zoraniko
32458
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Apr 25, 2025 1:19 AM
zoraniko
32458
1015
12
Etherealvalentine
They broadly killed the audio mixing industry
Betterbecauseofthem
I like foreign films so I'm accustomed to having subtitles on. Plus, I don't wanna disturb my dogs
rayisstellar
Also chips
badgesweedontneednostinkingbadges
I can either read the subtitles, or I can watch the movie. I cannot do both.
fofunn
At least they are reading
Snooj
I don't speak Japanese and dubs don't work for me.
JanglesPrime
I maintain the dub of Dominion Tank Police is superior to the sub and that is the hill I will park my tank on.
Snooj
I allow it for BNA as well. But some stuff simply doesn't work. I started Sakamoto Days today and used dubs because I was on the treadmill and not sure how well I'd be able to read but the English VA is so horrible I had to switch 5 minutes in.
HuskyHairExtraordinaire
Why sound is so terrible on TVs/movies these days:
1/5) they make the audio by prioritising the best possible sound scenario - Dolby Atmos, with 28 channels, even though most cinemas don't even have that, and TVs and laptops definately don't have it
2/5) they prioritise 'dynamic range' over audibility. Dynamic range is the gap between the quietest sound and the loudest sound. If they want an explosion to feel big and impactful they need a big gap between that sound and other sounds, but ther
HuskyHairExtraordinaire
there's only so loud they can make an explosion before it distorts, so instead they TURN THE DIALOGUE DOWN 😡
3/5) naturalist dialogue. Now that actors wear small personal lav mics they no longer need to project their voice to the boom mic, allowing them to speak more quietly. Also, some actors, and some producers are DELIBERATELY PRODUCING MUMBLING, INAUDIBLE SPEECH AS AN ARTISTIC CHOICE!? (why, for god sake!?)
4/5) after making the
HuskyHairExtraordinaire
4/5) after making the sound for the best case sound scenario, it then needs to get dumbed down to what people ACTUALLY use, 128 channels > 7.1 > 5.1 > stereo > mono
5/5) modern TVs are too slim to house good speakers AND the speakers are on the back of the TV
So, long story short, sound quality on TV shows and movies is terrible these days, because they don't care if you can hear things. They just want their explosions to sound good in Dolby Atmos
freshthrowaway1138
I really hate watching Villeneuve movies because of this. Dune is such a beautiful film but fuck it if isn't just painful to watch.
Kezabee
Because a lot of tv and film is American and I have trouble with some of the accents. Ergo, subtitles
BasinStreetDesign
I have been asking why actors must whisper their lines for years. The answer is obvious once you figure it out. It's supposed to heighten the drama. The blaring music is to increase the drama more and the blasting sound effects are for jump-scare emotion control. The producers must think that makes more money for their studios. All issues usually can be traced back to money.
Corrodias
Well, people evidently do keep paying to see them. 🤷
MightyIink
No shit... the volume between action and dialogue is too great these days, you either have to constantly play with the volume or just turn on subs.
levyathyn
The mixing KILLS ME
It's been more than a decade and the sound levels on LITERALLY EVERYTHING are so garbage ass roach motel clusterfuck SHIT that this has become the norm, and routine. The shit is designed by a single inbred shut-in from the 1600's who's never ever EVER watched or listened to anything he's mixed because they don't let him out of his goon cave, and somehow despite millions of complaints over the years describing the exact problem not a SINGLE studio or company has taken notice.
cadesama
I remember watching The X Files on live TV with captions turned on. The trend my whole life has been for worse mixing.
drchim
This is the new season of Andor for me. A bunch of mumbling whispers and then BLAM BLAM BLAM super loud.
PerrinAybara564
This sort of thing is why I watch animated shows/movies, and also why I prefer watching YouTube or playing video games. Someone had to watch back the media in its entirety first and so they're more likely to catch those audio issues. Anime OPs tend to be the same volume everyone else speaks
naley23
My toddler sleeps in the room next to us and we don’t want to wake her up.
And the actors are mostly mumbling.
Callipygius
Yeah either I'm constantly adjusting the volume up and down, or we watch TV with headphones
JustDriftingAboutTheInterWebs
They really love to have the surround sound action scenes at +5,000 dB and conversation at about .005 dB
hobbitdoc
Yeah every guy in my family has had hearing aids by the time they hit 50. I'm trying to save my hearing and prevent that.
nosoupforoldmen
Yeah the post production sound engineers really hate using compression
SometimesIFallDown
WHAT
amazigou
hey the 90 piece orchestra is conveying to you that it is a really sad thing they are whispering about so you dont actually need the details
SaturnineCult
I think this is one big reason, everything tries to be so tonally "full" Zimmer copy now. Compare to 80's, and it was more unique and simple
db629
TChallaVanDam
thisiswhyicanthaveanythingnice
As a Gen Xer I started using subtitles when my kids were little because they would run into the room and I’d miss some dialogue and I just kept doing it because of Christopher Nolan movies!
