Why the blacked out windows?

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Why the blacked out windows?

Post by whet » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:10 am

Don't know if I have missed something or not.
Why when Kitt is driving himself are teh windows always blacked out?

This is a shame in this day in age, even in TOS they tried their best even if Kitt did have hands a lot of the time.

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by ronni3 » Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:05 am

i guess its cause they want believability....they donot want the outer world to see KITTS driving on his own....maybe thats why,,,if u know what i mean. although i agree with you....at this day and age it should be without the windows...like the tv movie....i liked that.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by lunchmeat » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:14 am

It's really because of practical reasons. What worked in the 1980s, with the stunt driver in the seat, really won't work now - I'd rather they do what they're doing now than have the show face ridicule because of a stunt driver in a "car seat" disguise. In the 80s, it was acceptable, and it was actually pretty cool. In these days, the show would really get ripped apart for something like that. People who had never watched Knight Rider would know it as "the show with the really bad effects" and potential young viewers would be turned off by that, considering the quality of today's effects. I don't want to see KR become one of those TV shows you watch just for the laughable effects.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Stylez » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:55 am

Well what the heck happen to the stunt cars from the pilot? There was the remote control one and the one with the cage on the roof. Obviously they've blacked the windows out so nobody sees the driver, which in my opinion, easily translates into KI3T not wanting people to see the lack thereof. I don't mind it, it has never distracted me from the show itself, not like the horrible green screen driving from earlier eps. :shock:

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Lynda414 » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:03 pm

Stylez wrote:Well what the heck happen to the stunt cars from the pilot? There was the remote control one and the one with the cage on the roof. Obviously they've blacked the windows out so nobody sees the driver, which in my opinion, easily translates into KI3T not wanting people to see the lack thereof. I don't mind it, it has never distracted me from the show itself, not like the horrible green screen driving from earlier eps. :shock:
Yeah, the blacked out windows make sense in my opinion. KI3T's dash and windshield are kind of conspicous. Especially with the KITTball and the fact that he displays everything on his windshield. I'd have him black out the windoes just so I don't have gawkers all over my car.

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by K.A.C.I. » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:07 pm

The cars used in the pilot were auctioned off for charity last year by the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in Palm Springs, FL. Both the "normal mode" and "Pursuit/Attack mode" cars were sold as a set for a cool 300 grand, proceeds to Ford's "Salute to Education" scholarship program.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Stylez » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:23 pm

K.A.C.I. wrote:The cars used in the pilot were auctioned off for charity last year by the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in Palm Springs, FL. Both the "normal mode" and "Pursuit/Attack mode" cars were sold as a set for a cool 300 grand, proceeds to Ford's "Salute to Education" scholarship program.
Not those. The remote control Mustang, the one used to film the car from the outside driving by itself. The other Mustang had a cage put on it's roof and the vehicle's controls routed to this cage for a driver, I believe this one was used to film the mountain chase scenes with Sarah in the pilot.

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by lunchmeat » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:31 pm

Stylez wrote:
K.A.C.I. wrote:The cars used in the pilot were auctioned off for charity last year by the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in Palm Springs, FL. Both the "normal mode" and "Pursuit/Attack mode" cars were sold as a set for a cool 300 grand, proceeds to Ford's "Salute to Education" scholarship program.
Not those. The remote control Mustang, the one used to film the car from the outside driving by itself. The other Mustang had a cage put on it's roof and the vehicle's controls routed to this cage for a driver, I believe this one was used to film the mountain chase scenes with Sarah in the pilot.
Wow, that's how they did that? That's pretty awesome.

Regardless....the costs of closing roads, hiring stunt drivers, and filming stunts, is an obstacle to this kind of thing. Additionally, they probably don't have the setup time required to pull it off effectively - TV shows appear to be really crunched for time. Otherwise, I'm sure it would have happened by now.
Lynda414 wrote:
Stylez wrote:Well what the heck happen to the stunt cars from the pilot? There was the remote control one and the one with the cage on the roof. Obviously they've blacked the windows out so nobody sees the driver, which in my opinion, easily translates into KI3T not wanting people to see the lack thereof. I don't mind it, it has never distracted me from the show itself, not like the horrible green screen driving from earlier eps. :shock:
Yeah, the blacked out windows make sense in my opinion. KI3T's dash and windshield are kind of conspicous. Especially with the KITTball and the fact that he displays everything on his windshield. I'd have him black out the windoes just so I don't have gawkers all over my car.
Actually, there's an episode where we see Mike moving something on the touchscreen, and there's a shot of it from outside the car....it seems as though, from outside, you can't see the HUD. I don't remember the episode, but I think it might have been in the two-parter. So it really seems as though the adage is true - what happens in Kitt really does stay in Kitt. :P
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Lynda414 » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:37 pm

