the ultimate film collection saying that its 4:3 on one side and the other side 16:9 but when i turn the disc in my computer it doesnt give anything i only can play one side am i doing something wrong?

If you will notice that the cameras differ in quality in each shot. The close ups are the best with no fuzziness or lines like you would find in normal videotaped footage. Check out the 1:23 mark. That is as close to HD as you are getting and it could even pass as true HD. So, since EPE has the negatives including the multiple angels to choose from, they can do an HD format release, using the clear angles, if they chose to do so for the 40th.

[JRtherealJR]

It may not be true HD but Aloha's video feedback is as good as you will get from 1970's technology. They did not use regular TV cameras to film the special. They went with new camera technology back then for that special moment. The plan was to capture Elvis as if you could reach out and touch him which is what it did for the viewers. However, TV's were not built with dynamics and high quality that they feature today which allows Aloha to look like it was filmed in HD. With the 40th anniversary coming up next year for Aloha, I expect EPE to try and do something in HD format the best they can. There's a lot of technologies today that did not exist the last time Aloha was remastered for DVD.

Vivaelvis, where did you read that Aloha was fimed using cameras which "were not regular technology"? I have never heard of this before and Marty Pasetta himself does not mention this in his introduction to the 1998 JAT Aloha book. I would have thought that if this was true, it would have been important enough for him to mention.....

Let's just assume for a minute that you are correct and they used some sort of special cameras for Aloha- all of the footage was still only recorded onto videotape. So the picture quality was only as good as the medium it was recorded on- which for Aloha was 2" quadruplex video tape.

Even if Aloha was filmed using today's HI-DEF cameras, if it is just recorded onto videotape you DO NOT get a HD product.

An ordinary DVD is more than capable of storing a standard-definition broadcast such as Aloha From Hawaii. There would be no improvement at all in picture quality by transferring it to Blu-Ray.

What do you mean when you say that "you expect EPE do do something in HD format"? Are yo suggesting that EPE can somehow convert or restore Aloha to make it HD quality. This is impossible because you cannot add information or any extra detail into 40-year old videotapes. What was recorded is what was recorded- and that's it. Sure they can restore films to remove dust, scratches etc. but anything shot on film is HD quality to begin with.

We should be asking ourselves- why was not even 1 film camera used for Aloha? Just imagine if they had filmed at least some of Aloha onto film- then at least we would have had something in HD....but unfortunately everything was recorded onto videotape so we will never see any better Aloha in terms of picture quality than what we have now.

[vivaelvis]

Vivaelvis, where did you read that Aloha was fimed using cameras which "were not regular technology"? I have never heard of this before and Marty Pasetta himself does not mention this in his introduction to the 1998 JAT Aloha book. I would have thought that if this was true, it would have been important enough for him to mention.....

Let's just assume for a minute that you are correct and they used some sort of special cameras for Aloha- all of the footage was still only recorded onto videotape. So the picture quality was only as good as the medium it was recorded on- which for Aloha was 2" quadruplex video tape.

Even if Aloha was filmed using today's HI-DEF cameras, if it is just recorded onto videotape you DO NOT get a HD product.

An ordinary DVD is more than capable of storing a standard-definition broadcast such as Aloha From Hawaii. There would be no improvement at all in picture quality by transferring it to Blu-Ray.

What do you mean when you say that "you expect EPE do do something in HD format"? Are yo suggesting that EPE can somehow convert or restore Aloha to make it HD quality. This is impossible because you cannot add information or any extra detail into 40-year old videotapes. What was recorded is what was recorded- and that's it. Sure they can restore films to remove dust, scratches etc. but anything shot on film is HD quality to begin with.

We should be asking ourselves- why was not even 1 film camera used for Aloha? Just imagine if they had filmed at least some of Aloha onto film- then at least we would have had something in HD....but unfortunately everything was recorded onto videotape so we will never see any better Aloha in terms of picture quality than what we have now. I never read it. The producer, Marty said it on television years ago when he was interviewed. I believe it was on the US show Entertainment Tonight back in the 90's. He also produced some big time hit shows post the Aloha concert event.

