Generations: Why are we whispering?

[Mike Have-Not]

I watched Generations last night and I noticed for the first time that, for large portions of the film, the characters are whispering and/or talking very quietly. I kept adding in my own line: *whispers* "Why are we whispering?"
Anyone have any insight or opinions on why the filmmakers made this particular choice?
I mean, we all know the reasoning behind the lighting choices made in the film. Kept things dim on the interior shots to conceal the not-ready for the big screen made for television sets.
So, why all the whispering? It's a bit strange, no?

 

[Six of Twelve]

I just rewatched it this evening on my phone and I noticed the same thing. It was extremely annoying, as I could barely hear the whispered scenes and had to hold the phone very close to my ear to decipher the dialogue.

An unrelated blooper I noticed near the end was that when he was battling Soren right before Kirk died, he was wearing the Voyager style uniform with the color on the shoulders. But when he was surveying the ruined saucer some time later, he was back in the previous type of uniform with the black shoulders and color on the lower torso. At that point, I really don't think he'd have been rummaging through the debris for a change of clothes.

 

[Indysolo]

I just rewatched it this evening on my phone

That could be part of the problem. It was mixed to be heard in a theater or at least something better than a phone.

Neil

 

[Six of Twelve]

That could be part of the problem. It was mixed to be heard in a theater or at least something better than a phone.

Neil

Yet I don't have this problem with the other movies or TV shows.

 

[Kronos]

Same reason it's so freaking dark, trying too hard to be taken seriously.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Same reason it's so freaking dark, trying too hard to be taken seriously.

Was the darkness not to hide the limitations of made-for-TV sets on the big screen?

 

[OtherGene]

I think it's a great movie, not First Contact great, but great nonetheless. I didn't see TMP when it first came out so I didn't have that thrill of seeing the TV cast suddenly enjoying the lavish sets, costumes and, erm, FX. But at the time of Generations release I was kind of thrilled to see them up on the silver screen all big and polished. I hadn't particularly noticed the darkness as I took that aesthetic as a natural development of moving away from the small screen, less clear and defined and more, well, movie-like.

Perhaps the biggest culprit for whispering in the movie was Patrick Stewart but, you know, that's acting and emoting luvvie.

 

[FormerLurker]

Was the darkness not to hide the limitations of made-for-TV sets on the big screen?

No, it was not. The "darkness" was lighting meant to give it greater versimilitude and realism, on a level that TV production can't match on a regular basis. In more recent productions, look at how the lighting changed between CSI's pilot episode and its first production episode. Moody, dramatic lighting to sell the show, and broad, basic lighting to make the production schedule tight.

 

[Kor]

Yes, stumbling and tripping over things in the dark is more dramatic.

Kor

 

[cardinal biggles]

An unrelated blooper I noticed near the end was that when he was battling Soren right before Kirk died, he was wearing the Voyager style uniform with the color on the shoulders. But when he was surveying the ruined saucer some time later, he was back in the previous type of uniform with the black shoulders and color on the lower torso. At that point, I really don't think he'd have been rummaging through the debris for a change of clothes.

The three starships that came to rescue the Enterprise crew could have been there for days by the time we get to the film's last scene... more than enough time for Picard to beam up, take a sonic shower, and change uniforms before beaming back down to look for his photo album.

 

[Tosk]

The three starships that came to rescue the Enterprise crew could have been there for days by the time we get to the film's last scene

I always assumed that there was a time-jump at the end there between Picard seeing the shuttle and the clean-up of the Enterprise. It seems unlikely that they would pick through the rubble of their home for only a little while before beaming up and warping away.

 

[Lance]

as the darkness not to hide the limitations of made-for-TV sets on the big screen?

No, it was not. The "darkness" was lighting meant to give it greater versimilitude and realism, on a level that TV production can't match on a regular basis. In more recent productions, look at how the lighting changed between CSI's pilot episode and its first production episode. Moody, dramatic lighting to sell the show, and broad, basic lighting to make the production schedule tight.

Absolutely. One of the biggest perpetrated Trek myths about Generations was that the darkened sets were to 'hide' faults in the sets. What people need to remember is that many of TNG's sets were built for The Motion Picture (they were *built* for a movie screen!), and that the TNG TV show looks fine in high definition. Which is the kind of resolution expected of the movie screen.

 

[inflatabledalek]

I think concerns about the sets were a factor (especially the ones like the bridge which weren't built for the films originally, and even those that were are 15 years old at that point and hadn't been intended to last that long), we now know the sets stand up pretty well in HD--though obviously even a big TV isn't the same as seeing it on a massive screen and the bridge was looking a bit worn by the end, you can see a lot of dents and scruff marks on blu ray--but they wouldn't have known that for sure back in '94 and probably over compensated a bit. From the various interviews and commentaries done over the years it feels as if everyone involved hated the D by the end and wanted shot of it, so they may have been unfair on what they had.

Mind, that's only one factor amongst many for the lighting decisions (taking advantage of the big windows to have the light outside affect the set has nothing to do with hiding flaws), and I think the cinematography is one of the few areas the film really feels like a film.

 

[UnknownSample]

I remember seeing some TV segment about preparations being made to shoot Generations. They definitely showed people redoing the details on that Bridge set, because the Bridge had been built for TV shooting, not film. That's what they said. I had to figure that they gave up on that, and decided to lower the Iighting instead. I remember there being nothing attractive about the results. We just didn't see much of the Bridge. It looked as if they'd had a power outage. It looked like a mistake.