Hillary's ad: debate footage doctored to make Obama blacker

[BigD_95]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/4/21311/85811/447/468408




th

In case you needed yet another reason to despise Hillary Clinton and her vermin strategists, she's now running an ad blatantly lying about Obama's subcommittee. Her ad includes debate footage heavily doctored to make Obama blacker.

I guess this is the "fun part."

This was all pointed out (and links provided, and so on) in a comment by converse, but I haven't seen it diaried yet, so I wrote this one.

[Justyce]

1. His jacket and everything are darker... perhaps it's just the

color settings they chose. I look a different shade in every photo, depending on the saturation, white balance, etc... I personally find this to be the silliest argument yet, and there have been some silly ones.

[KittyWampus]

5. and who changed the color settings to make the pix darker?

[Justyce]

12. The tech working for the advertising company? Or perhaps

the footage was shot from two different cameras? This is kind of over the top.

[Greyskye]

29. The point of 'white balance' is so you DON'T look different

Every camera at the debate would have had its white balance adjusted for the lighting conditions present at the time. That's the process that keeps crap like this from happening.

Your argument is spurious, as you are comparing photos taken of you from different cameras under different lighting conditions. Of course you're going to look a different shade in every photo. And that's the point that I thank you for making for me. Two cameras at the debate would not have shown any difference in skin tones. If they had, we would have easily noticed it as they switched cameras during the debate itself.

[durrrty libby]

2. Who gives a shit what shade he is? Man, Messiah followers

are truly sick

Put some underwear on and get a life

[seabeyond]

7. if she changed color then obviously she thinks someone gives a shit

and truly that would be sick. and if she did this, why would you suggest people ignore and get a life.... with such dishonesty?

[Joshua N]

47. Your comment is racially insensitive because it dismisses as trivial the dynamics of shades of black

which any black person will tell you is very real. I do not know if this ad was trying to do that intentionally, I am just trying to help you see something you may not have realized about your comment.

[seabeyond]

52. yes.... it is real. n/t

[Little Star]

3. Clue: Slight smile and teeth!

[Levgreee]

6. It's still the exact same clip, even if it's seconds apart

[Justyce]

10. Perhaps recorded by two different cameras, or adjusted

by a tech making the commercial? I just don't see any point in all this. I think voters have realized he's black and she's a woman already...

[seabeyond]

17. the point is if hillary "uses" color to sway votes. it is wrong. it is dishonest

that is the point. just as it would be if obama used some kind of sexist ploy to try and sway votes from hillary.

integrity
honesty
ethics

that is the point for me.

playing on peoples fear and prejudices

[Justyce]

20. I agree, but I would be highly surprised to find out

this was anything other than simple film editing techniques by the ad company, or footage from two different cameras, etc. It looks like the second pic is a snapshot someone took of a TV screen, and the other one looks too washed out. It just doesn't look like anything intentional to me -- JMO.

[seabeyond]

23. and to me it looks like so obviously a ploy by her campaign. regardless

these things must be called, and they must be known and they can not be shrugged off and allowed. we have allowed it for two previous election and it is all excalating and so out of control. the american people cannot allow this. and if it is shown that it was merely camera, editing whatever, .... then move on.

i just dont believe it.

i believe it was intended as is

[BlackVelvet04]

44. You're just believing what you want to believe....

they aren't even the same photo.

[seabeyond]

48. no i am not. i am not a "fan" of obama though i am voting for him

i am able to see the sexist bullshit on media toward hillary and defend her even though i am not voting for her.

no they are not exactly the same moment, but it is the same speel of film at the same time......

and no, i have no agenda or personal reason to "want" it. i would rather she not do something like this cause if she wins i will be voting for her and rather not have to vote for someone doing something i totally oppose.

[seabeyond]

25. i respect hillarys right and obligation to speak out with the sexist media

she took flak. but the hillary supporters know and see the sexist attitudes of media and the negative it creates for her campaign. she spoke out. then was told not to whine. pissed me off. then obama supporters here say she is just whining, pisses me off more than the ignorant media or republican, for fellow dem to sell out because of choice of candidate.

i can support clintons accusation that media is playing the sexist card and stand up for her, as i vote for obama.

same thing on this one.

