Friday, April 09, 2004

A little more vaseline on the lens, please

TIME | For TV Stars, High Def Is Dicey
As the number of shows filmed in HDTV grows, actors and actresses are facing the ugly truth: HDTV gives new meaning to the word close-up. In high definition, no wart, wrinkle or blemish is safe from the camera's eye, forcing makeup artists to scramble for cover-ups. "Everything shows," says veteran sitcom makeup man Tommy Cole. "Everything is clearer, and the contrast is sharper. Some people are very worried."

Nowhere was the downside of high definition more apparent than at the Academy Awards in February, when the few viewers with HDTV caught Hollywood's biggest stars working the red carpet. By some accounts, actor-producer Michael Douglas, 59, ruggedly handsome on film, became downright old, especially next to his high-def-defying spouse Catherine Zeta-Jones, 34.
But surely there are people who look good in HD...
TV Predictions | HDTV Goes to See Britney Spears
At the tender age of 22, Spears doesn't have to worry about crow's feet yet. However, during tonight's concert in Miami, she looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her face was bumpy and puffy, making her appear five to ten years older than her years.

The pop princess, who reportedly has been partying hard at night spots across the globe, simply didn't look very healthy tonight under the naked lens of high-def.

... Interestingly, Showtime featured very few close-ups of Spears' face, opting mostly to display long shots of the singer shaking her booty during long dance numbers. ... However, to make matters worse, it appears that Spears has put on a few pounds, particularly in her legs. Although still charming and appealing, she doesn't possess the physical sizzle in HDTV that she exhibits in her music videos such as "Toxic."

And speaking of music, judging from the audio of my Surround Sound system, many of her live renditions tonight appeared to be lip-synched.
Who looks better / Who looks worse?

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