Back to Earth – Technical Specifications

[thomasaevans]

This ran through my head this morning. Apologies If this has been discussed elswhere. Technical specs for the episodes.

1-DEFINATLEY shooting in Widescreen?… a FIRST for Red Dwarf.

2-Hi-Def? Like Torchwood? For Blu-Ray Release? This I doubt.

3-5.1 Soundtrack for DVD Release? Almost definatley no Im thinking.

4-Glossy Film Effect? I think no. But Alot of sitcoms do It nowadays.

5-New CG/Model sequences? Given that they will shoot in widescreen, croping or stretching old footage would be crap would It not? So they’d HAVE to do model sequences.

Topic

[Zombie Jim Undead]

> 1-DEFINATLEY shooting in Widescreen??

> 2-Hi-Def? Like Torchwood? For Blu-Ray Release?

> 3-5.1 Soundtrack for DVD Release?

> 4-Glossy Film Effect?

> 5-New CG/Model sequences?

1. I should think so.

2. Nah. Dave isn’t a hi-def channel so doubt they’d bother.

3. Shouldn’t think so.

4. Hope not.

5. Hmmm….maybe. I personally wouldn’t mind if they just used stock model shots from the V / VI era. They still look ace.

[James]

Film has been HD since 1985 ish, it’s only now we have the format to do it justice. I’m not sure about TV but I’m sure everything has been HD for a while, so it’s not a case of producing it in any less than high quality, they already do. The problem is the cost to make it into the format like Blu-Ray. So in affect they reduce the quality to what you see on screen. I did ask about a 5.1 transfer for the Dwarf DVD’s, again it’s down to cost. I would suspect as much as I want a HD version of Red Dwarf it’s impossible in this financial climate.

[thomasaevans]

> I’m sure everything has been HD for a while

Sorry, that’s not true. Doctor Who is not HD, I made this enquiry when I was shooting something before. Torchwood is shot in HD, Doctor Who Is’nt. Reason being (Im Told) that It takes too long, with Doctor Who being produced annualy like clockwork. While Torchwood has much larger gaps between series.

And only FX shots of Red Dwarf are shot on Film. Location sequences were never shot on film, unlike Fools & Horses and Dads Army.

So yeah, with the Model Shots… my point is, whether they look good or not in previous series, they would have to be cropped for Widescreen or Streched. They did this for The Vicar of Dibley opening title, and It looked shit. Comedy Connections did the same, and It wer’nt good.

[Seb Patrick]

>Doctor Who is not HD, I made this enquiry when I was shooting something before.

I’m surprised you had to go so far as asking them, since it’s pretty common knowledge.

[Andrew]

> Film has been HD since 1985 ish

Celluloid has been ‘high-definition’ since it was invented!

And yeah, as Thomas says, most Brit TV isn’t made in hi-def yet. Not by a long shot. And even when shows are shot on film, doesn’t mean their post is done in anything other than standard-def. The costs of HD – especially in storage and post-production – mean the industry isn’t anywhere near fully stepping up as yet.

[thomasaevans]

Seb, I wasnt too sure tbh. Even when things are common knowledge, most of the time It’s people making asumptions. Best to get It straight from the horses mouth.

[thomasaevans]

BTW Andrew, Is there an update today? Ive been refreshing since 12 lol. Im In work at 4 you know :D

[Seb Patrick]

>Seb, I wasnt too sure tbh. Even when things are common knowledge, most of the time It?s people making asumptions. Best to get It straight from the horses mouth.

Yeah, fair point. As you and Andrew say, though, the majority of UK stuff *isn’t* HD, so the fair assumption is usually that something isn’t until you hear otherwise (and besides, if Who was in HD, the BBC would have been advertising the fuck out of the fact!)

[Seb Patrick]

>BTW Andrew, Is there an update today? Ive been refreshing since 12 lol. Im In work at 4 you know :D

You’re probably best off waiting until tomorrow, it only being Thursday right now and all ;-)

[thomasaevans]

Damn straight. Always makes me laugh how cheap doc who looks on Deleted Scenes without the film effect. Funny how It CAN be benificial.

[thomasaevans]

SEB! MY GOD! I thought It was FRIDAY! lmao!

[John Hoare]

First Dwarf in widescreen! I’d completely forgotten about that!

It would have been nice to have it in HD – sure, Dave isn’t HD, but future-proofing it would have been nice – but I understand why, as presumably money is pretty damn tight on this production.

I really hope it doesn’t have a film effect, but we’ve gone through this discussion ad nauseum. As it’s an audience show, and the film effect seem to have fallen out of fashion with them (My Family used to have one but now doesn’t, amongst other shows), maybe I’ll be in luck…

[pfm]

> I really hope it doesn?t have a film effect

Now we know Earth is involved, which suggests quite a bit of location shooting, I’m gonna say it WILL have the film effect. Personally I would like to experiment by using the film effect for exterior stuff and take it away for set work (IMO it should NEVER be thrown in over a standard stage setup, a la Black Books, it just doesn’t sit right). If the transition was too distracting I would have no film effect at all. Simply grade the exterior shots to stop them from looking like a VT from a CBBC show, and the standard interlaced look can remain.

Look at Eastenders (or don’t, if you don’t want to), all standard interlaced fare, except you can tell they take some of the colour out of it (it’s bloody dim and depressing in Albert Square, don’t you know) and make sure it’s not over-lit so it looks like a drama, despite being interlaced video.

