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

I've watched it a few times now and while it is sharper, I can't ignore the very obvious AI artifacts that look unnatural.

Mix that with the different camera cuts/audio, knowing how important the 'short film' art was to MJ.. this is a big swing and a miss for me.
 
I must say, I find it very annoying how the estate's number one priority should be preserving Michael's art, and yet instead they alter Michael's videos by changing scenes. Now the original video, Michael's vision, will slowly disappear and the new generation won't even know that the video they are watching is not the one Michael made. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing new alternative scenes, but they should be uploaded separately from the original video as bonus footage, they should not replace the original! If they need a censored version for youtube so it would not get age-restricted, then they should still upload the uncensored version alongside it and let it be age-restricted. Unbelievable to see his own estate censoring him...
 
Piek said:
Even if they have all the source material, it can be impossible to use it. Black Or White was shot on film, so the footage can be scanned in higher resolution, just like Thriller. But the effects (the morphing, for example) were done digitally. Even in you still have a disk with all the files, most likely these effects (from the early nineties!) are made with software that no longer exists, and doesn't run on modern computers. Yes, you could try to find an old system from that era and make it run, but that system can't create 4K output. So this is really difficult, even when you still have all the material from 1991.

What we should hope for, is rescans of short films that have no digital effects. The short film for Bad, for example. Or, amazingly enough, Leave Me Alone. That one is done entirely analogue.
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Exactly this. If the estate has access to the original VFX materials, there’s no reason they shouldn’t use the original sources. If they don’t, have them remade, but do so with caution and make it as 1:1 as humanly possible.
 
etoile 37 said:
I must say, I find it very annoying how the estate's number one priority should be preserving Michael's art, and yet instead they alter Michael's videos by changing scenes. Now the original video, Michael's vision, will slowly disappear and the new generation won't even know that the video they are watching is not the one Michael made. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing new alternative scenes, but they should be uploaded separately from the original video as bonus footage, they should not replace the original! If they need a censored version for youtube so it would not get age-restricted, then they should still upload the uncensored version alongside it and let it be age-restricted. Unbelievable to see his own estate censoring him...
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Yes, this, too...and again... it's 2025, I really don't find anything in this short film offensive. There are videos on YouTube where you can see people (nearly) naked and it's not a problem. They should take these sticks out of their a...... I shouldn't participate in this discussion any longer 😏
 
I hope you won't murder me for derailing from the main topic for a second, but not every Dangerous music video has VFX. Could that mean some of them will be 4K scans rather than upscales (Who Is It and Give in to Me, for example)?
 
MJbr2 said:
I hope you won't murder me for derailing from the main topic for a second, but not every Dangerous music video has VFX. Could that mean some of them will be 4K scans rather than upscales (Who Is It and Give in to Me, for example)?
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Well, Give in to Me has those electricity VFX, so I don't know about this one

Jam, Who Is It, In The Closet could work I guess?
 
MJbr2 said:
I hope you won't murder me for derailing from the main topic for a second, but not every Dangerous music video has VFX. Could that mean some of them will be 4K scans rather than upscales (Who Is It and Give in to Me, for example)?
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Doubt it, they probably will do AI upscales for all the Dangerous videos, they did the whole 4K scans for Thriller and Beat It because these are his two most popular videos ever but seeing how they didn't do it for the Off The Wall MVs and now Black Or White, I don't think they'll bother for the rest.
 
alexbism said:
Doubt it, they probably will do AI upscales for all the Dangerous videos, they did the whole 4K scans for Thriller and Beat It because these are his two most popular videos ever but seeing how they didn't do it for the Off The Wall MVs and now Black Or White, I don't think they'll bother for the rest.
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Also, Beat It and Thriller were done in 2017/18.

OTW videos were shot on tape, mate.
 
alexbism said:
Doubt it, they probably will do AI upscales for all the Dangerous videos, they did the whole 4K scans for Thriller and Beat It because these are his two most popular videos ever but seeing how they didn't do it for the Off The Wall MVs and now Black Or White, I don't think they'll bother for the rest.
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I think it's probably going to happen, NO MATTER WHAT CAN BE DONE, they are just gonna AI upscale everything everytime there is a new SACD release. We only have to hope to get REAL 4K in the future, during the biopic era...
 
Yeah, anything post '87 that has VFX isn't going to be remastered from source.
What is cheaper and easier for the estate? Locate, scan, and re-edit vfx from outdated 90's software. Or use 1 click ai software with 1 tape...

I would obviously prefer a real remaster but we have to remember who runs this estate lol. Im assuming they used topaz.
 
Why did they do this to Michael? 😭😭😭😭

the-4k-version-of-bow-uses-ai-up-scaling-v0-649h6gjwlvff1.jpeg


I want to cry


Phuck AI
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Just remake the vfx and remaster from the original film sources. It'll take time and money, some things the estate have plenty of.
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Do they even have access to the original negatives for everything? I can't help but worry that they don't have them and that the originals were lost/destroyed.
someplace_else said:
Watched it now. It's also so laughable that they didn't show the zipper-thing, my God... it's 2025, people have seen everything. But a man who closes his zipper, oh no, the world will fall apart. Comets, explosions, big meltdown. I can't... 🫠
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I don't like that my brain went here, but I can't help but wonder if that part was removed out of concerns that people would connect that bit to the allegations. Yes, it would take a stupid amount of mental gymnastics to do so, but people have over-analyzed the tiniest of details about Michael to make such connections. And sadly, they work.

