Posted by Bill on 08/22/06 14:15

Odd though... I was just thinking the other day that the videos on that
program are astonishingly consistently ugly, as if they were shot in
older consumer model VHS cameras.

I was just a little surprised that you almost never, on that program,
see footage that would appear to have been shot with, say, a VX-2000.
(This is completely aside from the question of lighting and handling).

It occurred to me that maybe the producers are actually downgrading some
of the video to make it look more like amateur stuff? Strange idea, but
it wouldn't shock me. If they showed a clip that was actually quite
beautifully taped, it would look, to the audience, as if the TV studio
had faked it.

We have mega-million dollar Hollywood flicks deliberate shot with
quavering, bouncy handheld cameras, and "method" actors who deliberately
mumble their lines, and black and white seems to be obligatory now for
wedding photography...


Mike Kujbida wrote:
> Dawn wrote:
>
>>What is the difference in film-making that makes professional films
>>look professional, and home movies look so amateur (like on America's
>>Funiest Home videos)?
>>
>>I don't mean camera movement, or bad-lighting, but rather about
>>something fundamental with the technology used. Is it the lens
>>quality? Or is it 8mm film versus whatever the cheap-looking home
>>movies are filmed in?
>
>
>
> Sorry to disappoint you but smooth camera movement and good lighting are two
> things that makes a HUGE difference between anything the average home user
> does and professional films.
> The technology has a minor role in all of this.
> Put a consumer camcorder in the hands of a seasoned pro and I guarantee you
> that you'll say "That was shot with a consumer camcorder? No way!!"
>
> Mike
>

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