It’s unfortunate that, despite being shot in High Def now, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are still shot to be 4×3 (see: old TV) compatible.
To by 4×3 compatible, all of the action need to contained within what fits in a 4×3 frame. None of the action can be moved to the peripherals of the screen.
The result is ugly, crowded shots–too much clustered in the center, with the peripherals completely wasted. It makes me feel claustrophobic to watch.
I’d rather watch it in standard def–just so that I don’t have to see all of this space available on the sides. I can’t imagine how upsetting it is to be a camera man on the Daily Show and have to intentionally create bad looking shots.
