Ochanomizu Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hello Mr Jeff, You have also seen the documentary to which I refer? Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Heh, very relevant. Television itself is now a poorer medium than it used to be.I remember one particular Discovery Channel show which went along the premise of "Trains of the future are a technological wonder. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THINGS GO WRONG!" And then it proceeded to be a total dirge littered with a bit of info and a segment of disaster. Link to comment
The Next Station Is... Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hello Mr Azumanga Davo, I was recently on a flight and started watching a documentary on 5 Extreme Railways. The commentary was so bad that I did not complete the viewing. I grew tired of the melodramatic commentary that failed to be reflected by the accompanying video. Further, the documentary attempted to compare freight with HST with steeply graded rail. I completely failed to grasp the concept behind the documentary. So sorry to be off-topic, but you comments reminded me of this. I have seen this very documentary and I have to be honest, somehow I managed to watch it to the end. It tries to sell itself as a competition for the title of of 'most extreme' railway but really it's like trying to compare chalk and cheese. I also find the 'expert' interviews extremely dubious... What I really hate in documentaries is unnecessary repetition of information. I don't need to be told the same thing four times in the space of an hour! 1 Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Seconds From Disaster no doubt. It caters to those people on this planet that have a very short... ummm, something. Link to comment
Densha Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 The problem lies mainly with American documentaries. I don't see this dramatization in European documentaries as much as in American ones, or not at all. Problem is, American stuff is popular so its 'invading' some European broadcast channels as well. (Without any intended offence to Americans of course. ;) ) Link to comment
Ochanomizu Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) I have seen this very documentary and I have to be honest, somehow I managed to watch it to the end. It tries to sell itself as a competition for the title of of 'most extreme' railway but really it's like trying to compare chalk and cheese. I also find the 'expert' interviews extremely dubious... What I really hate in documentaries is unnecessary repetition of information. I don't need to be told the same thing four times in the space of an hour! Yes, that is the one. I also dislike repeating the same information over and over. If they took the repetition out they would have only 20 minutes of video. I switched off after the Brazilian segment about the "most powerful" train. Really? Can someone confirm if the loco on that 30km line in Brazil is really the world's most powerful? Also, the same loco, I see the panto. But the commentary describes the loco as diesel-electric. Could that be so? Also, while I very much admire the AGV Italo, I was disappointed in the commentary of that segment also. The "so-called" expert engineer claimed that the ground breaking technology was to mount the "engines" on the bogies. A comparison was made to Eurostar with "engine" cars at each end. Bogie-mounted motors is not ground-breaking, nor is it new technology. The commentators didn't know what they were talking about and the program, I feel, would appeal to elementary school students, at best. I simply could not watch after the Brazil segment. --- Edit --- Did you notice also, that the so-called experts often fail to use railway terminology? Edited May 1, 2014 by Ochanomizu Link to comment
cteno4 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) Hello Mr Jeff, You have also seen the documentary to which I refer? No but I've seen a number of extreem rail shows! ive been around documentary makers for the last 25 years and watched this downward spiral from the inside and outside. This is now the basically how it is done, mystery or disaster story line then add the drama and cgi then last staple a few odd bit of content to it. Content is now the bottom of the totem pole. So backwards. Modern culture really no longer values content. I'm afraid its moving worldwide densha. Funny as we are in the age when we have the greatest access to content but now value it so little. We just look at the objective as to the quantity, but disregard the subjective which points to where its really good, worthwhile and universal. Jeff Jeff Edited May 1, 2014 by cteno4 2 Link to comment
lurkingknight Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 (edited) The problem lies mainly with American documentaries. I don't see this dramatization in European documentaries as much as in American ones, or not at all. Problem is, American stuff is popular so its 'invading' some European broadcast channels as well. (Without any intended offence to Americans of course. ;) ) the seconds from disaster documentary featuring the emu crash and the shinjuku documentaries are both BBC, you have the brits to blame for that one. However they do follow that disaster formula where every day occurrences are just mere escapes of epic, world ending disaster. I wouldn't call it strictly an american thing. It's the flavor of the month style to try and keep people riveted to the TV so they can sell ad time. Edited May 2, 2014 by lurkingknight Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 the seconds from disaster documentary featuring the emu crash and the shinjuku documentaries are both BBC, you have the brits to blame for that one. Made to a specific formula for whoever commissioned it, most likely. Link to comment
The Next Station Is... Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 the seconds from disaster documentary featuring the emu crash and the shinjuku documentaries are both BBC, you have the brits to blame for that one. I'm ashamed for my fellow countrypersons... I think that most sensible rail fans don't need the documentaries produced by the large TV networks. Has anyone come across any examples of good rail documentaries? Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 1980s Panorama programmes were really good at these. Modern day stuff... no real specifics, most are really hit and miss. Link to comment
Ochanomizu Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Hello The Next Station, I have many railway documentaries about British railways. I can upload for you if you tell me what is of interest to you. For example, I have the complete series of Great British Railway Journeys by Michael Portillo - 30 minute episodes following Bradshaw's Guide from the 1850's, this program highlights the destinations more than the trains themselves. I have Railway Roundabout - a series from the 1950's about British Steam. I have another series of around 90 videos reviewing British steam in great detail. I have a number of BR training videos on aspects of signalling, slippery track, etc. I have a series on East Coast Trains and another on First Great Western, but these are more reality TV than documentary. I know that E6系 has many more because I get many from him. I shall ask him to comment also. 1 Link to comment
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