Cheelamom
Captions are great for little kids also, because it helps them make the connection between spoken and written words!
thisiswhyicanthaveanythingnice
I like the fact that there is background dialogue, song lyrics and other things you wouldn’t necessarily notice as well.
DreamCookieBaron
Gotta love the "dialogue boost" function on Amazon Prime.
MadnerKami
This! A Godsent!
Blastergv9
I tend to go to sleep later than the rest of my family, so I watch on lower volume. Subtitles are clutch
EatPieLander
Made me want to "silly comment" they don't make manual transmission movies anymore ... https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1dzlsbnljYzU0cmtreWp6MXVubnkzNDZocHZ5cnR5MzU1aWFhMzdibyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/5pYmHe2m8h7lZbdpvV/200w.webp
HuruinaInu
Agreed. Don't want to disturb everyone in the house.
akodorokku
We also do it in a pitch black room, because you can't fucking see anything otherwise.
LordHosk
There was a editor on Kevin Smiths Podcast, they said they hated this too, but they are only paid to do one cut of the film/TV show and the producers/director want them to do it so it sounds awesome in the high end HD dolby 47 point theater surround cut.
The ones that have like 10 dedicated speakers for the dialog, but when it all gets compressed to single channel for a regular cut all the fidelity gets lost.
LordHosk
The same issue comes in when they are editing the visuals.
They are doing the editing in these light isolated booths where the only light they see is their screens, which as $20,000 industrial grade OLEDs. So it looks great for them... but for everyone else everything is dark and murkey and all the colors get lost in shadow.
LifeIsADanceOfMinds
It doesn't even follow the aging process..
Often, the commercials (Yes, I have cable) are over saturated with sound, which causes me to want to launch a barrage of profanity at the TV station.
I also use the Subtitles to see how bad the translation is between the words spoken and what I see from the voice to text algorithm. It can be hilarious.
TheLeanWolf
I wish there was a -10 or -20 volume button on TV remotes for when commercials start; better yet, an auto feature to reduce/mute volume when they start.
JemIsTrulyOutrageous
Seriously, dialogue is so fucking quiet then next scene you're blasted out by ambience or music or action sequence. Captions stay on in this household.
senatorbirdbrain
If you have a multi-speaker setup with a center channel, I noticed most stuff has the dialog directed to the center channel so I boosted the signal to that channel by A LOT and it makes it much easier to hear
ThisUserNameMightBeTaken
This helps.
Some AVRs offer dynamic range compression, which helps with the loud/quiet differences, but won't fix a poor mix.
BDBottom
This is the way.
LoopStricken
If.
phalanxausage
Center channel is where most of the dialogue is sent on a 5.x system. Sometimes people will have their audio decoding set to 5.x on a stereo system, which means the majority of the dialogue is going to a channel that doesn't exist physically. I like your trick of boosting the volume of the center channel. I'll recommend that to people in the future. I was an audio nerd many years ago and people still ask me to troubleshoot their systems.
PaperinoVB
When I say this, "You've hearing problems". OK, then explain me why the fuck I have zero problems with older movies? And for "older" I don't mean those of the '60s, with their smaller dynamic and tone range, equalization (if any) targeting voice frequencies and so on. I mean those kind of movie where the background music don't overwhelm actors' voices.
Copperbrat
Same.
Isthe4thtimethecharm
They used to make the sound for a two speaker system, and if you had a stereo, it made the sound surround. Now it is all set up for 7.1 speaker system, and unless you have a great sound system, voice gets drowned out.
ArcaneConjecture
Old movies with loud bossy chicks belting out their lines in perfect Transatlantic accents. You'll never miss a word.
naturebowgame2000
what is transatlantic accent??
BigJT
The Matrix is my go-to for this. Everything is crisp, the dialogue is never muddy, and the movie still manages to sound epic in scale when it needs to. They used to mix the audio to be audible and understandable, now a lot of them mix it for realism. Which is definitely a choice, but it's not a good one, imho.