That being said... since the differences in video versions will no doubt be quickly well known even outside the fanbase, this change likely doesn't help things.
 
i guess we gotta wait to see what they do with a short film that doesn't have VFX. If they also A.I upscale this we can be sure we wont ever get actual HD/4K versions.
The sad thing is if you look up the youtube comments you see people buying it like "wooow so many details"..
There is no new details because this thing was sourced from an SD tape... lol
 
Don't really know what to think about this. Don't like the AI upscale look.

They should use the 35mm film for the shots it can be used and upscale the rest. George Michael's Careless Whisper 4K video is combination of both:
 
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after making a few comparisons and researching, I came to the conclusion that the Estate definitely haven't re-edited the footage, but messed up by choosing a random Black or White tape that had an incomplete unfinished version on it, hence shots are sometimes swapped, extended or removed and VFX incomplete and censored
 
Galactus123 said:
They should use the 35mm film for the shots it can be used and upscale the rest.
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This is the most logical way to go about things, and it’s what I thought they had initially done having watched the new Panther Dance edit.

It doesn’t give much hope for the other Dangerous videos getting proper 4K versions, even if they don’t have any VFX. It would be a terrible shame if the original film has been lost/destroyed for everything other than Thriller/Beat It and those featured in Moonwalker.
 
Once again altering his vision and making choices the man himself isn't here to approve... At the very least they have seemingly used a different tape(?) which wasn't quite done yet.

The quality itself is much better of course, I'm just a bit disappointed. Hope everyone's doing well xx
 
three fumbled releases this year:


THE WIZ, a ton of audio issues

DANGEROUS MOFI, also with a ton of audio issues and the worst mastering of the album

BLACK OR WHITE 4K, a cheap AI upscale and they didn't even care to check if it's even the finished version


I somehow have the feeling that the other Dangerous short films will follow and it will be even worse
 
innuendo141 said:
"A ton of audio issues" is a bit hysterical.

Lets wait and see what Mofi says. They could say its how the tape was given to them, or that its a manufacturing error.

Let's keep this to the Mofi releases shall we?
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this isn't a mofi thread but if you want to know

Jam: right channel around 1.5dB louder
Why You Wanna Trip On Me: left channel around 1dB louder
Will You Be There: 1s of an ending of a different song is present at the beginning plus heavy noise reduction which distorts the intro
overall mastering sucks and ruins the experience
 
alexbism said:
Doubt it, they probably will do AI upscales for all the Dangerous videos, they did the whole 4K scans for Thriller and Beat It because these are his two most popular videos ever but seeing how they didn't do it for the Off The Wall MVs and now Black Or White, I don't think they'll bother for the rest.
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The Off The Wall music videos were shot on tape, and even more complicating: most likely they were live edited. That means Michael was in front of a green screen (or blue screen) and the images behind him were added while recording. This a method used a lot in live television. It's quick and cheap. The result, however, is a 'master' that hasn't any layers. The effects are baked in. This makes upscaling really difficult.

I know there is every reason to be critical of the Estate, but this issue is not their fault. Using AI is probably the only way to upscale the Off The Wall Videos. Of course AI can be used in different ways, so we can discuss the result, but there probably isn't another way to make these videos larger.
 
mjfp said:
this isn't a mofi thread but if you want to know

Jam: right channel around 1.5dB louder
Why You Wanna Trip On Me: left channel ariund 1dB louder
Will You Be There: 1s of an ending of a different song is present at the beginning plus heavy noise reduction which distorts the intro
overall mastering sucks and ruins the experience
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Yeah sorry I was in the wrong thread- edited my post. My apologies.

I was not aware of WYWTOM or WYBT. Thanks.
 
Piek said:
The Off The Wall music videos were shot on tape, and even more complicating: most likely they were live edited. That means Michael was in front of a green screen (or blue screen) and the images behind him were added while recording. This a method used a lot in live television. It's quick and cheap. The result, however, is a 'master' that hasn't any layers. The effects are baked in. This makes upscaling really difficult.

I know there is every reason to be critical of the Estate, but this issue is not their fault. Using AI is probably the only way to upscale the Off The Wall Videos. Of course AI can be used in different ways, so we can discuss the result, but there probably isn't another way to make these videos larger.
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Sure but I think that they've used AI is not the problem, it's how they used it. I was able to get a 100x better result within 5 minutes. And it's not that Branca sits on his laptop and did it himself but they are working with a company who is doing these "restorations"
 
AcielTwilight said:
Jam, Who Is It, In The Closet could work I guess?
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Who Is It has some digital effects (for example the white faces that appear on desks). Jam also has some effects, think of Michael kicking the ball in the basket with his heel. Could be in-camera effects, but could also be digital. In The Closet might be an option!
 
This isn't the first time that a somewhat "alternate" version of a video would be released, either during or after MJs lifetime (excluding Smooth Criminal, YANA etc).

The Blood on the Dance Floor video on Number Ones and the Visionary singles is not the same video in circulation in 1997. Funny enough, more of the suggestive ot sexy scenes were replaced.

The Refugee Camp remix was used for the Vision DVD release instead of the album version. This should have been added as a bonus video on the final disc.

Whether this was an oversight or intentional we will never know. The Estate never addresses things like this.
 
innuendo141 said:
This isn't the first time that a somewhat "alternate" version of a video would be released, either during or after MJs lifetime (excluding Smooth Criminal, YANA etc).

The Blood on the Dance Floor video on Number Ones and the Visionary singles is not the same video in circulation in 1997. Funny enough, more of the suggestive ot sexy scenes were replaced.

The Refugee Camp remix was used for the Vision DVD release instead of the album version. This should have been added as a bonus video on the final disc.

Whether this was an oversight or intentional we will never know. The Estate never addresses things like this.
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You Rock My World as well but that's not the point, others were changed on purpose. This one is an "oops I grabbed the wrong tape" thing
 
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