Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

HD Moods Flowers Blu-ray Movie Review

Yawn...

Reviewed by Dustin Somner July 12, 2009

Every now and again I’m given the opportunity to review something slightly out of the ordinary. It may be an obcure film, a low-budget television documentary, or any number of other interesting possibilities. It doesn’t happen regularly, but we’re even given the occasional chance to review something that defies logic, which happens to be the category this release falls into. Apparently shot using the Red One Camera at a resolution of 2300x4000 lines, HD Moods Flowers was filmed on location at The Butchart Gardens in Victoria B.C. (though the pop-up menu notes the lily pad shots were captured in an undisclosed location within the pacific northwest), and appears to be a test of patience more than anything.

If you find yourself as bored as I was, you could try having a staring contest with the flowers.

Divided into two sections that play automatically (or can be selected using the pop-up menu) HD Moods Flowers contains sequences where a camera is placed in a set position and left to record eight minutes or so of footage. Aside from the movement of water, the rustle of wind, or the occasional bug appearing before the camera, there’s not really anything interesting or captivating to hold your attention beyond thirty seconds or so, so the entire production became grating within the first 20 minutes. I tried to navigate through each sequence, but quickly realized the disc was manufactured without the luxury of chapter breaks, making it extremely difficult to skip from scene to scene. For what it’s worth the breakdown of shots is as follows:

Zen
A bridge through a Japanese garden surrounded by green foliage.
Flowers resting on a bed of lily pads.
Different shot of the same flowers sitting on lily pads.
A stone walkway through a small pond.
A bamboo water feature with water streaming into it.
Distant view of the same bamboo water feature.

Spring
Foreground focused shot of pink and white flowers hanging from a trellis.
Mirrored sphere sitting on a pedastal surrounded by pink flowers.
An assortment of multi-colored flowers hanging down from a series of bushes.
A small fountain surrounded by an assortment of colorful flowers and plantlife.
A close-up of two orange roses surrounded by new buds.
A miniature version of the dancing fountain made popular by the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

I’d imagine this is the type of disc that’s meant to be purchased with the intention of playing it on your plasma or projector while doing something else. Perhaps you have some friends over and are looking to show off your new Blu-ray player without creating a distraction that could kill conversation or give your weird cousin another reason to dismiss himself from any meaningful social interaction. Whatever the intentions are, HD Moods Flowers is not a worthwhile investment given the lack of professionalism in the entire production. Nothing screams failure like the sudden appearance of a heavyset man holding a camcorder to his face in the middle of a sequence intended to capture the beautiful view of a serene Japanese garden. Along those same lines, an elderly couple walk right in front of the camera during the shot of the dancing water feature, yet the cameraman apparently didn’t take the time to reshoot that segment, or at least edit out that particular portion. I halfway wondered if anyone bothered to watch the segments prior to releasing this disc, since the occasional appearance of tourists should be seen as an epic failure in any nature-focused production.

I honestly don’t see a point in anyone choosing to watch this disc, since there are far better artistic showpieces for your high-definition display and there’s zero redeeming value in any aspect of this amateurish release.

HD Moods Flowers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the VC-1 codec (at an average bitrate of 23Mbps), HD Moods Flowers at least offers a pleasant viewing experience. Considering the camera is placed in fixed positions and focused on a specific focal point, we can expect a level of clarity that rivals the best picture quality on Blu-ray. For the most part that's what we get, but there are still several shots that appear slightly out of focus or slightly less distinct than others. Colors are appropriately natural without the noticeable presence of filtering or color adjustment in post-production, and I never noticed the presence of banding, artifacts, edge halos, or any transfer related anomalies, leaving me with an opinion that zero tweaking took place in the direct digital to digital transfer.

HD Moods Flowers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

From an audio standpoint, I was immediately disappointed in the lack of lossless options to accompany the high-quality transfer. Instead, we have three different audio tracks, each presented with the option of Dolby Digital 2.0 or Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The first option is a natural sounding track, primarily consisting of water sounds with the occasional bird call or bug buzzing by. Oddly enough, the track was recorded separate from the the visuals on display, so what you hear is not representative of the environment depicted (for example, during the sequences with the bamboo water feature, the characteristic knocking of the tipping vessel is completely absent). The second audio option is a music only track containing asian inspired numbers that feel light and airy. Sadly, there's no option to take in this track along with the natural sounds, which seems like the ideal way to enjoy the main feature. Lastly, we have a synthesizer-heavy audio track with a noticeable bass emphasis. This was my least favorite option out of the three choices, since it seemed to contradict the calming effect that should be the goal in a nature-themed production of this sort. I sampled all three tracks throughout the runtime of each feature (it appears the same tracks run during the Zen and Spring segments rather than having different audio for each one), and noticed decent surround use in comparison with the 2.0 tracks. In the end, all of the tracks offer sufficient clarity, but I never felt there was anything special about the overall audio experience.

HD Moods Flowers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Considering the main feature is hardly more than a special feature, it's not too surprising there's nothing to report here.

HD Moods Flowers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've never had the experience of watching paint dry and your looking for a comparable way to pass the time, HD Moods Flowers might be right up your alley. Since I'd assume most of you don't fall into that category, I'd recommend you avoid this release like the plague and seek out a worthwhile way to spend an hour.