[ EEPI-Discuss ] HDTV Causing Talent Makeup Nightmares

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Greetings.  This is a fascinating issue that has been floating around
for some time, but is now seriously and understandably becoming a
real concern, especially to talent.  As most anyone who ever even
occasionally goes in front of television cameras will attest
(including yours truly), makeup is typically essential unless you
want a replay of Nixon's "I don't need any makeup" debate fiasco.  But
High-Definition TV brings a whole different magnitude of problems to
the scene.

I predict (though it's not mentioned in the referenced article)
that some form of digital processing (both for live broadcasts and
in post) will find its way into the production chain specifically
to deal with these issues.  Of course that itself could be a new
slippery slope.  If you're going to digitally zap those hi-def
nose-veins, why not also make other more subtle "corrections" along
the way?  The result may be that HDTV could ironically result in
our ultimately seeing *less* reality rather than more!

 - - - - - - - -

     http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/magazine/12PHENOM.html?8hpib

     ...

     To understand why high-def is so unforgiving, consider the numbers.
     Today's new top-of-the-line HD televisions can display two million
     pixels, nearly 10 times the resolution of a regular, old-style TV
     set. Also, the screens are the size of a tabletop. Watching a show
     in high definition is thus rather like being Gulliver in the land of
     Brobdingnag -- where every pore on the giants' faces looms like a
     shell-blasted crater. Many new HDTV owners have tuned in to
     high-definition celebrity events, only to discover that their
     favorite stars suddenly look downright haggard.

     ...

     Makeup artists are now engaged in an arms race with the new medium.
     But they face a paradox: while makeup is more necessary than ever,
     its artifice is more obvious.

     ...

     And interestingly, many cosmeticians predict that high-def could
     actually reduce the amount of plastic surgery in Hollywood, because
     the tiny seams look Frankensteinian at such high resolution.

     ...

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--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@pfir.org or lauren@vortex.com or lauren@eepi.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR 
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, EEPI 
  - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com
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