I remember him mentioning that "the technology used to tape the special had never been used before that night". Now, he could have been referring to the satellite technology, so maybe that was what he meant and not cameras. Although by looking back at live TV events prior to Aloha there was no broadcasting that crystal clear. Look at the 68 Comeback footage restored, also taped by NBC cameras, and then look at Aloha restored. It's like comparing apples to oranges in difference among clearness.

But like I pointed out in my above post, the different angles vary in quality to where some look like they were in HD back then. Even though HD technology did not exist in 1973.

[JRtherealJR]

I never read it. The producer, Marty said it on television years ago when he was interviewed. I believe it was on the US show Entertainment Tonight back in the 90's. He also produced some big time hit shows post the Aloha concert event.

I remember him mentioning that "the technology used to tape the special had never been used before that night". Now, he could have been referring to the satellite technology, so maybe that was what he meant and not cameras. Although by looking back at live TV events prior to Aloha there was no broadcasting that crystal clear. Look at the 68 Comeback footage restored, also taped by NBC cameras, and then look at Aloha restored. It's like comparing apples to oranges in difference among clearness.

But like I pointed out in my above post, the different angles vary in quality to where some look like they were in HD back then. Even though HD technology did not exist in 1973.

Yes I know what you mean, some of the closeups in Aloha really are amazing. In fact, they are comparable in quality to some TTWII closeups which of course was shot using film.

I would love to see Aloha on Blu-Ray for the 40th next year- with the extra storage capacity they could include all the footage from all of the 8 cameras plus the Japanese arrival scenes etc. We could easily have an extra 8 hours on top of the footage which has allready been released- all on one disc.

[ThreeCornPatches]

Have you ever try to Play on DVD Player ? yes i did same thing happens altough the disc states its 4:3 on the label side and the other side is 16:9 i really wonder how i suppose to get this to work

[JRtherealJR]

I hope when (or if) they give us Aloha on Blu-Ray, we will get all of the missing pieces which have always been left out- such as the moment after singing "My Way" when Elvis touches his belt and points at someone in the audience. This has always been cut out for some unknown reason....

[ThreeCornPatches]

Could be something like this in split screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb2AxjLG3G4
I made this.

[asian1]

Was Elvis pointing to Jack Lord, who was at attendance, when he touched his belt?

[JRtherealJR]

Could be something like this in split screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb2AxjLG3G4
I made this.
That was a superb job you did there, ThreeCornPatches. At 2:27 - 2:28 on your video where you have a close & a long shot on 2 screens- that's what we need more of but on THREE screens. Imagine having 3 Aloha split screens side by side in order to fill up a widescreen TV- with each screen showing a different angle or an audience/band shot.

The worst way to make 4:3 Aloha fill up a modern 16:9 widescreen TV is to take the easy route and just crop it, losing Elvis' belt and the top of his head in many shots.

So your demo is a great taste of what EPE could achieve if they put their hearts and their money into the 40th Anniversary next year!

I also hope we get this cut back into the show as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWrjMrfYwx8

[Albert]

The reason you can get HD versions of ancient movies is because they were all filmed onto celluloid film. Celluloid film is even greater resolution than HD's 1080 x 720.

Aloha From Hawaii will never be HD because it was only recorded onto videotape.

Celluloid film= HD

Video cassette Tape= SD

Are you sure it was recorded on regular tape? I guess that would make sense, since it was recorded for tv broadcasting. So the same can be assumed for the NBC and CBS Specials?

[vivaelvis]

Something interesting concerning the tape source supposedly used for the show. Watch the Alternate Aloha show. If you notice that the footage has some vertical lines going north to south on the far left side of the tape which shows it was made by a regular video tape. However, this does not seem to be the case with the actual broadcasted show. So maybe the dress rehearsal was filmed with a different tape source? :hmm:

[JRtherealJR]

Are you sure it was recorded on regular tape? I guess that would make sense, since it was recorded for tv broadcasting. So the same can be assumed for the NBC and CBS Specials?

