simulating Tv channel change

D

David Evans

Well-known member
Hi guys,

I'm editing a scene that takes place in a living room and there's a shot of a man hitting the remote button to change the channel. We don't see the TV and it's supposed to be the sound editing that creates the illusion of the TV changing channels. How would you do it? Is it as simple as cutting from a sound of a show to a completely different one? Or is it more to it?

Thanks!
 
Sound and maybe some lighting (you'll definitely need it if you're filming in a dark room).

Not sure how they do it in the Hollywood movies, but normally you would hear a variety of sounds (talk show, sports, news, maybe an infomercial, maybe some static FX, etc) to provide that audio/mental connection. The visual part (if applicable) would include different lighting across the person's face/body/furniture/wall (a mixture of colors, exposure, maybe some shadows).

Also maybe consider a little body movement (shoulder, CU of hand/remote).

It really depends on your scene.
 
Yeah, the scene takes place at night, so I shot it with some Rotolights that do the TV effect. There’s one shot of a man’s hand with the remote and I wanted to know how I could do this, sound wise, to create the illusion that the channel just changed. Is it just a sudden change from a TV spot to a football game? Is there a subtle drop in sound for about 1/2 second? Should there be white noise in that sound drop?

I know what I hear when I change channels in my TV, but a lot of things that happen in movies are not a copy of reality, and, in a certain way, occupy a certain “way of things” that people are accustomed to and will be distracted if it’s done in a different way.

If it helps I can upload just this sequence so you guys can see. 
 
Well back in the "good old days" a channel change had a nice sound. The clunk of switching the tuning switch and there was static till the new channel seated in and it generally took a second or two for the whole thing to stabilize. Today there is generally a drop out of sound and picture and then the new channel comes in. I'm not positive but it also seems like there is a bit of a fade in on the new channel.

So assuming your setting is today in the US the later would be the "real" way to go. You don't get static because there is no analog TV anymore so it's either there or it's not. You are not "tuning" into stations but picking between digital streams.

In a narrative film you kind of get to pick the world that the story takes place in. So "your" version of "today in the US" might have a more interesting channel switch.
 
That's an artistic decision. In any case, I would have an atmosphere track and/or room tone running throughout the scene so the silence between channels is subtle, and you'll probably want to fade the in/out points 30 or so milliseconds so it's not too abrupt.
FWIW, when I change channels on my FIOS TV connection, there's about a half second of silence between channels, a little longer on my friend's Comcast cable TV, about one second
 
Rick, what kind of atmosphere track would you have? It's night and it's just the dad and a three year old watching Tv. Maybe an air conditioner on?
 
If possible, you could always purchase sound effects or at least try them in your scene (with the watermark).

I like PB for music, but not sure how they are with FX. Maybe a professional Foley site would be better.

Here's one sample from a quick browse...they probably have lots of other/better choices: https://www.premiumbeat.com/sfx/detail/switch-tv-surfing

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Psychologically, I prefer the "old" format of switching channels with some kind of auditory cue. I don't know what that "clunking" sound is in the link above, but I do like the static. I just tried my TV and the 1 second delay quite frankly just makes no sense, ha.

I think it could actually throw some viewers off...some might even think it's poor editing.
 
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guys,

I did a quick test with my footage to see if I could simulate it. Please, note that I DON'T have any scene sound in there to distract (I will add it, of course). Just wanted to know if you guys think the channel changing is natural and if it sounds like the sound is coming from the TV or if it needs some more tweaking in the EQ. There will also be voice over in this scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=481yVQKqkkU
 
The white noise type sound (from TV?) is annoying.. way to loud, better at a constant lower level IMO.
 
Rick, I think the white noise you're talking about is after the man presses the button in the remote, correct? It's supposed to be a sports game on tv. I guess it's not working like it should :). I will try to find a better sound.
 
"It's supposed to be a sports game on tv. "
- Now that you stated it, that's what is sounds like. Something else would be better though.
 
First I agree that this second sports bit sounds better. The first one sounded a bit like a Hitler rally or some other HUGE rally. Kind of worked as a "history channel" bit but was kind of distracting. The switch TO the sports sounds good, but I would find a better switch to the old movie, or add something. The transition now is so smooth that it seems like a scene change or time jump. Maybe it is a time jump?
 
Noiz2 said:
First I agree that this second sports bit sounds better. The first one sounded a bit like a Hitler rally or some other HUGE rally. Kind of worked as a "history channel" bit but was kind of distracting. The switch TO the sports sounds good, but I would find a better switch to the old movie, or add something. The transition now is so smooth that it seems like a scene change or time jump. Maybe it is a time jump?
Click to expand...

It's actually supposed to be a time jump between the sports game and the old movie. It's not really important that the time jump is noticed as a time jump, but it's important that it's not distracting. What do you think?

Thanks
 
Not sure. To me it was a bit distracting BUT that may be because you asked about channel changes and I was looking for them. Probably everyone would just take it as a time jump.
Since I was looking for the channel change I created a subplot where the girl comes over and kind of talks him into switching to something she would want to watch. Which of course supports the need for a channel switch, but I probably came up with that to support the switch that I thought you had there.

The short version is I wouldn't change it unless it bothers someone else. If you found it did bother others you could put in a very short dissolve, like 1 -2 frames, in the visual and that would really telegraph that it's a time shift.
 
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