The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / This Is Sort Of TV Related

**Posted by turkeytop** November 4, 2024 3:07 pm

Often, on the TV news, they'll use video that someone has made using their phone. The video is vertically oriented, in the centre of the screen, with the same aspect ratio as a cell phone screen. But, on both sides of the video, filling the remainder of the TV screen, is a blurred video. What is that? (I don't have a cell phone.)

**Posted by Jody Thornton** November 4, 2024 7:02 pm

Since most mobile users NEVER use landscape to create video on their phones (by turning it 90%), you see that side cropped view ala TikTok and Facebook shorts. This bugs you and me, because we want to be able to watch some of this content using legit everyday video devices,

But the fact is, phones are that to most people. I held off on having any smartphone, until September 2019, when my niece gave me her iPhone 6s. I've developed a fondness for older iPhone 4x, 5x and 6x phones since then, but really, I could not live without this device in the real world now. It's not so much that it's convenient, or that I even need it ... it's that the rest of your employment existence (work, boss, payroll, etc...) EXPECTS you have a device on you, or else you can't participate in daily work life.

Last edited by Jody Thornton (November 4, 2024 7:03 pm)

**Posted by Glen Warren** November 4, 2024 7:37 pm

turkeytop wrote:
Often, on the TV news, they'll use video that someone has made using their phone. The video is vertically oriented, in the centre of the screen, with the same aspect ratio as a cell phone screen. But, on both sides of the video, filling the remainder of the TV screen, is a blurred video. What is that? (I don't have a cell phone.)

It is a "side flag" treatment... when an item or element is passed thru an edit suite, the effect can be added in edit or post. The easiest way is to take the video or foreground element, and then put that under the foreground video but expand or "blow it up" to fill the left and right pillar boxes of the screen. Maybe add a blur or defocus to taste...

When the video is "live" and is in a 4:3 aspect ratio, the TD can add the "side flag" art or element live on the switcher. Most of the "big boy" production switchers allow the TD to program an attribute or rule that adds the treatment automatically as required.

It used to be quite common when the transition to wide screen and HD began back in 2008 to 2010... but by 2015 or so, most of the legacy 4:3 camera equipment had been phased out, so there was no need to do this live anymore.

Archive footage can still be treated or left in the native 4:3 format with the black pillar boxes, or no side flags.

**Posted by turkeytop** November 4, 2024 7:47 pm

Not sure I understand any of that, but thanks.

**Posted by RadioActive** November 4, 2024 8:25 pm

On a side note, now that texting is a firm part of every day life, can the people who make TV dramas not figure out a way to show those texts on screen in a way that is a) legible and b) on for longer than three seconds.

Big screen TV or not, I find them almost impossible to read in the time they're shown.

I'm not sure how you fix this, but there has to be a better way than what they're doing now.

**Posted by mace** November 5, 2024 10:07 am

RadioActive wrote:
On a side note, now that texting is a firm part of every day life, can the people who make TV dramas not figure out a way to show those texts on screen in a way that is a) legible and b) on for longer than three seconds.

Big screen TV or not, I find them almost impossible to read in the time they're shown.

I'm not sure how you fix this, but there has to be a better way than what they're doing now.

I PVR almost everything these days [except sports] and it is difficult to read on screen texts on my 65" tv when I am sitting eight feet away in my lazyboy recliner. I still have to get close to the set to read the text.

**Posted by Tq345** November 5, 2024 10:32 am

mace wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
On a side note, now that texting is a firm part of every day life, can the people who make TV dramas not figure out a way to show those texts on screen in a way that is a) legible and b) on for longer than three seconds.

Big screen TV or not, I find them almost impossible to read in the time they're shown.

I'm not sure how you fix this, but there has to be a better way than what they're doing now.
I PVR almost everything these days [except sports] and it is difficult to read on screen texts on my 65" tv when I am sitting eight feet away in my lazyboy recliner. I still have to get close to the set to read the text.

This is a big pet peeve for me too. I thought one show found a solution, but it was not permanent.
I can't remember what show it was, but it was a prime time drama. When a character received a text, the phone was shown, but the text was printed in a very readable font on screen, similar to closed captioning. It was great.

Sadly it only lasted for one episode.