Film effect isn’t the easy way out.

[Jonathan Capps]

> Personally I would like to experiment by using the film effect for exterior stuff and take it away for set work

Surely back in the day this clashing of recording media was a necessity rather than a valid artistic choice? Frankly, it’d be insane to manufacture such a jarring change between location and studio scene. You silly billy.

[Mr Flibble]

Yes, but it can be an artistic choice too. I was thinking much the same as performingmonkey – if there’s lots of location stuff, I can see film effect arriving as a “distancing” aid.

[Jonathan Capps]

But… that would look terrible!

[James]

I hope for the sake of history it isn’t filmed with motion, I’m not a big fan of this technique which seems to be the done thing when anyone is running, or even walking fast at the moment. I liked Survivers, but some of the shots dove me mad!

Location costs, I don’t expect too much, unless it’s round the back of Shepperton again. I’m leaning towards the Earth would be dead planet, or very empty, but not full of green bottles.

I just hope whatever the location, it’s situation provides the comedy, as much as the writing should do.

[Kris ‘Drivaaar’ Carter]

I hope it all shot for an NTSC format for blurry Ameri-vision!

[Seb Patrick]

It would have been nice to have it in HD – sure, Dave isn?t HD, but future-proofing it would have been nice – but I understand why, as presumably money is pretty damn tight on this production.

“Sorry Norm, we had a choice between going HD and keeping Holly in and… well, to be honest, you’re a grumpy fucker, whereas HD will make it easier to sell in future. Sorry.”

[Zombie Jim Undead]

Besides, Norm in HD…..just imagine it.

Imagine the commentaries.

“Look at that spot, norman. Your nose is crooked…and what’s with the hair? It looks like a paintbrush! Not me mention the spot and your hair. And look at your nose! Not as bad as your hair, though. It looks like a paintbrush! It looks exactly like someone has put a high definition paintbrush on your head!”

[hummingbird]

I want to have his babies. Again.

@Live_for_Films New series is very different from anything in series 7. It is classic Dwarf, chock full o' smeg

— Robert Llewellyn (@bobbyllew) January 30, 2009

[Zombie Jim Undead]

WOOOO!

[Pete Part Three]

Can it be very different from anything in Series 8 too…pretty please?

[Mr-Stabby]

>Surely back in the day this clashing of recording media was a necessity rather than a valid artistic choice? Frankly, it?d be insane to manufacture such a jarring change between location and studio scene. You silly billy.

Definitely. Commentaries of old shows like Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 which have the producers and co on have always mentioned how they hated the different distinctive looks between the studio tape and the 16mm film. Heck Monty Python even based a sketch on the whole thing.

Personally, as much as i’ll probably get slapped with a wet fish for this, I’d prefer the film effect in this new Dwarf too. Unless it’s an audience multi-camera show, in which case interlaced look all the way, as has been said. Multi-camera lighting and set setups just don’t seem to work with film effect, just look at ‘My Family’ when they did it, ouch! Has there been actual confirmation that it’ll be a multi-camera audience show? For some reason it being called ‘Earth’ seems to suggest a lot of location work. I know Red Dwarf managed to make multi-camera look really great, but for some reason i just think a modern audience expects single camera now, especially for sci-fi.

[JamesTC]

They should smear jam on the camera, give it that nice red tint.

[ChrisM]

>Can it be very different from anything in Series 8 too?pretty please?

8 was hardly ‘classic dwarf’ (apart from the BitR Bunk scenes which I actually rather liked,)so I’m optimistic the answer to that question is “Yes.”

[ChrisM]

>Personally, as much as i?ll probably get slapped with a wet fish for this, I?d prefer the film effect in this new Dwarf too.

Actually I wouldn’t mind it either. (Although I’m chuffed either way at this stage.) I rather liked the look of series 7.

[Ben Paddon]

I’m glad I’m not the only one.

[Phil]

>Heck Monty Python even based a sketch on the whole thing.

Getting your information from Screen Wipe, eh? In context, that’s not what the sketch was actually about…but Charlie Brooker, and the magic of editing, would have us believe otherwise.

[Mr-Stabby]

>Getting your information from Screen Wipe, eh? In context, that?s not what the sketch was actually about?but Charlie Brooker, and the magic of editing, would have us believe otherwise.

Damn Charlie Brooker and his evil editing ways!

[Jonathan Capps]

As it probably should’ve been posted in this thread, here’s a link to thomas’s NEW thread regarding HDness:

http://www.ganymede.tv/forum/2009/01/back-to-earth-back-in-hd

[pfm]

‘Sirs, we appear to be surrounded by a world where the whole video image is displayed 25 times per second, thus going some way toward mimicking the look of film. I believe this may be the work of The De-interlacer! They used to tell tales on the Nova 5 of a rogue simulant who crash-landed on the far side of the fabled Telecine system, residing there for hundreds of years until, as the result of a freak experiment, he invented the 2:2 pulldown system, thus eliminating the need for the 4% PAL speedup and allowing him to leave the planet without being mobbed by people pissed off at people’s high voices on DVDs and TV broadcasts of films and US TV shows’

[Jonathan Capps]

Sometimes I love you unconditionally, pm.

[Phil]

>Damn Charlie Brooker and his evil editing ways!

I didn’t actually see the episode in question (of Brooker, that is) but there was a discussion here around the time about the misappropriation of that sketch. In protest, I grew a wart.

[Author]

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