Swing Girls (and a boy)

bmwracer wrote:
LOL... There's actually a thread somewhere in the General Discussion forum discussing that very topic. :mrgreen:

Yeah, I picked that up from watching dramas and anything/everything Japanese... My niece and I do that when someone takes a picture during any family function... Funny.


EDIT: Here's the thread: http://jdorama.com/viewtopic.5022.0.htm :)

Figured it was probably something like "banzai", but since it isn't that, I wondered what it really was. After all those videos without subtitles, I'm tired of being limited to "figuring"! Heck, I wonder about the subtitles too. Translations are always tricky, but have to have doubts about a Japanese movie, subtitled to English, done by a company in Thailand!!!

Thanks for the link on the "V" sign. Strange that it would essentialy have no meaning.

dabigkahuna wrote:Figured it was probably something like "banzai", but since it isn't that, I wondered what it really was. After all those videos without subtitles, I'm tired of being limited to "figuring"! Heck, I wonder about the subtitles too. Translations are always tricky, but have to have doubts about a Japanese movie, subtitled to English, done by a company in Thailand!!!

That's odd, because the official release of the movie from Japan has English subtitles, done by one of the foremost English subbers of Japanese films, Linda Hoaglund ( http://www.lhoaglund.com/en/index.html )

bmwracer wrote:
That's odd, because the official release of the movie from Japan has English subtitles, done by one of the foremost English subbers of Japanese films, Linda Hoaglund ( http://www.lhoaglund.com/en/index.html )

Hmmm, I know someplace I read it was from Thailand - maybe it was just the company that released it, but the subtitles were done by someone in Japan.

But still doesn't seem to have any of the extras sub-titled from what I've seen and people in this thread have said those extras are not subtitled as well.

dabigkahuna wrote:Hmmm, I know someplace I read it was from Thailand - maybe it was just the company that released it, but the subtitles were done by someone in Japan.

If you look at the end credits, you'll see Hoaglund's name near the end... Unless it was cut off. :(

But still doesn't seem to have any of the extras sub-titled from what I've seen and people in this thread have said those extras are not subtitled as well.

A lot of times the extras aren't subbed... Too much work, I guess. :(

bmwracer wrote:
A lot of times the extras aren't subbed... Too much work, I guess. :(

When I read reviews, I sometimes wonder if they really paid attention to the movie or if they speak Japanese and caught something that wasn't included in the subtitles (or picked up info from the extras) - or if I'm wrong (nah, not possible).

For example, I've seen a bunch that said the band went to a band CONTEST. Even saw one that said they won the "contest". But it was a festival and, at least every place I've taught, this is different. A contest would have placements (1st, 2nd, etc). A festival may be judged for a rating (Superior, Excellent, etc), but no placements. Every band could conceivable get the same rating. Some festival have "judges" but they just give hopefully helpful comments, but no actual ratings. And some are not officially evaluated at all.

Nothing in what I saw made me think it was a contest, and certainly not that they "won' it!

Likewise the "Brass Band" was described as an "award winning" band. If so, it had to be info given elsewhere or not in the subtitles.

dabigkahuna wrote:For example, I've seen a bunch that said the band went to a band CONTEST. Even saw one that said they won the "contest". But it was a festival and, at least every place I've taught, this is different. A contest would have placements (1st, 2nd, etc). A festival may be judged for a rating (Superior, Excellent, etc), but no placements. Every band could conceivable get the same rating. Some festival have "judges" but they just give hopefully helpful comments, but no actual ratings. And some are not officially evaluated at all.

Something lost in translation or interpretation, I think.

Been reviewing the "making of" vids. Lack of translation hurts a lot, but I think I've figure out a few things - and one piece of info from the internet.

The first of the three downloads had what I think had to be dates (there were two of them) and before those there were the numbers 60 and 30. Here's the details:

60 (at 7:20 on the vid): practicing instruments

30 (at about 13:00 on the vid): Started with teaching the drummer

7/25/2003 (about 19:00 on the vid): Shows them filming various scenes.

2/17/2004 (23:36 on the vid): Shows them first filming the scene where the band is playing on the snowy roof.

