Silence is not golden!
Have you ever been at someone’s house and you just can’t hear the movie, I mean the volume is turned up but all you hear is the crashes and bangs of when things blow up and explode but when the characters talk to each other it goes something like this;
“It’s most imperative that I get ….. to safety, have you got the ….?” “Yes, …. I managed to grab it while I was ….” Crash bang, whoosh, boshcckk!! “Oh no, we’ve been …. …. ….”
At this stage I’m not watching a movie, I’m playing detective; who was that, why was he, who just died? Chances are you have no idea what I’m talking about but if you own a newish flat screen TV you have an idea, maybe you just haven’t realised what’s going on.
Ah, those huge monstrosities that used to live in the corner of your living room, so much fun it was to huddle around them and watch on the old CRT TV. Those big boxes just had something that today’s flat screen TVs are missing. Sleek huge screens, hang them up, show them off and mesmerize yourself in the picture quality but actually hearing actors on screen, no I’m sorry but that’s where the manufacturers draw the line.
Oh, so that’s why I can’t hear anything? The speakers on new TVs are so small and low powered that the sound is barely audible? My friend, there’s more to it than that, we need to go down the rabbit hole a little further because there’s something else going on.
“Have you spent half your weekend cleaning your bathroom, is your back aching?” “Well not anymore, super-clean-bathroom is our new formula bathroom spray that will literally save your life…”
Ads seem to burst out of the TV and their sound is always so clear and easy to understand. Movie dialogue on the other hand seems to be in the distance with actors seemingly mumbling their lines. Maybe I need to learn how to lip read? The movie industry has moved on my friend, sound is recorded using so many different techniques – it’s all about that immersive experience.
Film makers want you to feel part of the characters conversations, they want you to be present when Tom Hanks screams at his only friend Wilson in Cast Away or when General Zod taunts Superman in Man of Steel: “I was bred to be a warrior, Kal. Trained my entire life to master my senses. Where did you train? ON A FARM?”
What are those low powered baby speakers on your flat screen supposed to do? They just aren’t capable really. Sigh.
If you really want to hear what’s happening and would prefer to enjoy the movie, do yourself a favour and check out these sound bars and don’t suffer in silence…