So I thought I’d watch Catalyst as they had a story on fuel cells, but it was unwatchable because of the silly and obtrusive background music. My wife alerted me to this trend a while ago. Background music has escaped from the establishing shots where it’s long been standard, and now continues throughout the program, even when people are speaking. The effect is that any added information from the visuals is more than offset by the added noise of background music, leaving TV providing less than radio, not to mention plain text.
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John Quiggin 
John, Quantum died in 2001…and if I recall correctly to a massive outcry.
So the ABC commissioned a fresh, new science program, Catalyst, which was, er, so radically different that at least one prominent economics professor with a strong interest in science didn’t even notice the name change.
Not that you’re the only one – I still call it Quantum half the time 🙂
I think the theory is that people are so used to a continuous background tinkle, that its absence makes them uncomfortable. Speaking as one who has been educated to listen to music critically, and who consequently finds it difficult to not listen properly to even elevator music, I wish producers would leave music/rhythmic percussion out unless it forms part of the subject.
are you sure you’re not describing the difference between an old fart and young thumbers*?
* i vaguely remember that messaging needs an agile thumb, and the youth refer to themselves as thumbers in distinction to us hoof handed single track minded old farts.
I hope the ABC takes the criticism on board because generally speaking Quantum tells it like it is. Last night they pricked the pin on Perth’s much vaunted hydrogen buses. It turns out out the buses are expensive, unreliable and the hydrogen comes via fossil fuels. Last year Quantum also did a hatchet job on clean coal though it seems the politicians weren’t watching.
You may be right, al, but this is one fight the hoofers are going to win. Thumbing SMS messages is a classic interim technology, like faxes.
It’s too easy to operate the gear for sound design these days, with the result that anyone with basic computer skills can knock a “professional” sounding bit of TV together. Sounds fine in the studio, usually, but slap it through some TV speakers in the average living room and it’s a dogs’ breakfast.
One post-production house I’ve worked at (a la the better mastering studios for music) had a range of domestic systems to audition on before the final mix was done. Works a treat – if you can’t discern the dialogue properly on a shitty 12″ telly at low volume, it ain’t good enough.
**Pedant alert** I think it’s called “Catalyst” now. You were too nice to say, it hasn’t been Quantum for years. Fixed now, thanks
I have written on several occasions, emails to both ABC and SBS complaining of “background noise” and have received no replies.
Editors and sound men must have their ego’s satisfied apparently and answer to no one?
I have changed channels on several occaisions for the want of hearing what otherwise is of interest.
Imported programs I suppose come with such “noise”
but local stuff seems to think they should follow the dictates of fashion?
To combat their efforts I bought headphones and with the drop off of the sound am able to hear the voice overs more clearly.
Is it that our youth thru loud music are already losing their hearing?
I have to stay immobile while wearing the phones, I can’t even make a cup of tea while wearing them.
Please posters stay on subject to change this idocy, post emails to whoever at the ABC,SBS to make them stop!!
fluff4
John you have touched on a topic near to my heart! My problem being able to hear speech on TV began many years ago with BBC programs which have what is known in our house as Pommy Mumblevision.
Now the ABC is getting worse too.
Funny though I never have any problem with ads on the commercial channels.
don’t those Gen Xers now in charge realise that we Boomerfarts all spent our youth listening to Led Zeppelin at full volume-on headphones.
Drives me nuts too. The arrogance of it. Probably done according to fashion by someone risen beyond their competence hence bored by the content so thinks their background music should be foreground. Otherwise valuable programs are thrown away.
I’m coming in very late on this thread, but couldn’t resist. I have a pronounced hearing disability, to the point where I’ve virtually given up on radio. I use infra red headphones, a hearing loop in conjunction with my hearing aid and (indispensable) subtitles in combination to make sense of spoken word television.
I also have a considerable gripe about football broadcasts (radio and television), where the production seems to depend on crowd noise. In the far off days of suburban grounds, this was inescapable and therefore excusable, but contemporary commentators doubt their ability to create atmosphere. So even in the noise isolated commentary boxes of the MCG and similar, the over-use of the effects mike renders the commentators, voices inaudible.
I assumed that this was all a function of my disability; it gives me no pleasure to realise that the intrusion impacts on all listeners/viewers.
Have you ever watched your kids watching TV? Have you ever watched a video of yourself watching TV? There is no denying the psychological value of the music for most producers.