Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for September 08, 2013
Transcript:
Mom: "Is it just me or has movie dialogue gotten harder to hear?" Dad: "Actors mumble these days. And if I crank up the volume to hear the lines, then the music and explosions are deafening" Mom: "Can you turn on subtitles?" Dad: "Yeah. Just a sec..." Mom: "My, how flattering: "Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing." Seem like just "Subtitles" would do" Dad: "I think it should say 'here's what the actors are mumbling under the blasting sound effects"
JayBluE about 11 years ago
“What Good Are Words For?”or“This Movie’s A Blast”
DaJellyBelly about 11 years ago
For a movie buff like me, today’s strip rings a big bell!
Mordock999 Premium Member about 11 years ago
Don’t FRET, DeGroots.
The Network will Crank the Sound UP in time for the Commercials……,
watmiwori about 11 years ago
If it’s a modern film, the dialogue is inconsequential anyway —the important part is the SFX…. And the SEX.
JayBluE about 11 years ago
And it seems some movie makers think the people are coming to see the action and the ‘blowey-uppy" stuff, and not the acting… -It’s also funny that, at times, the subtitles don’t at all match what was actually said, or are full of typos and other mistakes. – And it’s ironic that the mirophone that they use for dialogue in movies is known as a boom mic…..
firedome about 11 years ago
it started with brando…
kenhense about 11 years ago
AMEN !! The best movies are driven mostly by theater – the way the different characters see the truth. Both the harsh realities and the humor come from this. SO YOU NEED TO HEAR WHAT THEY’RE SAYING !! However some audiences get their rush mostly from good looking actors, gunfire & explosions, sight gags and one liners. And I guess the cool guys all mumble these days – so that only the cool young guys can hear them…
Reiko808 about 11 years ago
Not to mention that sometimes the subtitles obstruct the picture.
Kediset about 11 years ago
aw man, totally relate. Wanted to watch LoTR online and only one video that didn’t buff on me, but the volume differences between scene to scene were ridiculous. One scene you can hear the dialogue perfectly, next it’d be so ridiculously quiet you can’t hear it even with sound jacked up (and they’re not even whispering!), and next thing you know, your ears are bleeding by the sudden sound blast.
Later found full movie on YouTube, but it was broken into a ton of small sections. On the other hand, the volume was balanced for everything. Guess I can’t win :P
Sisyphos about 11 years ago
So true! Frank and Nancy have enunciated one of my peeves: I am constantly turning up the volume for dialogue or down for “dramatic scoring” and what IamJayBluE calls the “blowey-uppy” stuff when I watch movies on my computer (which is pretty much the only way I do cinema nowadays).
The Old Wolf about 11 years ago
My wife wears hearing aids and I suffer from frequency loss. We greatly appreciate subtitles, and it frustrates me when films don’t include English for the Hearing Impaired.
Cloudchaser about 11 years ago
I wonder why TV’s can’t be made with some sort of smart volume that controls the actual decibel level that the speakers are putting out. When actors are whispering, it automatically ups the volume so you can hear what they’re saying. When something loud happens, it lowers the volume.
KeepKeeper about 11 years ago
Commercials are not suppose to be louder than the program, so they rack the sound up on the program so it matches the commercials. If we all turn the sound off we wont hear the commercials. Sound like a good idea, Some lawyer should start a class action lawsuit for the damage done to peoples hearing..
KeepKeeper about 11 years ago
NCIS was my favorite program till it got to the point that I could no longer hear the dialog over the sound track..
green8019 about 11 years ago
Agreed. I can’t hear %#$! anymore for the background music is way to loud!
bagbalm about 11 years ago
Movies should have a separate audio channel for voice and background like computer games.
Barbara McKibben about 11 years ago
I agree I agree I agree…with all that is being said about the uneven sound levels in film and TV. I don’t have a hearing problem and sometimes I too put on the CC so I can know what is going on.
angeldscoobydoo Premium Member about 11 years ago
Have this problem all the time! It must be the way the movies are made these days.
joe375 about 11 years ago
OMG 100% correct. I have that same problem.
cdward about 11 years ago
It’s not the actors mumbling – it’s the mixing in post production. They crank up the sound effects and lower the volume on the dialog. I’m convinced it’s because they want you to FEEL the vibrations – they’re totally caught up in how the sound can travel around the room and shake you up. I want dialog!
flyertom about 11 years ago
I’ve had to use the subtitles on AMC’s “The Killing” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones”.The first because of the muted, understated dialogue, and second because it’s hard to understand ‘the king’s english’. In fact, British-English is generally tough to comprehend.
ajnotales about 11 years ago
Exactly! So I went to an audiologist and had hearing aids custom tuned for me, but it still didn’t help this particular issue. When I reported this to my doctor, he responded: “I work with a lot of people in the film and TV industry – they don’t care anymore about the clarity of their dialogues.” So I watched some old movies … Clear as a bell, with or without the hearing aids. Sigh…
jhar about 11 years ago
I was wondering, does Gunther make shirts for Frank too?
