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Observations about the telly

Started by The Plaque Goblin, February 10, 2004, 08:10:27 PM

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The Plaque Goblin

Notice how the adverts for Dolmio Pasta Sauces flash up "Made in Holland" at the end?


Is it just me or are ads generally played at a higher volume to the programmes?

Also, the makeup guests wear on chat shows rarely matches their necks. It's particularly noticable with women wearing plunging necklines.

I remember seeing Helen Mirren on, I think, Parkinson with a smooth beige face but a blotchy red cleavage. Very odd.

Rats

I like the unthreatening wooly spicks on that "I eata da lotsa da pizza!" hehe, just like gollywogs

Darrell

Quote from: "The Plaque Goblin"I remember seeing Helen Mirren on, I think, Parkinson with a smooth beige face but a blotchy red cleavage. Very odd.

That's because she only wears clothes made out of beetroot.

Spaced Cadet

Quote from: "The Plaque Goblin"
Is it just me or are ads generally played at a higher volume to the programmes?

The sound is mixed using compression to make them much louder so that you have to listen, someone can probably explain this in much more technical detail, but basically that's why.

hymen spaz

i thought they were played at a higher volume so that if you went for a poo/cup of tea/ seal hunt during the break you could still hear the ad.

Cerys

Quote from: "Spaced Cadet"
Quote from: "The Plaque Goblin"
Is it just me or are ads generally played at a higher volume to the programmes?

The sound is mixed using compression to make them much louder so that you have to listen, someone can probably explain this in much more technical detail, but basically that's why.

I think it's just that the programmes tend to be in stereo, while the ads tend to be in mono.  I'm probably wrong, though.

Dusty Gozongas

Quote from: "The Plaque Goblin"
Is it just me or are ads generally played at a higher volume to the programmes?

I recall the lovely Tommy Boyd explaining that this isn't the case a while ago.  For the life of me I can't recall exectly what he said but it seems that they're not 'louder' at all.  I think it was something to do with 'peak levels' and maybe some 'attenuation' thrown in.

I'm with Tommy.  Would he lie?

Sorry for being no help at all.

Dr. Gizmonic

Hmmm, in that Specsaver's advert where they "makeover" Generic Male Stereotype #6 it's easy to see why he looks so much better, and it isn't the damn £400 Gucci glasses.

1. His fringe is down and geekish in the "before" photograph, after it's up and stylized, instantly improving his image.

2. The photograph is in monochrome, whereas the "after" image it's in rich colour and flatteringly lit.

3.  The girl is distanced from him in "before", she is clinging close to him after.

4. Simple, he has a "sad face" before, and is beaming radiantly after.

Damn psychology to Hades for giving Advertisers so much more ammunition.

Smackhead Kangaroo

To be honest it is gereally pretty transparent.

Rats

Yeah, I reckon the peak levels will just be different. Like the voices will be stuck right up top so they can shout "BUY IT MISSUS!" at you. I doubt you'd notice a difference if for instance, you were watching a hip hop music video and then an advert came on.
Obviously I know nothing about it but that's what I'd guess.
What's Tommy up to nowadays? Is he working?

Reverend Minge

I used to  work at BBC Pebble Mill and you won't believe how much slap the presenters wear - in fact if bumped into one of the news readers in the corridor after they had come off air, the shock on seeing their pancaked faces was enough to make you involuntary step back  and go "Jesus!"

And as a kid I used to fancy the older woman that presented Pebble Mill At One so when I actually saw her in the lift without make-up my childhood wanking fantasies burst in an instant - she looked like shite.

hencole

The adverts are louder because there is an upper legal limit in which television programmes and adverts can be played at. Adverts go for as loud as is legally possible for obvious reasons. It really pisses me off because on a TV with really good audio like my mums B&O it sounds about twice as loud as the previous programme and I have to turn it down by about 30% otherwise my ears bleed dolmio sauce.

Vermschneid Mehearties

I bet you can't wait until I'm in control of the adverts in a decade or so.

A 30 second long advert with Sarpong advertising Kandoo by wiping her own arse, with a cut off to Jimmy Carr in his stupid grating voice chuntering "Buythisbuythisbuythisbuythis."

I can see it now.

Johnny Yesno

Quote from: "Spaced Cadet"
Quote from: "The Plaque Goblin"
Is it just me or are ads generally played at a higher volume to the programmes?

The sound is mixed using compression to make them much louder so that you have to listen, someone can probably explain this in much more technical detail, but basically that's why.

