60 Minutes Dubbed Engines Noise Over Tesla Model S

cartechboy (2660665) writes "Did you watch the Tesla 60 Minutes segment the other night? If you did, you might have ended up on the floor rolling around laughing like I did. Since when does the Tesla Model S electric car make audible engine noises? Or downshift? Turns out, 60 Minutes dubbed engine noises and a downshift over the Model S running footage. The show claims it was an editing error. Call it what you want, it was absolutely hilarious. A little note to TV producers assigned to cover Tesla Motors in the future: Electric cars don't upshift or downshift." At least they didn't fraudulently blow it up!

I assumed sound was from the camera vehicle

[Kevoco]

I too noticed it and thought it was odd but rationalized it as being the sound of the vehicle carrying the video camera.

Re:Lies

[seinman]

Every professional editor in the world would add engine noise to a shot of an operating automobile. It's one of those things that you do without even thinking about, because generally you will receive footage (especially if it's b-roll) that has poor audio quality. The editor probably dropped it in like he/she would always do, without stopping to think "hey, that's an electric car, so that silence i'm hearing in the footage SHOULD be there." I would most certainly consider that an editing error.

Re:Top Gear was worse.

[geekoid]

Have you been in one? Man, they are beautiful, fun as hell to drive, great acceleration.
I wish I could afford one.
I didn't see the 60 minutes piece, but I can't think of anything practical to complain about.

Re:Top Gear was worse.

[glasshole]

Having driven one extensively, it is kinda fun, but not in the sense that a Porsche Cayman is fun. It goes very fast off the line, but it is hard to hide its rather ample weight. Same deal with the Tesla Roadster too, having owned the chassis mate Lotus Exige for several years, the experiences weren't comparable.

Re:Lies

[Geoffrey.landis]

I would hope that an editor for a NEWS SERVICE would have more sense than that.

You would hope, but you would be disappointed. Ever seen a news report where something blows up? Have you ever, even once, seen that clip shown on TV where the sound comes after the visible explosion?

Electric cars and downshifting

[Andy Dodd]

Actually there are valid reasons for an electric vehicle to shift gears - just because many electric vehicles only have one gear doesn't mean there aren't valid reasons for having multiple gear ratios.

Although in the case of EVs, shifting tends to be more speed-dependent than load-dependent. While EV motors are typically constant-power, there ARE torque limits at low speeds due to current limits. Although this usually means that an EV that has more than one gear ratio needs far fewer than an internal combustion vehicle. (as in, even two gear ratios is usually enough in the rare cases where only one gear ratio wasn't.)

See Charles Guan's burnoutchibi project as one example.

Re:Lies

[taiwanjohn]

This is just scratching the surface on the kind of deception [youtube.com] that frequently passes for "journalism" in the modern age. With a bit of clever editing, you can make anyone "say" virtually anything you want.

Re:This is one thing I love about it

[ducomputergeek]

A friend of mine just bought a Tesla. As far as I know it maybe the only one in the St. Louis area. I recently bought a Chevy Volt. We were at an event and the topic came up. One of the people there asked me why I went with the volt. And the answer was fairly simple:

My wife's commute is 15 miles round trip a day. Maybe 20 if she does some afterwork shopping. So the vast majority of the time it's running on electric. But my Dad lives ~ 70 mile round trip from us. He's older and I'm usually out there once a week to check up on him or help him clean out gutters or whatever needs to be done around his house. I have farms that are 300 mile round trip that need seen after. That is certainly a problem with a Tesla.

Also my budget for a new car was between $25,000 - $30,000. With lower base price for 2014, tax credits, and GM card earnings the Volt fit in the price range and was a little bit smaller of a car than the Malibu Eco, which meant it fit in the garage better. (I really wish we had a 3 car garage, but...)

Finally, there are a dozen Chevy and GM dealers around the city. I'm not even sure there is somewhere here that can do work on a Tesla.

Re:Top Gear was worse.

[CaptainLard]

Yeah I hate seeing stories of massive success, in progress. If there is anything we don't need right now with all the economic uncertainty and political strife, its a positive story showing that greatness* can still be achieved /snark. Despite conventional wisdom, a story can be complementary and objective at the same time.

*Yes, turning two "crazy" ideas into $billion companies in 10 years with most of the population doubting, if not openly thwarting you, is a great achievement.

Re:60 minutes is not longer of value

[HornWumpus]

In the last year? They've been known to change questions but keep answers to make people look like weasels for 30+ years.

Re:Top Gear was worse.

[WindBourne]

LOL. Yeah, the Model S is superior to the MB S-class W222 4-door that still costs more. The base on the S-class is 95K. The upper end of the Model S is 100K. And the base of W222 is very spartan and more like a GM or a VW. The Model S is faster, holds more ppl and cargo, has cheap re-fuels, and if you are in a real hurry to fill up, you will, within a year, be able to swap the battery out for one that holds enough power to run you 450+ MPC.

Re:Lies

[iluvcapra]

Every professional editor in the world would add engine noise to a shot of an operating automobile. It's one of those things that you do without even thinking about, because generally you will receive footage (especially if it's b-roll) that has poor audio quality.

I am a motion picture sound designer, my credits include [imdb.com] Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker and Men in Black 3.

I would not add fucking internal combustion engine noise to footage of a Tesla S. I might add something-- an electric motor, or recording of a prius, something designed special; I'd definitely add tire skids and suspension sounds over bumps. But I'd be laughed off the dubbing stage if I added V-8 revs to and electric car.

Sound design is one of the few aspects of television news where reporters and editors are allowed to straight-up lie, because they have a mentality that all they're required to do is (1) not modify the image, and (2) not say anything false. All other manipulations are considered merely style.

Re:Lies

[Cytotoxic]

I like this comment. I'm reminded of a recent interview that Neil Degrasse-Tyson did with the director of several big blockbusters. Neil called him out on a shot where there was a big lightning storm on the horizon and the sound of the thunder was coincident with the lightning in the distance. The director laughed and said he originally cut it with the real sound and the long delay was off-putting, despite being accurate. Apparently the accurate sound pulled you right out of the movie (because the delay was like 7-8 seconds).

Interesting that "real" sometimes doesn't help tell the story, and it can even hinder it.