h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a pet hate. Sound Engineers. They don't appear to know their jobs. Are they trained at all? I can safely say that almost all films that are made today are not modulated correctly between speech and music or action-sound. Speech is drowned out by over-amplified music, or by unmodulated street noise in action movies. If one cannot hear the dialogue, then one simply loses the thread of the tale. I notice, however, that the British soaps are totally accessible sound-wise, as are most other programmes on our home networks. However, what annoys me here is their irritating habit of turning up the decibels for the advertisements by a factor of 3 or 4. This is designed to drum the advert deep into one's mind, presumably to satisfy the quirks of their high-paying advertisers. What they don't seem to have realised is that some of us simply turn off the sound altogether at the remote and talk amongst ourselves whilst the adverts mime on!! I personally switch off mentally at the very thought of an advert, and have never consciously bought anything on the strength of one. I have been, also, to some middle class weddings where conversation is totally impossible at the reception due to extremely high volume 'entertainments'. What's wrong with the young people these days? Is conversation a no-no today? Does it smack too much of revealing one's education, or lack of it? Do we all have to be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator?
Ronbloggs.
(A working class bloke with hons degree)

Hi Ronbloggs, welcome to h2g2!

I've left you an official welcome on your User Space. I've provided a link to my own help page for newbies, but if you need any help at all just give me a shout

You might get a better response to this rant though if you post at <./>Askh2g2</.>, which is the main forum for researchers to ask any question and discuss any topic . Although it drives me nuts too, especially on cable!

Well I would, if the damn server would let me into your User Space so I could, but welcome anyways - and the offer still stands if you need some help

Hello fords, and thank you for your interest and the 2 replies.
It may interest you, also, that I have just received the same tip from RFJS at Durham University, who only found 1 of my little 'rants' by chance. As I have just told him, I am brand new to the site and feeling my way around. I tend to get information overload when confronted with a screen; and don't learn as quickly as I used to.
Would it be possible for me to copy and paste to the correct site, the rant on sound engineers?

Ronbloggs

You may well find my very own guide for the new user at A811874 handy as I've just realised I still can't post an official welcome on your space. Did you initially register with Get Writing?

You can indeed copy and paste your rant and post it to Ask h2g2. You'll find you're not the only one with that point of view either

Hi fords,
Sorry for the delay in replying; busy. Yes, I did initially register on Get Writing and I am still so registered. I had assumed one could be registered with both sites without blocking the system, but, as usual, I could be mistaken! I can't, otherwise, see any reason why you can't enter my space to look at my few comments. Little of real interest there at the moment, however!

Ronbloggs

It is indeed a strange one! How are you finding your way around h2g2, anything I can help you with?

So someone else has noticed! There you are relaxing, immersed in the plot of some gently stimulating, preferably british story. Your brow delicatly furrowed in the protracted perusal of the various subtle allegorical interplays and BOSCH! in comes that bloody Stella Ad at around a hundred decibels louder than anything preceding it. Just in case you were enjoying
the peace and didn't want the house waking up, some bloody minded media sound twit with a maniacal cackle tweeks his knobs and ensures you either turn over, or spend the rest of the film on edge waiting for the adverts, finger poised on the mute button! Cretins! And indeed no; if they can afford to waste money on T.V. advertising then you are paying far too much for which ever over-rated rubbish they're trying to flog you.
By the way, if you have paid any attention to the way teenagers converse these days; with an almost total absence of meaningful nouns, verbs and adjectives, you're probably blessed with a deafening sound system- only it's probably playing Rap, R'n'B or Garage. OLD FARTS ROCK!