Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 02-28-2020 11:17 AM
Most NASA film footage was shot between 1 and 12 frames per second (fps). Today with artificial intelligence such as the DAIN-AI it is possible to interpolate frames 2, 4 and even 8 times.
So the common 8 to 12 fps footage can be interpolated to 24, 48 or higher. This greatly enhances the smoothness of low-frame rate footage, with minimum or zero artefacts. Especially with motion such as during the landing/descent and astronaut motion.
I have been experimenting with DAIN, see some of my progress here:
Apollo 15 Descent:
Apollo 15 Ascent:
Apollo 15 EVA Test:
Eventually I intend to do every mission. But for the best results I need high-quality sources of each magazine at 24 fps (mot 59,94/60 fps for broadcasting purposes as this causes stuttering when brought back to original recording speed) and high-bitrate, less compression possible (preferring RAW).
Anybody able to point me in a direction of high-quality sources?
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3528 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 02-28-2020 12:02 PM
The Apollo Flight Journal has many 16mm magazines at 24 frames-per-second. Each mission seems to have its own home page. Here is Apollo 14.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 02-28-2020 12:13 PM
Yes, that is the source I use now. I download the YouTube video and crop it. But the YouTube compression algorithm is horrendous. A pity.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 02-29-2020 08:20 AM
Apollo 15 LRV EVA
Does anybody know a list of all 16mm magazines and at which framerate each scene was shot?
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 03-01-2020 07:19 AM
Apollo 14 descent from ladder and flag planting interpolated with DAIN-AI from 12 fps to 24 fps.
Video source: YT, RetroSpaceHD. Audio source: YT, Austin1987VCR Music: Ambience by Quite
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 03-24-2020 03:29 PM
Apollo 17 deep space EVA interpolated from 6 to 24 and synchronized with TV camera video. I don't have TV footage for everything right now so it is incomplete.
Would anyone know a decent source for Apollo 17 deep space EVA TV footage?
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 03-26-2020 11:55 AM
Partial Apollo 11 landing:
I have interpolated the entire 16mm mag to 24fps, will share later.
BA002 Member
Posts: 195 From: Utrecht,NL Registered: Feb 2007
posted 03-26-2020 02:19 PM
I just watched a few clips on my TV screen and the visual effect is very impressive! Hope you will be able to find the required high-res sources. Personally I would prefer not to have the background music, but that’s a matter of taste I guess. For someone residing in the Descartes Highlands your Dutch is surprisingly good :-)
Blackarrow Member
Posts: 3280 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
posted 03-26-2020 09:57 PM
In the Apollo 14 flag-raising sequence, I assume that is the "Beep Beep" patch stuck on the back of Shepard's back-pack.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 03-28-2020 06:25 AM
Apollo 17 16mm mag O interpolated from 6 to 24fps.
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 03-30-2020 11:31 AM
I am working on several standalone videos (No comparisons, just the interpolated footage).
When it comes to videos like this, do you prefer lots of interesting bells and whistles, or just the bare-bones footage to have the screen all for itself with the audio footage, possibly TV?
Bells and whistles being something like this. And simple being something like my previous Apollo 14 and Apollo 17 deep space EVA video.
I really am torn, both are nice but I may prefer something simple so it doesn't distract from the footage as-is. Would like other people's opinions.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3528 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 03-30-2020 11:49 AM
Just the bare-bones footage.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 03-31-2020 09:22 AM
I tried publishing the complete Apollo 11 landing yesterday on YouTube but unfortunately part of the landing got an automated copyright claim by Discovery CEEMCA. This will be taking at least a month to dispute, if not longer.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-03-2020 06:40 AM
Unfortunately my dispute has been rejected. I can make a new one, but I don't know how to proceed now.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-04-2020 08:48 AM
Experience an orbit, this time in eerie silence with just the comms.
I've also decided to create a Patreon Page for those who want to help out.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-04-2020 04:30 PM
The complete Apollo 11 descent interpolated from 6 to 24fps from a 1080p source.
astroborg Member
Posts: 207 From: Woodbridge, VA, USA Registered: Nov 2000
posted 04-05-2020 08:23 PM
Thank you! Right before landing the lunar surface through the gap in the landing gear exhibited some weird artifacts as a result of the interpolation. Other than that, beautiful!
heng44 Member
Posts: 3495 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
posted 04-06-2020 01:14 PM
Not only right before landing...
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-11-2020 02:53 AM
The complete Apollo 13 16mm collection synchronized with audio and TV when possible in 24fps.
perineau Member
Posts: 297 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 04-12-2020 04:05 AM
Amazing technical work, thank you for the time and effort!
I have a special request: It's a shame that only a few blurred images exist of the EVAs performed by Worden and Mattingly. Any chance of you working your magic to give them a better, well-earned legacy of some clear images of them as you did for Evans on Apollo 17? I hope you'll take this into consideration.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-12-2020 05:06 AM
Thank you.
You mean scenes like this (53 minutes in)?
Unfortunately it appears to have been shot at 1fps. This is way too much movement between frames, everything just gets smeared, especially the fast astronaut movements.
Frame blending may work better here because it won't create a smearing effect.