SaturnineCult
Some old ones (70's 80's) had horribly loud music tracks, but they were almost always cut down when there were scenes with conversations.
machstormer
ＣＯＭＭＥＲＣＩＡＬＳ, ＯＰＥＮＩＮＧ ＴＨＥＭＥ, ＣＯＭＭＥＲＣＩＡＬＳ, ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ, ＭＵＳＩＣ, ＥＸＰＬＯＳＩＯＮＳ, ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵐᵖᵒʳᵗᵃⁿᵗ ᵖˡᵒᵗ ᵖᵒⁱⁿᵗˢ, ＥＸＰＬＯＳＩＯＮＳ, ＳＯＵＮＤ ＥＦＦＥＣＴＳ, ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ, ＣＯＭＭＥＲＣＩＡＬＳ, ＥＸＰＬＯＳＩＯＮＳ, ＭＵＳＩＣ, ⁱᵐᵖᵒʳᵗᵃⁿᵗ ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ, ＣＯＭＭＥＲＣＩＡＬＳ, ＭＵＳＩＣ, ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ ʷⁱᵗʰᵒᵘᵗ ʷʰⁱᶜʰ ᵗʰᵉ ˢʰᵒʷ ᵐᵃᵏᵉˢ ⁿᵒ ˢᵉⁿˢᵉ, ＥＶＥＮ ＬＯＵＤＥＲ ＭＵＳＩＣ, ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ, ＳＯＵＮＤ ＥＦＦＥＣＴＳＬＯＵＤ ＥＮＯＵＧＨ ＴＯ ＢＥ ＨＥＡＲＤ ＯＮ ＴＨＥ ＭＯＯＮ, ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍ, ＥＸＰＬＯＳＩＯＮＳ,ＣＬＯＳＩＮＧ ＴＨＥＭＥ, ＣＯＭＭＥＲＣＩＡＬＳ
GreenFox
Y'all still watching commercials?
HandoB4Javert
@Extraupvote for @machstormer from @zoraniko
Carlillo
"BUY SPOTIFY PREMIUM, YA CHEAP FUCK!"
keillrandor
Commercials should be in bold, underlined and italic - the difference between them and that actual shows/programs these days is rediculous
keystotheairlock
That will be $14.99 to rent for 12 hours. Would you like to go fuck yourself? [y/n]
slayston
Where the fuck are you guys watching movies that you get commercials?Holy shit are you getting to watch movies for free so you get commercials? Goddamn so much luckier than back in the day where you got commercials and paid way more than 5 streaming services now...I pay a tiny amount now and get no commercials. The sound mixing is still shit though..
Blackthorn74
Here is a theory and it’s just that. Micro plastics is starting to be associated with autism and alztheimers; both are subject to sensory overload - and it’s a sliding scale. (Sorry about this) If my unsupported theory is true, this might be an issue for us (myself included).
StrokeFlavoured
Can someone make this into a meme and tag OP and me?
IamIntoleranceIntolerant
Best explanation, ever.
NairouTryyshokk
Of the symptoms, but not the cause. The cause is because they are ballancing for a speaker setup that you dont have. A 5.1 system will help, but most people just use the TV speakers, which are insufficient. Even a speaker bar will improve quality vastly.
IamIntoleranceIntolerant
It also depends on the amp you use in your 5.1 setup. I used to use Pioneer, but they makenthenproblem worse. I read somewhere that Yamaha amps have much better balance, and it's true. I switched to them years ago and haven't looked back.
I have no idea about high-wnd equipment, though. Never had the budget for that.
QotU
Nailed it
SaintSleepyWeasel
Omg this is perfect. This shows so perfectly the problem! Your brain must be overheating. Like hot damn I love it.
FelonyRaptor
This is beautiful
BeeziBee
^^^^^ pretty much.
ChunkySmoothie
This is how autistics like me hear the world all the time.
jaydude22
I can’t remember where I saw the bit originally, but it was like “introducing our new show explosions and whispers!”
BananaLover93
Some games do this, too. but in games i can set the BGM to 50%
spiderjohn36
Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/WAG9Xn5bJwQ?si=MmD547kNbVpVcfZs
WoeToHice
Nice. Reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=734wnHnnNR4
Aluciasta
It’s my audio equalization and I want it now!
