Mighty Saturns [3 Discs]

The Series starts off with an excellent documentary on the Saturn Rockets. NASA hoped to use existing rockets as clusters to create the 1B rocket. It was hugely successful and was later re-used for later Soyuz docking flight.
The archival launch films highlight just about every angle, from the lauch pad, from below the rocket, above the rocket, etc and it was great to see this. It is nice to see that the film transfers look as well as they do. I've seen older NASA film transfers that basically look like they were filmed off a projection screen. These appear to be digitally scanned per frame. I recommend this highly.

Most importantly, we set out to present the complete television transmissions and onboard motion picture film for individual missions - material that just hasn't been available before. This material is purposely left in its original form, albiet with new digital transfers, color correction where necessary and possible, and digital noise reduction.

To do this we realized we would have to use certain unconventional methods. For example, we wished to present multiple angles of footage from rollout, suitup, etc. To do this required us to use different angles out of context, so that from time to time certain events were shown a couple of times so that the varied angles could be presented. Unless one realizes this was done to present multiple angles one might mistake it for material out of order.

Nearly all of the 16mm film from EVA training, suitup, astronauts visiting the launch pad (all of which was re-transferred from the original using modern, digital telecines) was shot silent, and since we also wished to present as much audio as possible from mission events such as countdowns, we have married this audio to that footage. The result is the maximum amount of primary source material available on the subject and results in important audio from other events used on previously silent film.

Lastly, especially for launch vehicles, we wanted to present the material we had only previously seen in short clips on documentaries, such as pad cameras, in its entirety. For those interested in the creation and flight of these vehicles, this material is fascinating, and filled with insightful information.

Much of the material on these sets is presented, purposefully, the way it was shot. Some of the Hollywood storytelling created on this subject is wonderful, we love that, too, but as a chronicle of the greatest explorations of mankind the material deserved to be presented without such a filter. This is the way it happened, and it is amazing.

Very soon in 2004, a six-disc chronicle of Apollo 15 and a three-disc edition on the Saturn V will be released.