[superkia]

41. Wasnt it Time magazine that did the same thing with an O.J.

Simpson cover years ago? I could see this campaign doing something like that based on there behavior so far.

[seabeyond]

49. yes. and yes i can too. n/t

[backscatter712]

26. You have it right.

I watched the source footage.

The thing that clinches it is not only are the colors altered (increased contrast, decreased saturation, decreased blue-level, which definitely darkens Obama's skin,) but the aspect ratio is changed, stretched sideways a bit, making Obama's face wider, probably designed to make him look a little "off", look somewhat sinister, to subliminally leave feelings of dread in the subconscious of the viewer.

It's been monkeyed with, and darkening Obama's skin color is in really, really poor taste.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

4. This Is A Dupe. This Totally Insane Melodramatic Tin Foil Hat Bullshit Has Been Posted Already.

:crazy:

[NightWatcher]

8. all those years of republican attacks taught hillary well

rove would be proud

[seabeyond]

9. obviously it is not at exactly same spot of film, just as obvious it is the same film

and it is clear there is a pix difference and a color difference. the question is, did her people change it up thinking it may turn some voters off or did the editing simply accidently change it.

if it was purposely done, it was dishonest and wrong.

if it was something that JUST occured because it was picked up and transfered, then well, not a deal

[Oilwellian]

31. I "pick up and transfer" video clips all of the time

I can assure you several things were done to the ad video before being published on Hillary's YouTube channel. Not only was the color changed from the original clip, the aspect ratio was changed as well making Obama's face much wider. Now why would the Hillary campaign do such a thing? Why not use the original video as it was?

[seabeyond]

33. and i dont know shit..... but i am logical and pragmatic and 2 + 2 = 4 in my world

thanks for the educated info. i tend to agree unless proven otherwise.

[anigbrowl]

56. There is a reason for the aspect ratio change...

You can have both square and rectangular pixels. The rectangular ones are more common in pro cameras and are narrower in the vertical plane (the reason being that you want a greater density of information on the horizontal than the vertical plane, because of the way our eyes work). Taking output from such a camera and dropping it into an editing package often results in the pixels being automtically converted to square pixels. This would be corrected automtically on a TV broadcast but not on a youtube or similar output.

On the other hand, the color change is deliberate. It's obvious that they've pulled the reds way down below normal.

[thereismore]

11. His jacket and hair became black. Hillary I now officially despise you and I don't want to ever

see you in the WH again, not even as Obama's VP, which I advocated for a while. Just get out of my sight.

[BigD_95]

13. I dont see

how people can just blow this off. I thought she sunk to a new low before but this takes the cake.

I was once a big fan of Hillary and now Im at the point I despise her. What kind of Dem who use race to get votes?

[Beacool]

14. OK people, some of you are now starting to scare me!!

Take off your tin foil hats!!!! So, in the commercial Obama looks a tad bit darker than he is in life and this is cause for people to think that Hillary personally conspired to make him seem "blacker"???????

Do you people realize how CRAZY you sound????????


:scared:

[BigD_95]

16. Hello???

She & Bill have been using race to try and divide the people since he won in Iowa. Where have you been?

[KittyWampus]

18. according to Hillarly supporters its OBAMA who has used race...

[Beacool]

24. Yes, he did play the race card.

Painting the Clintons as racists is something that was very convenient for the Obama campaign. He kept quiet while the media and his surrogates fanned the flames.

-Saying that a candidate's position on an issue is a "fairy tale" is NOT racist.

-Saying that Dr. King's dreams became a reality when LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is NOT racist.

-Responding to a reporter's question by saying that Rev. Jackson had won twice in SC is NOT racist.

Racism goes both ways and plenty of us have seen how it has been used against the Clintons.

As for this ad, you're all grasping for straws.

[Catherina]

15. When the racists who don't want a Black man are still up for grabs

what's a little pigment darkening among friends?

[zulchzulu]

19. Hillary is BUSTED again

Someone in her campaign signed off on using a darkening filter in the video. I've done thousands of hours of video production and that is something that would HAVE to be requested from the client in the production room when the video is being produced.

Nothing surprises me about her incredibly inept campaign anymore. It is indeed unprecedented.