AllHailYourOneTrueOverlord
THIS EXACTLY!!!!!!!!
solaslunas
you forgot screaming. not *yelling*... screaming
Vergenbuurg
"You're watching CBS, the loudest channel on TV." https://youtu.be/0otzNOUyMAM
FelonyRaptor
This is also every Chris Nolan script
SerialChickenLover
when it’s 1:30 a.m. in 2001, you’re watching E!, and you suddenly hear Jamaican steel drums https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJlcmxucTRmb2x3ZGhvOXVqOWRxMjVvZmQycHk0d2lsaW9lMzh4Z2o0cyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/PTrmNrpCfGBUY/giphy.mp4
anSSLerrorhasoccuredandasecureconnectiontotheservercannotbemade
I stopped watching TV entirely because of this. That and I just got tired of advertising in general. If I was to give anyone any advice it would be to heavily moderate all sources of advertising in their life. You’d be surprised how much that has an impact on.
upvoteFLUFFYthings
https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1NzZmc3VvNmhqc3kxOTd5c3pqajluYTNhNXg2NHN3MHNucmwzdGZiNyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/3bMfJLe0ndDih7z14T/200w.webp
zoraniko
I wish I could give you more than one green arrows
celestedrake
@ExtraUpvote
Karma1970
Gen-X here, born 1970, I always used subtitles or closed captions when we had TV that had that ability. I always provided conversation that may have been in the background or not as easily heard. Also, growing up watching older films and foreign films that were subbed, it was something I always did and never thought twice. My brother and I both do this, he was born 1969.
HandoB4Javert
...so he's 76 now...
LespritDeLescalier22
It confuses me when people say they don’t like subtitles because they can’t read that fast. It’s like one to two sentences at a time. Plus due to loud headphone usage over the years, I’m kind of hard of hearing and the volume would have to be turned up too loud to be loud enough for me to hear much dialogue in the film.
somethingsomethingmcbob
Yes, all of this.
CafeNervosa
"Speaks in foreign language"
Cheelamom
Which caption covers the translation subtitles making them illegible. Just happened tonight watching Señora Volpe. Had to go back, turn off captions, watch the scene, turn them back on.
Vungor
*foreign music*
CBadger
I hate it so much when the subtitles just say *speaking foreign language*
If only there were someone who's job it was to transcribe voices to text, who could take the time to look up what they are saying and put in the english translation. Maybe someone paid by a large company with enough money to produce movies or tv shows. Maybe a company that already has all the expected audio in some form of text document. They could call it a script.
chiaco
Reminds me of the movie Tenet
QotU
Great movie, though. I will have to rewatch it with subtitles.
Akurei00
I tried to watch it without subtitles. That was nearly impossible.
LespritDeLescalier22
https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJlZ2N0a2MzNTBoaDcwN2VxOHIyYnRteDZ1czNrcWdzemk3Yzg5ZHl2MSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/G22vVm4jcPeco/giphy.mp4
illegalacorn
you guys are watching commercials?
d1d1t4t3hlulz0hl4wdy
They're clearly sailing the wrong seas
paynoattentiontousernames
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1OXR2dnI4ZWlsaTlsenc4a2l1ODhpdXRydjA5bTZmdHRlODRsbWhzNSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/SLbZ0D6YoO7io/200w.webp
onepinksheep
You can at least understand the dialogue in those.
CBadger
Cant understand something that never plays, matey.
Chattafaukup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYJtb2YXae8&t Here is a long and informative video about why movies sound the way they do now and why subtitles are so needed. Youtube recommended this to me like 2 years ago. Its a cool watch.
Hooooooo
I think it's mostly that they're not meant to be listened to on a dinky smart phone speaker or low quality built in tv speaker, though those have improved. I've got a bare-bones cheap 2 channel system for my tv and it's leagues ahead of the tv speakers. Never any issues understanding dialogue.
yamamasyamaha
Dot
SebastianCrab
.
vanfem
Haha, "long"... I expected it to be 3 hours and went in ready, but I guess that's long by today's standards.
Chattafaukup
Considering most of the content on imgur is about 60 seconds max, 15 minutes is a rather extended watch for people here.
NeedtofavouritetheseWallpapers
.
YoureWaifuAShit
not very long at all actualy, 10 minutes is quite refreshing.
Copperbrat
Was hoping this would change my knee-jerk opinions about why I need subtitles: because some edgy director or sound snob engineer claims it's "supposed to be that way". Turns out that's pretty much spot on. Complaining that movie explosions really don't need to be as loud as actual explosions, apparently makes you a moron that doesn't appreciate the "cinema experience". I haven't been to a theater in over a decade and I'd bet most people don't watch most films at a theater. Takeaway: circle-jerk.
NeedtofavouritetheseWallpapers
.
Crispo
I was going to post the same
Swiggy1957
This is one reason why I only watch animated productions. I used to do stand-up back in the dayan the sound engineers always had to turn the volume down because I speak clearly in a voice that could be heard and understood. When I worked as a CSR, I had to have the techs turn up the mike gain because my speaking voice is usually quiet.
kittyfajitas
.
