Berserk Redux: A Fanedit of the Golden Age and the '97 anime

[Erebus]

Hello Apostle Bob,

Thank you for all your work on this project! You have synthesised the various sources into a thing of beauty. I actually find the joining of different art styles somehow emphasises the sense of layers of mystery and character development. When I read your description I was very curious how you would use intersperse the various clips within the same scenes. I have to say you have done it excellently and although I did find a lot to enjoy in the movies I was saddened at the loss of so many characterful moments that you have bought back with this redux version.

At the moment I am part way through film two and especially liked Casca's flashback narrative (and loved the Zod encounter in your first film). I will be watching all four films back-to-back and can already say with confidence that yours is the definative Berserk animation for me and the one I will be returning to in the future.

Someone give Bob a consultancy role in the development of future Berserk movies!

Regards

Erebus

 

[estebanrules]

I discovered these recently on Vimeo and I must say...they kick ass.

I'm a long-time Berserk fan that just joined up here skullknight.net.

That's for the awesome edit!

 

[ApostleBob]

Hello Apostle Bob,

Thank you for all your work on this project! You have synthesised the various sources into a thing of beauty. I actually find the joining of different art styles somehow emphasises the sense of layers of mystery and character development. When I read your description I was very curious how you would use intersperse the various clips within the same scenes. I have to say you have done it excellently and although I did find a lot to enjoy in the movies I was saddened at the loss of so many characterful moments that you have bought back with this redux version.

At the moment I am part way through film two and especially liked Casca's flashback narrative (and loved the Zod encounter in your first film). I will be watching all four films back-to-back and can already say with confidence that yours is the definative Berserk animation for me and the one I will be returning to in the future.

Someone give Bob a consultancy role in the development of future Berserk movies!

Regards

Erebus

Thank you. Very high praise indeed. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I discovered these recently on Vimeo and I must say...they kick ass.

I'm a long-time Berserk fan that just joined up here skullknight.net.

That's for the awesome edit!

Thanks a bunch.

I really enjoyed this project you did ApostleBob it made the movies seem slightly more bearable and it was the first time I seen the new movies in it's dubbed form. I am glad you chose the english dub for your project rather than the japanese one.

You have alot of motivation to go and do something like this I am really impressed with your efforts on threading the two versions together into one in as most seemless and coherent manner the two source materials would allow. I enjoyed watching these very much and I think you did a great job with trying to make the saturation and music match up. Your editing skills are pretty good...what sort of editing software did you use? It also makes me think that the movies should have been four or more to cover the the material. I sort of wish though that you could have been able to squeeze in the scene where Casca, fatigued, drops to her knees, and Guts tough talks her. It is one of my favorite Guts+Casca moments, but I understand to make it flow smoothly you probably had to sacrifice that. Good job.

Thanks for the kind words. I too, prefer the english dub, but it also afforded me the opportunity to keep the voices consistent between the films and the anime. I used Final Cut Pro 7 to edit, and I highly recommend it to any aspiring editors out there.

As far as that Casca and Guts scene you alluded to, it was cut for a couple reasons. First it was cut for pacing reasons to get things moving along; we already had plenty of moments showing friction between Guts and Casca. Second it felt weird to portray Guts in such a misogynistic light right after the two of them started to grow together and after he heard how much she had been through to prove herself as a warrior despite her gender. It just seemed callous and a step backwards. I could be persuaded to re-insert it with enough support though.

I will be updating these soon to include a higher resolution version of all the '97 anime footage, as the original dvds had some blurred lines, contrast issues and washed out colors. I couldn't say when the new versions will all be available as it's a decent amount of effort to re-sync these things. However, if anyone has any other feedback on the movies, things to change, add or remove, now's the time to bring it up. Here's an example of the quality difference you'll see. I've transitioned back and forth in this scene to show the old footage vs. the new stuff:

https://vimeo.com/107671904

 

[ApostleBob]

Berserk Redux Update: I’m finished enhancing the first film with higher resolution footage from the ’97 anime. Things look much less blurry, the color and contrast has been fixed, and there are no more tape marks at edit points. I’ve also added about 12 minutes of additional footage to include the night raid through the woods when Guts first joins the Hawks. It’s one of the worst animated battles, but I think I’ve made it look a lot better by cutting out the filler animation and tightening it up. This also means for the first time, “Forces” will be included in Redux.

