can you understand today's actors mumbling on tv?

[Thingamabob]

22 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

i truly enjoy watching tv. but over the years i have found that the actors/actresses are more and more difficult to understand. they slur more, mumble with low voices and many actors arent even native english speakers. now i am watching true detective season 3 (as example) and i gotta have the subs on all the time. season 2 was just as bad with woody harelson and Matthew McConaughey drawling in texas accents. same goes for british tv... even more so cos much of what is being said on brit tv is colloquial and particular to england. any others struggling with this new generation of actors?

Decades ago aspiring actors were taught diction which meant they could be heard and understood whatever their accent. Not so any more, sadly.

[worgeordie]

The wife is always on about me having volume too high , but I try to

explain to her that the volume goes louder when there are adverts on

or music is played in films .

 

i like to watch old movies and have no problem understanding what

the actors are saying .modern  movies not so much.

 

regards Worgeordie

[HappyExpat57]

31 minutes ago, ThaiFelix said:

What??

 

I worked with a South African teacher named Elena, pronounced exactly as the Thai phrase. You bet we had some good natured fun with THAT.

[spidermike007]

Sounds like you need a good home theater, and if you already have one sounds like you should have spent more than a thousand baht on your center speaker, which is critical to hear clear vocals. 

 

I can hear what they're saying very clearly, but I did spend quite a bit of money on my home theater. 

[Pouatchee]

34 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Sounds like you need a good home theater, and if you already have one sounds like you should have spent more than a thousand baht on your center speaker, which is critical to hear clear vocals. 

 

I can hear what they're saying very clearly, but I did spend quite a bit of money on my home theater. 

 

kinda right/kinda wrong...

i dare you to watch a show like power book 3: raising kanan (just finished watching) and undertsand what they are saying. there is a big difference between hearing what is being said and understanding what is being said. i hear birds chanting but i dont understand them. 

 

just cos a tv show is said to be in english doesnt make their enunciation clear and understandable despite being hearable

[blazes]

The way the sound engineers manipulate crowd sound at footy games was laid bare for all to see during the pandemic when football games were played in empty stadiums.

 

At least there was a choice: you could, if you preferred, listen to the commentary without crowd sound - so that goals were scored to no greater sound than at the average school game!

But when you listened WITH crowd sound, you could hear/see how ludicrous was the manipulated sound when goals were met with huge roars.  It is quite clear, post-pandemic, that the manipulation is as evident as back then.

Suspension of disbelief, I guess.

[loong]

I totally agree with the posters that have to use the subtitles. Many times I have given up trying to watch something if it doesn't have subtitles as i have no idea what is going on.
Watching old movies or TV shows, I generally have no problem (except with some regional accents).

This must be a common problem and you would think that the program makers were aware and actually do something about it.

While they are at it, they could quit doing so many dark scenes. It is doubly infuriating when you can't see what is going on because the scene is so dark!

[Pouatchee]

4 minutes ago, loong said:

While they are at it, they could quit doing so many dark scenes. It is doubly infuriating when you can't see what is going on because the scene is so dark!

 

great comment. another poster pointed that out previously stating it pisced him off specially when there were fight scenes. i get it that movies are probably filming dark scenes cos when at the cinema the scenes probably are quit visible... but i dont get why tv shows do it... tv shows arent aired in a cinema.

it also ticks me off greatly

[blazes]

4 minutes ago, loong said:

I totally agree with the posters that have to use the subtitles. Many times I have given up trying to watch something if it doesn't have subtitles as i have no idea what is going on.
Watching old movies or TV shows, I generally have no problem (except with some regional accents).

This must be a common problem and you would think that the program makers were aware and actually do something about it.

While they are at it, they could quit doing so many dark scenes. It is doubly infuriating when you can't see what is going on because

 

 

When a scene is filmed in the dark, I frequently assume that this is a budgetary matter (or , as someone implied above, actors who need the cover of darkness to save themselves and us from embarrassment (e.g. sex scenes these days are better if we are spared two people going at it with all the grunts and athletics that we are perfectly capable of imagining.)

 

[newbee2022]

Within the years you are going to be deaf or getting some hearing problems. With hearing aids it might be an approvement.

However, in some countries you can switch on subtitles in your language. That helps a lot. I know it because Scots and Brits do it as Brits and Americans too.🙏

[blazes]

slightly off topic, but still about the "sound" we hear thrust at us.

I am thinking in particular of BBC drama and its insistent itch to lecture us in desirable wokedom.

I was watching in 2022 an episode of "Silent Witness" (with subs natch).  I have watched this quite good series since its beginning in 1995 or 6.  As the years roll by you can see how BBC (but not necessarily the audience) has just got more and more woke, so that now it is almost a requirement of the script that the police senior person be a woman, preferably a black woman.

I do of course believe that "minorities" of various kinds  should get a look-in, but not to the point where credulity is strained.

For example, this 2022 episode introduced a young woman who was deaf and dumb (as we used to say).

So, inevitably, BBC demonstrates how we all need to behave when faced with a d & d person in the workplace, and that means having to "listen" to grown actors "talking" in sign language for all of two minutes.

I'm glad I'm old.

[Gandtee]

That's the reason I mainly watch old British and American films.

[john donson]

enable SUBTITLES

[jesimps]

Very rarely watch US dramas because most of the actors mumble and they play the theme music too loud. Impossible to understand the guys with a deep voice. I also don,t watch many British dramas because of the woke nature of them. I always scan the cast before watching. Most of my viewing is confined to documentaries.

