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So I’m not going deaf after all?!

Interesting article in the Daily Express today by Adam Edwards.   Apparently I’m not the only person who struggles to hear the dialogue in some films.  Edwards’s article explores the potential causes of the audience not being able to hear what the actors are saying and being unable to follow the narrative.  

Having acknowledged that this wasn’t a problem in old movies several industry sound experts point the finger at the director’s desire to have the sound effects louder and that advances in technology have allowed the sound to be replayed louder, but has reduced the dynamic range.    No doubt this may contribute to the problem and I dare say a director who has watched it over and over again and has memorised much of the dialogue probably isn’t the best person to judge, but aren’t we missing the bigger picture?.... and I mean ‘Picture’. 

We know that the actual dialogue only represents part of the way we communicate. Research has shown that over half of any message can be delivered via non verbal communication such as body language, facial expression and eye movement.  So in the search for an answer to the problem of sound in the movies, we should also be looking at the way they are filmed.  

Has the overall style cinematography changed and is there now a vogue for shots that feature more of the action and less of the close-up dialogue?  If this is the case, the directors need to take care to review this objectively to ensure the audio and visual information works well together and doesn’t get lost in the distractions of noise, gimmicks and effects.    Just like anyone giving a presentation, tell the story first, support it with graphics that add impact, and keep the distracting effects to a minimum.

Adam Clark