This is How I Want To Watch

P

Paul F

Veteran
This could be heresy on a camera forum, but this is how I want to watch musical acts and perhaps other things (dramas? sitcoms?). With 4k and big wide screens, it's time to move away from master shot, two shot, close up, cut, cut, cut. When we had a nearly square screen, poor resolution, and 25" screens (I'm talking TV, not movies), such things were needed. But this video is very satisfying for me. I can watch the whole scene or part of the scene the way I want. More of this please.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-j73CFBbps&list=PLJZH8sevmMq5SrR0uFw9W-XidSoq3FiYi&index=7
 
I watch content on my iPhone more than on any other device. I have a 50” plasma tv. Have literally not turned it in in over 3 years.

Granted, that is only anecdotal.

The wide shot works better for a musical performance than narrative work. In a dramatic narrative I want to see closeups of the emotion on a character’s face. Imagine that a key plot element is what is written on a birthday card. But the shot is a big wide-shot that does not make it known to the viewer what is on the card and because of that the scene requires the character to read it aloud. That is a very different feel than being able to read it as a viewer and not require the character unnaturally to read it aloud.
 
JPNola said:
I watch content on my iPhone more than on any other device. I have a 50” plasma tv. Have literally not turned it in in over 3 years.

Granted, that is only anecdotal.

The wide shot works better for a musical performance than narrative work. In a dramatic narrative I want to see closeups of the emotion on a character’s face. Imagine that a key plot element is what is written on a birthday card. But the shot is a big wide-shot that does not make it known to the viewer what is on the card and because of that the scene requires the character to read it aloud. That is a very different feel than being able to read it as a viewer and not require the character unnaturally to read it aloud.
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I don't think my Dad has owned a TV in 20+ years... I've lived in my house for 19 and between the bedroom and den, I've had 10 different TV's in that time. My current new toy is 120" 4K/UHD HDR projection system and I'm almost living in my Den since it was installed.

Is it cool and convenient that we can watch stuff on our cell phones? Yes. Out in the field and need to/want to see something, great. In a hotel room and want to watch Netflix on my iPad, thank the Lord for our current technology. But why in God's name would I do that when I'm at home and literally have a wall sized screen?
 
Run&Gun said:
Is it cool and convenient that we can watch stuff on our cell phones? Yes. Out in the field and need to/want to see something, great. In a hotel room and want to watch Netflix on my iPad, thank the Lord for our current technology. But why in God's name would I do that when I'm at home and literally have a wall sized screen?
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Watching a movie, sure, big screen tv.* But watching a movie is not done as often as watching video clips on Facebook / Youtube or watching news clips. Short attention-span content is by far the bulk of content viewing. Let’s say someone wants to scan their Facebook page and Instagram feed, read news headlines and watch two or three short news videos, check email, scan the latest posts on dvxuser, reply to a dvxuser post, watch two minutes of a lens test, check their Twitter feed, and then watch the trailer for a film everyone is talking about. It is more convenient to do all of that on a handheld device than via a large screen tv. If you want to go take a dump during that content browsing you can bring the handheld device along and continue viewing. Or you can move from indoors to an outside seating area and continue the content viewing on the handheld device.

I am at present staying with relatives who have big screen tv’s in several rooms. The tv’s are rarely on. Far more often than watching a tv the family members are on their handheld devices. Probably a 50:1 ratio, handheld device vs tv screen. One reason people prefer a HH device is that it is more private viewing. A person can watch content privately, without others being privy to what they are watching. The smaller devices make for more personal content consumption and make for more interactive content consumption. Few people Facetime or Skype on a big-screen tv.


* ( I personally have not watched any movie in at least 5 years now. While that may be atypical, the point is that not everyone watches movies. I work on feature films regularly but rarely watch feature films. )
 
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Paul F said:
This could be heresy on a camera forum, but this is how I want to watch musical acts and perhaps other things (dramas? sitcoms?). With 4k and big wide screens, it's time to move away from master shot, two shot, close up, cut, cut, cut...
Click to expand...

So, what you want is the Soviet style film making?

 
I check DVX on my big-ass iPad Pro all the time, but just took a glance at DVX on my iPhone 11 Pro and no thank you. Maybe if your cell phone is phablet sized it's ok or while you're sitting at the barbershop a normal sized phone screen would be ok, but not as SOP. If I'm at home, I'll grab my iPad or laptop. I do read most of my news on my phone, though. Usually while eating lunch.

Also, there are only two people in my house, me and my GF, so "private viewing" isn't really a major concern. Because I have an Apple TV, putting up content from my phone, iPad or laptop is trivial, if I want to. I actually watched some equipment video's earlier. And you haven't lived till you've streamed porn on a 120" screen... Lol.

I don't think TV's are dead, just yet. Just look at the increasing size and falling prices. You can get a 75" set for less than $800. And now UST projectors that let people watch 90"-120" or bigger images in their "family" rooms with nothing more than a white wall and a place to set the projector a few inches in front of it.

I use it all: phones, tablets, computers, TV's, projectors... They all have their pluses and minuses.
 
I’m “blessed” with pretty extreme nearsighted vision, so without glasses or contacts I can pretty much only focus about 4” in front of my face. So I have a gooseneck rig clamped by my bed to hang my iPad right in front of my face. It fills my vision. I’d need a 16’ foot screen to equal the field of view. I’ll watch stuff in the living room to be with my family but to watch alone I’m good with my big screen iPad.
 
Yeah, big is relative to field of vision. I like seamless cinematography technique that disappears, and let’s one fully engage with the scene.
If you have never seen it check out “Playtime” Jacque Tati’s 70mm masterpiece. The way he choreographs sound, color and movement within static compositions to control your focus of attention is brilliant.
 
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