Quote:
Originally posted by dissention
We must have different copies of the concert then.
Besides for the amazing amount of pancake make-up that Stevie had on before filming, they used the gauzy-lens technique quite a bit. It wasn't soft focus, it was gauze. I thought it was most notable during Dreams, but that's just me. Throughout the rest of the concert, you, I at least, could notice the subtle things they did to the video (flattened out different parts of the face, added false lighting, etc.).
I've taken some classes on film and it really is quite easy, from what I understand, to do such inexpensive touch-ups. I don't know a whole lot about it, though, just what I learned in those few courses. 
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Apparently we do have different copies.
In Stevie's close-ups, you can very easily see that her face isn't as tight and youthful as it was.
You can also see the "pouty" lines she has around her mouth.
I'm not sure where you see evidence of her face being "flattened out," etc., but I won't argue.
And despite whatever clout Stevie has as a celebrity, it surprises me that she could have enough pull to have all the footage of her from that tour re-touched, as she looks the same in all the clips I've seen from that time-period. (Hell, in some of them, she looks better than she did on the 'Dance' DVD.)
For what it's worth, I do agree that "Dreams" seems to have the most noticeably soft-focus/gauzed close-ups.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to defend Stevie here... if I thought it was evident that the footage had been re-touched, I wouldn't deny it. What would be the point?
But I don't see evidence of that on 'The Dance,' beyond the standard techniques they've used to compliment the looks of female celebrities for years.