“[Visuals have] taken precedence over what we hear.” One of the reasons why movie dialogue has gotten more intelligible over time is that filmmakers don’t treat sound and sound teams as seriously as they do the visuals of the film. For example, boom microphones and their operators often can’t get as close as they need to capture dialogue clearly because they get in the way of the “perfect shot,” which gives sound mixers little wiggle room to fix the audio in post-production. Read full article here
Societal Issues
To curb drug deaths, communities turn to Reddit, texts and wastewater
With drug overdose deaths on the rise, authorities are attempting to curb the epidemic by tracking and sharing information in real time. In one unique effort, a nonprofit in New York City is using drug-testing equipment and stamping or marking habits of dealers to identify drug batches that may endanger users. Other approaches are also being used, such as monitoring drug-related chatter on Reddit and analyzing local wastewater for opioid and other drug levels. With the combination of these efforts, researchers hope to put a dent in the opioid crisis and reduce overdose deaths. Read full article here
Merv
June 1, 2023