Steve Orland, the Videotape Editor for Aloha for Hawaii has stated that for the live show, the crew rented a forty foot produce truck in Honolulu and created a videotape recording, playback and editing facility inside, complete with four quadruplex (2" tape) machines weighing several hundred pounds each, a time code generator and lots of monitoring and communication equipment.

He also says "Three smaller tape machines were located in another truck. All of the machines were used to record the entire event from all the different cameras".

So this makes 7 video machines in total, recording all of the footage from every single camera in the HIC stadium. But I notice that Steve Orland did not specify what type of video the 3 other smaller machines were.....Did these machines also record onto 2" Quadruplex tape or was it another type of medium?

If it was a different medium, was it better or worse quality thaan the 2" Quadruplex tape?

If there is so much extra material from Aloha, when will EPE release it? There is no better time than next year for the 40th anniversary of this historic concert!

This is 2" Quadruplex tape (note: not the actual Aloha tape)
http://i40.tinypic.com/34djsp1.jpg

[KPM]

I never read it. The producer, Marty said it on television years ago when he was interviewed. I believe it was on the US show Entertainment Tonight back in the 90's. He also produced some big time hit shows post the Aloha concert event.

I remember him mentioning that "the technology used to tape the special had never been used before that night". Now, he could have been referring to the satellite technology, so maybe that was what he meant and not cameras. Although by looking back at live TV events prior to Aloha there was no broadcasting that crystal clear. Look at the 68 Comeback footage restored, also taped by NBC cameras, and then look at Aloha restored. It's like comparing apples to oranges in difference among clearness.

But like I pointed out in my above post, the different angles vary in quality to where some look like they were in HD back then. Even though HD technology did not exist in 1973.
I also recall that interview and he indeed was speaking about the satellite technology.

[KPM]

If I recall correctly the promotion for the Aloha Deluxe DVD set by EPE I think they said all existing footage was included in the set.
So I am not sure what extra footage is supposed to be still in the vaults.
Same with the 68 Special all existing footage was suppose to be in that box set also.

[vivaelvis]

I find it funny that the producers and camera guys just all of a sudden ended the taping as soon as Elvis left the stage. Knowing it was such a historical night, you would think that the cameras would have scanned the audience to show their reaction and applauding. This is why I feel there's more left to see. Plus, there's the Japanese footage of the backstage footage pre-show where it shows the stage being prepped and constructed. EPE may not have that but they could always make arrangements to put it into a Making of Aloha type documentary with the Aloha show in its entirety remixed and reworked with all different camera angles. Mainly for the Burning Love shots. A straight shot would be nice, along with a full body shot.

[Erhan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy6jA8mf130

[JRtherealJR]

If I recall correctly the promotion for the Aloha Deluxe DVD set by EPE I think they said all existing footage was included in the set.
So I am not sure what extra footage is supposed to be still in the vaults.
Same with the 68 Special all existing footage was suppose to be in that box set also.

There is a ton of extra Aloha footage yet to be seen in it's entirety:

-As I mentioned earlier, we have the entire show recorded in 7 different angles from 7 different cameras- so that is 7 hours of footage right there. Last night I went to ELVIS IN CONCERT at the O2 and they actually used some of these alternate angles when they showed the Aloha footage.

-More footage of the dancers, performers, robots, bands etc. outside the HIC prior to the show

-Footage of the audience entering the HIC and taking their seats (note: the Japanese broadcast of ALoha showed more of this)

-Footage of Elvis' dressing room, backstage and the stage being setup which was seen in the Japanese version of Aloha (note: see the video Erhan has posted)

-More footage of the helicopter arrival scenes

-LOST FOOTAGE: The crane cam they had set up during the helicopter arrival- what has happened to all of the footage from this camera? Did it only film the audience or did it film Elvis walking to the jeep and driving off?