[my3boyz]

21. I despise Hillary but I won't accuse her campaign of doctoring an ad to make him look blacker. LOL

[ElsewheresDaughter]

22. a visual for where your thread belongs....

[grantcart]

27. Re: changing photo to make Obama looking darker Hillary had nothing to do with it,

as far as I know.

[backscatter712]

28. I take her word for it.

:evilgrin:

[backscatter712]

30. You think we can get Clinton to reject and denounce this ad?

[milkyway]

32. You're missing the biggest thing the did do make him appear darker: the spotlight on the left.

I work in the graphics arts industry. Putting one thing next to another accentuates the contrast. Putting a green object next to a red object makes the red object seem redder. Putting a light object next to a dark object makes the dark object appear darker.

Not only did they put white next on the left side, they made it into a spotlight to make it appear Obama is lit, but then, as you noted, they actually darkened him. Images are modified all the time, and all campaigns make images of their opponent less flattering--but it's obvious that what the Clinton campaign considers less flattering is "blacker."

oops: edited to show I do know my left from my right.:)

[backscatter712]

34. Good catch.

Yeah, this is evidence that this was deliberate, and not just a technical glitch.

About the only thing they could do to make it worse is to dub over his voice with a Stepin Fetchit soundalike...

[greguganus]

36. Good insight! The Clinton Supremacy is shameless. n/t

[BigD_95]

53. I work in a Graphics studio

also and your 100% right!

[backscatter712]

35. Gotta kick this again.

Shameless? Yes.

But I'm starting to wonder why all the Rezko junk stories from last week's news cycle keep getting kicked. The HillaryIs44 groupies are hard at work.

But they're not going to make this story go away. Nuh-uh. Get caught race-baiting, and I'll make it my mission in life to make sure the story sticks to the top of the page like flies on shit.

[Apollo11]

37. This is so totally a duplicate of another already-posted thread.

Here's the link:

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4874217

[Apollo11]

38. self delete

:eyes:

[David Zephyr]

39. K&R.

The Clintons.

[goodgd_yall]

40. Now I think I've heard everything.

:crazy:

[Johnny__Motown]

42. Just when I thought my disgust for the Clinton campaign could not possibly increase, they do this

I honestly thought the McCain "endorsement" was as far as I could go. Well I was clearly wrong.

[BlackVelvet04]

43. IT'S NOT THE SAME PHOTO......

look at his teeth...it's not even the same photo.

[seabeyond]

50. no one is saying it is the exact same moment caught on the film. n/t

[Qanisqineq]

45. omg

The racists don't care how fucking black he is anyway. To them he's already "black enough". Who the fuck notices this shit? Every campaign video I've ever seen puts the opposing candidate in a shadow or muted coloring or darker. No cheerful coloring for the opposition.

This thread is ridiculous.

[HardWorkingDem]

46. Now, even I, an Obama supporter, am going to have to claim BULLSHIT on this one.....

This is nothing more that an artistic change...come on. I bet it was created this way to sort of create attention to the content of the ad, not to make him "blacker."

Come on people.

[seabeyond]

51. then you admit a change was made (though many insist no change was made)

you just question the intent or reasoning.

good point

we dont know the reasoning for hilary people to have changed the clip. we cannot read someones mind. thanks for the reminder. i need her to tell me the reason why cause i am thinking it could have been for worse than not good reasons. and it matters to me.

[HardWorkingDem]

57. Think it's pretty clear...

there is shading around the entire perimeter of the picture (thought it's gone now), but I think it is a stretch for people sitting around in the Democratic party and saying, "hey, let's turn Obama into a darker shade to make him look blacker..."....

I think if anything the person who did the shading probably did it more for attention or like a sort of way to make one focus more on the ad.

And as for the Time/Newsweek OJ cover controversy, that was another line of bullshit. Anyone familiar with Matt Mahurin's artwork knows what a bullshit controversy that was over.

[SeaLyons]

54. OMG

This is crazy.....cannot believe the stuff on this board today.

[NMMatt]

55. Despicable

These people have absolutely no shame. The Clintons are taking the Democratic Party down with them. I guess the bright side is that they will be gone for sure within four years. Hillary may be able to ruin our chances this cycle, but she'll never actually win in November.