JayBluE about 11 years ago
Good One!
Burnside217 about 11 years ago
Now we know what the next big feature should be in televisions: Audio Compressors. Give the viewer the power to set their own top end.
The volume and mute are the most used buttons on my remote.
snowcat749 about 11 years ago
I totally agree, have been using subtitle for years. Hate that they make the music so loud you can’t hear the dialog.
JayBluE about 11 years ago
It’s not necessarily being “old” with Frank and Nancy (at least on this one thing), it’s that Nancy appreciates that lots of people enjoy subtitles (like me) and that it shouldn’t necessary to label them as anything other than “subtitles”… that’s not always an old vs. young thing, just that some people like to get a sense of the dialogue (using context), both from the words and the sound…. – As far as Frank is concerned, this one time is not an old thing (though it usually is a part of his character), it’s the fact that studios now use Dobly™ and other sound technologies to mix the sound, for the purpose of “surround sound” technology (regardless if one has the equipment or not), and to accommodate the perceived public desire for such sound… although one can switch back and forth between different sound settings, but it kind of kills the flow to have to keep switching back and forth… companies perceive these new technologies as greatly desired, but many times, it’s not necessarily so, unless one has been brought up on it (particularly the teen to late twenties, maybe).
Waddling Eagle about 11 years ago
The leading acting school these days must be the Murloc School of Diction.
JoeStoppinghem Premium Member about 11 years ago
Some Blu-Ray players has an audio compression option, which attempts to raise the lower audio some amount and limits it a bit from being too loud.Not great but it may help a bit.
I actually bought a new Marantz HomeTheater Receiver which has a compressor option as well.
If the studios would take the time to produce the movie’s audio in the first place it wouldn’t be an issue.
Also from what I understand the video streaming services, Netflix etc, do not do any audio processing, like the TV stations etc do.
Makes a major difference
JayBluE about 11 years ago
There’s only a slight difference between the two: (1) captions being both the language and sound descriptions one can activate on the screen, and (2) the subtitles being mostly the text of whatever language/dialog is being spoken, but essentially, they are perceived as the same…
morningglory73 Premium Member about 11 years ago
Nice to know I am not alone here in thinking my hearing is shot. Thanks guys!
YatInExile about 11 years ago
I have to turn on subtitles when I watch Apollo 13. They use a lot of astronaut jargon that nobody can understand. Except other astronauts.
Sangelia about 11 years ago
Thanks to my kid. We have had subtitles on our TV from almost the day we got the TV. At first we hated it. Then we got to realize that what she did was good. Because of the noise level in the house at times. Being able to read the subtitles came in handy.
JayBluE about 11 years ago
And that’s a different meaning to subtitles, than what’s being discussed here… the one you’re thinking of, is the one having to do with the name for alternate movie titles, but the other definition is the one under consideration, here….
rroush Premium Member about 11 years ago
And I thought my hearing was going. Nice to know I’m not the only one.
Tetonbil about 11 years ago
Absolutely the truth! We use subtitles all the time on home movies. Amazing to see all that’s being said.
doodlerjeff about 11 years ago
I hate it when a cartoonist streaches the truth to make a mediocre joke. I’ve never seen “subtitles for the deaf” as an option for a video. By the way, we almost always turn on captions for movies that feature British/Scottish/Irish actors.
cactuslady100 Premium Member about 11 years ago
Finally someone else gets it too!! Hubby is always complaining that I have the subtitles on. What Greg Evans just pointed out, makes my case THANK YOU!!(mumbling, way to loud music/sound effects etc.)
Metal maiden about 11 years ago
Oh my gosh, this is me and my husband! But I do have hearing issues with clarity, and the background music (aka noise)on TV is actually too loud for mme. Says something, doesn’t it?
schmid13 about 11 years ago
@IJBE thanks for the link. These voice clarity voice problems have bugged me for years. Never thought that newer sound technologies would make it harder to enjoy a movie. Why do we Americans allow companies to deliver us this c r a p? Like the other problem discussed before that our recorders can’t know when shows begin and end. Or that we can’t just skip commercials with a one button click. About school start times. In recent road trip, learned that most of Indiana does year round schooling. Quality education issues aside, they don’t have much summer tourism to deal with in Indiana like we do in NC. This sanguine Luann is a far cry from the Quill obsessed Luann of late. Agree about Geometry which I took in 8th grade. I was good in math. But at least put Algebra II, Trig, or Calculus on her book.
dougsathome about 11 years ago
That’s true. I have no trouble hearing the music, which is so loud that it often drowns out the dialogue.
