Tuesday, September 14, 2004
The Dean Scream -- It Just Didn't Happen
I know this is old news, but most people don't know the truth and I think it's a good lesson in how the media works (or doesn't, in this case). Having worked in television for many years, I got very ticked off when I saw the "Dean Scream" replayed over and over, because the clip they showed DID NOT INCLUDE the crowd noise. Dean was on what is called a "noise-cancelling microphone," a type of mic that mutes out most of the background noise. In fact, the crowd was deafening at the point Dean did his famous yelp and you can barely hear him at all. What you saw on t.v. was not true. What you saw was, in effect, edited.
Have you ever seen footage of musicians in a recording studio? Watched as they punched up a vocal track and turned all the other tracks off? Then they punch in the drum track, the guitar, etc. Each piece of the song is on a separate track. They "mix" it all together to make the song, but you can, if you like, just listen to one piece of it.
That's sort of what a noise-cancelling mic does. What you saw on the t.v. news was just Dean's audio track. It stripped out the background tracks. And the reason you saw the SAME clip over and over again is because news organizations use what are called "pool reporters." They share the same footage, so they were all working from the same audio feed. They use noise-cancelling microphones because if they didn't, you wouldn't be able to hear the candidate's words over the din of the crowd.
It wasn't until months later that ABC set the record straight on "Prime Time Live." But it was too late by then as the damage had been done. That's why I think it's important we be informed consumers of media. You wouldn't buy a car without researching it and test-driving it, yet we regularly consume news media without "kicking the tires," so to speak.
If you want to hear what it really sounded like in the hall, listen to footage shot from someone in the crowd. Regular old camcorders don't use noise-cancelling microphones, which means you get a better perspective. Quite a different picture from what most of us saw on t.v., isn't it?
Have you ever seen footage of musicians in a recording studio? Watched as they punched up a vocal track and turned all the other tracks off? Then they punch in the drum track, the guitar, etc. Each piece of the song is on a separate track. They "mix" it all together to make the song, but you can, if you like, just listen to one piece of it.
That's sort of what a noise-cancelling mic does. What you saw on the t.v. news was just Dean's audio track. It stripped out the background tracks. And the reason you saw the SAME clip over and over again is because news organizations use what are called "pool reporters." They share the same footage, so they were all working from the same audio feed. They use noise-cancelling microphones because if they didn't, you wouldn't be able to hear the candidate's words over the din of the crowd.
It wasn't until months later that ABC set the record straight on "Prime Time Live." But it was too late by then as the damage had been done. That's why I think it's important we be informed consumers of media. You wouldn't buy a car without researching it and test-driving it, yet we regularly consume news media without "kicking the tires," so to speak.
If you want to hear what it really sounded like in the hall, listen to footage shot from someone in the crowd. Regular old camcorders don't use noise-cancelling microphones, which means you get a better perspective. Quite a different picture from what most of us saw on t.v., isn't it?