lunchmeat wrote:Actually, there's an episode where we see Mike moving something on the touchscreen, and there's a shot of it from outside the car....it seems as though, from outside, you can't see the HUD. I don't remember the episode, but I think it might have been in the two-parter. So it really seems as though the adage is true - what happens in Kitt really does stay in Kitt. :P
Hehe, true you can't see it from the otehr side of the window. But what about anyone looking in from a side window? If I caught sight of the KITTball, I would definitely take a closer look at the interior.

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Knight007 » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:14 pm

K.A.C.I. wrote:The cars used in the pilot were auctioned off for charity last year by the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in Palm Springs, FL. Both the "normal mode" and "Pursuit/Attack mode" cars were sold as a set for a cool 300 grand, proceeds to Ford's "Salute to Education" scholarship program.
what a shame. I loved those cars :kitt:

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Skav » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:23 pm

KITT only blacks his windows out according to the situation. There have been several moments where he has driven himself and the windows were see through.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by lunchmeat » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:28 pm

Lynda414 wrote:
lunchmeat wrote:Actually, there's an episode where we see Mike moving something on the touchscreen, and there's a shot of it from outside the car....it seems as though, from outside, you can't see the HUD. I don't remember the episode, but I think it might have been in the two-parter. So it really seems as though the adage is true - what happens in Kitt really does stay in Kitt. :P
Hehe, true you can't see it from the otehr side of the window. But what about anyone looking in from a side window? If I caught sight of the KITTball, I would definitely take a closer look at the interior.
Hah!

KI3T, parked on the side of the road, is doing some stuff on his screen while Mike's in the field, when a lone woman walks by and sees the orb...curious, she steps closer and peers through the passenger-side door at the windshield, where she sees an amazing computer display. Entranced, she watches, wondering, until the window suddenly becomes opaque. She steps back a bit with a really perplexed look on her face.

KI3T: You would not be pleased if I read over your shoulder.

Woman, now even more confused, backs away slowly, then faster...

:D
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Lynda414 » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:32 pm

lunchmeat wrote:
Lynda414 wrote:
lunchmeat wrote:Actually, there's an episode where we see Mike moving something on the touchscreen, and there's a shot of it from outside the car....it seems as though, from outside, you can't see the HUD. I don't remember the episode, but I think it might have been in the two-parter. So it really seems as though the adage is true - what happens in Kitt really does stay in Kitt. :P
Hehe, true you can't see it from the otehr side of the window. But what about anyone looking in from a side window? If I caught sight of the KITTball, I would definitely take a closer look at the interior.
Hah!

KI3T, parked on the side of the road, is doing some stuff on his screen while Mike's in the field, when a lone woman walks by and sees the orb...curious, she steps closer and peers through the passenger-side door at the windshield, where she sees an amazing computer display. Entranced, she watches, wondering, until the window suddenly becomes opaque. She steps back a bit with a really perplexed look on her face.

KI3T: You would not be pleased if I read over your shoulder.

Woman, now even more confused, backs away slowly, then faster...

:D
*falls over laughing*

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by My_Friend_KITT » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:00 pm

KI3T, parked on the side of the road, is doing some stuff on his screen while Mike's in the field, when a lone woman walks by and sees the orb...curious, she steps closer and peers through the passenger-side door at the windshield, where she sees an amazing computer display. Entranced, she watches, wondering, until the window suddenly becomes opaque. She steps back a bit with a really perplexed look on her face.

KI3T: You would not be pleased if I read over your shoulder.

Woman, now even more confused, backs away slowly, then faster...
OMG!!!!
That was FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Michael Pajaro » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:04 pm

As been mentioned, from a production standpoint it's easier to blacken out the windows than to show an empty car. And from a story standpoint, it makes sense: although KITT isn't a complete secret, the fewer people who know about him, the better.

But ultimately this is a TV show and sometimes believability has to be sacrificed for the coolness factor. There may not be any sound in outer space, but I want to hear spaceships wooshing past me in the movies. And whether or not it makes logical sense, I want to see an empty driver's seat when KITT is driving.

