Microfonika
A thing I frequently remark upon when watching French TV is how old-fashioned it looks. It's not just that it's crap, oh no, but it looks like it comes from the Ark.
The main thing is the microphones. We're spoiled in the UK, of course, because the production facilities are probably among the best in the world (thanks to the licence fee, I would say). So you might barely notice the microphones in use. Everybody in the studio will be wearing tiny lavalier mics, like this Sennheiser MKE 2-1053-C (catchy name). We're talking "sub miniature" in terms of size, and extremely unobtrusive on-screen.
But in France, you'll find people on chat shows holding microphones in their hands. They might be wireless, and they're not even necessarily cheaper than the lavalier type, but every guest sitting round a table will be holding their own microphone. And even a Parky type chat show, the guest will sit in the chair holding his/her own microphone. Switch over to Swiss or German TV, and you'll see a more modern look. It's the French, and possibly the Italians, who utterly refuse to update their technology, because TV is such a degraded form of entertainment anyway.
Apart from feature films and made-for-tv movies, French TV consists of quiz shows (the same as you get in any other country, Qui veut gagner des Millions and the Weakest Link - forget what it's called in French, I don't think it's "Le Lien le Plus Faible*") and round-table chat shows. Doesn't matter what the subject is, serious or light-hearted, they'll have a bunch of celebs and/or intellectuals, sitting round a table with a host (or two hosts) and passing comment.
For example, your standard funny video clips show, like "You've Been Framed", will consist of a few clips, followed by people sitting round a table, holding big microphones, saying something vaguely related to the clips, in front of a studio audience. Some of the people round the table, you recognise from other shows. Like the host might be the host of "Question pour un Champion" and one of the guests will be the fat, French version of Anne Robinson. And there's some comedian who always wears a stupid red hat, you see him a lot. And gorgeous looking women who never say anything, but sit there looking beautiful.
It's awesomely bad.
Ironically, on the quiz shows, the contestants aren't trusted to hold their own microphones and wear lavaliers, except they're like lavaliers from the 60s. And they have to wear two of them. So instead of one sub-miniature, they wear two rather preposterously large lavaliers, which drag downwards on their clothing, because of their weight.
I've been watching French TV on a semi-regular basis for 10 years now, and it still looks like it was made 40 years ago. If I lived there, I think I'd get desperate. It's not even that easy to get something decent on Satellite, because they still think films are worth having on, so it's not like you get a special Buffy Contre Les Vampires channel.
It's odd that the French will make Norman Wisdom and Benny Hill culture heroes, but they don't appreciate things like Buffy. So completely up their own arses with their own culture, without any real appreciation of the rest of the world.
*Ah, it's "Le Maillon Faible."
The main thing is the microphones. We're spoiled in the UK, of course, because the production facilities are probably among the best in the world (thanks to the licence fee, I would say). So you might barely notice the microphones in use. Everybody in the studio will be wearing tiny lavalier mics, like this Sennheiser MKE 2-1053-C (catchy name). We're talking "sub miniature" in terms of size, and extremely unobtrusive on-screen.
But in France, you'll find people on chat shows holding microphones in their hands. They might be wireless, and they're not even necessarily cheaper than the lavalier type, but every guest sitting round a table will be holding their own microphone. And even a Parky type chat show, the guest will sit in the chair holding his/her own microphone. Switch over to Swiss or German TV, and you'll see a more modern look. It's the French, and possibly the Italians, who utterly refuse to update their technology, because TV is such a degraded form of entertainment anyway.
Apart from feature films and made-for-tv movies, French TV consists of quiz shows (the same as you get in any other country, Qui veut gagner des Millions and the Weakest Link - forget what it's called in French, I don't think it's "Le Lien le Plus Faible*") and round-table chat shows. Doesn't matter what the subject is, serious or light-hearted, they'll have a bunch of celebs and/or intellectuals, sitting round a table with a host (or two hosts) and passing comment.
For example, your standard funny video clips show, like "You've Been Framed", will consist of a few clips, followed by people sitting round a table, holding big microphones, saying something vaguely related to the clips, in front of a studio audience. Some of the people round the table, you recognise from other shows. Like the host might be the host of "Question pour un Champion" and one of the guests will be the fat, French version of Anne Robinson. And there's some comedian who always wears a stupid red hat, you see him a lot. And gorgeous looking women who never say anything, but sit there looking beautiful.
It's awesomely bad.
Ironically, on the quiz shows, the contestants aren't trusted to hold their own microphones and wear lavaliers, except they're like lavaliers from the 60s. And they have to wear two of them. So instead of one sub-miniature, they wear two rather preposterously large lavaliers, which drag downwards on their clothing, because of their weight.
I've been watching French TV on a semi-regular basis for 10 years now, and it still looks like it was made 40 years ago. If I lived there, I think I'd get desperate. It's not even that easy to get something decent on Satellite, because they still think films are worth having on, so it's not like you get a special Buffy Contre Les Vampires channel.
It's odd that the French will make Norman Wisdom and Benny Hill culture heroes, but they don't appreciate things like Buffy. So completely up their own arses with their own culture, without any real appreciation of the rest of the world.
*Ah, it's "Le Maillon Faible."
posted by Anonymous at
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
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