From the internet: The film was released on 9/11/2004

Also found that the live CD, which I think was from the First and Last concert (not sure) was released in April 2005.

So, this is my best guess from all that. The 60 and 30 may have referred to how long it was from the start of filming, thus starting 60 days before.

Since filming scenes is first shown at 7/25/2003, that would mean they started training about 5/26/2003.

I've read various places that they trained for 5 months - but that could include time while filming.

The next date, 7 months later, was likely the final filming where they had to do the winter scenes. Could have been a layoff during part of that time, but no way to tell. I also think it is the final filming because at the end of it they are giving each of the girls flowers. I think they may have done that other times - maybe marking the end of different sections of the film or, if they had a break waiting for snow, maybe at those times. But in this one, girls are crying so it seems more likely they are sad about having it all come to an end and leaving each other.

This could leave up to 7 more months to get the film all ready for the release.

Now, since the band was playing during the winter scene, it seemed to me that it was not nearly as good as in the movie. No surprise, even if they played really well normally, outside in that weather would be a killer for experienced players!

So, if that was from the "take" they actually used, they had to dub over it, which still leaves the question of whether they dubbed themselves.

The date for the CD release, unfortunately, doesn't help us get an idea of how prepared they were for that concert. Clearly it was well after the movie release, but it could also have been long after the concert itself. So far have not been able to find a date for the concert itself or any of the tour dates so I'm still looking.

^ Wow, you're really delving into the nuts and bolts of this film... :victory:

I suppose I would have as well, but my total lack of knowledge of the language would've just frustrated the crap out of me. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:^ Wow, you're really delving into the nuts and bolts of this film... :victory:

I suppose I would have as well, but my total lack of knowledge of the language would've just frustrated the crap out of me. :sweat:

I do that from time to time - very rare. Did it finding most of the film locations for Blue Hawaii (on my own after moving here). Also am doing it on a game called "Cover Orange" for the iphone. I have the third highest score (though the top scorer may be a hacker). The 2nd place is legit - we exchange info - but she uses an iTouch (3rd generation) and we have learned that the iphone 4 simply can't get as many points as her version of the iTouch. On my iphone 3G, I am far ahead, but it doesn't have the leaderboard so you can't tell. I've been thinking of jailbreaking it so I can do the leaderboard.

Lots of quirks in that game that others helped me with, then I fourd more on my own.

Back to the vids, I saw Juri clearly mimicking playing a piano - I know she already played and actually tried out for that part. I don't know, however, if she was talking about what she tried out for or was just telling that she did play piano.

Interesting though that he put even an experienced player on something they coudn't play. Might be that he just wanted a boy there, or maybe he was trying to do something more than just make a movie.

^ Speaking of Juri-chan playing the piano, have you watched the Nodame Cantabile series?

If you appreciate music (Classical, in this case), you'll like (if not love) Nodame. :victory:

bmwracer wrote:^ Speaking of Juri-chan playing the piano, have you watched the Nodame Cantabile series?

If you appreciate music (Classical, in this case), you'll like (if not love) Nodame. :victory:

Haven't seen it yet - but heard lots of praise for it. And i like classical so I'll get to it eventually. Any download links for it?

I'm kinda amazed by Juri. In various pictures I've seen, like your magazine cover, she looks completely different. I note the trombone player can be that way too. Some pictures or things from the "making of" vids, she looks very different. Looking at those pics, I can kinda see the resemblance to her role, but looking at her image in her role, I just can't see the resemblance to her other images.

Weird.

dabigkahuna wrote:Haven't seen it yet - but heard lots of praise for it. And i like classical so I'll get to it eventually. Any download links for it?

Are you set up to download via Bittorrent?

Here's the link from D-Addicts: http://d-addicts.com/forum/torrents.php?search=nodame :)

If not, I can burn some DVDs for you and drop 'em in the mail. :)

I'm kinda amazed by Juri. In various pictures I've seen, like your magazine cover, she looks completely different. I note the trombone player can be that way too. Some pictures or things from the "making of" vids, she looks very different. Looking at those pics, I can kinda see the resemblance to her role, but looking at her image in her role, I just can't see the resemblance to her other images.

Weird.

