[Magdalen] Realism in Television.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

Has anyone else noticed the trend in lighting television shows
that tends to be Rembrandt like in that there is some spotlighting of  the
major action persons, and often the rest of the scene is in deep  shadow?
 
This tendency is especially characteristic of crime/police/detective 
shows, but it can be seen in other offerings, even sit-coms.
 
As I age, this dim lighting is increasingly a problem.
 
Also, and probably a corollary of the above is the casual dialogue  
delivered
by the actors in what seems much of the time a whisper.  I  realize
we are beyond the live stage shows where actors belted out their  dialogue
without the benefit of microphones, but there must be a happy medium.
 
The result is that I turn up the volume control, only to have the  infernal
ads blast out to the point of breaking the windows.
 
I realize "The Honeymooners" are gone, and modern television shows 
are not a Shakespearian stage, but it's to the point in lighting and
dialogue where any further reduction is absurdity.
 
 
 
David Strang - who never watches television before 6  PM.