What I have on Vimeo does have some small compression due to a 5 GB file size limit per upload but is HD. Once all four films are enhanced I plan on releasing them on a file share at a much larger size to minimize compression for those that want a purist HD version. In the meantime, enjoy!

BERSERK REDUX - Chapter 1: THE BAND OF THE HAWK.​

URL: https://vimeo.com/79039155​

 

[ApostleBob]

Berserk Redux Update:

The second film is updated. I'm particularly proud of this chapter as it has the most intercutting between film and anime, and it looks gorgeous with the updated footage, particularly in the 100 man fight. Things look much less blurry, the color and contrast has been fixed, and there are no more tape marks at edit points.

It's also a favorite as the three main characters are really fully fleshed out in it, and the medieval warfare is unparalleled in this part of the series. Enjoy!

BERSERK REDUX - Chapter 2: THE HUNDRED YEAR WAR​

URL: https://vimeo.com/79562848​

 

[underpileofdeadbodies]

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort combining both anime and film! I was planning on doing this but you beat me to it a long time ago and did it better than my initial thoughts of a project like this.

 

[ApostleBob]

Thanks. Didn't realize other people had this in mind as well. Feedback is always welcome as I update it, there is some wiggle room for changes.

 

[underpileofdeadbodies]

My thought was combine everything that wasn't a repetitive line and make one smooth movie/series. Never thought to edit contrast, sharpness, or any other filter to match. I thought about not doing flashbacks and make the timeline constant, but would probably leave flashbacks as they appear in the manga.

 

[Beherit.]

Thanks. Didn't realize other people had this in mind as well. Feedback is always welcome as I update it, there is some wiggle room for changes.

Just finished watching Chapter 1, and after getting used to the annoying English dubbing, (Although, I like Zodd's and some of the nobleman's voices better in English) I enjoyed it. Thanks for spending so much time creating it. As far as editing feedback goes: Some sections were seemless, such as the added scene with (Dilos, I think his name was?) trying to tell Guts, Zodd was destroying his men. Although, it seemed like you got a bit attached to the Zodd fight scene, trying to show too much; there were too many quick jumps between mediums.
The anime scene added right before the '3 years later' battle scene in the movie was a great addition and flowed really well. That's all I can think of, off the top of my head.

 

[ApostleBob]

Some sections were seemless, such as the added scene with (Dilos, I think his name was?) trying to tell Guts, Zodd was destroying his men. Although, it seemed like you got a bit attached to the Zodd fight scene, trying to show too much; there were too many quick jumps between mediums.
The anime scene added right before the '3 years later' battle scene in the movie was a great addition and flowed really well.

Thanks for the feedback. I really felt like the films fight sequence with Zodd was poorly handled. Some nice animation in it, but far too abbreviated. It's now extended to be one of the standout action sequences in the first film.

On another note, I was wondering if anyone had access to the Test Footage of the movies that was shown briefly in their early promos? It included Guts fighting the Holy Iron Chain Nights, Griffith in his new armor, Long haired Casca, and Puck. Even if just a portion of it would be nice. I'd like to add an end of credits teaser at the end of the first movie. HD is preferable.

 

[Walter]

On another note, I was wondering if anyone had access to the Test Footage of the movies that was shown briefly in their early promos? It included Guts fighting the Holy Iron Chain Nights, Griffith in his new armor, Long haired Casca, and Puck. Even if just a portion of it would be nice. I'd like to add an end of credits teaser at the end of the first movie. HD is preferable.

The test footage was never fully leaked. Just a few pictures surfaced back in 2009 or so. Later, we saw footage from the test appear mixed in with the 5 so-called CMs (commercials) for the Golden Age project. I believe you can find those in the first post of the stickied Project thread, but I don't think they were ever released in HD.

Update:
CM1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihPs4BoDvo
CM2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4m9sDeor3o
CM3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWibBuWvZbA
CM4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAqSkxKAKFM
CM5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7fn_SMH284

 

[ApostleBob]

Thanks Walter. I'd seen these around before but the quality has always been pretty spotty on these clips. I do recall a Japanese hour long special about the trilogy back around the time of the first movie's release that included quite a bit of footage from the Test Footage, including some early Doldrey action as well. It's probably a long shot, but does anyone still have a copy of this that would be willing to file share?

 

[Walter]

I remember the video you're referencing and can probably find it in the project thread It's from a Japanese TV show where they interviewed the director. It didn't amount to more than a few seconds of footage, though. Not sure it'd be worthwhile for your purposes.

