Using this advertisement or the screening from class as an example, discuss how Ernie Kovacs’ artistic experiments with television sound (or silence), aesthetics, and timing dialogue with growing concerns about television’s noisiness and commercialism?
ReplyDeleteErnie Kovacs experimentation with silent tv and making fun of tv ads is quite entertaining due to the fact that it addresses the growing concern with how downright annoying those ads are in their repetitiveness. In the show we watched in class, when I saw the lady open her mouth, I just had this feeling in the back of my mind that she’s going to speak and go on a long tirade about how amazing some random product is, I did not expect her to get cake thrown at her; so even though I’ve only watched a little bit of old tv, I too have already become accustomed to the regular layout of it; the format has become monotonous.
Kovac reverting back to silent media was a great way to actually get the audience to pay attention to visual picture rather than the words because the tv was more of a talk based medium, taking that away and making it funny ensured that audiences would watch rather than listen while mindlessly doing other tasks.
After this week's screening and the above clip, it's clear Ernie Kovacs was a driving force in subverting common themes and ideals about television and advertising during his time. In the above clip, Kovacs lampoons the traditional planted advertisement. He doesn't speak, where typically the star will speak highly of the sponsor, and he drops the comically drops product he is promoting in a bucket of water. This serves to bring a lighter perspective to advertising and commercialism that was growing increasingly serious and ubiquitous at the time. In the episode screened during class, Kovacs also turns conventions upside down by eliminating sound and emphasizing physical comedy instead. The episode also features a woman being hit in the face with a pie just as she was about to introduce the next segment or promote a product. In Lipsitz' "Meaning of Memory," the author states, "television elevates consumption over production." TV encouraged the consumerist nature of society in the 1950's, though Kovacs worked to highlight the flaws in the movement.
ReplyDeleteErnie Kovacs’ artistic experiments with television sound are apparent in the commercials and television episodes he is featured in. Using the art of silence, Ernie Kovacs focused on the use of sound, by highlighting the use of sound effects, facial expression, and movement. For example, in the commercial above, Ernie’s use of dialogue and sound (or lack there of) addresses the overuse and repetitive nature of dialogue in commercials. In Ernie’s holiday advertisement for Dutch Masters cigars, the products’ name is only mentioned twice. The narrator announces that Ernie will present a commercial for the cigars, and the audience expects Ernie to start rambling and repeating the name of the product over and over again. To our surprise, he stands there in silence, causing the audience to laugh in response to his facial expressions and physical comedy. Furthermore, the narrator’s script is geared towards educated individuals. In turn, the commercial’s structure comments on television’s annoying overuse of words and simple language. However, during this same time period the controversy about sound and television was also occurring. One of the two main issues about sound focused on the overuse of canned laughter, and it encouraging viewers to laugh at things that were not actually funny. This makes me question whether or not Ernie’s “silent” television commercials were actually categorized by some individuals as noise. In my opinion, Ernie’s experiments were made to lessen the noise,
ReplyDeleteThe crux of Ernie Kovacs performance in these commercials is that he is doing the exact opposite of what an advertisement is doing, and in doing so, creates such a hilarious bit. The goals of commercials are supposed to sell, while Kovacs goal is to entertain. And even though Kovac subverts the monotonous recitation of the reasons why one should buy the product, or in this case Dutch Masters, the advertisement still seems to be effective. Hinted by the audiences participation in the background, it clearly indicates that they are paying attention to the spot. And, although it may seem like Kovacs is commenting on the idea of television being so commercialistic, he is merely commenting on the method by which tis ability is exploited. For one, he wouldn't be in a commercial if he thought television was to commercialistic; it is employing him. Kovacs is demonstrating a way that audiences can be spoken to that makes it enjoyable for them while at the same time beneficial to the clients.
ReplyDeleteErnie Kovacs was a breath of fresh air, as well as a groundbreaking pioneer for television, drawing the medium to rely more on visuals than dialogue.
ReplyDeleteDuring the early years of television, being that broadcast camera technology and techniques were still in their infantile stage, programs relied more on dialogue than anything else. Some early shows had awful staging and camerawork, but that was taken as granted for a live production, with the dialogue seen as much more important. This was not only under utilizing the potential of television, but also could become rather tedious and annoying, especially in the case of commercials.
Ernie Kovacs’ silent humor not only utilized more deliberate camerawork and staging, but also demanded the audience watch it intently, as opposed to soaps for example which essentially required no actual watching at all. His physical, subtle but sometimes over-the-top humor is welcome after seeing so many dialogue driven sit-coms.
His style also brought new life to tedious advertising. Instead of someone just telling you how great this product is and all of its features or benefits, Ernie just makes a gag out of it. The “Dutch Masters” commercial doesn't go off about the fine quality of its expertly grown tobacco leaves and its hand crafted humidors, it’s just Ernie, and he dropped them, so go buy them. Sometimes a fresh new style of commercial is much more convincing than a drawn out yet informative one.
In both the above commercial and the silent episode screened for class it can be seen that Ernie Kovacs is using sound, or rather not using sound, to counteract the increasing noise of television. By using sound in television the audience becomes less and less invested in what is happening on screen. Sound allows them to piece together the story without constantly maintaining their gaze at the television. Because of this, television is allowed to develop as a form of background noise, simply being watched rather than experienced. This encourages a sense of passivity in the medium and prevents the viewer from fully experiencing television as the artistic medium it could be.
ReplyDeleteBy being more creative with the use of sound, Ernie Kovacs prevents the audience from being able to take a passive stance. In order to understand what it going on the audience must be constantly attentive to the actions on screen. There are no aural cues to help in the understanding. The few cues that do come are in the form of sound effects which only receive context by viewing them alongside the corresponding filmed action. In this way Ernie Kovacs ensures that he is being truly seen as well as occasionally heard, a much more effective method of getting the message across the increasingly noisy and commercialized content that the rest of television had to offer.
Before watching the Kovacs show on last Tuesday, I have never expected that a 1950’s work could be so artsy. With a nest-like dark hair and a formidable mustache, this “silent man” was considered to be one of the most important figures in television cults through out the history. Basically, he had a talent for using common props such as a glass of water or a cigar, in the most unexpected ways, which made him unique in the wacky visual comedy. He took television and made it his personal comedy tool, even to promote commercial product - while without the comic plot, he seemed to be a statical, wooden and prissy character, however, he made full use of the television as a median to highlight the effects of sound, fiscal and body language.
ReplyDeleteTaking the commercial above as the example, for the traditional ads the star would continue talking to promote the product; as for Kovacs with his goal to entertain viewers, he ,as usual, did not speak a word in the cigar ads but dropped the cigar in a hilarious way, which left a almost unforgettable image to the audience. Even though his style dramatically challenged the traditional color of commercials at that time, the consequence was as efficient as the former one, or maybe more impressive.
After watching Kovacs’ show, I began to think of the essence of commercial embedded in the television. The better way of ads evolution is to entertain the viewers by its unique humor to promote the product than repeating the dull words that might made the audience sick and tired of the ads. In other words, Kovacs’ effort in combining commercial and entertainment together contributed to the quality as well as attractiveness of the ads.