fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4028 ]

[ SECRET POST #4028 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4028 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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02. https://i.imgur.com/KKEUZmk.png

I'm not judgmental, but find they can be distracting. And sometimes laugh track audiences react to things in a way that's over the top.

For instance, in FRIENDS, Monica and Chandler decided to move in together at one point. The audience practically lost its shit with the "woohoos", and it felt a little contrived. Sure, it was cute, but we're all adults. Sometimes when a man loves a woman, he moves in with her. It happens.

There are times when it's clumsily done or excessive, but I think what really bothers people is the fact that laugh tracks are particularly annoying in cases where the show itself is not good. It adds dissonance in those instances, but at the same time, the show would be shitty anyway, you know?

Speaking personally, I love laugh tracks. But a lot of that comes down to loving Newsradio, which uses laugh tracks really well.

I like laugh tracks as long as they're not too intrusive. They can get a little annoying on TBBT, but I really liked the laugh track on Married With Children, especially the random audience comments.

If there were random audience comments, then that wasn't a laugh track. It was a live studio audience.

Yeah, that's another thing-a lot of people tend to assume most/all laughter on sitcoms is a laugh track. More often than not, though, it's a live studio audience.

Even shows that were "filmed in front of a live studio audience" use laugh tracks or recorded studio comments to "augment" the reactions because audiences don't always laugh at what the producers want them to laugh at.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2018-01-13 23:37 (UTC) - Expand

I don't watch many sitcoms, but the laugh track was one of the top 5 reasons I stopped watching TBBT - watching characters stop dead in the middle of a conversation, stand silently for three to five seconds, and then keep talking like that wasn't weird at all... it sort of took the ol' suspension of disbelief and punted it off a cliff.

I grew up with laugh tracks in shows, but you know what? I find them sometimes annoying and distracting, and I'm always aware of how artificial it is. But I don't watch much tv anyways. It's kind of a silly thing to be judgmental about people who don't like laugh tracks, though. To each their own.

I don't really notice them either tbh, but I guess for some people it does stand out and I could see how it would be distracting. I'm just good at tuning it out.

Agreed on all of this. Plus, there's also the fact that sometimes it can feel like you're sharing a laugh with other people, which can be enjoyable in its own right.

And with some older sitcoms, a lot of the actors have a theater background and the show can be staged more like a play than a proper sitcom ("Frasier" is a good example of this). So in those instances it makes sense there's a live audience, 'cause it adds to the kind of "theater/play" feel of the show.

A live studio audience is not a laugh track. A laugh track is a recording of audience laughter that is mixed into the show's sound. Both Friends and The Big Bang Theory had/have live studio audiences - check out their bloopers and outtakes. Now, audience reaction can seem over the top sometimes, but part of that can be due to the hype person they get in to keep the audience entertained when they have to stop filming sometimes. Also, if the filming goes on long enough, sometimes they bring in fresh audiences.

And I do agree with you, secret poster, because actually, if used well, laugh tracks can be more unobtrusive than live audiences and also the timing tends to be a little better.

I refuse to believe that TBBT isn't substantially sweetened.

And, like, more generally: I don't know how useful it is to draw a hard line between live audience and laugh track, when there's so much manipulation and sweetening that's possible, and I don't think it's even really all that central for the way that most people experience shows. The way that laughter is used on TBBT is really annoying and bad to a lot of people, regardless of how it's produced.

Re: Given the replies, I'm not sure people understand what laugh tracks are.

(Anonymous) - 2018-01-13 22:57 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Given the replies, I'm not sure people understand what laugh tracks are.

(Anonymous) - 2018-01-13 23:06 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Given the replies, I'm not sure people understand what laugh tracks are.

(Anonymous) - 2018-01-13 23:08 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Given the replies, I'm not sure people understand what laugh tracks are.

(Anonymous) - 2018-01-13 23:05 (UTC) - Expand

I find canned laughter irritating and it's especially out of place when there is obviously no studio audience given the nature of the set/outdoor filming, like on MASH. WHERE IS THE LAUGHTER COMING FROM??? I guess the same place and the music and ambient light, but it's just not a suspension of disbelief I can't make and it feels a bit like MST3K (which I like, but the point is they are cracking jokes about things that were unintentionally funny, not pointing out where you should laugh).

A live studio audience is fine, especially the way they can react to specific events in a unique way and the cast can play off the laughter to determine their timing or ad-lib something. Like that time on Will & Grace when Debbie Reynolds got her scarf stuck in a door. I don't like it when there's hooting, though, especially if it's over something really tame, like two people kissed (gasp!), especially-especially if it would have played better as a serious moment.

*just not a suspension of disbelief I CAN make

I don't even really understand why there needs to be a studio audience to "laugh" for me. I'm here for the show, if it's funny I'll laugh, if I don't think it's funny, other people laughing isn't really gonna do anything except maybe make me smile awkwardly if it's in real life and I know I'll be seen. I'm sure there are people who appreciate that feeling of other people watching together? But I find them all annoying, and laugh tracks is the worst version.

The studio audience is a psychological trick. If you really think about the ridiculous, convoluted stories from most sitcoms, particularly older sitcoms, a lot of people will think "What a shitty idea that should have never been a storyline because it is stupid and shiity." "Hmm, what a stupid thing that just happened." However, if they set that nonsense to laughter and film it in front of a studio audience you could fall into the trap of thinking it's funny because "People are laughing so it must be funny, haha!"

if it's funny I'll laugh

But if it's funny and there's a laugh track, you'll laugh harder and enjoy it more

That's basically the theory and iirc there's at least some evidence to support it

+1

It's annoying, and pointless. And if they think "social laughing" is a must or otherwise people won't find the show funny, maybe the're a problem in the show itself.

I think they're very patronizing, it's like TPTB think the audience is too dumb to know when something is intended to be funny. it's especially irritating when it's used CONSTANTLY.

If a show's funny, it doesn't need a laugh track.

(no subject)

greghousesgf - 2018-01-13 23:26 (UTC) - Expand

I'd rather that shows didn't rely on them at all. I don't need to be told when something is funny. 30 Rock. The Office, and Kimmy Schmidt don't need it, so why should any other show?

If I hear laugh tracks or a studio audience, I noticed that I'll listen for that one person with a weird, awkward or hilarious sounding laugh and their laugh will make me laugh.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this. Always that one person that goes "GAH HA HAAAAAAAAAGH"

lol me too

there was a guy in the laugh track for the Drew Carey Show that had a hilariously loud, bizarre laugh that sounded like “hey HEY!!” and I always noticed it

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