Momentary Blue Flash in Films

Snodgrass

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I keep noticing a brief blue flash in recent films - a bright blue line going across the screen, like a laser trace.
It happened towards the end of the new Mary Poppins film.

I have seen it in many other films now - often in action films where you might think it was part of the goings-on, but also in other genres of film.

Any ideas as to what it might be?
 

TruthSucker

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I have no idea, in what other movies did you notice it?
Is there a video somewhere or a picture so that we know what it looks like?
 

Snodgrass

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I will have a look and see if I can find an example on YouTube.
I have seen it quite a lot in the past couple of years.
 

Snodgrass

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You can see the effect here, around 20 seconds in:-


In this case it looks like an artefact of the light from a star, but that same shade of blue crops up as a line, often apparently without cause, every now and again in many films. It would not be there if the makers didn't want it. When it is CGI, it is intentional.

I was astonished to see it in the Mary Poppins film, as there seemed to be no cause or pupose to it at all. It just came across the screen .
 

TruthSucker

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Looks like a normal flare from a star to me. Any other examples?
That Mary Poppins thing sounds more interesting to me as I expect it to be no science fiction movie.
 

Snodgrass

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Yes - I was showing you that as an example of what it looks like, rather than the exact thing I was talking about. For example that one was static - a still straight line held for a second or so. These others move across the screen, and can be gone before you know it

All the same, I have never seen a star do that. You might get that kind of thing on a greasy lens, but not just "out in space."
And not a different colour from the star.

I don't want to "spoil" the Mary Poppins example, beacuse it happens just as something special occurs in the narrative.

It is difficult to pin down another example, because I have noticed them while watching a film, rather than looking for them and noting it down. Really, I was wondering whether anyone else had noticed them, or had an Idea as to what they are.
 

Qedr

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You can see the effect here, around 20 seconds in:-


In this case it looks like an artefact of the light from a star, but that same shade of blue crops up as a line, often apparently without cause, every now and again in many films. It would not be there if the makers didn't want it. When it is CGI, it is intentional.

I was astonished to see it in the Mary Poppins film, as there seemed to be no cause or pupose to it at all. It just came across the screen .
It looks like the artifact when filming or making a photo of a bright light source in the dark, similar to this

Only difference is that what you're telling about is a horizontal line, my example shows vertical.
In the video you posted it is a CGI flare added for aesthetics, I suppose :p it would be good if you added a few more examples.
Do we have any photographer/filmmaker onboard? :D
 

Snodgrass

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Yes, there's a few in that trailer.

Great articles, thank you, unbelievable truth.

So, in a way, it signifies that we are watching the action via a camera, rather than "being there", and is a symbol that this is a fiction, a work of art, and is the product of the film-maker.

That really does help.
 

Mr.Anderson

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Yes, there's a few in that trailer.

Great articles, thank you, unbelievable truth.

So, in a way, it signifies that we are watching the action via a camera, rather than "being there", and is a symbol that this is a fiction, a work of art, and is the product of the film-maker.

That really does help.
There was a change in movie storytelling after a particular movie i'm too lazy to search right now. Before the movie the directors would do anything to avoid the movie resembling a movie, after that the directors would freely use cues, soundtracks, lettering and everything else to make the audience perceive it a movie and work of art
 

Mr.Anderson

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I've seen this lens flare in the opening of netflix series "you" and immediately tought of this thread. let's keep an eye and see what happens next
 
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