She's one of those rare actresses who's a chameleon: she disappears into the role she's playing... :victory:

I don't know how bittorrent works.

I did, for Swing Girls, get some .rar files from someplace. Not bittorrent. Don't know how the quality would compare to ripping a DVD.

May take you up on your DVD offer, but if I can download it, at least for now, I'd go that route first.

If Swing Girls and Nodame are available for purchase in a format that plays in the U.S., I may eventually buy them - Swing Girls is definitely worth it!

dabigkahuna wrote:I don't know how bittorrent works.

I did, for Swing Girls, get some .rar files from someplace. Not bittorrent. Don't know how the quality would compare to ripping a DVD.

Most, if not all, the stuff at D-Addicts are HDTV or DVD rips. :)

How do you watch your videos? On a computer? On a standalone DVD player? Both?

May take you up on your DVD offer, but if I can download it, at least for now, I'd go that route first.

Just let me know. :victory:

If Swing Girls and Nodame are available for purchase in a format that plays in the U.S., I may eventually buy them - Swing Girls is definitely worth it!

I bought the two-disc Swing Girls DVD and Nodame Box Set through Amazon Japan... But they're Region 2, so you'll need a standalone Region-free DVD player or use DVD Region Free on your PC... And the Nodame set has no English subtitles.

I think you can find Region-Free English-subbed bootlegs of both on eBay.

I looked at your link to the downloads for Nodame - afraid I don't understand how it works! I got a small file to download, but when I double-click on it, it opens up Opera (not my normal browser) and seems to just offer to download the same file.

This is an area of computing I'm really weak in, probably because I have always tended to avoid downloading things I don't know about.

Do I need to join? What else do I need to do?

Right now I mostly watch DVDs on my MacBook. I do have a DVD player for the TV, but haven't used it in ages. Most of my DVDs have already been ripped to my computer. Eventually all will be.

I also, sometimes, take a ripped file (done with "Handbrake" and run Handbrake on it again to make an iPhone copy.

The Swing Girls version I made from 4 .rar files I made into an mp4 file (using VLC). It is only 446 megabytes and resolution says 592x320. I am guessing that ripping a DVD would give better resolution, but don't know for sure.

Saw a Blue Ray (region free) someplace. I don't have a blue-ray player though.

Do the DVD players on computers play stuff from any region or is it something you have to check on? Or is it a matter of the software in the computer used rather than the drive itself?

dabigkahuna wrote:I looked at your link to the downloads for Nodame - afraid I don't understand how it works! I got a small file to download, but when I double-click on it, it opens up Opera (not my normal browser) and seems to just offer to download the same file.

This is an area of computing I'm really weak in, probably because I have always tended to avoid downloading things I don't know about.

Do I need to join? What else do I need to do?

The small file is the torrent file... You'll need to download a BitTorrent client ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittorrent_client ) program like uTorrent ( Mac version: http://www.utorrent.com/downloads/mac ) to use it.

BitTorrent is sorta like how Napster ran back in the day: shared internet community files, with Seeders (uploaders) and Leechers (downloaders)...

This forum link might help: http://jdorama.com/viewtopic.7957.htm

Right now I mostly watch DVDs on my MacBook. I do have a DVD player for the TV, but haven't used it in ages. Most of my DVDs have already been ripped to my computer. Eventually all will be.

I also, sometimes, take a ripped file (done with "Handbrake" and run Handbrake on it again to make an iPhone copy.

Hmm, a Mac user.... :sweat:

The Swing Girls version I made from 4 .rar files I made into an mp4 file (using VLC). It is only 446 megabytes and resolution says 592x320. I am guessing that ripping a DVD would give better resolution, but don't know for sure.

Typically, DVD releases are 720x480 or 704x480.

Saw a Blue Ray (region free) someplace. I don't have a blue-ray player though.

Yeah, there was a Blu-Ray release of the movie... Review here: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews44/swing_girls_blu-ray.htm

Do the DVD players on computers play stuff from any region or is it something you have to check on? Or is it a matter of the software in the computer used rather than the drive itself?

Supposedly the drive has a feature which allows the Region Code to be changed, but only five or so times... After that, it's locked to the last Region Code used. :sweat:

Using a program like DVD Region Free on a PC allows the PC to ignore the Region Code and playback any DVD from any region...

