The Big Decision

I have been trying to figure out what to do about the sequence with Number Six driving in the opening credits. I decided I had three options.

1) Use the restored frames and then tack on the unrestored frames.

2) Use the restored frames and then copy them and reverse the order of them so it looked like Number Six was leaning back in the car.

3) Use the unrestored footage for the entire scene.

I ruled out the first option because the frame location was off-centered and it didn't look like it flowed properly. I just wasn't happy with the result.

I also tried the second option. It took several hours to get the frames right and the end result looked really good. I was very pleased with the results, but then the actual episode was changed from the original intent. It was no longer the Alternate Version of the Chimes of Big Ben, it was the Altered Alternate Version - know what I mean? Number Six was originally shifting gears and not leaning back.

So, to be true to the nature of my project here, I decided to use the unrestored footage for right now until I can take the time to restore each frame. I'm guessing this entire process of going frame by frame and replacing the original frames with the restored frames is going to take almost six months to complete - without even modifying the original frames. In the process of doing this, however, I will discover all the little differences in the scenes and I will probably start another blog to list all the visual differences in the alternate episode.

With that said, I can state that I have completed the opening sequence and restored it to the best of my ability, with the exception of the two or three seconds of the car sequence. Maybe I will put it up on YouTube later. Eventually, at the very least, I will clean up the unrestored frames and try to edit out the dust and dirt on the sequence so that it at least looks like a clean print.

So I think that is the way I am going to approach this project - replace the original frames with the restored frames and wait until it is finished before I start trying to clean up the original frames - it's just going to take too long. My next step is to work on the opening credits. Already I can see that I am going to have plenty of unrestored frames, but I will see what I can find in stock footage and other episodes to replace them.