Leno's Tonight Show Reality Hacking, adds Laugh Track to Sarah Palin Appearance

[kpete]

Leno's Tonight Show Reality Hacking, adds Laugh Track to Sarah Palin Appearance
by TBTM Julie

Thu Mar 04, 2010 at 07:35:46 PM PST

Who needs teleprompters when a studio can simply insert canned laughter?

I've dealt with sound engineering for 30 years, as a film maker, interviewer, musician, working with master reel to reel tapes/decks at EMS Music in Seattle in the 80's as a sound duplication engineer, or setting sound levels for my and other bands in live situations at shows. I won a Hollywood award for animation in 2000. I know sound. And it's my opinion that audio portions of Sarah Palin's March 2nd appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight show were added or amplified, edited before broadcast to make it appear that Sarah Palin was more welcome than she was.

I know. I was there.

They added laughter where there was none during uncomfortable portions. Well, there was some laughter. Mine, of derision. During those pregnant pauses in her performance I was laughing long and loud, couldn't help myself as much of what she was saying was utterly surreal, ridiculous, hypocritical - nonsense, spewed platitudes, pushed buttons. I was seriously thinking of leaving as it was getting hysterically unfunny.

After sitting through the taping of the show in the studio I can recount many portions where there was little or no laughter or response, but at the later broadcast they are smoothed over with applause and laughter that WERE NOT THERE at the taping. Groans, hoots, grumbling, or just dead silence - all missing.

more:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/4/843138/-Lenos-Tonight-Show-Reality-Hacking,-adds-Laugh-Track-to-Sarah-Palin-Appearance

[onehandle]

1. Jay Leno and Sarah Palin. Destroying America one show at at time. nt

[StopTheNeoCons]

36. I will never watch leno again...ever....Letterman does a helluva job choppin' the right to pieces

[Lifelong Protester]

39. I was feeling sheepish that I am feeling the same way about him

I thought to myself, "Now, now, you're being petty, just like those you deride" but man, this one really stinks.
Ugh, I'm in Letterman's (and I guess Coco's) camp!

[PatrynXX]

56. Alway's on Conan's camp and Craig Fergerson's camp too

But up against Leno. Letterman I've found to be funnier. I always thought the studio audience had the big freaking LAUGH sign in front of them when to laugh. This is different. Adding in a laugh track? Okay this is where NBC's fault no longer applies. It's Leno's fault. Either way I won't watch him now because it reminds me how Conan was f*cked.

PS: Coco, Conan. only know him as Conan :P But belong to the Coco thing on facebook. :P

[Ken Burch]

53. Leno's essentially JOINED the right

He's been on that side of the fence ever since he let Arnold Schwartzenegger declare his candidacy for governor on the show.

In about five or ten years, he'll be the next Bob Hope.

[spanone]

2. politicians = entertainers...maybe they could use pro-tools to make her say things she didn't

[asdjrocky]

3. The applause and the laughter did really seem to peak the meter to me,

but I chalked that up to the late night shows just being unusually loud. I remember thinking that it surprised me how good of a response she was getting, now I know why.

[iceman66]

4. Damn that liberal media!

[SidDithers]

5. K&R. She's such a tool..nt

Sid

[northofdenali]

27. Substitute an "f" for that "t", Sid,

and you'll have nailed Screamin' Sarah.

[AzDar]

6. K & R

[liberal N proud]

7. When I saw the clip of that side show, I thought the laughs sounded fake

You can just tell when they are trying to promote laughter by adding it.

[Liberal In Texas]

8. Wow. That is very interesting.

It could be that the Leno producers were worried it would make Leno and the show look bad for choosing her and writing the "jokes".

Now one has to wonder how much "sweetening" is done during Leno's regular monologues.

Recommended.

[tallahasseedem]

9. Well, color me surprised...

NOT! It reminds me of the time she went to drop the puck at the Flyers opener. The owner directed the music person to make the music louder to drown out the boos. Sad.

