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>modern digital cameras don't generate an aesthetic at all For whatever reason, Netflix Originals seem to love having a super strong blur over the foregrounds
by Rebelgecko 4y ago
>modern digital cameras don't generate an aesthetic at all
For whatever reason, Netflix Originals seem to love having a super strong blur over the foregrounds and backgrounds. My understanding is that this is due to the 1974 Hawk anamorphic lenses they tend to use, although maybe it's a post-production effect? When the characters are on the edge of the frame, sometimes they'll be a blurry mess while a random object in the middle of the room looks super sharp.
I've always assumed it's cheap way to look "cinematic", like portrait mode on an iPhone. Or maybe it's a way to cover up flaws in sets.
Either way, in shows like The Witcher and Sabrina I find it incredibly distracting.
- fleddr 4y agoLol, "cheap way". Blur is simply the out of focus plane. Typically, the larger the area out of focus and the more smooth this "blur" is, the more expensive the lens being used. Meaning, it has a very large aperture. Doesn't mean you have to like the result, but it doesn't really correlate to cheap, quite the opposite. That said, I don't think a lens will make much of a different on a total production budget.
- Rebelgecko 4y agoThe thing that bugs me is that the netflix blur doesn't seem related to depth. Like, someone will be standing 10 feet away from the camera and their face is in focus but their torso is a blur. Which is why it looks cheap to me, it hides the detail of the costumes, sets, etc and doesn't actually look good.
- fleddr 4y agoThat does sound peculiar as a heavy blur on a distant subject that does have some part in focus is unusual. May very well a post processing effect.