Those works and more have all faced criticism for being too shadowy (the West Wind Drive-In in Las Vegas told patrons that they couldn’t get a refund for “The Batman” if they found it too dark) but the alternative might be an unrealistic depiction of the plot.ĭigital imaging technician Nicholas Kay said Ridley Scott’s 1979 film “Alien” is a “great example” of dark visuals in cinema: “It’s all called for artistically, and it’s also serving a purpose technically, as well.” Courtesy of Paramount Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” takes place largely at night, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is set in a gloomy dystopia, and horror movies like the “Fear Street” trilogy rely on the cover of darkness to keep viewers on their toes. Whether “dark” refers to the moodiness of a piece of media or its literal lack of light, the two often go hand-in-hand. Other than the viewing environment, though, Kay, a two-decade industry vet who has worked on movies including “Joker,” “Venom” and “Black Panther,” said there are practical and emotional reasons for dark images. He also stressed that watching the show anywhere other than a darkened room with a neutral, large monitor was a disservice to the viewer. Cinematographer Fabian Wagner defended his work at the time, telling Wired, “Everything we wanted people to see is there.” He also pointed out that the scene was shot at night and said the intention was to differentiate the battle aesthetically from other scenes throughout the series.
Night too dark make visuals great again movie#
Helen Sloanīut ultimately, the reason a movie or series seems super dark is that it’s how the filmmaker intended it to look.Ī few years ago, a final battle in the “Game of Thrones” finale was criticized by many viewers for being so dark that it was impossible to see what was going on. When the final season of “Game of Thrones” aired in 2019, many viewers said they couldn’t see what was going on during battle sequences. As someone who spends countless hours perfecting visuals on- and off-set, he feels personally offended by the settings on his parents’ TV, from motion smoothing to brightness, which Kay said shouldn’t be turned up or down. When he goes to visit his parents’ house, he’s aghast at the butchered image quality on their television screen, which Kay believes should be as neutral as possible.
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Home viewingįor home viewers, one culprit could be the viewing environment, according to digital imaging technician Nicholas Kay. While dark scenes are usually due to the filmmaker’s vision, there are several factors both at movie theaters and when viewing at home that will affect the viewer’s ability to see what’s going on onscreen.
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Night too dark make visuals great again tv#
Have you ever been enjoying a film or TV series, only to suddenly find yourself squinting at the dark screen? Recent releases including “ Euphoria,” “The Batman” and “Handmaid’s Tale,” as well as classic films including “Alien,” “Taxi Driver” and “Seven” all utilize dark imagery, but what if the visuals are simply too dark to see everything in the frame?