BBC points finger at Jamaica Inn actors over inaudible dialogue
BBC producers have pointed the finger of blame at actors in its Jamaica Inn drama series for failing to properly enunciate their lines, after being deluged with hundreds of complaints from viewers that they were unable to follow spoken dialogue.
The BBC’s head of drama made the admission after conceding that audibility problems were not due to ‘issues with sound levels’ as first believed but rather from actors failing to be ‘clear’.
Ben Stephenson said: “I think actors being clear is one part of it. My understanding of the complaints about Jamaica Inn was more complex than that, so I think it’s probably not right to single out that, but clearly we want actors to speak clearly.
“Of course we want them to give brilliant performances and you’ve got to respect that, but if no one can understand what they’re saying, then there’s a problem.”
The blame game initially saw sound mixers put in the dock, prompting a swift retaliation from broadcasting union Bectu, with its sound branch vice-chair Ian Sands venturing: “If the actors are allowed, or encouraged, to mumble their lines then that is what is recorded. Low-level, mumbled lines are not a technical issue, they are an artistic issue. Many directors, and it may not be the case here, are very reluctant to tackle actors about their performance.”