An Aspel Tapetree Final Mop-Up Offer (long)

[sztestes@othello.ucdavis.edu]

For those who missed the original Aspel videotape tapetree, I have volunteered
to help distribute copies to newcomers and latecomers.

Some background on the Aspel videotape culled from multiple postings by 
original tapetree root Peter Manchester --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> FROM:  PMANCHESTER
> 
>      If you are only now deciding to participate in the tapetree, here's how 
> it works.  [...] The general procedure is this:  you send your 
> blank tape along with a self-addressed, stamped return mailer (use _stamps_, 
> not metered postage, which is only valid on the date of issue) to the node 
> person you have contacted.  This makes it easy for him or her to give you a 
> quick turnaround--no trips to the post office, no sending money, etc.
>
> TRACK LIST
> 
> A.  "Moments of Pleasure," lip-synch of the album track for "The Red Shoes," 
>     at the piano, on Aspel & Company TV show, June 20, 1993.
> B.  "Rocketman," b&w video for The Awards, <?date>, 1993
> C.  "Die Efteling" Tapes (AKA The Dutch TV videos): Six videos taped in the  
>   Efteling Gardens (a gothic theme-park), Amsterdam, April 1978. 
>        1. Moving
>        2. Wuthering Heights
>        3. Them Heavy People
>        4. The Man With the Child in His Eyes
>        5. Strange Phenomena
>        6. The Kick Inside
> D.  "Kate": The "Christmas" TV special, U.K. TV, aired December 28, 1979.
>        1. Intro music
>        2. Violin.
> 		<All of what follows, within the << >>s (descriptions here 
> 		clipped from The Garden), did not make it through the 
> 		conversion made for this master; there was no time to redo it; 
> 		see technical notes below>
>        << 3. Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1, played by the KT Bush Band as
>        << background for the two giant violins (Paddy and his friend Andrew
>        << Bryant), who mime an introduction for the next song:
>        << 4. Symphony in Blue. Sung live with the KT Bush Band.   Kate
>        << sings and accompanies herself at the piano.
>        << 5. Them Heavy People. Lip-synched to a live recording.>>
>        6.  A cappella introduction for Peter Gabriel (Peter the Angel
>	 	Gabriel). Here Comes the Flood, Peter Gabriel
>        7. Ran Tan Waltz
>        8. December Will Be Magic Again <video drop-out at start>
>        9. The Wedding List
>       10. Another Day (Roy Harper), duet with Peter Gabriel
>       11. Egypt
>       12. The Man With the Child in His Eyes
>       13. Don't Push Your Foot on the Heart Brake
> E.  "Rocketman," Wogan TV, color <?date>
> F.  "The Infant Kiss," video made by Chris Williams in 1984 with clips from  
>   "The Innocents" (produced and directed by Jack Clayton in 1961, with     
> Deborah Kerr, script by Truman Capote from  The Turn of the Screw  by     
> Henry James).  Kate has often said that her song was influenced by having 
> seen this film, and she liked this video enough (in version 1.0) to call 
> Chris personally to thank him.  This is ver. 2.0, with CD audio.
> 
> TECHNICAL NOTES
> 
>        Two general points.  First, for this application, mastering to S-VHS 
> works; the sub-masters are indistinguishable on screen from the master.  
> Second, time pressure is always an enemy.  By the time Chris could get the 
> standards-conversions made and all the equipment together in one room, it was 
> 6pm Monday night, and the last dispatch that could get the tape to me today 
> was 8:15.  There was no going back on anything.  I take responsibility for 
> enforcing the calendar that had Katemas as  terminus ad quem , and I thank 
> Chris for keeping me posted and for his amazing composure as things converged 
> toward DEADLINE.  He flew out of the studio with the tape at 8:06, and made 
> it by 8:15.  Allow me also--this once--to thank the U.S. Postal Service for 
> delivering on the service I paid for.
> 
>        The good news:  the new stuff comes through great!  Aspel/MoP on 
> Jorn's tape is a second-generation PAL dub, and some graininess on that 
> account is inevitable.  But it remains sharp, the conversion is excellent, 
> and the stereo audio is excellent.  The b&w RM is plain perfect, as are the 
> Wogan color RM and Chris's TIK at the end of the set.  The Dutch videos are 
> in state-of-preservation, which is to say, they are from an NTSC conversion 
> done years ago that it doesn't seem we are ever going to be able to get 
> behind.  The audio has been through a lot of AGC that didn't do it any good, 
