For many viewers, television is too dark these days — not in subject matter, necessarily, but actual cinematography. Even with expensive TV sets, some viewers can’t make out the action of their favorite shows, let alone those who try watching programs on smaller screens. Show TV critics have been griping about the issue for years. For a 2018 article titled “Dear TV: Lighten Up,” TVLine’s Matt Mitovich cited anonymous industry insiders discussing dimly-lit shows. “I’m guessing it’s a case of directors — and more often showrunners/producers — trying to get too cinematic,” one veteran TV producer said at the time. “It could also just be a screw-up where people forget that their perfect set-up in their color timing doesn’t mean it’ll work for everyone.” In a 2016 piece titled “Why TV Shows Are Darker Than They’ve Ever Been,” Slate’s Matthew Dessem attributed the trend to The Sopranos, whose cinematography “was naturally modeled on Gordon Willis’ famous low-light work on The Godfather.” But the problem, Dessem added, is that the low-light cinematography “sometimes got conflated with the relatively new idea of ‘prestige television’ in much the same way as the show’s antihero did.” That same year, Vulture’s Kathryn VanArendonk acknowledged in the article “TV Shows Are (Literally) Too Dark” that no show needs to be “bright all the time”… but also argued that no show should be constantly dark, either: “Periods of darkness are vital visual tools, which do so much to create mood and delineate space and time. When an entire episode of Jessica Jones is filmed in unrelenting noir shadows, though, and when Ray Donovan’s perpetual sepia gets too boring, and every non-Daenerys scene [of Game of Thrones] looks like it’s been stained with coffee, the effect is lost.” The problem is even irritating TV stars, too. “If you see our show at a screening, in a theater, you see everything,” one told TVLine. “But for some reason when it translates into TV it gets really, really dark. And that’s frustrating.” Critics aren’t the only ones squinting at their TV sets. Scroll down to see nine shows that viewers have deemed too dark. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is sooooo dark!” one Reddit user lamented. Another said, “I was watching the last [episode] just last night and had to pause and crank up the brightness,” A third chimed in to say, “My brightness has to always be set to 100% with this show.” The Mandalorian
American Horror Story
Hanna
What We Do in the Shadows
Star Trek: Discovery
Ozark
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Game of Thrones
Why are TV shows so dark now?The rise of digital cameras replacing film has made lighting a very different job for cinematographers on set. You get to instantaneously see what images look like in the camera, and when you work on the project in post, there isn't some complicated way to make images darker.
How do I adjust my TV for dark scenes?Keep the brightness level somewhere in the middle but turn the contrast up. Many viewers will see a dark scene and get the urge to turn the brightness all the way up, but it will not help. Instead, turning the contrast up will draw more visible differences between the lighter and darker colors in the scene.
Why are streaming movies so dark?Your TV's picture or power saving settings may be causing Netflix to appear dark or dim. Contact your device manufacturer for help adjusting these settings.
Why is my TV darker all of a sudden?The Ambient Light Detection function (also called ECO Sensor on some older models) measures the light in the room and changes the screen brightness automatically to reduce power consumption. The screen will be brighter in a brightly lit room and darker in a dark room. 4.
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