Helsbels
I clicked then had the rickrollfear. Thank you.
bumpylumps
Yeah no, the whole vox video is appologist bullshit. Mixing trends have changed, audio engineers like a wide mix (high dynamic range), and our ears just dont. But they stick stubbornly to it. It is entirely possible and less work even to do a flatter mix that that would sound fine on even the shittiest little speaker. You're not the problem, they are and honestly im sick of the fucking gaslighting. Play an older movie that they havent fucked with and youll see your ears and tv were fine all alon
Deiyuki
Doot! .
KatInTheCorner
I'm really glad you shared this! I was going to post it but felt positive someone had already done so.
NotSomoneElse68
So basically, the directors are you busy kissing their own ass to mix things that a normal person in the most common theater (your home) would like. Your explosions didn't need to be so "dynamic". We're not impressed by explosions anymore.
bumblebeezzz
.
ScottPilgrimVSTheIndians
.
nitaroyal
That was worth watching! Thanks
pirateninjaunicornattacksquad
Agreed!
OddlyPacific
That was worth reading! Thanks
wr8070m98
Does anyone know why they don't just include the unmixed audio as separate tracks? I feel like it would be a low effort way to let people have a better experience, and they could just crowd source the mixing production without having to pay. Like, what's the downside?
SavageDrums
The unmixed audio would be a nightmare, you don't want that any more than you want what's currently happening.
wr8070m98
I think I worded it poorly...what I'd like is to have the separate audio recordings as independent tracks, which I (or someone else) could then adjust the volume and distribution of when watching a show. Like, turn up the voice mics while turning down the non-diagetic music. Turn up the sound from the mic on actor A, but not the mic on actor B. I think it would be great!
SavageDrums
That would be cool, but unless I'm misunderstanding it would require extra equipment. A possibly easier solution would be to buy a cheap compressor and put it on your audio mains. That would lower the loudest stuff and raise the quietest. You wouldn't have as much control but it Would be an improvement. I'm honestly shocked that TVs don't have compressors built in.
mksu
Is the tl;dr that it's actually changes in production and not widespread hearing loss?
MyRespectableAlterEgo
I imagine all the good sound engineers unionised - that's why CGI plateaud like 12 years ago, and why nobody uses miniatures & practical effects anymore.
This is why The Lord of the Rings trilogy still looks 10x better than The Hobbit despite years of new tech
emu314159127001
What would the hearing loss be from?
zuken
Maybe prevalence of high volume earbuds shoved literally inside people's ears which were much less common before the early 90s or mid 80s.
emu314159127001
There were definitely headphones and earbuds in the 80s as you note, but that would be Gen X as well. I mean, i don't have stats on my fellow Gen xers, i just personally always hated the music to be turned up too loud.
CitizenPrime
WHAT?
Chattafaukup
More or less. Yes. Very broad generalization though.
mksu
Alright, good to know. I barely watch TV, so when I see people complaining about needing subtitles, I couldn't help but wonder if it was a real thing or just a sign of our generation aging. And then of course you always have to wonder if people suddenly discovered some completely normal aspect of modern life has secretly been damaging us all along.
Autittuderp
Yep..like watching tv
mrthewhitee
Not so much changes but cheapness of mixing sound for theater surround sound and saying fuck you to everyone else. They can remix the sound for stereo and home setups but that costs extra money.
dashers
Same thing pisses me off with letter boxing. Who's watching Netflix on an actual Cinema screen? The director maybe. Everyone else has TVs or laptops. Fill that screen!!
emu314159127001
Yeah, really sick of the cinema ratio. Widescreen TV/monitor is fine. You're not adding anything, i never even go to the cinema
Akurei00
I'm torn on this one. Now that screens are all 16:9, it's not that big of a deal either way, usually. But cutting off the sides to fill the screen vertically can impact the scene sometimes.
dashers
Whether horizontal or vertical, adding a virtual buffer when framing to allow either aspect to be viewable is trivial. The reason they don't is because of aRtIsTiC vIsIoN. Which does not appreciate, as OP say, most people are watching on a reasonable TV at a reasonable volume in the evening and not in a private cinema.
Foxsayy
The issue I always have with this take is that it feels the same in theaters too. They just fucking blast the volume at all times.
mrthewhitee
There's 2 possibilities for that one. Not all theaters are the same. Imax and regular theaters, for example, have different setups and should require at least 2 separate sound mixes. The second is Christopher Nolan (he basically said he doesn't care about dialog in sound mixing).
MadnerKami
Yup and that has been so for a long time. If anything, it Just got worse in the recent decade. US sound mixing has been shit since at least the 90s, when I first watched movies in (US) English.
Banana369
I tried musician's earplugs the last time I went to the cinema, they seemed to help. They're the same ones I wear at gigs so I don't get ringing ears the next day. Wish I'd had them decades ago.