Ok, so the truth is that I got bored with having nothing to take pictures of (winter has to end sooooon, she says, knowing full well that we're expecting a storm in the next day or two. Sigh.), so I just started snapping random things in the apartment. Without leaving the bed, which is why the dog with the snazzy outfit (seriously? It's a cap my father got me years ago, and I had no other place to put it. The dog used to wear a vintage 80's parachute cloth bright neon U of A cap -- I, um, used to wear it when I did field work. I was always findable -- but the sun finally destroyed the fabric years ago so Oilers cap it is. I kind of like being an Oilers fan. Means I usually get to stop caring about hockey before the playoffs even start) is upside-down.
Anyway. For a change the bad camera (or, more precisely, camera work) of the post title isn't my own. It's television I'm on about at the moment. What on earth is up with tv cameramen and their strange form of concentration these days?
Before I went to work this morning the Edmonton morning show on some Canadian TeleVision network was showing a group of Israeli dancers there to promote a festival. These people were going to dance. What would you expect the cameraman to focus on? Feet, maybe? Hands? Full-body shots so that you could at least get a feel for the dance?
Well, I can tell you from the bit I saw before I had to leave that the ladies sure had lovely smiles.
That annoys me so much (the camera work, I mean. Not the smiles), and it's by far not the only time I've seen dance filmed that way.It's like someone somewhere decided that people who like to watch people dancing (because, really, if you didn't you'd find something else to watch) get bored after a while with watching people dancing so it's a good idea to shoot the scene so that the people watching have no real idea if anyone's actually dancing anymore.
Gah.
I've heard the same kind of complaint with sports camera work, although I don't see nearly as much of that. Still, if a person tunes in to watch a game and the game is exciting, would someone please tell the director that it's a BAD idea to cut to the cute girl (or the idiot in full body paint on a -5C day) in the stands? The only people who like that sort of thing are people who work in electronics stores, you know. All those televisions that need to be replaced after frustrated viewers throw things at them...
On a much lighter note, I get a kick out of one of the cameramen on the Shopping Channel. Seems like whenever I tune in at a certain time to see what godawful jewellery they're pushing this go 'round (what can I say? It's a hobby of mine), this poor bugger is absolutely incapable of keeping a zoomed close-up in focus. It amuses me. Hey, I know it can't be easy and I'd never be able to come near making a decent shot under those circumstances, but it seems to me that when it's your job to frame and focus a saleable shot of some horrible gold-plated monstrosity, you should probably learn how to do it. In this case, though, if unfocused was a drinking game I'd be pickled within a half-hour anytime this guy's working a shift.
Ah well. Back to work for me, now. And honestly? The only reason you got me away from work this long just to blather is that I know I won't be blathering at all for the next couple of days since I'm off-site. So... enjoy the words, I guess.
And please notice that not a one of them was pee this time.
oops
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