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From American Horror Story<\/em> <\/a>to Stranger Things<\/em><\/a> to Euphoria<\/em><\/a> to Game of Thrones<\/em><\/a>, some TV shows are tough to watch because of its dark subject matter \u2014 while others aren\u2019t the easiest to enjoy due to dark lighting.<\/p>\n Certain programs have become known for being harder to see and cinematographers have weighed in on whether the issue is on the viewer<\/a> or the content itself.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know why there\u2019s this trend now to shoot extremely dark, but I think \u2014 I\u2019m not going to name names \u2014 there are two sides to it,\u201d Shasta Spahn<\/strong>, who has worked on American Horror Stories,<\/em> told Vulture<\/em> in November 2023. \u201cThere\u2019s a version where people know what their exposure and balance is and they know how to make a scene look a certain way that has darkness technically. And then there\u2019s the other side of it where people don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing. They\u2019re making it look really dark.\u201d<\/p>\n Spahn cited several examples<\/a> on the filmmaker\u2019s side, adding, \u201cThey have no light in the actor\u2019s eyes. They have no separation between the foreground and the background, and it\u2019s unskilled and looks horrible. \u2026 Night scenes can be done and are done so beautifully, but they\u2019re also done so poorly.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile Lyn Moncrief,<\/strong> who brought movies such as Five Nights at Freddy\u2019s<\/em> to life, questioned whether \u201clarger TVs\u201d were to blame.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey tend to have a 16:9 format. We\u2019re no longer in this 4:3 television analog era where the distinctions between television and movies, at least in terms of composition and aspect ratios, are so extreme. Pre-2000, that aspect ratio was forced upon you when shooting TV,\u201d Moncrief noted. \u201cYou\u2019re seeing a lot more projects, and they\u2019re shooting 2.39:1 with letterboxing and things of that nature that used to always be a fight to have. That cinematic influence has had a direct effect on streaming shows, whereas in the past, that was not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n House of the Dragon<\/em><\/a> cinematographer Pepe Avila del Pino<\/strong> had his own take on the subject. He specifically called out \u201coverprocessed color correction\u201d that became too common with everyone\u2019s favorite TV shows.<\/a><\/p>\n