Say What?

We talked about fonting audio that's hard to hear. Let's talk about audio you can hear just fine. For example, did you hear that tape of Christian Bale losing his mind on a movie set? You could hear what he was saying, but it would be even better if you have the visual reinforcement of words on the screen. We're TV. What else are you going to put up with that audio? Video of him? Distracting. It's hard to watch and process video while you're also trying to listen to what he is saying. Better to put a still pic in a graphic and font the audio.

The incident brings up an important point. If you're talent, be nice. Badgering your crew will guarantee a big bite in the derriere. Even if you're not talent, if you are ever around a mic, consider it hot and act accordingly. Have headsets in the booth? A lot of stations record the director's audio for discreps. It's not unheard of for people to check those tapes. So before you go mouthing off about what an oaf your news director is, or how your anchor is such a prima donna, just keep it in mind.