Yep, it's compression all right. They're not actually louder. They just have less dynamics. The level peaks in TV programmes are every bit as loud as the peaks in the ads but because progs are less compressed the peaks are transient rather than sustained.

Another technique used is filtering, particularly of bass frequencies. It is usually bass frequencies that drive level meters in equipment, yet they are less audible to the human ear than mid frequencies, and the lowest ones may not even be picked up by the average telly speaker anyway. So filtering these allows the rest of the audio signal to be recorded more loudly.

A third technique is aural excitement. Most studios have a device called an aural exciter which boosts the frequencies that the human ear is most sensitive to. Sounds like a baby crying or a car alarm or a telephone ring are rich in these frequencies. Aural excitement can brighten an audio track but how much is added is down to taste and, let's face it, advertisers have no taste.

Did you notice how quiet Jam seemed compared to all other telly. Hardly any compression, you see? It was nice but, fuck, is there loads of hiss on my tape of it. That's one reason I bought the DVD.

Morrisfan82

What did you do at Pebble Mill Rev Minge? Apart from stalking Patti Whatserface I mean.

Quote from: "Reverend Minge, out of context, "childhood wanking fantasies
call the police

Pinball

Ideal advert (paraphrasing Bill Hicks):
Naked woman with legs spread wide, camera moves up towards her chest, she's holding a bottle and says "Drink Bud".

Advertising is such blatant 101 psychology baloney as to be unbelievable.

"I'd buy that for a dollar" etc. Sheesh.

Jimmy

Quote from: "Dr. Gizmonic"Hmmm, in that Specsaver's advert where they "makeover" Generic Male Stereotype #6 it's easy to see why he looks so much better, and it isn't the damn £400 Gucci glasses.

1. His fringe is down and geekish in the "before" photograph, after it's up and stylized, instantly improving his image.

2. The photograph is in monochrome, whereas the "after" image it's in rich colour and flatteringly lit.

3.  The girl is distanced from him in "before", she is clinging close to him after.

4. Simple, he has a "sad face" before, and is beaming radiantly after.

Damn psychology to Hades for giving Advertisers so much more ammunition.

Not to mention the fact that HER glasses look like absolute dogshit. She looks like a pig wearing two magnifying glasses.

Reverend Minge

Aw Christ. Somebody put me out of my misery. How do I quote from another VerbWhore like Jimmy's used above?

Can't find anything on it in the FAQ - or have I just got word blindness?

BTW, Muteki I worked in the graphics department

Reverend Minge

Shit. I've just seen the Quote button on the right hand side.

I'll get my coat...

imitationleather

Don't forget to close the door on your way out...

Dr David V

Why can't the telly people show all of their shows in letterbox format, instead of having those incredibly irritating tiny black bars at the top? Meh, I can't wait to get Sky.

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: "Dr David V"Why can't the telly people show all of their shows in letterbox format, instead of having those incredibly irritating tiny black bars at the top? Meh, I can't wait to get Sky.

That is letterbox. The black bars mean you're seeing more of the picture. If they showed it in 4:3, there'd be no black bars, but you'd be missing the sides of the picture.

Dr David V

Surely not... there must be more picture on the sides of the screen than what we see on 4:3 TVs (the ones which show the tiny black bars). This reminds me of something Jeremy Clarkson did on his chat show, when he got two strippers to do their thing on the edges of the screen, and only people who could see the whole screen in widescreen saw the girls, and people with 4:3 TVs (and subsequently get the tiny black bars) saw an occasional elbow.


Dusty Gozongas

Quote from: "Rats"
What's Tommy up to nowadays? Is he working?

I'd like to think Tommy will get all the work he needs:-)  Sorry for being a bit mushy but he's one of the few people I love and respect.

But back to the earlier discussion briefly (the PAL/NTSC thing is far more interesting) I should really have quoted me own knowledge rather than Tommy's.  Make music?  Use compression.  Here's some boring info on the matter:
http://sound.westhost.com/compression.htm

Capuchin

Quote from: "The Unicorn"
Quote from: "Dr David V"Why can't the telly people show all of their shows in letterbox format, instead of having those incredibly irritating tiny black bars at the top? Meh, I can't wait to get Sky.

That is letterbox. The black bars mean you're seeing more of the picture. If they showed it in 4:3, there'd be no black bars, but you'd be missing the sides of the picture.

See, I get all this and have to explain it to customers on occasion, but I still don't quite 'get' anamorphic widescreen.

Plus, my copy of Mona Lisa seems to have the sides chopped off the image on my widescreen TV, so much so that I can't see the menu indicator as it's off screen. No size setting brings it on screen.
Anyone else got it?