I have a question

Ah...what was the question?

Well, the question is, "What is the reason I'm hearing a difference when I watch (hear) this show?"

HOWEVER, the catch is.. you'd have to pull up the show and watch it for a bit to hear what I'm talking about.

I realize it's a lot to ask. Yet, I know there are people out there that like a challenge just to see if they can find the answer. I guess I'm that type of person but it this instance, I have no technical background in film making.

Therefore, I thought I'd just throw out the question.

If someone answers, that would be great! I'll learn something. If not, I'll just never know!

(and then there's that possibility that I'm just hearing things and no one else does.

Thanks for your consideration

It could be because of the type(s) of microphones used, and how the sound is mixed. A no budget production might just have one camera with a directional microphone on the camera, or perhaps wireless lapel mikes with a receiver on the camera. Lapel mikes would record speech very clearly, but not pick up the ambient sounds that give a sense of place (wind in the trees, distant traffic, birds).

If the show sounds different from other shows that you watch, it's probably because that's how the show's producer and/or director wants it to sound. These days they pay a lot more attention to sound than ever before. Mind that making the choice to let the sound be crappy is also an option.

Back before digital TV or stereo MTS sound, when I was studying to be a TV director, I noticed that most soap operas of the time (mid 1980s) sounded a lot more "live" (more ambiance, reverberation) than the average TV drama did. Although my instructors (actual TV directors) were at a loss to explain it, I later figured out that it was most probably because soap operas were recorded live, often in one take. There was no post production for soap operas! At the same time many TV dramas were shot on 35mm film, and used film-style post production techniques, including Foley and voice-over work.

Back then, soap operas were produced on the cheap because they had to do a new episode each day for 5 days in a row, week after week. There simply was no time to give them the full treatment. Today we have network executives who are willing to sacrifice quality to save money even with prime time shows. I don't have that show to "pull up", but my best guess is that maybe that show might be being produced on a low budget, and the sound could be one sign of that.

Thanks Dangus and Speed.

Both responses give me a better understanding of the possibilities.

I'm not sure that I said this, but the show doesn't seem "bad" or "poorly made", the sounds just different.

I realize so much goes into the whole process of making a TV show, and I was at a loss, so I just thought I'd try to generate some discussion to better understand.

Thanks!

Happy to be of service.

If you're unfamiliar with sound for television and post-production, you might want to Google terms like "Foley", "sound effect" and "post production" to get a basic knowledge of how a typical TV production is done. That's not to say that every TV show uses these techniques, far from it! And that difference in technique may well be the key to why that show sounds different than others. Have fun!

Okay I'll do that just for the heck of it.

But before I do, I'm gonna take a guess and give you what I think a "Foley" is.

Or ask you rather if I'm right.

Is a Foley a type of cloth that is fitted over a microphone (like a sock)???

Foley is the name of the guy who's credited with inventing sound effects for movies.