Sesame Street Season 47 Episode 4701 - Be Kind to Your Worm

[JonnyBMuppetMan]

I know I've been gone for some time, but since my last post was about season 46, I wanted to talk a bit about this season. So far, I think the flow of the format in the first couple episodes is much better; and adding a closing scene, similar to the Halloween episode, helps give them a much more of a satisfying conclusion. Last season's crop of episodes feel kind of sloppy in some aspects, but I guess it's partially because the show was transitioning in some ways as well (shorter show length, leaving of cast/crew members (sadly), etc.)

It is kind of a shame that, because of Joey Mazzarino's exit, they're not banking on sharply-written parodies anymore (they apparently couldn't do squat to promote that great 'Walking Dead' parody, which was such a missed opportunity). At the same time, I like that these seasons have more Muppet character moments. Heck, I like the new Letter/Number of the Day segments. You wouldn't think they'd need to produce new ones, but they're much catchier and have better use of characters. Spotlighting Abby and Cookie for instance, instead of Elmo, and rather than just having the other characters sing back-up, lesser-used Muppets like Big Bird and Rosita get verses.

[End of very brief cameo.]

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Has anyone else noticed that some of the colors have been off the past couple seasons?

For instance, certain colors like light pink and some shades of orange don't look very good on the new cameras. Abby ends up looking the wrong color, and Grover's nose looks rather purple at times.

 

[D'Snowth]

I hadn't, but then again, the show's overall look has really suffered since they've switched to HD, but I really can't figure out just where the problem lies. One thing that bothers me is the street looks dark all the time, like they're experiencing a perpetual sunset . . . I don't think it's the studio lighting, considering when you see promotional and behind-the-scenes images, the studio is really bright and well-lit, so I don't know if it's the cameras (like the exposure or white balance or something), or if it's something in post, like the way they may be adjusting the brightness and/or contrast. Speaking of which, they really need to adjust the contrast better when they key and matte the characters - it's been especially noticable when the backgrounds have a bolder and more saturated look, while the Muppets have considerably less contrast, making them look faded in comparison.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I hadn't, but then again, the show's overall look has really suffered since they've switched to HD, but I really can't figure out just where the problem lies. One thing that bothers me is the street looks dark all the time, like they're experiencing a perpetual sunset . . . I don't think it's the studio lighting, considering when you see promotional and behind-the-scenes images, the studio is really bright and well-lit, so I don't know if it's the cameras (like the exposure or white balance or something), or if it's something in post, like the way they may be adjusting the brightness and/or contrast. Speaking of which, they really need to adjust the contrast better when they key and matte the characters - it's been especially noticable when the backgrounds have a bolder and more saturated look, while the Muppets have considerably less contrast, making them look faded in comparison.

Well, I haven't really noticed a lot of that. I think the show has looked quite beautiful since the HD switch, at least from seasons 39-45. But I kind of see what you mean about it looking darker than it used to. And I think a lot of the color since last year has been a little oversaturated. Maybe the studio lights are too bright and they have to dim everything in post. Or it could be the cameras like you said. I noticed a lot of shows did seem to get dimmer when they switched to HD.

 

[D'Snowth]

I noticed a lot of shows did seem to get dimmer when they switched to HD.

Doug Walker kind of explained this once, and he said when filming in HD, it's best to bring down the camera's exposure a little darker, because otherwise, if the exposure is set too high, the picture is really washed out; not to mention, that it's easier and more effective to increase the brightness and contrast in post when the exposure is set a little lower, compared to trying to decrease the brightness and contrast if the exposure is set too high (a mistake I've made a few times myself).

Then again, if you look at comparison videos on YouTube when comparing the affects of film vs. digital, film seems to handle lighting (especially daylight) better than digital, not to mention film seems to naturally capture a sharper and stronger contrast than digital does. I'm sure that a lot of playing around has to go into both the camera and post-production adjustments when filming HD.

 

[antsamthompson9]

What I mean is that is it was always broken. I think "I just wanna be with Oskie" was the first full sentence he said.

Having now seen the episode where Cookie thinks the moon is a cookie, D'Snowth is correct. Slimey has said complete sentences before.

 

[Phillip]

Just a heads up, Sesame Street Season 47 begins airing daily on PBS this Monday September 18. The first episode is "Be Kind to Your Worm". Check local listings for times. (Please note, HBO's Season 47 premiere was episode 4702, "The Kindness Kid".)

Watch the show and let us know your thoughts on this episode.

 

[antsamthompson9]

What Rosita and Cookie Monster bit did they show at the end?