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Incidental music and effects
– a note for broadcasters
Viewers with a mild to moderate hearing loss – of whom there are an estimated 8.3 million in the UK – frequently have difficulty following speech when it is accompanied by music (or effects). Some may turn to subtitles for help, but many will prefer to try and follow the speech unaided.
The 8.3 million are, generally, a disproportionate percentage of the viewing audience, since hearing loss is most prevalent among the over-50s, who watch more television than those under 50.
Broadcasters are urged to ensure that those who make their programmes appreciate the nature and extent of the problem which speech overlaid with music (or effects) can represent for the hard of hearing.
Developments in digital technology may eventually provide viewers with a solution in the home, but there is no sign of this at present and it will be some time before such equipment is available to all.
Awareness and understanding
Unfortunately there is no simple way of explaining hearing loss: for some it is a decline in the ability to hear across all frequencies, for others it may be in a particular frequency range.
The loss typically associated with growing older is in the higher frequency range – and this is where most of the consonants, crucial for understanding, are concentrated: many people would be surprised to discover just how little a deterioration it takes for the sufferer to have a problem distinguishing competing sounds.
One in seven of the population suffers to some degree.
Programme makers, likely therefore to have someone in their circle of friends and family whose hearing is less than perfect, could be encouraged to make a point of seeking their views about the soundtracks of television programmes and, if possible, view – and listen – with them, in order to become familiar with the levels at which music and effects start to present a problem.
Sensitive sound mixing
Broadcasters are encouraged to persuade programme makers to examine their editorial/creative intentions on three levels:
- Is a music track essential?
- If so, would anything be lost through cutting it (or fading it) the moment someone starts to speak?
- And if the answer is a convincing yes, can the mix be such that speech is still intelligible to the majority of hard of hearing viewers?
One of the reasons why music often reaches a volume where many find it intrusive may well be that it is usually added at the end of the post-production process.
Production staff, having heard the script for the umpteenth time, are interested far more in the music track than the speech, which they are able to pick up subconsciously, through a combination of lip reading and word processing.
That, of course, is not the situation of the audience, for whom the sound and the pictures are equally unfamiliar.
It is also worth remembering that the typical home receiver is still much inferior to the professional equipment on which the programme maker hears a soundtrack.
Ideally, there should be someone present at the final sound mix who is hearing the programme for the first time: that might well be the dubbing mixer, whose professional view should be invaluable. But as a general rule;
- avoid the use of vocal music
- choose music that is not dynamic, i.e. that does not have a lot of short peaks that would interfere with the speech track. Instrumentation can be important – a ‘wash’ of strings, for example, is much less intrusive than a solo trumpet. Certain styles of piano music and percussion can be very difficult to mix with speech
- Music that is specially written to be heard at a low level under speech should be mixed so that the melody is not too prominent.
The final mix should be replayed through a mono speaker.
But the more programme makers can be encouraged to seek the views of hard of hearing viewers among their own families and friends, the greater the likelihood of their developing an instinctive judgment about what constitutes a sensitive sound mix.
Deaf viewers and those with severe hearing loss have no option but to rely on subtitles – and there are about 0.7 million of them.
As already noted, some viewers amomg the 8.3 million who are hard of hearing, will also use subtitles from time to time.
But that, of course, is not an option when it comes to radio! Broadcasters are urged to make their radio producers take the utmost care in their use of incidental music and effects.
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