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Vignetting overload?
Maybe I’m old and unhip now. When I came up in the business, we struggled mightily to never show vignetting in our camera shots or in a final edit. But I can’t get away from it now; every still graphic, every camera shot I see, they ALL seem to have vignetting. I agree it can look “cool”, but is it really necessary to have it as the default look now? How do you feel about it? makes me wonder if I’m getting glaucoma or retinopathy or something:-)
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14 Replies
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i actually only use subtle vignettes to draw attention to something. The harsh vignette is cool, but I only ever like seeing it on Top Gear
Robert J. Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com -
This might sound like a lame answer but if it looks cool it looks cool. Although I think it has been abused way too much.
Like Rob, I tend to use subtle vignettes frequently to try and highlight things on an almost subliminal level but that’s about it. In most of what I do throwing a hard, cheap-adapter-on-a-skatercam-video type vignette isn’t called for.
-Andrew
3.2GHz 8-core, FCP 6.0.4, 10.5.5
Blackmagic Multibridge Eclipse (6.8.1) -
Over in this corner…
Vignetting caused by Wide Angle lens adaptor = expand shot to remove.
Magic Bullet vignetting = Used sparingly to create a certain look; almost always subtle & gradual.
Kai
FCP Editor / Producer with Intuitive Films
https://kai-fcp-editor.blogspot.com
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When I use vignetting it’s usually because I’m using some of my old Tiffen filters that I bought for an old camera that I don’t use anymore, and the Step-Up ring that is required to use the otherwise obsolete (to me) filters creates the vignette. Who knew that my frugal ways would be so cool?
JPD
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I think in regards to graphics, a nice vignette can balance out a title card and force the eyes where you want it. I think some people do stuff just because they can, you should never do something because you can, but because you feel it will make the project better.
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Agreed, its just that lately everywhere I look, it seems like they are using it in such a strong overbearing way that it might as well be a spotlight beam from a flashlight in a dark basement. Like I said, my teachers all taught us in TV classes that this look was a technical glitch to be suppressed and avoided by pros, and now it seems like so many folks use it as a default look on all their graphics, as well as many live camera shots.
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[Mark Suszko] “Agreed, its just that lately everywhere I look, it seems like they are using it in such a strong overbearing way that it might as well be a spotlight beam from a flashlight in a dark basement. Like I said, my teachers all taught us in TV classes that this look was a technical glitch to be suppressed and avoided by pros, and now it seems like so many folks use it as a default look on all their graphics, as well as many live camera shots.”
The same can be said for lens flares –at one time they were a no-no, but now they are cool.
Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style! -
Next you’ll be telling us the Toaster “sheep wipe” was overused!
(Thanks – I’m here all week!)
Seriously, effects get popular and then get over-popular. How many page turns were we subjected to when a simple cut or dissolve would have sufficed? How many two-boxes do we see on the news? How much woozy-cam did we endure in its day? Grainy black-and-white slo-mo? Posterization?
Hopefully, this too will pass.
Damn kids. Get off my lawn!
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[Jason] The same can be said for lens flares –at one time they were a no-no, but now they are cool.
Not even turning off lens flares could save the Enterprise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbJ-y6BWfUc
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I find myself almost unconsciously driven to add vignettes to graphics and After Effects comps these days… it’s a super easy way to add focus to the center of a graphical composition that otherwise loses the viewer’s attention.
However, I’m trying to use them as little as I can lately, due to the obvious overuse. For anything with a grungy, retro feel, it certainly fits. Otherwise, it’s just a coverup for poor design.
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