The importance of Picture-in-Picture

[Seretur]

...or "Enhanced Viewing Mode", as Fox seem to be calling it, is actually larger than some currently seem to think. And while I can certainly sympathize with the outcry for the best PQ and AQ at the expense of extras, I'll go out on a limb here and say a few things about the validity of visual bonus materials presented simultaneously with the main feature.

Bear with me, plsthx.

Ever since the introduction of DVD, home video has had this curious ability to not only allow us to enjoy films and similar content in the comfort of our homes, but to actually learn more about the filmmaking process. DVDs come with many kinds of extras, many of them gimmicky, but some truly informative -- with the making-of documentaries providing context of the creation of the film, deleted scenes offering a glimpse into the process of selection that goes toward achieving the final edit, and the audio commentaries allowing the filmmakers and experts to take us through their work in real time. I've been to film school, but there I've learned half as much as I did while listening to some of the best extras out there. To me, they are quite invaluable. (And the local film school sucks, but that's a different issue.)

Now, if the commentator can show you an alternate version of both the audio and the video content that's presented to you as the final version of a title, the potential insight grows exponentially: effects films can show you the elements that went into creating shots, historical films can provide you with art department concepts and actual reference that was being recreated, vintage films can play an old, unrestored version alongside the souped-up one you ended up owning. I imagine the latter case would lead many more viewers to truly appreciate the work done by people like Robert A. Harris, restorer extraordinaire and a respected member of our forum.

Anyone who has tried to view the storyboards offered as a multi-angle option on a, say, Studio Ghibli title, can attest to how unwieldy DVD can be. Blu-ray with a fully-implemented PiP could, on the other hand, be a godsend to the animation aficionados. A Disney or a Pixar title that would allow you to view storyboards, rough animation, pre-viz, rendering layers and other aspects of the process would finally raise awareness of the artisanship that goes into the creation of every animated title, be it traditional, puppet, or CG.

Right now, PiP is used in a somewhat gimmicky way by the HD DVD supporting studios, making you watch featurettes and making-ofs during the film instead of alongside the film, where they should belong. Steven Spielberg is right, to a point -- you don't go encroaching on the integrity of a work just because you can. This is why he doesn't do commentaries, which is extreme. But an audio commentary with appropriate visual support can, I firmly believe, bring about a truly enhanced appreciation of the arts and crafts of filmmaking.

(This post has been brought to you by a year of bickering with the HD DVD owners, which lead to an almost irrational anti-PiP sentiment among a vocal segment of the Blu-ray supporters, by the imminent arrival of PiP to Blu-ray, by the All Hallow's Eve, and by a bottle of Merlot. I don't think I'd have been able to start my first thread on this board without the latter.)