Mistakes happen. Are you perfect 100% of the time?
No, no one is.
And no need for the cocky attitude on text speak.
I made the comment because i didn't have a clue what you was on about untill i put it into Google.
USA is an accepted abbreviation internationally as its a country, not a film screened for free!
The only reason I opened the thread was because I had no idea what LOTR was.
Mistakes happen. Are you perfect 100% of the time?
No, no one is.
And no need for the cocky attitude on text speak.
I made the comment because i didn't have a clue what you was on about untill i put it into Google.
USA is an accepted abbreviation internationally as its a country, not a film screened for free!
I didn't watch LOTR I-III on CH4 though, it's the commercials of course.
In the age of sitcoms, soaps and occasional TV movies the concept of interruptions every 20 minutes was acceptable, to take a cinema film and stuff it full of adverts just does not work for the modern generation.
Should CH4 not show films? I think they should do a loss-leader thing like supermarkets and use films as a branding/loyalty-building exercise rather than a means to profit.
LOTR trilogy with ONE intermission each film (with commercials) would have done CH4s reputation no end of good, and it's a reputation that really needs mending.
You're deluded if you think supermarkets do loss leaders for brand loyalty... (If anybody makes a loss it would be the producer of the goods, not the supermarket).
Also, even with adverts Film4 barely turns a profit (and has made a loss in past years), it simply does not make economic sense for them to air films ad free, especially since their remit includes them regularly airing films across the network. So it's not like they could just air less films, to reduce the loss. And should we really be encouraging a state owned broadcaster to make a loss, just because some older people think it was better in their day?
Re ad breaks - just thank yourself lucky you don't live in the states. I've just got back from a trip and tv was pretty much unwatchable for me there with the sheer frequency of adverts.
I rarely watch movies on TV anyways. This is probably the primary example as to why people are willing to pay over the odds (imo) to have Sky movies. You pay a premium and you get a premium service. Netflix and Lovefilms and services such as these are where it's at when it comes to viewing movies at home.
Nothing can beat a good movie transfer on bluray with a decent sound set up though. I am currently making my way through Hitchcock's masterpiece box on blu-ray, and the transfer is simply stunning. You can't get that on tv. They can't even be bothered to show The Birds in its original aspect ratio ffs.
They hire Red Bee Media, like the BBC. Clueless idiots is what they provide, like Duncan Dipstick on the BBC.
Talking of the BBC, BBC2 once ran a promo during the MIDDLE of an episode of '24', for the spinoff discussion programme that followed, Pure 24.
However, the perfect(!) timing on the '24' episode was done such that it started when a character stopped talking, and ended when another one began talking in the next scene.
That was NOT a mistake. It was calculated.
Would you like to provide some proof of that? You seem to know it as fact?
The timing would have been a coincidence, the event itself a mistake. You can put away the conspiracy theories. If you really think that was done deliberately then you really don't understand about that particular part of broadcasting!
Isn't most of the ad inserts and forthcoming programme info now all done by pre-programmed computers, so if there is an ad break at 2125 then so be it! I am probably way wide of the mark though! and no doubt staffing levels were down to the bare minimum over the Christmas / New Year too!
In an office when there's little going on, yes, but in a TV studio when audiences are at a potential high? Not a chance.
Like with anything, mistakes happen.
Anyone that works in broadcasting will know that mistakes do, can and always will happen ranging from swearing live on-air before the watershed, to a camera going down (Sky Sports today) to a satellite link failure and playout timing error's.
Channel 4 had a mistake during the film where a promo kicked in before the film was finished meaning it was behind, either because of an overrun of ads or promos or just a mis-calculation in timing, but mistakes do happen.
Thats how i know it was a mistake!
Really, they were only advertised as SD on the Sky EPG. I don't believe they have ever been shown in HD even on Sky, anyone know why?
I'm not sure, but it may be something to do with the fact the're distributed by Entertainment in Video in the UK, who perhaps didn't issue a HD print (possibly didn't even have one) when the film was first broadcast on TV...
Just had a reply back from channel4 regarding the issue, thought maybe you'd find it interesting:
Dear Mr F,
Thank you for your email.
We can only apologise for the technical error which occurred meaning an announcement played out inadvertently toward the end of the film THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING. This was not intentional and whilst we do have procedures in place to try and ensure there are no issues with our transmission, unfortunate incidents like this can, on the rare occasion, occur. Our transmission team are looking into this as a matter of urgency and again, we can only apologise for the disruption to your enjoyment of the film.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate all feedback from our viewers; complimentary or otherwise.
I got the same, but surely a human knows if they've pressed the button to blah-blah-blah about the next programme, if they've got it wrong, then not to carry on talking but to shut the hell up and correct things ASAP!
And what on earth happened to 90% of the end credits? It just crashed out after the initial section.
I got the same, but surely a human knows if they've pressed the button to blah-blah-blah about the next programme, if they've got it wrong, then not to carry on talking but to shut the hell up and correct things ASAP!
And what on earth happened to 90% of the end credits? It just crashed out after the initial section.
but you will still complain on here for even that slight error. Take their apology and move on
I got the same, but surely a human knows if they've pressed the button to blah-blah-blah about the next programme, if they've got it wrong, then not to carry on talking but to shut the hell up and correct things ASAP!
