Forum for former BBC staff

Forum for former BBC staff
http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> BBC OUT OF FOCUS http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1558431128 Message started by Roundabout on May 21^st, 2019, 9:33am

Title: BBC OUT OF FOCUS
Post by Roundabout on May 21^st, 2019, 9:33am

Has anyone else noticed the increasing use of out of focus pictures on BBC TV programmes? In these days of giant screens and HD the best our erstwhile programme providers can do is to throw the focus handle away! Whilst there may in some few cases such as restrictions identifying people for legal reasons now whole frames of people conducting interviews are thrown out of focus to give us a flower or something in the foreground. even the Weather broadcasts de-focus simply to superimpose a title or graphics which is totally unnecessary! With loss-of sync-bumps used as picture transitions, film scratches superimposed on anything from the archives, Excessive jumps in levels between pres. and programmes and still inaudible sound in drama it really begs the question "Is anybody responsible watching output at all?"

Title: Re: BBC OUT OF FOCUS
Post by Knocking On on May 22^nd, 2019, 8:00am

At last it's not just me!

I have come to the conclusion that as far as soft focus is concerned,that maybe the cameramens....sorry camerapersons eyesight doesn't have to be as good as it once was needed to be!

It seems maybe we were wasting our time making sure the output was as sharp as it could be for 405 and 625 CRTs which were soft to begin with.....if we still had them they would be pretty unwatchable.

As you say now we have massive HD screens THE IDEA of a sharp picture seems foreign.

As for the sound I do my own mixing via the remote....and subtitles of course!.