[dmr]

30. I forgot about that! They sure did boost the music. n/t

[livetohike]

10. When will the media stop shoving Sarah Palin front and center?

She's a media creation and getting over-exposed, imo. When will people start doing as I do and flip the channel when I hear there will be a segment or "news" about her? I'm so sick of hearing about her and her family. Damn John McCain for putting her in the spotlight.

[SpiralHawk]

11. Typical republicon trickery --- they just don't DO integrity

No American is any longer surprised at Republicon spin and trickery...

It's all they got...

[Delphinus]

12. Interesting, interesting,

interesting.

If I watched TV, I would have made a point of *NOT* watching while she was on. Really interesting read at the link.

[UTUSN]

13. K&R #22. Canned fakery, yet all the yak shows ran how "good" she was. n/t

[Botany]

15. Just like all the news media ran the story about ACORN and the pimp.

The media lets the republican act as if they are still in charge.

[Enthusiast]

19. You have it exactly correct.

The media pretends that the public did not elect a Democratic majority in 2006 and 2008. They continue to insist the country is center right. They go out of their way to do this.

IMHO, Leno has usually had a right wing slant except during the particularly egregious period of the Bush years.

[Botany]

14. I watched Palin's time with Jay Leno when it was broadcast and her jokes ....

.... were not funny and i kept thinking that a laugh track must have been added.
I could tell what the punch line would be even before she finished the set up of
the joke.

This explains a lot.

[Loge23]

16. A perfect couple

Leno is the lamest guy on TV - perfectly matched with the empty sack of skin that is Palin.
Letterman just kills Leno in every way, it's sad that Letterman's ratings are not what they clearly should be.

[peekaloo]

17. Symbolman!!!!!

:patriot:

[whatsthebuzz]

18. Palin/Leno 2012!

Both are pathetic hacks who just want attention and money.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

20. This was written by our own Symbolman! This totally rocked and I hope this truth comes out!

(((((Symbolman))))) :loveya:

PS...I love that Michael and Julie distributed Going Rouge to the audience!!!!

[Bozita]

29. They said months ago that they wanted to cross paths w/Sarah. THEY DID IT!

I hadn't seen any posts from the pair for months. Now I know why.

[shockra]

21. Oh dear.

I was just over at No Quarter and Larry Johnson called Palin an "extraordinary talent". Boy, did that make me wince. Two words I never should have had to read in regards to Sarah. She's never had a sense of humor and I'm not about to believe she does now. Scrolling down the page I see that LJ's a global warming denier. That explains a lot.

Not crazy about Leno, but Letterman? Blech. And Democrats aren't exactly choir boys either. Man, is there anybody worth liking anymore?

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. People still watch Leno?????

and mainstream tv shows?

Huh.

[wizstars]

23. I strongly suspected it. SP is NOT funny in any way, shape, or form. n/t

[old mark]

24. The whole thing was to set up her pending TV show, a docudrama on Alaska.

Just to keep her in money and the public eye till 2012, and to try to make her more appealing to the average American dumbass.

mark

[Moochy]

25. Jay Leno

Tool of the Right

[glinda]

28. Jay "nothing original here" Leno. Ripped off Letterman's "day before" show skit.

[Javaman]

26. leno watering carrying his way to ratings.

leno cares nothing about reality or the nation, he cares about ratings and he should, because if his returning late night tanks, so does he.

So rather than creating a show with interesting interviews, amusing topics and good overall writing, he tries a desperate attempt at the big score.

Like a gambler at the end of his rope, he bets it all and when he sees that the bet wasn't a winner, he, instead, bribes the dealer.

leno is done. he will exist on the impulse power of the name "the tonight show", beyond that, he won't be able to buy a show let alone host another show ever ever again.

There is selling out and then there is "selling out". He chose the latter. Which, even among hollywood types, is the very worst you can do. Everyone sells out, (how ever you choose to define that is up to you, I have my own reasonings) but to be a willful tool in the quest for trying to pump up ones image in the face of overwhelming failure is nothing sort of Sunset Strip type delusion.

he and failin quitter go well together. perhaps he can costar in her reality series (which has yet to be picked up), or perhaps he already is.

