Sweetening the Picture
IN THE EARLY YEARS of HD broadcasts, the medium was judged almost too realistic. In particular, many of the guests who submitted themselves to the scrutiny of high-def cameras on the pioneering, Jay Leno-hosted "Tonight Show" were sorry they did. HD made them look ghastly - every wrinkle reaveled, every vein bulging.
IN THE EARLY YEARS of HD broadcasts, the medium was judged almost too realistic. In particular, many of the guests who submitted themselves to the scrutiny of high-def cameras on the pioneering, Jay Leno-hosted "Tonight Show" were sorry they did. HD made them look ghastly - every wrinkle revealed, every vein bulging.
But HD viewers tuning to "Eyewitness News" will find the technology today is "more forgiving," said KYW's much-loved lighting "guru" Paul Hicks, whom we found tweaking the concept in the studio, using a stand-in dummy head.
"With just the right combination of lower intensity lights, the right cameras and lenses, special color processing and not too much makeup, you can achieve the best of both worlds - a very detailed picture overall, but one that's also flattering to the talent," he explained.
"Eyewitness News" co-anchor Alycia Lane happily confirmed the point, after venturing into the new studio for a first rehearsal last Thursday. "I had a little scratch on my face that I thought was going to look awful in HD," she 'fessed up.
"But in fact, you couldn't see it on the monitors, even though I was wearing less makeup than I used to do. My skin looked flawless. I was in shock."
On the other hand, the emerald green jacket she was wearing that day "looked incredible. I could see the smallest details in the fabric.
"And the color reproduction of the material was far more accurate than it's looked on standard definition TV." *
- Jonathan Takiff
