"The BBC’s TV chief has pledged to tackle problems with sound on hit dramas such as Happy Valley but admitted it is often “incredibly hard” to identify what went wrong.

Charlotte Moore made the promise following complaints that viewers could not hear the dialogue in the Sarah Lancashire drama which was watched by more than 8 million people.

It came two years after another BBC1 drama, Jamaica Inn, generated more than 2,000 complaints about muffled conversations with its writer admitting there was a “major sound problem”."

"Moore said she was currently pulling together all the available advice to help programme makers to do “all those final checks” to make sure there were no problems with sound."

The above is from "The Guardian", here.

In the February 2019 issue of "Prospero", available on-line, here:-

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mypension/en/prospero_february_2019.pdf

(page 5)

John Hale, retired BBC dubbing-mixer, has been having a "heated discussion" regarding the ""unnecessary and distracting" music at every opportunity"  with the Executive Complaints Unit ......

          ecu@bbc.co.uk.

Their reply was to dismiss his comments and complaints and they "have decided not to engage any further with your comment".

Personally, I think John is 100% correct, and the reply he received is disgraceful, and patronising.

Thank you to "Prospero" for publishing this correspondence under the heading-

"Music levels in documentaries- a follow up"


My personal point to all programme-makers... if you want viewers, you need listeners as well, and we turn off of we can't hear the words.

Just because you can fill the sound with music and sound FX, it doesn't mean you have to.