> and the video is a little smeared--though I was able to boost the sharpness a 
> bit with video DNR keeping it from getting funky.
> 
>        The material as shipped runs 1hr 13min, but when Chris and I talked 
> over the weekend, it looked like we were going to be up against the limit of 
> a T-120 at SP, and we well might have been if the Christmas Show had come 
> through intact.  I encouraged him to cut the nearly five minutes of vapid 
> 'interview' that followed MoP on Aspel, and at the moment of destiny, that 
> was Chris's call, and I completely support it.  As I watch the tape, I have 
> utterly  zero  appetite to see Kate sit around and schmooze after MoP.  It 
> goes direct to b&w RM.  There is  no  blather in this set; plenty of that is 
> in circulation already.
> 
>        The bad news:  the Christmas Show conversion is a botch.  It had to be 
> sub-contracted for reasons of time, and when Chris started running it to the 
> tapetree master, his heart must have died within him.  The transfer is almost 
> too egregious to describe.  Mistracking is so gross that mistracking noise 
> and artifacts are over the picture continuously.  At least because they are 
> continuous, it is possible to tune them out.  But the chroma signal is weak 
> at best, and in-and-out:  out, mostly.  Meaning, b&w with occasional seques 
> to a vague sepia.  And then head clogs blotted out three whole songs, the 
> "Peter the Angel Gabriel" choral intro, and the video for the first bars of 
> DWBMA.  A couple of redeeming aspects:  the picture itself is far sharper 
> than the garbage version of the show that I already have, and the audio--once 
> I discovered that the video-head track was misaligned so that I had to 
> manually move the tracking over for this segment in order to read it--is a 
> million times better than I have ever heard for this show.  Many of you who 
> will be seeing this tape already have the Christmas Show; for those who have 
> never seen it, this is a kind of viable preview.  But Chris and I are 
> determined to get a Christmas Show transfer right; some of what it needs 
> calls for frame-by-frame hand-painting of dropouts and morphing of missing 
> fields.  Stay tuned.  And apologies from both of us for any disappointment 
> this time, but louder ones from me.  I was Enforcer for the DEADLINE.
> 
>                                                             Peter Manchester
>  "C'mon, we all sing!"                         pmanchester@ccmail.sunysb.edu
>                                                      72020.366@compuserv.com
>
>
> Subject: Over and Out
> 
> 	Hi everybody:
> 
> 	While some of you may still be at the mop-up stage, I am assuming that 
> the great Aspel Tapetree adventure is behind us, so I am writing to bid adieu, 
> and to pass along some excellent information.
> 
> 	On Friday Katemas itself, I got e-mail from one Tom Estes 
> (sztestes@othello.ucdavis.edu), a katefan who had _just_ that day found gaffa 
> and learned about the tapetree from my post that previous Tuesday about it 
> closing as of 7/30.  He wondered whether he could still get in, and happened 
> to mention that he had professional video dubbing equipment including a pro 
> S-VHS deck, distribution amplifier, and 4 pro hifi stereo VHS slave decks.
> 
> 	Needless to say, I took this to be an omen!  With Chris Williams' 
> blessing (now that he is back from travel) and Tom's agreement, I today sent 
> the S-VHS Aspel master to him, and he will be available for any additional 
> requests that may come to any of us.  For the time being he will serve in that 
> role only, and will lurk on gaffa in order to contact anyone who happens to 
> post asking about the tapetree.  But when school starts, he may post directly 
> to bring the tape to the attention of people who may have missed it this 
> summer.
> 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Formats I can provide (NTSC only):

VHS: Hi-Fi Stereo with Dolby-B linear stereo soundtracks

S-VHS: Hi-Fi Stereo with mono linear soundtracks

Beta: Beta II speed Hi-Fi Stereo with mono linear soundtracks;
      tape will be recorded in the Beta-compatible Super-Beta format
      (only VERY old Beta machines MAY have difficulty with the
       higher resolution format; Super-Beta can be disabled for
       any people who experience compatibility problems)

Send e-mail inquiries to:
sztestes@othello.ucdavis.edu

Blank tapes and postpaid return mailers to:
Tom Estes
643 Crystal Springs Drive
Woodland, CA  95776-5753