[Afamilyatwar-list] Tech Query

[Brian Renforth]

I've just had a look. There a shadow, a tapping sound then part of the rug flips over, probably unnoticed by the two actors and no doubt the majority of viewers, myself included! It's what makes older television programmes enjoyable, the work that went into them in addition to excellent acting. In general they're like outstanding theatre performances' preserved on tape with added filmed sequences. It was magic. Modern Tele looks artificial and diluted in comparison.

I've noticed while the picture quality on most scenes is stunning, on a few more distant scenes there's colour fringing not unlike an old colour TV set that hadn't been converged properly (separate Red, Green and Blue images converged together, then setting up the grey scale to give equal emission of the three guns to produce a perfect black and white image. This is before adding the actual colour information!).

You've probably noticed the Granada logo differs in size too. Basically this was achieved by pointing the camera at a card!

On a later black and white episode of Thames TV's, "Special Branch" this was clearly made using colour equipment and VT machine. One of the cameras gave a slight green tint to the whites, the other mauve!

Reading the Doctor Who restoration team's blog, although their work on the older black and white episodes are wonderful I became concerned by reading about the removal of production flaws such as an, "Occasional cough" from a lighting technician on their  "restored" versions of surviving 2" masters' of later stories. I've personally never heard these production flaws so they must have very sensitive hearing. To "correct" these is interfering with history in my view. However, my interest in Doctor Who declined rapidly following the first Jon Pertwee season so I'm unlikely to buy them anyway.

Cheers
Brian

Sent from my Windows Phone
________________________________
From: Scott Filderman via Afamilyatwar-list<mailto:afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
Sent: ‎06/‎04/‎2018 23:22
To: Scott Filderman via Afamilyatwar-list<mailto:afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
Subject: [Afamilyatwar-list] Tech Query

I tend to be sensitive to such production glitches as boom shadows, booms dripping into the frame, inadequate lens focusing, rips, tears, bad edits.

I’m watching Series One, Episode 12, the scene with Peter and his mother, at the 32:35 point, there is something alongside the sofa. It’s light brown, and I thought it was a cat, perhaps playing. But no: it appears to be a long “something” with its right-hand end flipping up, and it makes a slight slapping sound. It lasts for just a few seconds. It has nothing to do with the foreground scene; nothing is moving on the set, only the camera, whose huge shadow is apparent ( yes, they were big in those days).

What IS it??? One of those Doctor Who thingies that sent children hiding behind the sofa? Goodness! You don’t suppose...?


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