I'll say upfront that I don't watch television generally. I like to watch it when I travel but that's about it.
Recently on a trip out of the country, I watched some American shows and some British shows.
.
Wow! TV has REALLY changed, imo, since I used to watch it. I stopped about 10 or 11 years ago. In those first few years, I'd only watch a movie or something but now it's down to only when traveling, as I said.
First, I must say that the camerawork is on par with films. Amazing! I loved the new angles and such. I was surprised at how good it was.
But, it seemed that music was used differently. In almost all the American shows I watched, the soundtrack overwhelmed the dialogue. It didn't make any sense to me until I realized that nowadays you might rush out to buy the soundtrack to a particular show and they want that tie-in. At any rate, it just seemed intrusive. It didn't lend anything to the scene.
You know how typically music might be used to help you know what to feel (LOL) and would start low at the end of a scene and then as the camera pulled back, the music would swell a bit. Then scene over. In nearly all the American shows I watched, the music was loud from beginning to end. It seemed that the music was on equal footing as the scene but it didn't work together, imo. It worked against.
Also, the story arcs were...well, like watching MTV or something. Like little sound bites, conflicts were blown out of proportion to get characters to run around and react but were suddenly resolved with no thinking at all on the audience's part. It seemed much more passive than it was a decade ago. Lots of "this should be poignant" but fell flat.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you think TV has changed. What you like about it now and what you miss about the "old days."
Recently on a trip out of the country, I watched some American shows and some British shows.
.
Wow! TV has REALLY changed, imo, since I used to watch it. I stopped about 10 or 11 years ago. In those first few years, I'd only watch a movie or something but now it's down to only when traveling, as I said.
First, I must say that the camerawork is on par with films. Amazing! I loved the new angles and such. I was surprised at how good it was.
But, it seemed that music was used differently. In almost all the American shows I watched, the soundtrack overwhelmed the dialogue. It didn't make any sense to me until I realized that nowadays you might rush out to buy the soundtrack to a particular show and they want that tie-in. At any rate, it just seemed intrusive. It didn't lend anything to the scene.
You know how typically music might be used to help you know what to feel (LOL) and would start low at the end of a scene and then as the camera pulled back, the music would swell a bit. Then scene over. In nearly all the American shows I watched, the music was loud from beginning to end. It seemed that the music was on equal footing as the scene but it didn't work together, imo. It worked against.
Also, the story arcs were...well, like watching MTV or something. Like little sound bites, conflicts were blown out of proportion to get characters to run around and react but were suddenly resolved with no thinking at all on the audience's part. It seemed much more passive than it was a decade ago. Lots of "this should be poignant" but fell flat.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you think TV has changed. What you like about it now and what you miss about the "old days."