The standalone DVD player that I have, a Philips, has a way to set the player to Region Code 0 via the remote, so that it can play a DVD from any region... The Philips can also playback NTSC (US and Asia) and PAL (Europe) video standards as well.

I downloaded DivX because some stuff I read referred to that. Then I downloaded uTorrent. Then I opened a bit torrent file I already had for swing girls and it is presently downloading that.

So, some questions:

Right now it says I'm getting 2 or 3 out of 3 seeds. Also zero of 9 peers. What does that mean?

My speed downloading jumps around like a lot. I'm on my brothers wi-fi and I've seen it up to 80+ kB/sec down to less than one!!!

ETA goes from 2+ hours to over a day!

At the bottom is a setting for "seed ratio" - what is that and should I do anything with it?

Also read that I'd be uploading the file at the same time I download and it will continue until I specifically stop it. How do I do that? Using by brother's system, I don't want to tie limit him longer than necessary.

One more about this. What if I have to stop the download? Do I have to start over later?

dabigkahuna wrote:I downloaded DivX because some stuff I read referred to that. Then I downloaded uTorrent. Then I opened a bit torrent file I already had for swing girls and it is presently downloading that.

So, some questions:

Right now it says I'm getting 2 or 3 out of 3 seeds. Also zero of 9 peers. What does that mean?

My speed downloading jumps around like a lot. I'm on my brothers wi-fi and I've seen it up to 80+ kB/sec down to less than one!!!

ETA goes from 2+ hours to over a day!

Not sure if it was mentioned in the BT thread, but did you make the necessary changes regarding Port Forwarding?

Port Forwarding will allow data to get passed at the maximum speed that your connection is set up for... See this link: http://portforward.com/

At the bottom is a setting for "seed ratio" - what is that and should I do anything with it?

Also read that I'd be uploading the file at the same time I download and it will continue until I specifically stop it. How do I do that? Using by brother's system, I don't want to tie limit him longer than necessary.

You're a Seeder if you're doing nothing but uploading... A Peer is someone who is uploading and downloading, typical when you're a Leecher.

One more about this. What if I have to stop the download? Do I have to start over later?

Nope.

That's one of the great things about BT: if you stop for any reason, intentional or not, the BT Client knows where you left off, so you never have to start all over again... That's not usually the case with a direct download: if there's an interruption of any kind, you're hosed.

Whew, that's a lot to absorb. Read through a fair portion, but getting late and about time for me to get to bed. Also not sure I want to do anything while using my brother's network - unless this port forwarding has nothing to do with changing his network. Anyay, since it isn't going to get done tonight and, hopefully, even this slow process will get the file done by then, I'll just let it go for now.

BTW, do you have some sort of database of links for everything imaginable? I mean, you keep coming up not only with links to other sites, but ones on the subject here that go back to like 2003!

You must be one organized person!

I'll warn you ahead of time - if this all works, my next question is going to be how I tell what order all those Nodame files should be viewed in.

Of course, I'll be looking for better versions of all the other Swing Girls disks too, but at least I know their order.

Oh, the file I'm downloading is over 700 MB - well over what I already have, though doesn't seem as big as other movies I've ripped myself. Well, any improvement is a plus.

dabigkahuna wrote:Whew, that's a lot to absorb. Read through a fair portion, but getting late and about time for me to get to bed. Also not sure I want to do anything while using my brother's network - unless this port forwarding has nothing to do with changing his network. Anyay, since it isn't going to get done tonight and, hopefully, even this slow process will get the file done by then, I'll just let it go for now.

BTW, do you have some sort of database of links for everything imaginable? I mean, you keep coming up not only with links to other sites, but ones on the subject here that go back to like 2003!

You must be one organized person!

Nope, no database... I just know what you're going through. :)

I'll warn you ahead of time - if this all works, my next question is going to be how I tell what order all those Nodame files should be viewed in.

They're ordered episodes 1-11... In varying resolutions. :D

Of course, I'll be looking for better versions of all the other Swing Girls disks too, but at least I know their order.

There's another site where you could get the DVD rip of it... And many other Asian films as well. :D