And what on earth happened to 90% of the end credits? It just crashed out after the initial section.
These inserts are sometimes pre-recorded during a programme for transmission at the end running under automation control - if the automation that triggers it is programmed incorrectly, then the automation will fire the promo at the wrong time. Sometimes they're done live, but again, if the automation is programmed wrongly, it can still fire in the wrong place.
Similar things happened when ITV HD went to an ad break just as a goal was about to be scored - the HD automation machine had gone to a screen saver, the "Take Next" button was left highlighted, and someone hit return to wake the screen, which inadvertently fired the ad break!
Human error happens, in broadcast environments we try to minimise the human error as much as possible, and generally very few mistakes are made (and fewer are seen on-air).
Also, to answer another point made above, the transmission control rooms and broadcasters in general will definitely be on skeleton staffing over the christmas and new year break.
Comments
Buy the DVds then!
The only reason I opened the thread was because I had no idea what LOTR was.
How do you know it was a mistake?
Absolutely correct. I mean, they could just show the first 20 minutes of it and then advise everyone to go and buy the DVD!!
It would mean the increase in DVD sales and tv channels could fit in even more 20 minute tasters!!!
The trilogy on Blu ray is £15 in the HMV sale.
Or they could space the 20 mins out over two hours by putting in 1h40m of ads - just like Ch5 do with The Wright Stuff.
Also, even with adverts Film4 barely turns a profit (and has made a loss in past years), it simply does not make economic sense for them to air films ad free, especially since their remit includes them regularly airing films across the network. So it's not like they could just air less films, to reduce the loss. And should we really be encouraging a state owned broadcaster to make a loss, just because some older people think it was better in their day?
Nothing can beat a good movie transfer on bluray with a decent sound set up though. I am currently making my way through Hitchcock's masterpiece box on blu-ray, and the transfer is simply stunning. You can't get that on tv. They can't even be bothered to show The Birds in its original aspect ratio ffs.
Should we then not watch anything on commercial tv stations and instead buy all stuff on television.
If the content is shown on a channel, it is there to viewed, that is its purpose for being aired, to get viewers.
There are adverts there, they need to be there, however they dont need to be in the centre of the pinacle of the whole movie.
the fact of the matter is LOTR: Extended Editions are the best way to watch the Lord of the Rings Movies.
Adverts are always going to happen in Non-BBC broadcast movies on the five main channels and that fact won't change
The timing would have been a coincidence, the event itself a mistake. You can put away the conspiracy theories. If you really think that was done deliberately then you really don't understand about that particular part of broadcasting!
In an office when there's little going on, yes, but in a TV studio when audiences are at a potential high? Not a chance.
Like with anything, mistakes happen.
Anyone that works in broadcasting will know that mistakes do, can and always will happen ranging from swearing live on-air before the watershed, to a camera going down (Sky Sports today) to a satellite link failure and playout timing error's.
Channel 4 had a mistake during the film where a promo kicked in before the film was finished meaning it was behind, either because of an overrun of ads or promos or just a mis-calculation in timing, but mistakes do happen.
Thats how i know it was a mistake!
Really, they were only advertised as SD on the Sky EPG. I don't believe they have ever been shown in HD even on Sky, anyone know why?
I'm not sure, but it may be something to do with the fact the're distributed by Entertainment in Video in the UK, who perhaps didn't issue a HD print (possibly didn't even have one) when the film was first broadcast on TV...
Dear Mr F,
Thank you for your email.
We can only apologise for the technical error which occurred meaning an announcement played out inadvertently toward the end of the film THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING. This was not intentional and whilst we do have procedures in place to try and ensure there are no issues with our transmission, unfortunate incidents like this can, on the rare occasion, occur. Our transmission team are looking into this as a matter of urgency and again, we can only apologise for the disruption to your enjoyment of the film.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate all feedback from our viewers; complimentary or otherwise.
Regards,
Grace Dawson
Channel 4 Viewer Enquiries
Simple technical glitch it seems,
Roo
Watching Lord Of The Rings on a commercial channel....
I got the same, but surely a human knows if they've pressed the button to blah-blah-blah about the next programme, if they've got it wrong, then not to carry on talking but to shut the hell up and correct things ASAP!
And what on earth happened to 90% of the end credits? It just crashed out after the initial section.
but you will still complain on here for even that slight error. Take their apology and move on
These inserts are sometimes pre-recorded during a programme for transmission at the end running under automation control - if the automation that triggers it is programmed incorrectly, then the automation will fire the promo at the wrong time. Sometimes they're done live, but again, if the automation is programmed wrongly, it can still fire in the wrong place.
Similar things happened when ITV HD went to an ad break just as a goal was about to be scored - the HD automation machine had gone to a screen saver, the "Take Next" button was left highlighted, and someone hit return to wake the screen, which inadvertently fired the ad break!
Human error happens, in broadcast environments we try to minimise the human error as much as possible, and generally very few mistakes are made (and fewer are seen on-air).
Also, to answer another point made above, the transmission control rooms and broadcasters in general will definitely be on skeleton staffing over the christmas and new year break.