I can get away with 6fps if the movement is slow (orbit, deep-space EVA). I haven't tried some of the rover traverses which I think were shot at 6fps? that may work decent enough as well.
I've interpolated the first part of the Apollo 11 EVA shot at 6fps to 24fps, it looks okay when Neil is moving around slowly but once he quickly moves his shovel-net, or when he walks around it looks quite unnatural. Almost passable but not quite.
perineau Member
Posts: 297 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 04-12-2020 07:48 AM
Yes, this is what I was referring to (the Apollo 16 film of Mattingly's spacewalk) and also the Apollo 15 TV images of Worden's spacewalk. I once saw somewhere a film of Worden's EVA which I believe came from the TV broadcast.
Dietrich Member
Posts: 74 From: Registered: Jul 2009
posted 04-12-2020 04:30 PM
The NASA document "Apollo 16 Index of 70 mm Photographs and 16 mm Film Strips" (MSC 07252) gives 6 fps on page 18 for magazine FF, which shows the EVA by Mattingly.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-12-2020 06:00 PM
Unfortunately I can't download a decent quality 24fps file from the AFJ, it doesn't have them on their Apollo 16 page, nor are they at their Apollo 16 YouTube channel.
I'll be downloading the HQ .mxf file from archive.org and see if I can apply reverse telecine on the 59.94fps frame rate to remove all duplicate frames. I've been messing around with virtual dub but had only menial success... sometimes it would work, but later in the same scene I think the dube pattern changed and duplicate start showing up again.
This causes stutter/jerking in the interpolation.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-15-2020 08:32 AM
I've put together a workflow with FFMPEG that successfully removes all duplicates from the archive.org footage. Excellent, I am happy I can finally use this superior source.
I did some tests with interpolating the Apollo 16 deep space eva and it looks very good.
I've made polls on my Patreon for people to vote which missions I should work on next. And what kind of footage I should combine.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-19-2020 07:48 AM
quote:Originally posted by perineau: Yes, this is what I was referring to (the Apollo 16 film of Mattingly's spacewalk) and also the Apollo 15 TV images of Worden's spacewalk. I once saw somewhere a film of Worden's EVA which I believe came from the TV broadcast.
I've interpolated the Apollo 16 deep-space EVA and synchronized it with TV & audio. This video will be available to non-patrons in a week.
Unfortunately the Apollo 15 16mm camera malfunctioned and only shot a single frame of the deep-space EVA.
perineau Member
Posts: 297 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 04-19-2020 09:05 AM
Thanks for the info and the work put in for Apollo 16. About Apollo 15, there was also TV video of Worden's spacewalk — could that be exploitable?
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-19-2020 10:51 AM
I have not yet tried any TV footage, increasing a frame rate of 6 or 12 to 24 is much more noticeable than increasing 24 to 48 or 60. At least in my opinion.
And there is often a lot of noise, which would result in artifacts. But I'm talking with somebody now on giving it some attempts.
What would be useful for this would be very high-bitrate digitizations of video tapes or telecined-film footage. But most online is pretty poor quality. Spacecraft Films' DVD sets may provide the most comprehensive and best quality video files.
But you got to remember interpolating one minute of 720p 16mm footage can take between 1 and 2 hours. So working on full, multiple-hour broadcasts is not possible unless you got access to a +100k dollar renderfarm.
perineau Member
Posts: 297 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 04-19-2020 12:25 PM
Thanks for the technical explanations!
Dietrich Member
Posts: 74 From: Registered: Jul 2009
posted 04-19-2020 03:39 PM
quote:Originally posted by perineau: Thanks for the info and the work put in for Apollo 16. About Apollo 15, there was also TV video of Worden's spacewalk — could that be exploitable?
Worden's spacewalk is captured on magazine F - #1257. However, only one single frame is available due to jamming of the film magazine. The Apollo Flight Journal has it on YouTube in full HD.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-22-2020 02:24 AM
The Apollo 16 Deep Space EVA, 16mm + TV:
perineau Member
Posts: 297 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 04-22-2020 03:22 AM
Wow - fantastic job!
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-29-2020 03:54 AM
Apollo 14 landing, EVA & liftoff in 24fps + comms:
oly Member
Posts: 1185 From: Perth, Western Australia Registered: Apr 2015
posted 04-29-2020 10:34 AM
This is some amazing work, well done and thanks for sharing. I hope someday you get the Apollo 17 lunar surface liftoff film done.
perineau Member
Posts: 297 From: FRANCE Registered: Jul 2007
posted 04-30-2020 01:19 PM
Fantastic job, as always!
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 05-16-2020 07:58 AM
Apollo 11 in 24fps: First Steps & Moonwalk:
MSL Curiosity Mars Rover landing in 32fps.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 06-11-2020 01:53 PM
The Apollo 11 flag placement was recorded with 16mm in 1fps. Interpolated to the max setting of 8x, it results in an "8fps" video.
It looks okay-ish... sometimes. I may eventually upload it as a proof of concept.
Apollo 15 Lunar Ascent, interpolated to 24fps with just the comms:
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 211 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 06-18-2020 10:08 AM
Apollo 15 Lunar Landing interpolated from 12fps to 60fps in 5 hours.
posted 02-28-2020 11:17 AM
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