Why do the credits at the end of so many television shows have to be rushed through so fast? How on earth are you supposed to be able to read at that speed? Then, not only do they insist on speeding the credits through at high speed, but they have to shrink them down by putting them in a narrow window at the same time and you get a voice-over which tells you what the next programme is or some other television show. So why do they have to treat the credits in this way? It seems something of an insult to all those who have contributed to the making of the programme that has just ended, not just the actors but the production staff and other creative personnel. It's almost as if they're not important enough to be given some sort of recognition for the work they've done as regards the production that has just finished.
At one time dramas on television used a minimal amount of music in their productions. Obviously you'd get music as the programme started, the opening titles and at the end, over the credits. You didn't get a lot of music used as incidental to the action. Probably such shows as 'The Onedin Line' had the very distinctive music at it's opening and closing and it probably had quite a lot of music over scenes of ships and the sea. But today we seem to have far too much music. Is this another bit of American television's influence on our productions? It can be over-used and in some ways it's become something of a cliche to have a hidden orchestra bursting forth as the action on screen gets dramatic. It's almost as if the director can't allow the audience to think for itself. The problem with all this music is that in some cases it can drown out dialogue. There was much controversy some while ago over the BBC production of 'Jamaica Inn' where viewers were complaining about the actors not speaking clearly. I find it difficult to believe that actors were unable to be understood because they weren't speaking clearly. I know from working in theatre that it's one of the most important things that an actor has to do and that is to be able to speak clearly and be heard. When I worked in rep (and, yes, it's around 45 or so years ago) none of the theatres I worked in used microphones for the use of the actors. Most big musicals use amplified sound and the actors have tiny microphones hidden in their costumes and sometimes in their hair or even stuck to their faces. As a result it means that the sound engineers can balance the singing voices with the orchestra or band. It means that nowadays actors don't have to worry about speaking clearly or to be able to project their voices to the back of the auditorium so every audience member can hear them. It also means that if actors have no real experience of working in theatre and only concentrate on television and film work they can then rely on sound engineering and all the paraphernalia of sound production without worrying about their ability to project properly.
I seem to have wandered slightly from the main subject of this blog post, but the matter of actors being able to speak clearly does connect with television sound and the over-use of music and the reliance of sound being over-used in dramas and other television productions.
My final moan is regarding the use of what I imagine must be library music. In a lot of shows, particularly documentaries and lifestyle shows, particularly those about antiques, is the repetitive use of some very familiar music. No doubt it's because they might not have to pay a composer to write original music and then fall back on using library or 'stock' music which doesn't require the production company to pay a royalty. But the same bits of music seem to appear regularly on things like 'Antiques Road Trip,' 'Flog It,' 'Bargain Hunt', and 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.' Just becoming very annoying and repetitive. I bet if you watch a lot of these shows, usually shown during the day, you will notice this music and how it's over-used. Come on producers and other people, do give us a break from this monotony.
At one time dramas on television used a minimal amount of music in their productions. Obviously you'd get music as the programme started, the opening titles and at the end, over the credits. You didn't get a lot of music used as incidental to the action. Probably such shows as 'The Onedin Line' had the very distinctive music at it's opening and closing and it probably had quite a lot of music over scenes of ships and the sea. But today we seem to have far too much music. Is this another bit of American television's influence on our productions? It can be over-used and in some ways it's become something of a cliche to have a hidden orchestra bursting forth as the action on screen gets dramatic. It's almost as if the director can't allow the audience to think for itself. The problem with all this music is that in some cases it can drown out dialogue. There was much controversy some while ago over the BBC production of 'Jamaica Inn' where viewers were complaining about the actors not speaking clearly. I find it difficult to believe that actors were unable to be understood because they weren't speaking clearly. I know from working in theatre that it's one of the most important things that an actor has to do and that is to be able to speak clearly and be heard. When I worked in rep (and, yes, it's around 45 or so years ago) none of the theatres I worked in used microphones for the use of the actors. Most big musicals use amplified sound and the actors have tiny microphones hidden in their costumes and sometimes in their hair or even stuck to their faces. As a result it means that the sound engineers can balance the singing voices with the orchestra or band. It means that nowadays actors don't have to worry about speaking clearly or to be able to project their voices to the back of the auditorium so every audience member can hear them. It also means that if actors have no real experience of working in theatre and only concentrate on television and film work they can then rely on sound engineering and all the paraphernalia of sound production without worrying about their ability to project properly.
I seem to have wandered slightly from the main subject of this blog post, but the matter of actors being able to speak clearly does connect with television sound and the over-use of music and the reliance of sound being over-used in dramas and other television productions.
My final moan is regarding the use of what I imagine must be library music. In a lot of shows, particularly documentaries and lifestyle shows, particularly those about antiques, is the repetitive use of some very familiar music. No doubt it's because they might not have to pay a composer to write original music and then fall back on using library or 'stock' music which doesn't require the production company to pay a royalty. But the same bits of music seem to appear regularly on things like 'Antiques Road Trip,' 'Flog It,' 'Bargain Hunt', and 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.' Just becoming very annoying and repetitive. I bet if you watch a lot of these shows, usually shown during the day, you will notice this music and how it's over-used. Come on producers and other people, do give us a break from this monotony.
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