Did anyone else notice the weird camera angles/shots?

[TexasSissy]

Did anyone else notice that on the split screen, Bush was a tad higher than Kerry, and his image was larger, making Kerry seem smaller?

Did anyone else notice that in the opening shot from behind Jim Lehrer, the one that showed the two candidates, Lehrer, and the stage, that the camera was at a slight angle behind Lehrer, making Bush slightly closer to the camera, and thus appear larger?

Did anyone else notice that Bush was on the right side of the screen, and that he is ALWAYS on the right side of the screen for debates? Does that mean his left profile is better? Or that he thought Kerry's right profile is worse?

Did anyone else notice that when Kerry & Bush met & shook hands at the beginning, that they seemed practically the same height, when in reality, Kerry is quite a bit taller than Bush? (Bush is only slightly taller than his daughters and Laura; Laura and Teresa are about the same height; Kerry is quite a bit taller than Teresa.)

All of the above intended to make Bush seem as big as Kerry? Could it have something to do with the fact that almost always the taller candidate wins? (Don't laugh. You know the Repubs are this manipulative. And having a psychological edge is always a good thing.) REMEMBER - FAUX was the network that controlled the cameras.

[murielm99]

1. Actually, the first thing I noticed was that when they both came

out to shake hands, Kerry was significantly taller than *. I think Kerry paused for a beat to let the difference sink in for the audience.

I was so wowed by Kerry's performance, I did not notice any of the other things you mentioned. I watched it on PBS.

[kentuck]

2. I mentioned the podiums to my wife before the debate even started...

You could tell that one was closer and appeared larger. And on the split screen, Bush appeared closer. They probably thought he would more intimate by manipulating just a tad the cameras. Instead, he looked like Teddy Kennedy during the Roger Mudd interview. :)

[Czolgosz]

3. On the CSPAN split screen, Kerry looked way taller

[TexasSissy]

12. Did you notice that Kerry was, in fact, further away from the camera

in the split screen? I watched it on C-Span. Bush's podium was larger and higher up on the screen. I could see his light warning gadget. I could not see Kerry's light warning gadget because it was lower on the screen and covered by the C-span writing or logo or whatever that was. Bush was definitely closer to the camera and larger in the split screen.

That may have made Kerry look taller, in the end, the opposite effect of what was intended. But I noticed right away that Bush was the larger figure.

[Czolgosz]

16. I totally agree. How long before Bush seeks to amend the debate rules?

[4morewars]

4. Yes

It was hard to miss ! I met John Kerry and he is taller than me, and I'm 6' 2" ! Anyway, Kerry STILL kicked ass tonight ! We thought *bush was going to cry at one point ! And did you see the twitchy thing ? He did it a few times, better up the meds next time !

[jean]

6. his daughter said Kerry is 6'4" . . . 6'5" with the hair

[kokomo]

5. The podiums were exactly the same height....

but the camera shots made Bush seem to stand as tall above his podium as Kerry did. Maybe Kerry slouched!!!

Yes Fox operated all cameras and the other media outlets had to use their camera shots. I hope they pass the camera work around to other networks for the remaining debates.

I am look forward to Cheney :grr: and Edwards O8)

[mark11727]

7. Shrub looked like he was sitting in a high-chair!

[cliss]

15. Maybe the electric chair

would have been better.

[DeadHead67]

8. I thought FAUX had control of the cameras . . . .

. . .if they did, you could have fooled me. Kerry looked TALL and presidential. Bush looked like he was peeking up over the lectern. The reaction shots of Bush(which were not supposed to happen at all) were FAR from complimentary. These were my observations of the visual impact only. When it comes to REAL content, Bush got blown out of the saddle. The early polls appear to bear this out. Now let's see what spins out of this by tomorrow. YEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!:kick:

[ClassWarrior]

18. Yup, Junior* looked like he was trying to hide behind the podium.

23.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

9. was it me or

was there n eruption of applause for john at the end when they were getting off the stage?

[cheshire]

11. Sure was a huge one.

[TexasSissy]

13. How do you know which candidate the applause was for?

[high density]

17. Bush had left the stage at that point

and a large part of the audience was facing towards Kerry and applauding as he left.

[TexasSissy]

20. Wow. I'd left the room to go blog @ that pt., so missed that.

But I've got it taped!

[cheshire]

10. I though Butthead look tiny. His flag was small. His face was pinched.

[southlandshari]

14. You are right

I'm watching the CSPAN rerun righth now, and the split screen image of Bush is cropped several inches higher than that of Kerry. It is obvious if you look at both podiums. Only about two inches of podium on Kerry's side are visible from the bottom of the screen. Nearly five inches of Bush's podium are visible (and I'm assuming the podiums were the same height).

Didn't help Bush a damn bit, of course. Just interesting tv tricks (worth noting if you are following broadcast spin!).

[ClassWarrior]

19. Nothing dastardly there. If they evened up the podiums...

...in the split screen, there'd be way too much "headroom"(in broadcasting parlance) over Junior's airhead, or they'd cut off JK's head. I think the fact that the podiums were uneven still made Junior* look small.

23.