The Spike (2 Viewers)

[nlgbbbblth]

Scannál, Monday 10 November 7.30pm.

A chance for some of you to see what all the fuss was about.

http://tvsales.rte.ie/autumn/content/factual/scannal.html

 

[nlgbbbblth]

10 minutes!

 

[Gambra]

Anyone able to youtube this or maybe rip it to avi?

 

[pete]

quality acting already

 

[nlgbbbblth]

I recorded it. Don't like the way RTE broadcast 4:3 material.

Is it hard to upload to you tube from a DVD-R?

 

[Scientician 0.8]

nlgbbbblth- I found an old thread on boards.ie started by you. You contacted RTÉ about getting archive video. Did you ever fork out to get any tapes sent out to you?

 

[joeuman]

Don't like the way RTE broadcast 4:3 material.

4:3 footage in it's original aspect either has 2 side bars or is decreased in size to preserve it's 4:3 format in a black frame all round in a 16:9 screen. In Scannal it is pan and scanned to fit 16:9 so as not to look stretched and conform with other material and the style of the image of the show. If you don't see 4:3 material reformatted, it's either a mistake or has not been altered for a specific purpose or effect.


Scannal is not an archive programme and is not obliged to keep the original aspect ratio of 4:3 archive, in fact, it tends to be a hindrance to the style of the show. All 4:3 archive is reformatted to 16:9 since Scannal is a mixed media programme that utilises old newspapers, documents, 16:9, 4:3, 2:35 film & video etc. into sequences cut to beds of music, all media is formatted to fill 16:9 because it would be distracting to the viewer to have footage jumping from 16:9 to 4:3 in sequences that are fast paced, complex or both. It's just par for the course.


If Scannal was an archive show, which it isn't, then it would be obliged to present the footage in it's original aspect but since Scannal is not an archive or news style show of presentation but of critique, the modus is to tweak the image to suit the style of the show.

The show was not about "the Spike" per se but the cultural milieu in which the Spike was originally broadcast. Preserving the 4:3 aspect would be for a dedicated archive show on "the Spike" itself or a rebroadcast of the the original series. Not so Scannal, which is seen as a look back at past scandals seen through a contemporary lens and the look and style of the way the material is handled should be dictated by the style of the show's inherent concept not the other way round where the presentation of the material would dictate the show, then it wouldn't be Scannal and it would alter the pace of the show and make it subservient to the pace and original production of the subject material hence making it far more awkward to cut and more difficult to watch. This effects the treatment of 4:3 integrated into a 16:9 format.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

nlgbbbblth- I found an old thread on boards.ie started by you. You contacted RTÉ about getting archive video. Did you ever fork out to get any tapes sent out to you?

No - never went through with it. Considered it too pricey.

 

[pete]

a rebroadcast of the the original series

I'd watch that, even with thet occasional "arra sher he's jus a chissler" abbey acting.

One thing I found tricky was trying to read both the english subtitles for the irish narration and the newspaper cuttings at the same time.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

4:3 footage in it's original aspect either has 2 side bars or is decreased in size to preserve it's 4:3 format in a black frame all round in a 16:9 screen. In Scannal it is pan and scanned to fit 16:9 so as not to look stretched and conform with other material and the style of the image of the show. If you don't see 4:3 material reformatted, it's either a mistake or has not been altered for a specific purpose or effect.


Scannal is not an archive programme and is not obliged to keep the original aspect ratio of 4:3 archive, in fact, it tends to be a hindrance to the style of the show. All 4:3 archive is reformatted to 16:9 since Scannal is a mixed media programme that utilises old newspapers, documents, 16:9, 4:3, 2:35 film & video etc. into sequences cut to beds of music, all media is formatted to fill 16:9 because it would be distracting to the viewer to have footage jumping from 16:9 to 4:3 in sequences that are fast paced, complex or both. It's just par for the course.


If Scannal was an archive show, which it isn't, then it would be obliged to present the footage in it's original aspect but since Scannal is not an archive or news style show of presentation but of critique, the modus is to tweak the image to suit the style of the show.

The show was not about "the Spike" per se but the cultural milieu in which the Spike was originally broadcast. Preserving the 4:3 aspect would be for a dedicated archive show on "the Spike" itself or a rebroadcast of the the original series. Not so Scannal, which is seen as a look back at past scandals seen through a contemporary lens and the look and style of the way the material is handled should be dictated by the style of the show's inherent concept not the other way round where the presentation of the material would dictate the show, then it wouldn't be Scannal and it would alter the pace of the show and make it subservient to the pace and original production of the subject material hence making it far more awkward to cut and more difficult to watch. This effects the treatment of 4:3 integrated into a 16:9 format.

Thanks for your detailed post.

If you look at a purely archive show like Reeling In The Years, the RTE ONE logo is clearly visible and the standard two black bars are displayed - natural 4:3 broadcast.

I can see how a contemporary show like Scannál which uses, but does not solely concern itself with, archive footage is going to look different given that 16:9 seems to be the standard for RTE.
The full RTE logo is not displayed on my television screen for programmes like Scannál, Disasters etc. I could probably get round this by amending the screen settings in my Sky box [from 4:3 to 16:9] but that would mean that regular 4:3 broadcasts on RTE and other channels would look stretched - so I'd be constantly going back and amending my settings. Therein lies my 'dislike' but your explanation makes sense.

Is there any chance of The Spike being broadcast fully?

Perhaps on the RTE 3 platform when things go digital?

 

[joeuman]

The only way to watch 16:9 programmes is to have the right aspect on your telly selected since all documentaries reformat 4:3 footage anyway -as can be seen in "Bertie" too- and not just R.T.E.'s docs either but every other channel's.


I haven't heard any mention of a rebroadcast of the Spike, but you never know what reaction last night's Scannál might receive.

The RTE international channel may be a better avenue for this archive stuff, there's a lot of archive that should be repackaged and broadcast, it also makes for cheap, watchable programming that should be taken advantage on during the economic downturn. A lot of the stuff could just be put straight back out as they are.

I've seen all 10 episodes of the Spike. They feel long and slow, often a bit ropey, -each ep. is about 50 mins- it definitely had ambition as a story and a full narrative thread but the main reason it was cancelled was a political one and not nudity, the following ep. 7 about an IRA sympathiser clinched it for the then government.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

I have a very vague recollection of The Spike controversy but was too young at the time. Helena Sheehan's Irish Television Drama book that came out in 1987 had lots of good information on it. There was also a drama documentary around four or five years ago that showed clips - and also demonstrated the wealth of quality drama that RTE produced / was involved in.

They definitely need to use their archive more. In the absence of DVD releases*, the international channel could be utilised to show a lot of these programmes.

* Unlike the UK where the most unlikely of archive programmes get a release - see what www.networkdvd.net have to offer.

 

[Ferox13]

The Spike This 1978 ten-parter set in a tough secondary school was effortlessly funny. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. The briefest glimpse of naked flesh in episode 5 outraged the chairman of the League Of Decency, who suffered a heart attack while making angry phonecalls to newspapers. The Spike's producer bizarrely claimed the intent had been "to examine the attitude of pupils and staff to nudity".
On the day that part 6 was due to air with a story of a schoolboy bomber, RTE axed it. The remaining episodes remain locked away.

Found that while trying to see what the series was about..