SMhahaha1 about 11 years ago
Glad to see I am not the only one in this world that has this problem.. Now…what do we do about it…
RonBerg13 Premium Member about 11 years ago
Spot on!!
The Pro from Dover about 11 years ago
Got myself some of those “TV Ears” years ago and I love em! Never have to worry about the mumbling now. They have a volume control right on them.
Hoodude about 11 years ago
I caption everything..even AR..but so much blab in so little time still miss some text have to reverse the dvr..too much too fast too dumb..tv’s awful
unca jim about 11 years ago
@Joe Stoppingham Said; “If the studios would take the time to produce the movie’s audio in the first place it wouldn’t be an issue.Also from what I understand the video streaming services, Netflix etc, do not do any audio processing, like the TV stations etc do.Makes a major difference”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I’ve run a few recording studio setups in my day (at 78, I can still hear a mouse pee in my sock drawer, thankew)But I’ve noticed 2 things along the way.. One, The “Drew Carey effect” …a modulated buzz with no word separation or enunciation (how he ever got “The Price Is Right” gig is beyond ME!) and his peers. Two; Touring various and sundry other studios and board operations here and thereabouts, the control room people just shove the sliders full bore and ‘let the ComPanders take care of it.’ (don’t let those ‘serious photos’ of control boards fool you, with their sliders set all over the place..Since they invented the compressor/expander, life for serious listeners ain’t been the same and we’re the worse for it.
1luannelubow about 11 years ago
Today’s strip was very offensive to those of us with hearing problems – who depend on closed captioning. Your words are hurtful and further exclude many of us from feeling included.
Spooky D Cat about 11 years ago
Just found this out after years of struggling to understand dialog on TV dramas: turn off SRS. I can understand the mumbles MUCH better now.
watmiwori about 11 years ago
Haven’t seen that one, but remember with fondness and gratitude the volkswagen advert which showed a beetle driving round in TOTALSILENCE! Stroke of genius, that.
watmiwori about 11 years ago
How about French films on French TV with French subtitlles!? No kidding!
wiatr about 11 years ago
Wow, I thought it was just MY ears. Thank goodness I’m not as deaf as I thought.
JayBluE about 11 years ago
And “Moving in Stereo”, the Cars (“…It’s so easy, to fool with the sound….”)
JayBluE about 11 years ago
I guess the booming bass systems in some people’s cars show that they also like to “feel” their audio… Lol!
JayBluE about 11 years ago
Thanks for the audio link, as well!
JayBluE about 11 years ago
Another one is “Words” by Missing Persons (“…Do you hear me? Do you care?…” “What good are words for, when no one listens anymore? ….There’s no use talking at all…”)
JayBluE about 11 years ago
Pop ular snack for some!
ORMouseworks about 11 years ago
Welcome to the wonderful world of getting older… ;)
ORMouseworks about 11 years ago
Actually, we have the same problem with the need for closed captioning that other posters have. We find we need amplification when the actors all seem to mumble, and then the music proceeds to break the eardrums…or, maybe the sound barrier in most cases… ;P
David Huie Green LoveJoyAndPeace about 11 years ago
And then there’s those shows which have different dialog between what is said and what is closed captioned. I suspect the closed captioned dialog was what was intended and the audible dialog was what the actors decide to actually say.-It’s fun to watch a live program, see the closed captioning miss the word, see the word erased and the correct word retyped.-The best of all worlds.
seismic-2 Premium Member about 11 years ago
The actors all mumble. Well, that’s to be expected, since they were all trained at what the strip has assured us is the world’s best drama school, namely Pitt Community College.
ORMouseworks about 11 years ago
“EH? WHAT’D YOU SAY?” And what did YOU say? Think about it… ;)
TORAD_07 about 11 years ago
My biggest issue is when the volume is raised only for the "commercials’ and not for the tv program itself. I had thought (perhaps mistakenly) that legislation or regulations were enacted that prohibited cable/channel providers from doing that. Whatever the case, it still goes on. >:-|
I don’t know much about CC subtitles, but I often use English subtitles on foreign films/TV. I’d much prefer watching a film or TV ep. in the native language with English subtitles, since the emotions are totally different (and less appealing) when the content is dubbed in English, especially “Anime.”
