Dangerous Short Films are currently being upscaled to 4K on YouTube!

I feel like some fans are working themselves up over assumptions and hypotheticals, which imo is very weird and kinda unreasonable. There is a VERY fine line between “the estate is cheap and cuts corners which harms their relationship with MJ’s collaborators” and “the estate doesn’t care to regain ownership of material they don’t have.” I’m not even defending them here, it’s just odd.

MJ wasn’t the most contentious with his archival work, and films from the 20th century are lost consistently. Until we hear something that actually flat-out suggests negligence in this case, I’m just gonna presume laziness and conservative spending on the estate’s part.

Well… the assumptions and opinions about the estate are definitely a result of their behavior the last 16 years. It’s actually very sad that most of us think it’s more possible that the estate is lying to us rather than them really not having access to the reels.
 
Well… the assumptions and opinions about the estate are definitely a result of their behavior the last 16 years. It’s actually very sad that most of us think it’s more possible that the estate is lying to us rather than them really not having access to the reels.
Still not really a reasonable reaction imo. Have they claimed to have lost the short film reels? Or are we calling them liars off of statements that haven’t been made?

Again, they’re lazy and cheap. No doubt about it. But damn, talk about jumping the gun lmao.
 
Still not really a reasonable reaction imo. Have they claimed to have lost the short film reels? Or are we calling them liars off of statements that haven’t been made?

Again, they’re lazy and cheap. No doubt about it. But damn, talk about jumping the gun lmao.
I feel like you're purposely ignoring the context of the entire discussion in order to have something to disagree with people about.
 
I feel like some fans are working themselves up over assumptions and hypotheticals, which imo is very weird and kinda unreasonable. There is a VERY fine line between “the estate is cheap and cuts corners which harms their relationship with MJ’s collaborators” and “the estate doesn’t care to regain ownership of material they don’t have.” I’m not even defending them here, it’s just odd.

MJ wasn’t the most contentious with his archival work, and films from the 20th century are lost consistently. Until we hear something that actually flat-out suggests negligence in this case, I’m just gonna presume laziness and conservative spending on the estate’s part.
To be fair, I'm sure we have examples where people have reached out with material and The Estate haven't been interested.
 
I feel like some fans are working themselves up over assumptions and hypotheticals, which imo is very weird and kinda unreasonable. There is a VERY fine line between “the estate is cheap and cuts corners which harms their relationship with MJ’s collaborators” and “the estate doesn’t care to regain ownership of material they don’t have.” I’m not even defending them here, it’s just odd.

MJ wasn’t the most contentious with his archival work, and films from the 20th century are lost consistently. Until we hear something that actually flat-out suggests negligence in this case, I’m just gonna presume laziness and conservative spending on the estate’s part.
Tbh, the estate has failed to preserve Michael's art and legacy numerous times since 2010. All of their projects with Sony Music were executed half-hearted. Feedback from fans, family members & former collabs of Michael's have been ingnored constantly. They did and still do act stubbornly delusional.
 
Still not really a reasonable reaction imo. Have they claimed to have lost the short film reels? Or are we calling them liars off of statements that haven’t been made?

Again, they’re lazy and cheap. No doubt about it. But damn, talk about jumping the gun lmao.


Well we already know that they are liars.. doesn’t matter if it’s about this topic.
 
Probably because the younger generation are used to digital shot movies & TV shows. A lot of old movies are degrained. I think it was done on the Terminator 2 Blu-ray & 4K discs. It's similar to brickwalled mixes on reissues or removing tape hiss from analog recordings.
This is what happens when money, care, and time go into a project. If they did this for one of MJ's concerts, I'd book a ticket to Vegas so fast lol.

Not sure what to believe about the state of the archives at this point.
In 2012 they said it was "sporadic" missing film or damaged tapes etc
Then Thriller 40 happens and we suddenly have new crisp Victory Tour concert footage..
 
This is what happens when money, care, and time go into a project. If they did this for one of MJ's concerts, I'd book a ticket to Vegas so fast lol.

Not sure what to believe about the state of the archives at this point.
In 2012 they said it was "sporadic" missing film or damaged tapes etc
Then Thriller 40 happens and we suddenly have new crisp Victory Tour concert footage..
Just gotta check the comments on that video to see what the general opinion on this stuff is.
 
