"Does This HDTV Make Me Look Fat?" (from CNN Online)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/0....ap/index.html

Does this HDTV make me look fat?
Story Highlights
..HDTV now in more than 30 million homes
..TV professionals worry about how performers look
..Makeup, lighting techniques making a difference
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Vanity, thy name is hi-def TV.

The holiday shopping season was expected to sharply boost the number of U.S.
homes with high-definition televisions to nearly 33 million. In the eyes of
a growing number of image-obsessed on-air personalities, that's 33 million
clear reasons to be concerned.

Besides spectacular vistas and shockingly real playing fields, hi-def
clarity puts any and all wrinkles, pimples and pores on display in well-lit
bathroom-mirror detail.

Some TV types say big-screen HDTV could lead to the end of the extreme
close-up as we know it. Others predict hi-def fears could soon be reflected
in artists' contracts.

When "Good Morning America" debuted in high-definition last year, host Diane
Sawyer, 61, noted that viewers will now know when she's stayed up too late
the night before. "They will see it right there," Sawyer said, indicating
the puffiness under her eyes.

Dissolve to the TV industry's behind-the-scenes pros, who are developing new
ways to help the talent keep up appearances in today's hi-def world.

"The grain structure of film allows a softness that HD video tends not to
have, posing more challenges, especially when it comes to capturing female
faces," says Stephen McNutt, director of photography for the Sci Fi
Channel's "Battlestar Galactica."

"We seem not to care about seeing men in a rougher, more edgier way," he
explains, "whereas females, we're used to seeing them in a softer, more
appealing way. So there's a little more filtration needed, and you have to
approach it from a different standpoint."

While lighting techniques have been helpful, new advances in cosmetic
applications have done wonders, too, says Patricia Murray, "Battlestar's"
head of makeup. Murray uses foundation and makeup that is airbrushed onto
the skin, rather than by sponge or fingertip.

"For me, air brushing is very helpful for high definition when you want an
even coverage," says Murray. "However, it's not ideal for every situation."

Murray explains: "We have a show that's very raw, and it's not so glamorous,
so the application needs to be a little lighter because we allow the shine
of the skin to come through; we don't cover the dark patches under the eyes
as much. However, with other shows, you have to watch the amount of shine
you allow because high definition picks that up quite a bit."

Of course, makeup alone won't stave off the HD glare. "Regular facials and a
really good skin care is key," Murray says of her advice to cast members.
"Drinking lots of water, avoiding coffee and cigarettes, exercise, all those
things help the skin's natural glow."

Being show business, Botox injections and facelifts also continue, even
though HDTV reveals those tight lines and plumped puckers in extreme
clarity.

"Just about everything is more obvious in hi-def," says Sheila McKenna,
founder of New York-based Kett Cosmetics, an airbrushed, HDTV-friendly
makeup line used by some on "The View," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,"
"Today," and all over CNN and ESPN.

McKenna notes that older news and entertainment personalities tend to be
more concerned about how they look on HDTV, but younger celebrities don't
always look so flattering in the format, either.

Some camera operators believe fears about HDTV exposure could bring an end
to extreme close-ups on television shows.

"I think there's a danger area of saying the extreme close-up is not
flattering -- it's a part of the grammar of television to do that," says Tom
Houghton, director of photography for "Rescue Me." The Sony TV-produced show
is shot in HD, but appears on FX, which is among a number of cable networks
that still airs in standard definition.

"Maybe we don't want to be quite so close, now that people have bigger
screens," Houghton adds. "We're evolving from what was once a 12-inch screen
in black and white in the living room to a huge 57-inch home-theater screen,
and that's a big difference in what you're going to see."

"Certainly in the very beginning, no one wanted to work in HD," notes Dan
Dugan, producer of the CW network's HD comedies "Girlfriends" and "The
Game." "Everybody felt safe with what film has given us, and to go to
something new, people are always afraid. But I think you'll find less
opposition among the creative community now than five years ago."

Broadcast networks now offer the bulk of their prime-time programming and
major sports coverage in HD. Cable provides some HD content, with a few
channels that are dedicated to HD.

And a handful of local stations offer their newscasts in hi-def.

With the Federal Communications Commission mandate that TV networks move
from analog to digital by 2009, talent agent Harry Gold says that concerns
over HD may factor into some artists' contracts.

"You take a show like `Desperate Housewives,' which is in really glossy
high-definition. In order for those women to look as glamorous as they want
to look, they need to really pay attention to how they're made up and how
they're lit, what kinds of lenses are being used and all that kind of
stuff," says Gold, president of TalentWorks. "They do have to have some say
about how they look on screen."

Actress Kat Foster of the Fox HD comedy " 'Til Death" sees things a bit
differently, opting away from the newfangled airbrushed techniques for
traditionally applied corrective foundations that, she says, give her a more
natural look onscreen.

"It would behoove everyone to see the real celebrity, wrinkles and all,"
declares the 28-year-old Foster. "I think the more human we are, the more
attractive we are to the people who watch us."

But will she feel the same way in 10 years?


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
"[A] nothing will serve just as well as a something about which nothing can
be said."

"
"It would behoove everyone to see the real celebrity, wrinkles and all,"
declares the 28-year-old Foster. "I think the more human we are, the more
attractive we are to the people who watch us."


I sure agree with this last statement..... Just be yourself.