Sure, it may cost more money. But then NBC needs to know that you get what you pay for; an increased budget would help the show tremendously and (hopefully) be more profitable in the long run.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by blowersho » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:37 pm

They do it because they are cheap and have missed the point as to who the real star of this show is supposed to be. The other day I watched the pilot again and the auto cruise sequences were very well done, really made KITT feel like he was alive and capable of thought, now he seems like a lifeless dud that just takes orders.

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Lost Knight » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:51 pm

Skav wrote:KITT only blacks his windows out according to the situation. There have been several moments where he has driven himself and the windows were see through.
Are you sure you're not thinking of the backdoor pilot? I can't seem to remember any instances at all where K.I.T.T. drove himself without tinted windows, not to say it never occurred.

Anyway, I suppose using the remote control car would qualify as a stunt in the same way as the '80s, where a road would have to be closed down, permits obtained, etc., etc. That's the only real reason I can see why they wouldn't use the same method as in the backdoor pilot, regardless if the pilot cars were all auctioned off and destroyed.

I'll let Gary Scott Thompson skate by with his explanations for the excessive C.G.I. and green screen use. Yes, the budget for television is much lower today because there are many more networks and it's spread out much further across the board. Therefore we all need to get used to it and accept it's the way of the future. Fine, because the alternative is not to watch, which I'm certainly not going to do no matter how much I get aggravated by certain things.

But what I believe the real reason for the tinted windows is (aside from convenience and money) is the misguided direction of the show thus far. The attention for most of this season has been going to the main characters, whether pre-retool or post-retool (so far). Therefore K.I.T.T. as a character has been sidelined in many ways in terms of his stunts. The scripts have lost touch of the basic concept that this show's backbone is a supercar.

G.S.T. should have looked into trying to get another remote controlled car for the series, period. There's sometimes just no beating the authenticity of real stunts even if it's expensive. Do some things AT LEAST once. Yeah, people can say that those of us complaining about this should worry about more important things and that we're just nitpicking. And I'll even agree that the tinted window issue is a nitpick. But not every nitpick should be dismissed as such and overlooked, and this would be one of them.

And I agree with the rest of you that from a storyline standpoint, the tinted windows do indeed make sense. But this was never an issue in the backdoor pilot when K.I.T.T. zoomed through a college campus or down desert highways. And it was also never an issue in the original series aside from the occasional amazed onlooker.

So I just have to ask, since this is the case, would anybody really complain that it's not realistic if K.I.T.T. drove himself without tinted windows?

EDIT: blowersho, we posted at the same time so we have some of the same points in our posts.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by lunchmeat » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:20 pm

Watching KI3T drive without tinted windows would really be awesome. But accepting the current facts, there are financial and production reasons they aren't doing it. Otherwise, again, I'm sure that they would have. Perhaps, if there's a second season, we'll see more of it - they may find a way. But for now, we've got blacked-out windows, and I will find a storyline workaround instead of worrying about it. I do hope to see more driving scenes like the pilot movie, though. That was pretty awesome.
G.S.T. should have looked into trying to get another remote controlled car for the series, period.
I think we might be oversimplifying this (which is a tendency that a lot of fans seem to have). How much does the system cost? How much does it cost to install and incorporate? How easy is it to maintain? Are there maintenance fees? How easy is it to drive and film? With the budget, is it cost-effective? What will we have to sacrifice in the show if we buy this system? (They auctioned it for 300 grand....if we assume that it costs half of that, that's still a lot, considering they've got to pay the actors, the crew, the effects guys...it adds up.)

Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see it happen (the geek factor in me is going nuts about an actual remote-controlled automobile) but the pilot movie had a larger budget, and a larger timeframe. Additionally, they used the remote car to film certain shots, and then put it away, so they probably didn't have to deal with maintaining the thing.

There could have been filming issues that we didn't know about. There could have been operation issues - perhaps the thing is a beast to drive. I'm not saying that this is the case - but I think that there are reasons that the KR team went the route they did. You might be right - there are scenes that were probably easier to write with the tinted windows - but I am sure that if they could get the effect without any trouble, they would. They aren't, which means that there's a definite reason they aren't.