-After the show ended- audience interviews?

And of course, the Holy Grail for all Aloha enthusiasts- was Elvis' rehearsal at the HIC filmed???
http://i40.tinypic.com/afa6pl.jpg

So as you can see, there is still a lot of footage from Aloha which we have not seen & with the high capacity storage of Blu-ray disc, we could easily get all of this footage on a couple of discs as well as new interviews with the surviving cast / production team AND a definitive documentary IF EPE can be bothered to get their act together in time for next year....

[JRtherealJR]

Was Elvis pointing to Jack Lord, who was at attendance, when he touched his belt?

Your guess is as good as mine!

Nobody knows for sure exactly where Jack Lord was sitting- it was highly possible he was sitting in the "golden circle" for those who donated the most money. I've studied the Aloha audience many times over the years & he is nowhere to be seen- but he was obviously there because EP introduced him!

Jack Lord was a big star at the time, so it's strange that none of the cameramen apparently did not film him in his seat at all. If Roger Moore can be seen in the audience of That's The Way It Is- then why not Jack Lord at Aloha?

[JRtherealJR]

With the 40th anniversary of Aloha next year- can we expect anything special? I've never been completely satisfied with the different edits that we have been given over the years, in fact I prefer the Japanese broadcast version of Aloha because it has better camera angles and a longer opening- showing the stage being set up and the crowds entering the HIC etc.

ALOHA will never be HD because it was only videoed onto tape, but let's talk about the 4:3 Tv picture ratio. To fit this onto modern widescreen TV's, you wither have to chop off the top and bottom of the picture or alternatively show the whole 4:3 with black bars on either side of the picture.

I hate the thought of cutting off 2 thirds of the picture as you lose Elvis' belt in a lot of shots- so what could be done?

One way is to give ALOHA the On Tour split-screen treatment- use footage from other cameras and place them either side of the main presentation to fill up your 16:9 TV. So the centre box is the main version of the show which we know and love, and then either side have either alternate angles of Elvis or shots of the audience or band.

This would all look stunning on a 16:9 LED TV and we would be getting Maximum Elvis without having to distort the picture just to fill up the screen or worse still- cutting the top and bottom out.

I know that the split-screen used in EOT is unpopular with some fans, but I have always been very fond of it and in recent years this technique has had something of a resurgence which began with the "24" TV show.

I liked a lot of the audience shots from the original Aloha broadcast, but these were cut out of the 2004 Deluxe edition. And by the same rule, a lot of the new Elvis shots in the 2004 release were stunning but they cut out a lot of the audience. So the only way to have the best of both worlds is to have Aloha in wide multi-screen.

Where are the Japanese master tapes now? Is there any reason why EPE cannot access them and combine it with the already released material and make an "Ultimate Aloha" edition?

It would look something like this:
NEW ALOHA MULTI-SCREEN WITH ALTERNATE CAMERA ANGLES TO FIT 16:9 RATIO
http://i42.tinypic.com/5of7up.jpg


Otherwise, all we would have is a cropped picture with dramatically less Elvis to fill the 16:9 screen:
http://i44.tinypic.com/iqd646.jpg



I wrote the above post almost a year ago. It was an idea I had about how the old 4:3 presentation of Aloha could be expanded into a 6:9 letterbox ratio by adding 2 different camera angles on either side of the main picture.

This way, you do not lose any picture quality like you would if you simply zoomed the picture in to make it 16:9. You also get the added bonus of a new splitscreen edit of Aloha with different camera angles on screen at the same time.

Well it seems EPE must have read what I posted as they did exactly this for the 40th Anniversary Aloha event at in Hawaii in January.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4jaECd8p6o

So there now exists a lovely 16:9 brand new edit of Aloha which would look great on any modern TV.

I wonder if EPE will now use this new verison for a Blu-Ray release of Aloha?

[Tony Trout]

Doesn't look like it since they've released the CDs (and botched the main show).