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What happened to videotaped-looking sitcoms?
- Thread starter ixnay
- Start date
Mediafrog+
Walk of Fame Participant
Keep in mind that many, if not most shows these days are shot on digital video and recorded to hard drive or other digital storage platforms. In post production (or even "in camera") the video can be given a "film" look through editing effects. Video production has come a long way since the film vs. video tape days.
A
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That's exactly correct. Almost nothing is recorded on any sort of physical media nowadays. Everything is digital. Any, you are correct about how postproduction gives the finished product its final look. Many people would be amazed to know how many things they see on TV and movies are shot on Canon EOS systems that look like an old fashioned 35 MM SLR camera.
LKellerIII
Walk of Fame Participant
Yes - I remember that shiny (for want of a better word) quality videotape always had - I never liked it. I recall that back-in-the-day a few comedy shows started on video (I'm thinking Newhart was one of them), then switched to film. When they did, it always looked better.
But today, practically EVERYTHING is shot on digital video these days, including theatrical "films." I had an expeience at the local mutliplex movie theater recently. The fire alarm went of, so we had to evacuate. There was no smoke, so most of us hung around in the lobby for awhile, and sure enough, it turned out to be a false alarm. So we piled back into the theater to finish the movie, which had not been turned off during the evacuation. An usher came in with a remote control and rewound it back to the point we had evacuated. Just like a DVR at home. So I'm assuming it's ALL digital, all on a computer in what used to be the "projectionist booth" - or someplace entirely different.
A
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You are correct. Most modern theaters are all digital. The days of cans of film in a box arriving at a theater are almost over.
I recall most of my favorite British television shows had the interior scenes in the studio on videotape and the exteriors on filmed. But I also recall that while it was easy to tell video from film when you saw it on TV, it was not easy to tell videotape from live.
This thread is about sitcoms produced using three video cameras instead of three film cameras, where the actors basically performed the entire episode in real time as if it were a stage play. Desi Arnaz pioneered that technique for I Love Lucy. When video cameras got better, producers started using video instead of film for shows like All in the Family, even when other production companies continued to use film for three camera shows. But back then, almost all variety shows (which used to be popular) were on video. Even now, shows like Dancing With the Stars or The Voice still have the look of old-school videotape, even though they're recorded digitally.
vchimpanzee
Walk of Fame Participant
"The First Family" from 2012 looks videotaped.
My brother in law, a long-time documentary filmmaker, clued me to this when I bought a Canon digital SLR. Sure enough, even a cheap slr can make great HD video these days.
joebtsflk1
Star Participant
Film vs. video: I didn't know Twilight Zone produced a number of episodes on videotape until I woke up in the middle of the night to see the "Flight 22" episode in shiny, magnificent videotape. I thought it was a stylistic choice just for that episode, but several episodes that season were ordered by the skinflints of CBS on videotape.
But the "realism" of videotape added to the creepiness of that episode. On DVD, I only have come across kinescope versions, even though I know the videotape existed at least as of the mid 90's.
But the "realism" of videotape added to the creepiness of that episode. On DVD, I only have come across kinescope versions, even though I know the videotape existed at least as of the mid 90's.
anotherguyTN
Walk of Fame Participant
The taped episodes of The Twilight Zone are on Netflix and have the taped look, which I assume comes from the DVD versions. I'll agree that the live black & white look gives them a creepier feel. One of my favorites, Night of the Meek, with Art Carney as a fired department store Santa Claus, is a part of that group.
On the issue of theaters converting to digital, I was talking to a guy I work with a few days back about theaters in the towns we live near outside of Jackson, TN. The theater near me in Humboldt was able to make the digital conversion and is still showing new movies. The theater where he lives in Bolivar couldn't afford to go digital and has stopped running new movies. It's become a community center for local events including classic movies. He said they recently showed Gone with the Wind. After that another guy (not me) we work with said "Boy, your town really is behind!!!", but in a good way.
I know some towns do something like that with their old theaters, but I wish more would.
On the issue of theaters converting to digital, I was talking to a guy I work with a few days back about theaters in the towns we live near outside of Jackson, TN. The theater near me in Humboldt was able to make the digital conversion and is still showing new movies. The theater where he lives in Bolivar couldn't afford to go digital and has stopped running new movies. It's become a community center for local events including classic movies. He said they recently showed Gone with the Wind. After that another guy (not me) we work with said "Boy, your town really is behind!!!", but in a good way.
I know some towns do something like that with their old theaters, but I wish more would.This theatre (a landmark for many on their way to the DE beaches and Ocean City, MD) managed to follow Humboldt's example, not Bolivar's...
http://www.theclaytontheatre.com/
ixnay
A
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There's nothing to link to, but I know of at least one local movie theater that stopped showing new movies a long time ago because they couldn't afford to install sound equipment to show talkies.
anotherguyTN
Walk of Fame Participant
That actually sounds like a cross between the two theaters in my area, showing both new and classic movies. Not a bad idea!
It should also be noted that in addition to shooting digital modern productions also shoot in progressive scan and at 24 fps. This helps to give the sitcom or dramatic series a "film look" as well and for theatrical releases that are shot on digital they allow an easy transfer to motion picture stock when creating release prints for distribution.
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