Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Google spurs cell phone use in theatres

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Posted by Jerome Holmes (Member # 5013) on 06-14-2010, 08:39 PM:

I signed up for the new Google voice service. Some cool perks, like having texts be forwarded to your email, and call-screening. As I wend through the tutorials, I found that one of the videos encouraged cell phone use in the theatres. Boo! More fodder for that annoying blue glow.

Youtube link if interested

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-14-2010, 11:04 PM:

Voice to text has a looooong way to go. One recent voice message I recorded came back as the following text:

"Hey Jess, ___ as balls crossing going to do your 7 point 1 sound for Toy Story 3. Also those ___ promote uses salm(?) guard and ___ by fighter safety ring for your Christy fighters. Anyway it'll be interesting to see how the text in this email comes out."

If it didn't include the original recording as an attachment, you'd have no idea WTF was being said. Only the last sentence was accurate. The previous sentences were full of stuff that people who didn't work in a projection booth environment would know about. It is amazing that it knew to capitalize Toy Story 3, which means people actually listen to and translate your voice. I once did some kind of test to see if it was being translated in the USA or India by saying something or other (I forget). The text came back with a strong USA reference which I didn't say in parenthesis, so I guess that at least the jobs are going to people here.

Posted by Jerome Holmes (Member # 5013) on 06-14-2010, 11:09 PM:

I can ALMOST translate what you said - minus the blanks of course. If people are left deciphering in the theatre, they'll have their phones out for longer [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-14-2010, 11:17 PM:

I agree it was pretty stupid for the makers of that Google Voice video to suggest using the service in movie theaters.

Far too many people in this country are complete morons when it comes to understanding when cellphone use is not acceptable.

I'm sure every jerk who insists on using his/her phone in a movie theater knows better but does it anyway since very few people are willing to confront said jerk about it.

There's lots of other places (and occasions) where cellphone use is very tacky. The phone should be turned off during church services, weddings, funerals, serious business meetings, dates or any other situation where you need to provide your undivided attention. It's even arguably tacky to take or make calls in a restaurant -especially any sort of expensive "fine dining" restaurant.

I think most people already know this stuff. The ones who insist on using their phones anyway simply don't give a shit, and that makes them assholes -at least as long as they have access to a mobile phone.

BTW, the voice service seems interesting at first. Unfortunately when a person's voice recording is turned into cold text some of the emotion behind the message will be lost. That may lead to misunderstandings -which of course is one of the bigger failings with the whole text messaging thing. You may have intended a text comment to be taken as a sarcastic joke and the person on the receiving end takes it seriously and then you have a problem.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-15-2010, 01:02 AM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
Far too many people in this country are complete morons when it comes to understanding when cellphone use is not acceptable.

Like when they are walking down the middle of the street, for example?

I was riding my bike through the neighborhood, last night, when this girl walked right out into the middle of the street, looking down at her phone as she typed in a text. I'm not talking about the side of the road. I'm talking, right out in the middle.

I saw her coming so I started slowing down WAY ahead so as not to startle her and risk a collision. (Yeah, I still have this thing about crashing into things on a bike... [Wink]

)

So my brakes squealed. (I kind of wanted them to.) She startled and looked up. "I didn't know you were there!" she said.

I wanted to say, "Yeah, you wouldn't think of finding cars and bicycles going down the middle of the street, would you?"

No... I was polite. I didn't say anything and just smiled then looked at her ass as she walked by. Wasn't much to see but I did it just to annoy her, anyway. [Mad]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-16-2010, 03:06 PM:

I was in class last night trying to pay attention to our teacher (which was hard enough as it was because she tends to be pretty monotone) and the guy right behind me takes a phone call. Granted he was trying to be discrete, but his head was right next to my ear so no matter how much he'd whisper I could still hear him.