Edit: Found this article....it seems as though they actually BUILT the remote car. So finding a new one may be infeasible - they'd have to build it...
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Skav » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:40 pm

Lost Knight wrote:
Skav wrote:KITT only blacks his windows out according to the situation. There have been several moments where he has driven himself and the windows were see through.
Are you sure you're not thinking of the backdoor pilot? I can't seem to remember any instances at all where K.I.T.T. drove himself without tinted windows, not to say it never occurred.
Yes, the pilot and what about the episode with the virus? He drove himself with see through windows there. I have to admit, it is a rarity in the series and we could do with seeing more of it but they have never had KITT darken his windows without good reason.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Sue » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:46 pm

When I interviewed the car coordinator he told me the windows had been tinted for a major plot point. I was thinking this must have been Don't Stop the Knight? They needed a way for the terrorists to not know that Mike was not in KITT.
These days I'd imagine there is no need to have a driver hidden in a seat like the old days. Considering all the work MasterKey does to remove cameraman reflections from the outside of KITT I'm sure they could remove the driver from inside of KITT.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by knightprobe89 » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:22 am

i dont like the blacked out windows with a driver it's just a cheap way to make everybody think kitt is driving by himself when he has somebody driving him, they should be using the remote control car no matter what.
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by al3xband » Fri Feb 06, 2009 1:03 am

lunchmeat wrote,

KI3T, parked on the side of the road, is doing some stuff on his screen while Mike's in the field, when a lone woman walks by and sees the orb...curious, she steps closer and peers through the passenger-side door at the windshield, where she sees an amazing computer display. Entranced, she watches, wondering, until the window suddenly becomes opaque. She steps back a bit with a really perplexed look on her face.

:D[/quote]

sorry but wat "amazing computer display"??? the dash look like stock dash cept for the red fish bowl voice modulator,not to mention the stock GT500KR logo on the head rest,stock steering.....so yeah,ki3t in dash looks pretty normal compare to ki2t. If ki3t didnt activate any hud display & doesnt talk,nobody would even notice it's a super advance AI car coz the in-dash looks plain n dull...
but as for ki2t,even the car is fully shutdown, passerby will still wanna peek inside due to the fact tat ki2t interior is very stand out from normal dash!! multi purpose buttons,monitor,gullwing steering etc....

pilot version of ki3t interior is better coz it still has a tiny bit of ki2t elements but sorry to say tat the series version sux!!

ps:the reason i register is juz to reply ur post..... & Im a huge KR fan too...juz hate the ki3t dashboard!

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by al3xband » Fri Feb 06, 2009 1:21 am

knightprobe89 wrote:i dont like the blacked out windows with a driver it's just a cheap way to make everybody think kitt is driving by himself when he has somebody driving him, they should be using the remote control car no matter what.
totally agree with ya! even the 80's ki2t didnt choose to blacked out window...sure we can see the stunt driver hiding back seat driving ki2t but with the proper editing,it should be fine....tat's why there's no excuse for ki3t to blacked out window when on auto cruise mode...tat's juz too damn cheap!! cant even fool kids with tat trick!
if budget is the problem, then why continue to make this series??? I always say, if u wanna do something, do it properly! dont settle for "half baked " stuff.....
producing a cheap kr show will only anger the fans.....shud have juz cut down the cost for ki3t cgi transformation n invest in real live auto cruise, ski mode, turbo boost,design a real proper high tech dashboard with working monitor...not cgi windscreen..& the nano tech bullet proof shell looks fake too!!

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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by Samborghini » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:37 am

I agree with KI3T. I wouldn't want somebody looking over my shoulder,
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Re: Why the blacked out windows?

Post by spooky » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:59 am

Stylez wrote:
K.A.C.I. wrote:The cars used in the pilot were auctioned off for charity last year by the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in Palm Springs, FL. Both the "normal mode" and "Pursuit/Attack mode" cars were sold as a set for a cool 300 grand, proceeds to Ford's "Salute to Education" scholarship program.
Not those. The remote control Mustang, the one used to film the car from the outside driving by itself. The other Mustang had a cage put on it's roof and the vehicle's controls routed to this cage for a driver, I believe this one was used to film the mountain chase scenes with Sarah in the pilot.
the remote control part is actually it's own unit and can be installed on any of the cars(if needed), so i was told. i was on set a few times for the Pilot filming. the scene where KITT picks Sarah up from school is one that i watched being filmed. they had a stunt driver all dressed in bright green from the top up driving KITT. same color greeen as a green screen. i was told that during editing, they go back and digitally erase the driver from the shots.

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