[Vinnie From Indy]

47. Leno has a touch of sociopath in him

That, and the fact that he is truly not funny add up to him rising to the top of American television. Failing up is the thing that gets you ahead today in mainstream media.

[Orsino]

31. Fake show, fake host, fake guest, fake jokes, fake laughter. n/t

[howaboutme]

32. Everybody Knows

That everything has been dubbed, faked, hyped, or false flagged by politicians, allies, media, business or government. Nothing is as it seems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhjQH1FSDm0

[romantico]

33. Hope

I hope Letterman jokes about this in his monologue. Also hope Howard Stern comments on it. Howard has been Jay's harshest critic through all of this!

[Grassy Knoll]

37. Letterman should bring on Obama......

To show "Mr. Chin" what time it really is.

[Overseas]

34. Sad to hear that. Would have been much better with awkward silence. //nt

[Patsy Stone]

35. I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

:bounce:

[Cha]

38. KR

[Dave From Canada]

40. Do people actually believe this ridiculous conspiracy theory? LOL! n/t

[Moochy]

45. ,

Seems like you are the only doubter on the thread... ?

[Dave From Canada]

58. I guess I don't have a tinfoil hat like the rest of you.

[Raine]

41. I'm glad to hear this it shows the audience

isn't as dumb as it first appeared.

[Miss_Underestimated]

42. The spouse of a friend of mine worked for PriceWaterHouseCooper the year Michael Moore won his Oscar

This person attended the Oscars ceremony as did many PWHC employees; I asked whether they had been instructed to boo when Michael Moore was presented with his Oscar and this person would not deny that such an instruction had been given.

Yup, reality hacking isn't a recent phenomenon

[slampoet]

55. Also it is well known that they had people booing into the microphones on Oscar night.

It you listen back to the stereo recording you can hear them directly up against the microphone areas and it really is just about 5-7 people doing 90% of the booing in a room with thousands of people.

[The Gunslinger]

43. I was one of the few that stuck up for Leno and was looking forward to his return

Not any more after that debacle. It's bad enough to have her as a guest, but to give her an assist is BS.

[Blue Owl]

44. such phoned-in phoniness

Jay deserves it.

[gtar100]

46. That is absolutely amazing. This woman is so coddled by the media.

One more reason to stop watching network television.

[Loudmxr]

48. Gee I hate, I mean really hate to destroy this myth. They all have laugh guys.

Really. There is this guy. Maybe now a few women in the business who have these machines that create laughter and applause for shows.

They are like musicians with their laugh instruments that make audiences LOOOOVE the entertainers. Fuck! I can not stand how they over use it in "Dancing With The Stars". Lemmie hear the music!!!

They used to be tape loops. Now they are digital. Back in the day I worked with the son of the first laugh guy. They built their own machines and had their own special sounds.

The first laugh guy did the Lucy/Desi show and one of his loops is famous for the end of the loop has a distinctive breaking "Ha...Ha". You can hear it TODAY! on repeats of the show. Same loop. Same guy. EVERY DAMN SHOW.:crazy:

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Fuzz]

50. As Bill Hicks said years ago, Leno is a whore.

[tomm2thumbs]

51. 'hacking' is right - because one look at Palin and you are about to lose your lunch

if not your mind - this sorry excuse for a torch-bearer of the Republican Party is nothing more than a snake oil salesperson with an audience licking their chops for it - enjoy the oil because it will clean your system out, but good.

[Eric Condon]

52. Leno and Palin are just about made for each other

One lameass dumbfuck deserves another

[slampoet]

54. I heard the audio and several of the laugh/clapping were Exactly the same sound files pasted in.

The sloppy editors didn't even have the decency to do this in a realistic way.

[PerpetuallyDazed]

57. Well, that makes sense.

I was watching a little clip on Huffingtonpost and was thinking, "Gee, they must've gotten a crowd full of teabaggers!" because there was WAY too much hooting and hollering. It was seriously like a Palin rally.