WHAT?
I often
complain about whispering on TV shows and movies. Actors today seem to believe that whispering
their lines is more dramatic and effective.
Sometimes they do the “loud” whisper which makes no sense. Mrs. C says it is my hearing, but she has
trouble with dialog also, she just doesn’t admit it.
In the days
before microphones actors projected and annunciated their lines. The ability to project and annunciate clearly
was what made a skilled actor. When
artificial amplification came into play, projection and annunciation became
less important. If you look at movies
from the forties and even the early fifties, the acting seems almost silly and
not at all natural.
Modern
actors learned to rely on amplification, and use different voice levels to
convey mood and drama. Good stuff, but
currently this is overdone. The dramatic
effect of low talking and mumbling is fine, except if you don’t know WHAT THE FRIG THEY JUST SAID, it makes
enjoying a story very difficult.
For a while,
I could just turn the TV volume up high during whispering scenes, annoying, but
effective. Lately actors are using the “dramatic
mumble” and it makes me want to scream.
I have to watch shows that are “on demand” or TiVO’ed so I can rewind
several times and figure out what the actors are saying.
This morning
we were watching a show on HBO. In a
very dramatic scene where the mother was explaining to her daughter that she
had done stupid things in her life the dialog went like this:
LOW TALK MUMBLING
Hint, the mother had cheated on her
husband, Joe, with Ed.
“My lie isn’t as purple as you thin.
(long dramatic pause) I’ve made mice steaks. (short dramatic pause) I’m a whore
you know, and the moist people end my life ate my children. (Long dramatic pause)
I cheetoed honor dead.”
“But doodledolasled?”
After
several replays, we finally figured out the dialog:
“My life isn’t as perfect as you
think. I’ve made mistakes. I adore Joe, and the most important people in
my life are my children. I cheated on
your dad.”
“But do you still love Ed?”
It was a
very dramatic scene. The acting was
excellent. Just, to me, the dialog
content is important.
Maybe they
could provide subtitles.
I use the closed captioning whenever possible to avoid being blown out of my chair by sudden explosions of sound. (music or other) Heck, I'm not proud.
ReplyDeleteBecause I have ear phones in my ears all day listening to doctors fumble their way with dictation, I have come to discern that there are just some tones of voice that are easier to understand than others, no matter what volume they may be speaking. The sing-songing woman is like fingernails on a chalkboard, the monotone Middle Eastern doctor, well I won't say what is going through my head when doing one of their reports. Even in the United States there is a difference from region to region. I can slow down the dictation; too bad that option is not available for TV shows.
ReplyDeletebetty
It's usually women, men's voices are fine. Last night there was a TV programme about this very subject. Apparently the TV bosses are just cottoning on to the problem. These days I have the irritating subtitles in order to 'hear' what actors are saying.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, your hearing id NOT the problem. I have the same problem and recently had a hearing test and discovered (big surprise) my hearing is normal. I've spent years thinking I was going deaf and putting off the test because I don't fancy wearing hearing aids.
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue, stupid whispering and poor enunciation are letting us down. Even worse, the soundtrack, which is supposed to be background music is now far too loud for everything, so we turn the volume down to an acceptable level and then can't hear a word. Probably we should all study lip reading.
"id?" that should be "is" (*~*)
ReplyDeleteYes, it is annoying and it is not just dialogue. Have you listened to any of the new music lately? We turn to each other and say things like, "I can't make out a single word of this Can you?". When you do find out what they are singing/saying you realize you really don't want to know. I've pretty much given up on TV/movies/music...entertainment in general. pretty low quality stuff these days.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed this too. Drives us crazy. One or the other of us is always saying, 'What did he/she say?' Subtitles would work.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day, Joe. ☺
My complaint is mostly for British tv and movies. Their sound mixers haven't a clue and far too often what is supposed to be background or incidental music runs over the top of the dialogue. We frequently put the subtitles on.
ReplyDeleteIt probably is an age thing. I'm always raising and lowering the volume on our TV. And TVs in different rooms also have differences in volume. I also notice that as I get older I have difficulty tuning out background noise, like in restaurants.
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me is the volume difference between channels. What's up with that?
ReplyDeleteI started turning on close captioning years ago and have never stopped. Now I can't live without it.
ReplyDeleteIt started because I was watching Doctor Who and had a tough time with the British accents. Now, when I watch TV at someone else's house, I don't get half the jokes because I'm not reading them.
Oh joeh, I am laughing so hard. Lost it completely at "mice steaks". Trust me, what you are hearing is much more fun than the real story.
ReplyDeleteI think this all started years ago with Marlon Brando who made mumbling seem artistic.
I have a similar problem. Until your post I was trying to decide if it was just me, or could it be THEM? I'll admit being around aircraft, including screaming jets for all those years, even while wearing hearing protection, has probably done a number on me. But now I feel better knowing it isn't all me. I SAID I FEEL BETTER KNOWING IT ISN'T ALL ME. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't watch a show unless it has closed captions & sometimes the captions are funnier than the real dialogue!!
ReplyDeleteI hear you!
ReplyDeleteThe MUMBLERS! I have been recording Dawson's Creek reruns on the POP channel every morning. When I watch them at night, I sometimes have to rewind three or four times to understand what the actors were saying. I'm talkin' about YOU, Joshua Jackson!
ReplyDeleteTime to see an audiologist, just admit it.
ReplyDeleteMy hearing tests normal, and i don't watch TV. When i listen to the radio, i have a hard time hearing the DJs voices, and i found out Sweetie is turning off the midrange! Sometimes it's sabotage.
ReplyDeleteGrey's Anatomy, for example - not only do they mumble away, but the "cool music" piped on top of it makes the entire experience a maddening one for me!
ReplyDeleteEven if they put the subtitles in, the words are so jumbled and misspelled they don't make any sense. Friday I watched Blue Bloods and still don't know how it ended.
ReplyDeleteYes! Yes! Yes! Exactly! I rarely watch live TV (OK, almost never) because of this annoying phenomenon. It's not that we are hard of hearing - it's what you said. On top of that, flat screen TVs are not exactly known for their sound quality. You really need to add some good soundbar/speakers to the TV. "What did he say? Rewind it!" is a commonly heard expression at our house.
ReplyDelete