Game Of Thrones' Very Dark Episode Explained In Factual Twitter Thread

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mattstaff
May 1, 2019 9:00 PM EDT

Game of Thrones got real dark the other night with its Battle of Winterfell episode. Maybe a little bit frustratingly dark. So dark in fact that it didn't fail to inspire some hilarious memes and Twitter reactions from fans.That being said, we finally have a Twitter user who's stepped forwards to offer a more comprehensive, helpful explanation on why things got so dark...

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    Text - .l TELIA CO 37% 22:15 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Let's talk briefly-ish about last night's Game of Thrones' look froma technical point of view. A good portion of my job is delivering final master copies of projects to broadcasters and platforms like YouTube. There's a few major reasons for why you had trouble seeing things. Översätt tweeten 18:06 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA CO 37% 22:15 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH $1 dr tweetbotnik @ryanclassic There's a few main reasons why everything looked so dark besides that it was shot at night. But basically, it comes down to what happens when you take beautiful footage from the camera and bring it to post to be finished and made sexier Översätt tweeten 18:08 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 1 gillamarkering Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 03
    Text - l TELIA CO 37% 22:15 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Movies and shows are rarely edited on raw footage straight from the camera. It's edited on what are called proxies smaller, lower quality versions of what the original files are. You'd never master a movie with them. But they're higher quality than what airs and streams. Översätt tweeten 18:12 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 aillamarkorina Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA CO 37% 22:15 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic So right from the beginning you're working with better than what your audience will see. And that's the crux of the matter. The more effects you add in post, the more the footage quality degrades. It's not noticeable when watching it but it does affect what you can do after Översätt tweeten 18:14 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 aillamarkorina Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - l TELIA CO 37% 22:15 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH $1 dr tweetbotnik @ryanclassic Last night's episode had a TON of VFX work with the dead soldiers and dragons and the like. Lots of it was shot in smoke and some smoke was definitely added in post. When you do VFX on a budget - and even Thrones has a budget - you take shortcuts. Like using smoke to soften edges översätt tweeten 18:16 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 gillamarkering Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - CO 37% TELIA 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic This is all Normal Operating Procedure. Happens with everything. Nobody but nerds like me would notice it, and even then only when looking for it But last night's episode was shot entirely at night. And it emphasized the chaos and confusion of war. Översätt tweeten 18:17 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 3 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - l TELIA CO 37% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE ВОOTH $1 dr tweetbotnik @ryanclassic When you've got the show edited and loaded with VFX and coloured all pretty and ready for finalizing, it's been watched hundreds of times by hundreds of people, most of which is done on perfectly-calibrated screens and speakers replicating the best experience possible. Översätt tweeten 18:19 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 2 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 08
    Text - l TELIA CO 37% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH $1 dr tweetbotnik @ryanclassic Normal people don't watch on these things. I've got that setup and work and while I do calibrate my home TVs to an extent, it's nowhere near as professional. When you send videos to executives for review you're sending them lower quality versions and promising it'll look nicer. Översätt tweeten 18:20 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 2 cillamarkorinaar. Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 09
    Text - .l TELIA TO 36% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic This is true to an extent. Broadcast versions are nicer than what we send executives. But often those promises are telling the money people what they want to hear. They'll probably never watch it on TV after. They've seen it already. That's politicking Översätt tweeten 18:21 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 3 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 10
    Text - l TELIA TO 36% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Here's where things went truly with last night's Game of wrong Thrones. The confluence of all this preamble Compression Welcome to the nightmare for everyone in finishing. Översätt tweeten 18:22 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 8 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 11
    Text - .l TELIA Со 35% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE ВОOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Most often TV and movies are delivered to studios in the ProRes 422 HQ codec. It's big. A typical 45- minute show in 1080p is about 50 GB. So last night's episode would've been about 90-100 GB, give or take. In 4k it's even bigger. We're talking ~400 GB (estimated) Översätt tweeten 18:25 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 6 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 12
    Text - .l TELIA Со 35% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE ВОOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Blu-ray is lower quality than this, but still damn good quality. We're in a world of diminishing returns here. Bigger is better but 2x the file size is not 2x the quality, at least not perceptually. The files in the previous tweet are masters. Everything else is made from it. Översätt tweeten 18:28 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 3 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA TO 35 % 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik @ryanclassic Okay, so we're talking about enormous file sizes ranging up to the hundreds of GB. Let's look at what we all saw last night. Rips of HBO's 1080p high quality stream were 4.5 GB. In Canada, Crave is usually 720p in lower bitrates than that. Cable TV is even worse Översätt tweeten 18:30 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA Со 35% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE ВОOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic To get maximum quality from shrinking a big video file to a low video file, you use variable bitrate (VBR). If you were an MP3 pirate back in the day, this may be familiar. Your compression software analyzes scenes and determines which need a higher bitrate to look good. Översätt tweeten 18:31 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 3 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - l TELIA TO 35 % 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik 10 @ryanclassic As a result, other scenes may have their quality sacrificed a little to let big setpieces look sexier. You set a target bitrate. Usually you'l run a multipass on it, so the software will analyze the movie multiple times to get it as good as possible. Översätt tweeten 18:32 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 gillamarkering Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - l TELIA TO 35 % 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik 10 @ryanclassic This is where problems arise. Shots of dragons are on screen longer and have a ton of detail, so that's where the compressor will focus on making higher quality. Quick edits in battle where a shot is visible for under a second and blurry (because battle) take the hit. Översätt tweeten 18:33 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 1 gillamarkering Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA TO 35 % 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Again, Normal Operating Procedure. Unfortunately, this episode was shot at night. With fog machines. When you start to compress, among the first things to go are low light details. And last night's Game of Thrones is all low light details. And so you get splotches. Översätt tweeten 18:35 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 4 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA Со 35% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE ВООTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic In better lighting, you might notice banding in the sky or water. That's where what should be a gradient looks kinda like a rainbow but all blues. In the dark it gets splotchy. So if Arya is hiding in shadows and she's dark, the compressor will think she's also a shadow and bam. Översätt tweeten 18:37 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 1 gillamarkering Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
  • 19
    Text - .l TELIA TO 35 % 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE BOOTH dr tweetbotnik $1 @ryanclassic Typically the only people really taking notice of it are those like me who look for this stuff all the time at work and can't turn their brains off. Higher ups don't notice it because they only watch the best quality versions in the best theatres with the creative team. Översätt tweeten 18:38 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 2 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - .l TELIA СО 34% 22:16 Tråd SUICIDE ВООTH dr tweetbotnik @ryanclassic Last night the compression problems were so dramatic that the regular audience saw it. It's always there, but rarely this egregious. The quality of your TV, source, etc. factors into whether it looks bad or awful. It'll look great on Bluray. Översätt tweeten 18:40 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 5 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar
    via @ryanclassic
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    Text - CO 34 % l TELIA 22:17 Tråd SUICIDE B0OTH dr tweetbotnik 1 @ryanclassic As an addendum, turn off motion smoothing on your TVs and set the aspect ratio to dot-by-dot/1:1/ exact (it has many names). By default TVs zoom in a little. Motion smoothing makes up data between frames. Zooming scales up a little bit. Both degrade the image further. Översätt tweeten 18:43 2019-04-29 Twitter Web Client 1 Retweet 16 gillamarkeringar Tweeta ditt svar ΙΣ
    via @ryanclassic

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