We Don't Live By Loud Alone

Quote of the day:
“Is that good, being like everybody? Isn’t that like being nobody?”
--Charles Beaumont, from a Twilight Zone script.

Quote of the day no. 2:
“Clubs are loud. Plays on Broadway--many are ridiculously loud. Phone ring tones are too loud. It’s a culture-wide thing. And the movie business hasn’t escaped that, and is a big part of it.”
--Randy Thom, movie sound editor and designer.

If you’ve gone to the movies any time over the last year, you’ve noticed how the volume has gone up, especially for trailers. There appear to be several factors at work.

First is expectations from the prime movie-going audience: teens and young adults. My 15-year-old nephew recently said that he regularly listens to his iPod at ear-blistering levels. When the audience grows accustomed to high volume levels, the movies will go along.

Second is attention span. If a movie is quiet or “slow” for too long, it becomes borrrrrinngg to the target audience. So movies become faster-paced and volume goes up, and stays up for longer.

Third is what I’ll call “loss of nuance.” When almost everything is loud, we lose anything to compare it to. We also lose the potential for dynamics--an appreciation for the journey from soft to loud and back again. And this is an expression of the rhythm and movement of our lives--calm to excitement, thinking to action, reflection to engagement, watching to participation.

All are necessary. We don’t live by adrenaline alone. Not even close.