Rosebud vs. Midnight Special

[David]

VH1 Classic is part of my digital cable lineup. I saw a bit of it the other day -- lucked out & saw the "Rhiannon" from Rosebud (which they erroneously identified onscreen as being from the Mirage In Concert video).

I figured that what I was seeing was as cleaned up as Rosebud is ever going to get (unless someone goes at it with digital restoration techniques, which would be very unlikely). Even so, I was still struck by how shadowy the film is; it's so dark that you almost think it's underexposed. The five players aren't lighted very effectively (their faces look oily) & the camera is often in the wrong place at the wrong time. The editing (the cutting & connecting of shots) is bad, & the soundtrack has probably lost some of its dynamic range -- or it wasn't recorded all that well to begin with. The instruments don't have much separation, & the playback is muddy. Overall, it's nothing more than just some rough footage good for marketing snippets, which is essentially how it was used.

I grabbed my VH1 broadcast of "Rhiannon" & "World Turning" off the Midnight Special repeats a couple of years ago because I was curious about which of the two programs was inferior technically. I have to say it was Rosebud by a long shot. There's just no decent comparison. The Midnight Special footage was so much better preserved, or something --- the lighting was brighter & sharper, the camera work was more solid & more professional (except for those occasional attempts at psychedelia) & the sound was definitely better: more presence, more definition, better stereo effects, more dynamic range.

If I were responsible for releasing either the Rosebud footage or the Midnight Special footage to DVD with a minor cleanup, I'd release the Midnight Special. The Rosebud footage would be wasted on a digital transfer; there's practically nothing there to work with technologically. But the Midnight Special footage would really benefit; the results would be amazing.

The only other consideration would be the actual performance. I guess fans are split: some fans, like Brian@msn, consider the Midnight Special "Rhiannon" the best ever filmed & others swear up & down by Rosebud. I think they're both about equally good.