Filmic Effect

Saturday Swings

certainly swung me....

I hate it's use with passion.

I personally think some producers are clueless. They don't even stop to think if it will work or not, they just stick it on anyway. there's plenty of palces where it's not needed and looks crap. Departure Lounge for a start- what are they thinking. Still, it's not all bad- Family Affairs & Nighty Night have both dropped it. It's an improvement on both shows, it's just a shame both shows are ending.

Technically it meant you only saw half as much of Natasha Kaplinsky, which is generally not a bad thing...

Unfortunately, it probably means she applied twice as much make-up to compensate.

I noticed its use last night too but found a setting on my TV ("live") that alters the brightness and contrast to reduce the effect.

I don't like the filmic effect at all for comedy, light entertainment or soaps (or Grange Hill), it seems to put a "barrier" between my eyes and the action on screen, it doesn't look real somehow, but at the same time it looks more relaistic than bright studio lights etc - I don't understand why this is! Does anyone know what I mean, and can you explain how it makes the programme feel different and distant?

Remember when Emmerdale tried it? Throughout the Tricia's wedding to Marlon period.

I prefer it personally but maybe that's just me!

nighty night suited it too because it was a highly surreal show

Equally, The League Of Gentlemen really suited it, as it gave it a slightly more moody feel which suited the nature of the programme. One of the extras on the series 1 DVD allows you to switch the filmy effect on and off for one studio-shot scene. It's surprising how without the effect, it completely changes the mood and gives it the look of a cheesy sitcom.

I think it's one of those things that works well for some things, but not for everything.

Was Red Dwarf VII filmic or did they just forget to turn the lamps on in some scenes?

That depends on which half i see. If they show her from her knees down then I wouldnt have a problem watching.

Just need to turn the sound down then.

I'll just say it in an uncomplicated way if I can. Normal TV is 'interlaced', which means each of the 25 frames per second comes in 2 parts, which are called fields. Each of the fields could be thought of as a frame in it's own right, or a half-frame. This means it's got the effect of 50fps, giving it smoother motion, and therefore it's more life like. Film / Filmic effected video is 25fps, without any interlacing, so it looks slower and more jerky and less life-like. Film itself has a quality to it that makes things seem quite dark, so they probably add some extra effects to filmic video to mimic this too.

I think somebody should try and make a programme as they did in the 70s and 80s. Use filmic on outdoor scenes and normal video on indoor scenes. See how it works.