Juan M. Gonzalez writes: " . . . This causes a noticeable degradation of the image. I have recently seen Blade Runner in a 35mm filmprint. After years of watching it on video (both cuts, letterboxed and not) I was surprised to discover the enormous ammout of detail that is in the film, the incredible illusion of depth that this creates. If some of the shots seem terribly long on video, on filmprint there is barely enough time to absorbe all the data. When referring to color, video only reproduces a limited palette and that it often does inneficiently (reds are particularly bad). Another bad point for video is that it has a limited contrast range, which united to the color limitations produces a "flattening" effect on the image. It further causes the loss of detail. Then comes the screen size and the environment. Films are made to be shown on a LARGE screen in the dark.It is an integral part of the filmic experience. . . . " The further points Juan makes about the distinction between FILM and CINEMA are worthwhile (though I might want to quibble about the exact terms to be used). One point that seems to have escaped discuss on this topic so far, though, is how the knowledge that their work will appear on video eventually has affected contemporary filmmakers. What allowances, if any, do they make in setting mise-en-scene, choosing film stock and lighting, and so on with the knowledge that many, if not most, viewers will eventually see the film in a format that does degrade the overall quality of the image? A point of comparison is wide-screen (which was discussed--if not to death, then extensively--here not too long ago). Where are the contemporary Premingers, Nicholas Rays, Kurosawas and Leones who make use of the dimension of width for visual effects when it is known that television and most video formats (barring letterboxing) are going to crop the image? Conversely, how do directors who have moved into film from tv and video production regard the image? The music video image, for example, can often be quite complex in spite of the degraded image--and sometimes exploits that degradation for its own purposes. Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN) ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]