[blazes]

39 minutes ago, john donson said:

enable SUBTITLES

 

IF you had read the thread, you would know that most people on here use subtitles when attempting to watch drama.

[1FinickyOne]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:46 PM, scubascuba3 said:

I agree the American mumbling is really annoying and unnecessary, i usually switch off. True Grit was like that, they think they are good actors if they mumble

Not that there is anything wrong with it... wasn't that the line from Seinfeld?

[ryxyz]

good to know I'm not going deaf

[spidermike007]

As an American, with the exception of shows like PowerBook where guys have nearly unintelligible New York accents, I find the Brits, the Scots, and the Irish to be the most difficult to understand. I usually do use subtitles as I find a lot of what they're saying to be just noise. 

[still kicking]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

As an American, with the exception of shows like PowerBook where guys have nearly unintelligible New York accents, I find the Brits, the Scots, and the Irish to be the most difficult to understand. I usually do use subtitles as I find a lot of what they're saying to be just noise. 

I use subtitles on all movies.

[jts-khorat]

On 1/18/2024 at 8:37 AM, Pouatchee said:

any others struggling with this new generation of actors?

 

You are by far not the only one noticing this. Language comprehension, if not the worst dialect, has never and is not a problem for me, but still I also now watch series only with subtitles on.

 

An interesting explanation (and there are many more videos like this on Youtube, easy to find in any search):

 

Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult to Understand (And Three Ways to Fix It)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M-Yt4RpO90

[still kicking]

4 minutes ago, jts-khorat said:

 

You are by far not the only one noticing this. Language comprehension, if not the worst dialect, has never and is not a problem for me, but still I also now watch series only with subtitles on.

 

An interesting explanation (and there are many more videos like this on Youtube, easy to find in any search):

 

Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult to Understand (And Three Ways to Fix It)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M-Yt4RpO90

I do watch a lot of foreign movies from all different countries, so I am used to subtitles. 

[bangkok19]

I've noticed the very same thing!

Many factors come into it...

I'm over 60 and high frequency hearing loss is now evident. I kept blaming inefficient tweeters in my speakers but it's me.

Also the audio's 'dynamic range' in movies has me reaching for the remote quite often to turn up the volume on the quiet bits, or turn it down on the loud bits.

Many (TV) Sound bars have a feature in their 'settings' called "Audio Compression". If you turn this on, it sucks up the quiet bits, and squashes the loud bits leaving you with a more consistent level volume.

You'll notice you can hear TV Commercials pretty clear because they're heavily compressed to make them sound louder.

Another alternative is what I do with Netflix, turn on the subtitles.

[Fortean1]

True Visions often uses Thai language subtitles.  I watched Equalizer 3 and saw the translations where

curse words were used to have been censored with a black rectangle.  My Panasonic is fairly old and

does not offer Audio Compression.  If I Stream Boost my hearing aids that helps.  Also, the sound is

awful compared to the other three televisions in the house.

 

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

[LALes]

19 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Sounds like you need a good home theater, and if you already have one sounds like you should have spent more than a thousand baht on your center speaker, which is critical to hear clear vocals. 

 

I can hear what they're saying very clearly, but I did spend quite a bit of money on my home theater. 

I've got a Samsung 5.1 home theater system and it doesn't do squat for modern movies.  The problem is in the mix.  Dialogue takes a back seat to special effects in today's dumbed down world.

[cracker1]

I am an English (only) speaker and also have great difficulty understanding the English spoken on many British programs. I recall giving up on "Peaky Blinders" a few years ago because of the language issue, as well as a few newer British productions.

I have less problem with the American shows but prefer the British ones.

[Nemises]

Subtitles is your friend.

You’re welcome!

[Jack Batty]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:37 PM, Pouatchee said:

i truly enjoy watching tv. but over the years i have found that the actors/actresses are more and more difficult to understand. they slur more, mumble with low voices and many actors arent even native english speakers. now i am watching true detective season 3 (as example) and i gotta have the subs on all the time. season 2 was just as bad with woody harelson and Matthew McConaughey drawling in texas accents. same goes for british tv... even more so cos much of what is being said on brit tv is colloquial and particular to england. any others struggling with this new generation of actors?

When I read the title of your post, I immediately thought of season 3 of True Detective! Haha. That was terrible. 

[Pouatchee]

12 minutes ago, Jack Batty said:

When I read the title of your post, I immediately thought of season 3 of True Detective! Haha. That was terrible. 

I found saeson 2 to be worse

 

 

43 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Subtitles is your friend.

You’re welcome!

 

Most posters here ,including myself, have already mentioned havin no choice other than using subs

 

 

I wish movies an tv shows would enunciate and have sound standards like the news. I never really have problems with the news

Edited January 20 by Pouatchee

[Coota]

I only watch shows or movies with sub titles now as can't understand most of what they say.

 

[spidermike007]

14 hours ago, LALes said:

I've got a Samsung 5.1 home theater system and it doesn't do squat for modern movies.  The problem is in the mix.  Dialogue takes a back seat to special effects in today's dumbed down world.

Yeah those dedicated home theaters are not very good, even when you spend 30 or 40,000 baht it's still not particularly good sound. I have a real home theater with a powerful Yamaha amp, front, rear, and surround Canadian speakers, high-end speaker wires and a top end 12-in subwoofer along with a huge center speaker. And a 77 inch OLED TV. It cost me over 400,000 baht, but it was worth it was worth. It it's incredible and the sound is amazing. The dialogue is super clear. 

Edited January 20 by spidermike007