I am distressed at the choppy, linked-together audio I hear on some stations today. What with the editing programs used today, it sounds as if the announcer/salesperson/etc. never takes a breath and there are unnatural clicks and no pauses between words, in many cases. Imagine a breathless run-on sentence for 15 or 30 seconds (a long time!), sometimes reminiscent of "Perfect Paul" on the National Weather Service broadcasts...
...now, go and listen to the smooth, completely natural final takes recorded and posted here from the KAAY yesteryears. They are much smoother, warmer and friendlier! Sure, a lot of tape was used up in production, but I'll bet the product was more sellable to the business who bought time on the station!
(This is also true with other stations, before digital became the norm.)
Sometimes, older IS better...like tube amplifiers and ribbon mics....I'll take the warmth and leave the cold digital junk any day!
Bud S., ranting (staceys4@hotmail.com)
Many of the digital editing programs have a feature called Fast Talk. One can speak at a normal rate; then he or she can speed it up without changing the pitch. The advertisor can fit a lot of information into a thirty second slot. Time is money, but I feel the same way you do about the annoying sound of it. When I hear a commercial recorded that way, I usually think the company is cheap and fly-by-night. I would like to read what the rest of our readers have to say about this.
ReplyDeleteRon Henselman