And knowing enough Japanese to be dangerous :-), I can state that the translated subtitles aren’t even close to what would be rendered from a literal translation of the Japanese dialogue. I realize some of that is to ensure the translation doesn’t end up sounding like “Miyagi-san” in the “Karate Kid” trilogy, but I think they could get a little more literal than at present.
evergrey about 11 years ago
I have this problem. I can’t tell if I am going deaf or if the actors are all really quietly mumbling under the uber loud sound effects…
William Taylor about 11 years ago
Theoretically the English language is a single entity, but that ain’t the way of it. The various accents on the tube and in movies MANDATE translation – w/o subtitles no chance.
schmid13 about 11 years ago
@IamJayBluE – I always loved my summers at the pool diving and playing around and no school. @davidhuiegreen – I agree! Its a stretch. I’ve never seen subtitles/captions labeled like that. Why would they even do it? Have I missed something? Has anyone ever seen it? Commercial level: I always heard the allowed volume level was related to some average of the loudest moments in the current show and that the whole commercial could be that loud throughout. No facts though. Popcorn: does anyone still make popcorn in a pot with real corn and oil, then cook it perfectly with almost no burned popcorn, then put it in a brown grocery bag where you pour in butter, then salt to perfection. I do. Learned from my dad and taught my son. Now that boy can make some popcorn.
schmid13 about 11 years ago
Their popcorn looks like a bowl of my homemade, maybe Nancy and frank have got it going on. They need to teach brad how to make it. He could outdo TJ with that!
schmid13 about 11 years ago
@IamJayBluE – ill check it out – after I go make some popcorn!
JayBluE about 11 years ago
K-Tel anthologies ^I find them to be just as nice having them in the collection… these days, they don’t know nuthin, when it comes to the “Now That’s What I Call Music” Volumes 1-1000… that’s unimaginative… all the Ronco, K-Tel, Columbia and Time Life compilations had imaginative titles, and of course the compilations were…. (ahem)…. better… ha ha!
Kdawg the bomb about 11 years ago
I try that every so often. It lets me know exactly what the person is saying. Especially if its a small talking or a bunch of noise.
JayBluE about 11 years ago
You’ve been “hanging around the grooveyard”, there… JK! I also have “Popcorn” on the K-tel.
JayBluE about 11 years ago
what a rip off. K – Tel, “Quality is us.” Not.^Can’t argue with that! But still, they could come up with titles, instead of the lazy titling of compilations today…
Fuddy Duddy about 11 years ago
“wait a minute if Luann is a senior like 17 her parents shouldnt be older than their 50’s , they are portrayed like their old farts with the hard of hearing stuff”-Slow down there ComicsJester. I started losing my hearing at age 12. By age 18, I was wearing two hearing aids. By age 25, the most powerful hearing aids on the market gave me headaches, and nothing else. From age 25 to age 40, I was totally deaf. At age 40, I received a cochlear implant, which gives me limited, but useful hearing.-I may be an old fart now, but I was deaf long before the “old” part kicked in. -Many, many young people have hearing problems. Many won’t admit to hearing problems. And more and more young people are compromising their hearing by listening to loud music.-I’ve read that up to one person in ten is hearing impaired, and that one person in twenty is functionally hearing impaired. I think one could reasonably surmise that not all of those people are old farts.
JudiEpstien about 11 years ago
It’s really stupid and no way to avoid it…turn the volume up and your turning the music up the same amount. And I don’t have a TV with sub-titles !
Fuddy Duddy about 11 years ago
Which war? -I’ve heard (if you’ll excuse the expression) from people who have had hearing loss as a result of service in WW II, Korea, Vietnam, and the various military actions in the Gulf.-Also, it’s very hard for me to categorize anyone who has served his or her country in combat as a fart.
Sacto1624 about 11 years ago
Some audio/video receivers have this feature called Dolby Volume that avoids this problem mentioned in the cartoon. If a use TV had Dolby Volume enabled, you’ll be able to hear even quiet dialog without being suddenly blasted at high volume by the music or sound effects.
Ottodesu about 11 years ago
I don’t know what sound equipment is available nowadays, but I think people should be looking at what dbx (that is correct spelling) used to do. I used to have a dbx 118, it allowed expansion (which increased dynamic range and minimised hiss/noise) or could compress (so peaks aren’t so high, and the quiet bits don’t get lost).
David Huie Green LoveJoyAndPeace about 11 years ago
That wouldn’t explain the other children hearing it..I bought a device once which was supposed to drive off attacking dogs with a sound dogs could hear but humans couldn’t..The problem was that I COULD hear it. It was faint but audible. I showed it to my sister-in-law, a band director for Hinton High School, mentioning only dogs could hear it. She pressed the button then covered ner ears in pain..Barely audible to me was VERY audible to her
water_moon about 11 years ago
it’s too loud at the movies too! I take ear plugs with me all the time now.
Hatjuggler1 about 8 years ago
My family loves subtitles. We started using them when my sister-in-law (who’s deaf) was around, and got addicted to having them.
Grandmaster3(RIP Juice) about 3 years ago
hate when that happens, doesnt make it clearer, just louder