Mumbling TV actors: The heart of the mutter

BBC News ^ | July 16, 2013 | Ben Milne

[VerySadAmerican]

Me, too! I thought my wife and I were both losing our hearing.

Seriously, we’ve been complaining about mumbling actors for several years. I like PERSON OF INTEREST. It’s hard enough to follow as it is. Then not understanding about half of what Reece says makes it unwatchable.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Oh you saw that movie too. :)

Have you seen the Tom Cruise movie? You know, the one where he plays a cocky young guy?

[viaveritasvita]

Hey maybe rachaeldeedeediamondeugenewhatshername should look into acting as a job.

[bonfire]

Movies as well. That and the continual music playing when someone is speaking.

[Straight Vermonter]

Muttering and loud background noise or music.

I can't watch Sportscenter anymore because they have to have music playing over everything now.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

"I miss half the words in their shows because either they’re using a phrase which is strictly British"

Whats this ruddy fuss and bother about Pommy words? Shag off on the to toss-pot you spack!

:)

[Salvey]

How about “The Killing” on AMC? Fine drama, but most of the actors mumble their way through the dialogue. We’re constantly asking one another, “What did he/she just say?”

[TBP]

Blabla bla blablabla.

[driftless2]

"problem"

My wife and I are both very irritated by the playing of music as the characters are speaking. What are the imbecile directors thinking? Cut out the crappy music and have the characters enunciate loudly and clearly.

[Impy]

That was my first takeway from Craig after his debut as Bond, mumbley.

[imardmd1]

Subtitles for those who, like myself, can’t understand those who talk both low in volume, high in speed, and incoherent in enunciation.

[Exeter]

I think the Brits are a little thin-skinned re: mumbled lines. Back in 2006 there was a BBC series called “Life on Mars”. One of the characters had an accent so thick they sub-titled him every time he spoke. Great series, though.

[jiggyboy]

I see this regularly on TV shows and movies in the U.S. Poor diction, everybody talks as fast as they can, everybody talking at the same time. “Oh that’s ‘authentic’, that’s how people really talk when they know each other”, blah blah. And when they’re doing it with a foreign accent, like Robert Downey in the Sherlock Holmes movie? I gave up after about 15 minutes.

[Hot Tabasco]

Sometimes, I have to replay a portion of the dialogue several times just to figure out what a character said.

I'm having to do that more and more on my favorite TV programs I record.

[jiggyboy]

Watch movies and TV shows that were made more than ten years ago. You’ll be able to hear them just fine. Most actors today have poor diction, which I guess they make up for by talking as fast as they can, and most sound recording for some reason is simply incompetent these days.

[GOPsterinMA]

I still haven’t watched a Craig 007 flick.

My favorite Craig flick is Layer Cake; he doesn’t mutter in that one.

[TomGuy]

I live in an apartment, so I have to keep the volume low anyway.

Several years ago, I bought an inexpensive set of headphones that have an inline volume control. I am constantly raising the volume for speech and lowering it for background noise and music.

[TomGuy]

everybody talking at the same time. “Oh that’s ‘authentic’,

There is one director or producer or whatever his/her position who I can tell is associated with a TV drama. He/she has the characters walking fast and talking.

People just do not typically walk fast and talk, because the increased breathing interferes with talking.

Yet, there go the major characters fastwalking-talking through a casino or the WH or a hospital, etc. Of course, their 'breath-talk' sounds wheezy and is difficult to understand. But, the guy keeps getting jobs on TV dramas.

These 'technical' people need to re-take lessons from the old stage actors.

[LS]

Try Viggo Mortenson or the entire cast of “The Killing”

[LS]

Lol, ditto that. The ULTIMATE "Mumbles" movie is Q&A with Armand Assante. My wife and .i had the volume all te way up till we figured out it was him!

Clint Eastwood, however, spoke stray, but EVERYONE got his big lines.