Sandman: Your TVs are not broken, the distorted images are a creative choice

The arrival of Neil Gaiman’s highly anticipated Sandman on Netflix this week has some viewers wondering. They were quick to point out the image format, which appears to be slightly incorrect.

“Why does everything seem so stretched? Must this be a dream and am I just a dirty pig or is there something?” asked Twito of Netflix:

Sandman viewers first noticed these distorted images in the show’s trailers, causing some consternation among fans of the original graphic novel series. Besides these distorted images are not only in the trailer, they are an integral part of the show.

Some wondered if there was a technical problem behind the visual. But image distortion is a deliberate creative choice, as is well known variety. And Netflix is ​​happy to point out that many of the episodes in the series are surreal, and the idea is to reflect what a dream would be like.

The protagonist of the series named Dream, played by Tom Sturridge, rules the realm of dreams and, when captured, his absence causes events that change both the dream world and the waking world. Throughout the series, distorted footage shows the cast with elongated faces and stretched visuals, giving the series a surreal feel.

Will Boldt, Sam Hisman and George Steele will be the cinematographers of the series. They have not yet revealed what kind of lenses they used to shoot Sandman. If, for example, old lenses were used on an 8K camera, the combination of old and new technology could create image distortion. Conversely, using an old-school wide-angle lens will create a stretched visual with distortion on the sides.

So there is no need to change the TV settings to adjust the aspect ratio. The Sandman looks exactly as its creators envisioned. There is no technical problem. This is art.