Has anyone noticed that the sound level in movie theaters has steadily increased over the past few years? No, I’m not talking about obnoxious people sitting behind you… it’s coming from the speakers.
This is especially true with the trailers before the movie starts, you have two choices: Go deaf, or cover your ears. I’m dead serious here, it’s gotten to where at times it’s downright painful.
Sure, movie explosions and music building to a crescendo have always been the louder parts of films… but lately the audio level has risen to the point where I sometimes find myself covering my ears!
What gives? Is this what happens when you put teenagers in control of the audio in the projection booth? Sure, I listened to my music so loud it blocked out the external world when I was 16, but to inflict that on a couple of hundred people is just not right.
Not everyone thinks the volume needs to be turned up to a “10″, got it? I don’t pay my money to sit in a chair and be subjected to super-loud audio interrogation techniques.
So movie theater managers (yeah, I realize you’re teenagers too) get your highly trained staff to turn down the bloody volume!
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5 Comments
Are you reading my mind over there?
I regularly take earplugs to the movies with me.
The little foamy kind. I feel a bit ridiculous, but you are right, sometimes the sound is actually so loud it’s painful.
I thought it was just me being an old fogey.
But perhaps there are other’s who feel like we do.
Maybe we should take the time to mention the problem to the manager of the theater. I wonder how one finds such a character in the multi-plex world?
In my experience, it seems to vary. Most movies I see tend to fall into the “a little loud” category, but the last time I can remember the sound being downright ear-splitting was when I saw The Lion King in 1994.
Just lucky, I guess… or else I haven’t seen enough movies to become a statistic.
Yetzirah raised a good point about finding the manager of the theater. Movie theaters aren’t exactly bending over backwards for their customers these days. (Did they ever?) Even if you could find the right person, would anything be done?
Possible conversation between manager and projectionist:
Manager: I’ve had complaints about the sound level. Stop blasting the movie at level 10. Take it down a notch, like to 9 or something.
Projectionist: Yeah, okay, whatever.
Manager: I don’t get paid enough to deal with this [nonsense].
Projectionist: Tell me about it.
Brian
I too find the volume uncomfortable. I always use ear plugs when I go to the movie. I even use them when I go to concerts or anything that uses speakers to enhance the experience. I’m already half deaf due to all the concerts I attended at the “I know better” age between 16 and 26.
If it’s too loud, you’re too old…
Fortunately (?) I am already profoundly deaf and not from movie noise, but from a childhood bout with spinal meningitis. No sweat. I do just fine without hearing. But I have eyes. And I do see those trailers and loud scenes during the show, accompanied by fireballs and preposterous vehicle crashes. . Actually, I think the current increase in noise if because of the many evolving new special effects technology. If you watch those explosions and whatever, you will see that they are usually more ferocious than the real thing. Hollywood wants the spectacular in place of the weak script, I guess. Stuff like that has to be seen and heard (ouch!). Your eardrums are gonna take a beating. Plus, there are more sophisticated boomboxes today. Same goes for loud rock music which can collapse the hair cells in the inner ear and when they fail to return to their normal upright position, you are going deaf. Noise pollution is a given in many of todays movies. Who will you sue once the damage is permanent?