August 14, 2016

Am I the only one noticing how bad the lighting is for the Olympics broadcast?

Do you see the 4 shadows forming an X at the feet of each Beach Volleyball player? That's so annoying! It made me think for the first time about how good the lighting is at nighttime baseball and football games. You never notice shadows — certainly not a stark pattern of shadow from each player. Those shadows give the outdoor night games a dreary, indoorsy look.

The varied angles on the gymnasts frequently include glaring banks of light fixtures up at the ceiling. These should be off camera. Gymnastics should look great. It's all about how it looks, and it's hard to see. When the lights are visible on camera, they are the brightest thing in the frame. The gymnast should be lit up!

10 comments:

rhhardin said...

Baseball spreads out many more lights so that no individual shadow matters much.

You can get stark outdoor daytime lighting in a partial solar eclipse. The thing to watch is not the sun but the shadows sharpening as the bright part of the sun gets smaller.

Leaf shadows become noticeable.

Ann Althouse said...

I remember leaf shadows in a solar eclipse: The shadows were curved in a new, weird way.

It's cool if you want to look at shadows. In sports, you're never interested in looking at the shadows. Except in Shadow Boxing.

Original Mike said...

During a partial solar eclipse the gaps between the overlapped leaves of a tree can turn into pinhole cameras. I was underneath a maple tree once during a partial eclipse and there were thousands and thousands of images of the eclipse on the ground beneath the tree. One of the coolest things I've seen in my life.

BTW, one year to go until the U.S.'s total solar eclipse!

Ann Althouse said...

"During a partial solar eclipse the gaps between the overlapped leaves of a tree can turn into pinhole cameras. I was underneath a maple tree once during a partial eclipse and there were thousands and thousands of images of the eclipse on the ground beneath the tree. One of the coolest things I've seen in my life."

Yes, now that you say it that way, I realize that's what I thought t at the time. I was seeing the edge of the eclipse on the ground. I didn't really understand why that worked.

Henry said...

I haven't watched much of the Olympics, but yesterday my son and I were eating at a diner so we watched some of the diving. What struck me was how noisy the background was behind the divers. The divers pose perfectly still at the edge of the board and behind them is crowd, equipment, banners, etc.

On the other hand, watching the water spray off the divers' pony tails in slo-mo was pretty cool.

Cath said...

For the fencing, the lighting and the visuals overall have been excellent. Two Brits have been doing really good commentary for the medal bouts. As a fan of a less popular sport I've been delighted with the high quality of the coverage.

Original Mike said...

"Yes, now that you say it that way, I realize that's what I thought t at the time. I was seeing the edge of the eclipse on the ground. I didn't really understand why that worked."

Actually, you were seeing a sharp image of the edge of the tree canopy projected onto the ground. Normally you don't see that because the sun is an extended source (it's 1/2 degree wide on the sky). An extended source can not cast a sharp shadow and so intuitively you expect to see a blurry shadow. But during a partial eclipse the sun gets "small". In the limit, (e.g. a 99% partial eclipse) the sun becomes a point source and it casts a sharp shadow of the canopy.

If you ever get another chance, go looking for the images of the eclipsed sun on the ground. It's way cool. You'll get that chance Aug 21, 2017.

Original Mike said...

(cont). ... though if you don't travel to be in the path of totality, well, ... you lose.

iowan2 said...

I's guessing that Musco lighting from Iowa, did not get the lighting contract. Big mistake. I'm guessing they demanded payment up front with all the economic turmoil in Brazil.

Jose_K said...

Brasil used to import electricity from Venezuela. According to some sources still does ,despite the rationing in Venezuela. Most electricity comes from hydroelectric centrals affected by El NiƱo. It is winter, making it even more demanding.They cant waste electricity for the pleasure of the world (and the pride of the failed Lula)