 

[ApostleBob]

I think I found it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJo9HtK10oM&feature=player_embedded

I wish there was more, but it's the best quality I've found.

 

[ApostleBob]

Berserk Redux Update:

I’m finished enhancing the third film with higher resolution footage from the ’97 anime. The third film has the most footage from the anime by far, as the films omitted the plot with the Queen and Foss, and entirely removed Guts's time away from the Hawks. Things look much less blurry, the color and contrast has been fixed, and there are no more tape marks at edit points. The night scenes really stand out in this upgrade with a lot more detail being present and a vividness to colors that wasn't present before. Enjoy!

BERSERK REDUX - Chapter 3: SPARKS AND DREAMS​

URL: https://vimeo.com/90216306​

 

[ApostleBob]

Berserk Redux Update:

I’m finished enhancing the forth film with higher resolution footage from the ’97 anime. The forth extends the plot far beyond the eclipse and hints at Guts path as the Black Swordsman. I've even added a stinger that includes some of the test footage that initially got the films funded. Overall the film looks much better especially the dark scenes, which there are many. Things look much less blurry, the color and contrast has been fixed, and there are no more tape marks at edit points. The night and eclipse scenes really stand out in this upgrade with a lot more detail being present and a vividness to colors that wasn't present before. Enjoy!

BERSERK REDUX - Chapter 4: Rise of the Hawk​

Full Series: https://vimeo.com/album/2610343​

 

[Kompozinaut]

Nice! Now that these are finish (again) I think it's time for a marathon...

 

[ApostleBob]

All of these are available for download now!

 

[Mechanized82]

Just giving my opinion here. I liked watching these a lot until I noticed the soundtrack music skipping during the raid after griffith beat guts. Were there pieces chopped out of the original anime to shorten it? Id rather watch an extra half hour of the movie then have the sound track ruined. Music plays such a crucial role in setting mood and when it skips around it sounds horrible. I am a musician so perhaps I am more sound oriented than most people, but I noticed this right away and it made me cringe. I'd fix that.

 

[Walter]

Just giving my opinion here. I liked watching these a lot until I noticed the soundtrack music skipping during the raid after griffith beat guts. Were there pieces chopped out of the original anime to shorten it?

He would need access to isolated voice and music tracks, so I think that's just an inherent limitation.

 

[ApostleBob]

Just giving my opinion here. I liked watching these a lot until I noticed the soundtrack music skipping during the raid after griffith beat guts. Were there pieces chopped out of the original anime to shorten it? Id rather watch an extra half hour of the movie then have the sound track ruined. Music plays such a crucial role in setting mood and when it skips around it sounds horrible. I am a musician so perhaps I am more sound oriented than most people, but I noticed this right away and it made me cringe. I'd fix that.

Good ear. I made a conscious effort to try and hide or transition music whenever cuts were made, but if you’re intimately familiar with the OST (or in your case a musician) you might spot them. As Walter said, unless I can isolate the different audio tracks on the movie and anime, the best I can do is try to hide the cuts with transitions or in the rhythm. There were a ton of cuts to the anime, as it is full of dead space and redundant dialogue throughout. Unanimated blank expressions staring for seconds on end. Characters saying the same thing three different ways or stating the obvious. Stuff you’d never miss that adds a ton of length to the run time and slows the pace to a grind.

 

[Mechanized82]

Yeah, I guess your only choice is to use the dead space/redundant dialogue or to cut up the OST. Honestly, I'd opt for the former. Just my opinion though. Even though my ear picks up on that stuff quickly, I still think others will notice it as well but just not be able to pin point what felt or seemed wrong.

Either way, thank you for the hard work. :) These are still fun to watch. I wish the movies followed the same idea, they were so disappointing. :/

 

[ApostleBob]

If I have time, I may go in and smooth things out a bit more. Let me know the areas that seem especially egregious and I can address them.

 

[Mechanized82]

I'm not sure you want me to do that, I'll probably find every single sound flaw and make your life hell lol. They are all egregious to me only because I notice them so easily. Has anyone else commented on this issue? If not then maybe it isn't worth the effort.

 

[ApostleBob]

You're the first, but that doesn't mean there aren't issues to fix. I've done several revisions since releasing the project, but only a few due to audio. I can't promise 100% fixing as the intent is really to make things feel cinematic in pace while conforming to the manga as much as possible, but I can try. A few frames here or there to make a transition smoother is definitely doable. Out of curiosity, have you seen it all, or just the first one?