It's just the Estate alone. If it was solely up to Sony we would have gotten many things we'd desired.
Yeah, I recall discussion about The Estate only doing T40 because Sony kept asking them when they were gonna release something lol.
 
Just gotta check the comments on that video to see what the general opinion on this stuff is.
Just misinformed comments tbh. Paying no mind.
Only opinion that really matters is the audience that goes to see it. Objectively speaking the tech is fascinating and a large amount of work went into it. The original version will always be there.
A concert getting that kind of treatment would be amazing imo.
 
Just misinformed comments tbh. Paying no mind.
Only opinion that really matters is the audience that goes to see it. Objectively speaking the tech is fascinating and a large amount of work went into it. The original version will always be there.
A concert getting that kind of treatment would be amazing imo.
saying that respecting the people who made the original film and the decisions they made is misinformed is absolutely wild. The original being avaliable doesn't make stuff like this any less disrespectful.
 
Last edited:
While I see where you’re coming from and mostly agree, I think that a lot of this discussion could very easily be quelled with a little transparency.

One of the best things the estate ever did, in my opinion, was release a statement ahead of Bad 25 explaining why they decided to use a VHS scan for the Wembley show. It didn’t shield the finished product from criticism, but it was very refreshing to have them lay out their thought process and be upfront about what they did and didn’t have. To this day, I still think they made the right choice releasing that copy, even if the actual restoration was less than great.

I see no reason why the same shouldn’t apply here. Just a quick email from the Online Team saying, “Here’s why we used AI, here’s why we haven’t released a proper film restoration.” Even if the answer sucks, at least we have an answer. And if there is a good answer (e.g., the film reels are lost, a 4K scan is coming and this is just a stopgap), why not tell us so we don’t flood them with unnecessary hate?

Entirely agree with this.
I liked the VHS-scan of the BAD concert. I knew upfront it wouldn't be pristine quality, but I also learned this was exactly what Michael himself had been watching, which made it more authentic to me. Of course I would love higher quality, but the transparency made me enjoy the lesser quality as well.
 
saying that respecting the people who made the original film and the decisions they made is misinformed is absolutely wild and totally expected from people who think AI is art.
Thats not what I was saying at all and you know it. I was referring to some of the random negative youtube comments that are clearly just biased. If a banana taped to a wall is considered "art" then so is ai btw 😉. The tech is only going to get better and I'm here for it. Besides, in that clip doesn't Judy Garland's own daughter even approve of it? That means more then any youtube comment lol.
Also ticket prices for that start at 129 dollars and its not even the whole movie.
Yeah, that price is insane. I'll give you that.
 
Finally up to speed on this...

Yeah, it would be nice to get an actual remaster. As it is, this is basically slightly better but basically not anything meaningful. Here's hoping next year something substantial actually happens.
 
Remember the time its available in YouTube Oficial Channel 4K
 
Last edited:
They didn't adjust sound level for youtube, so youtube reduced sound level...

Here for Black Or White audio for video (what I did - for every video I try...) I'm making automation for adjust sound to catch 13,5 - 14 lufs - If it goes to 11, 9, 8... LUFS youtube will reduce audio level. If needs, I use eq, compressors, limiters etc. Why they don't notice this, why they don't try to give best version on MJ's official channel... Audio is the most important part of a music video... Looks like they add video to timeline and push the render button...







open side by side and listen...
 
Last edited:
At a quick glance that looks much more impressive than BoW. That looks nice now I have to say. Well, a lot nicer than what we've had since Dangerous the Short Films that is.
 
At a quick glance that looks much more impressive than BoW. That looks nice now I have to say. Well, a lot nicer than what we've had since Dangerous the Short Films that is.
20250809-212156.jpg


20250809-213505.jpg
 
Last edited:
If they properly remastered all the short films (Excluding OTW) and released it on physical media (and digital storefronts) for an exorbitant sum, well, that would be worth it I guess. That's probably the only way to justify the cost in the Estate's mind.
 
tbh your upscales look like sd with grain put on top
Yes, They're trying to remove grain, I'm adding... But grain isn't "noise" Why are they trying to remove it... So, I don't use AI... I love 80s, 90s movies because of grain. They did shoot movies to "film"

But this one is extreme sample, I also uploaded original colors with less grain. Maybe I use original one for remix or etc.

 
Last edited:
Back
Top