When the BBC needed a noise expert to appear on their flagship programme, The One Show, it didn’t take long for them to call on Cirrus Research.
Have you ever been annoyed by the noise people make in the cinema when they’re supposed to be watching a film? The One Show was covering a story about movie etiquette, following on from a national survey that looks at annoying habits when people are sat in the cinema.
Presenters Chris Evans and Alex Jones needed a noise expert urgently to take audio readings in the studio as part of a live TV discussion on the rights or wrong of movie-going behaviour.
Cirrus’ product development specialist James Tingay had to hot foot it from the Head Office near Bridlington to the London studios for rehearsals and the live show on Friday night.
“It was all a bit surreal,” said James. “One minute I am in the office minding my own business, the next I am heading down to London and chatting with Chris Evans and Sir Bob Geldolf who was also on the show that night.”
James’ five minutes of fame included him explaining about his job and then using the Cirrus Optimus Industrial sound level meter to record how much noise the celebrities made when they were involved in cinema activities such as munching popcorn, crunching crisps or slurping soft drinks.
HOW DID THEY DO?
Alex putting away the popcorn recorded noise levels at 75dB, Chris came next with crisps at 85dB and Sir Bob slurped away at his drink at a respectable 87dB. The undisputed champion of cinema noise was film critic Antonia who came out top of the annoying noises with a bag of sweets at 89 dBs.
“It was an interesting little experiment,” added James. “But as annoying as these cinema habits can be when you are watching a film I don’t think they are going to damage anybody’s hearing – unless something gets thrown at them!”
Top of the most annoying habits, according to the survey, were people who do not turn their phones off, or even take calls whilst the film is on.
THE OPTIMUS INDUSTRIAL – AS SEEN ON TV
For The One Show, James used the Optimus Industrial sound level meter, ideal for capturing this type of occupational noise. It uses the very latest digital technology to measure the noise exposure of employees or individuals quickly and reliably.
The Optimus Industrial Sound Level Meters have been designed with ease of use as the most important feature, which lets you get on with measuring and controlling the noise. They are the ideal instrument with a clear, high resolution OLED colour screen, a wide 120dB measurement span (up to 140dB (A) and 143dBC Peak) and simultaneous measurement of all available parameters. There’s no setup or complicated configuration needed. Just switch on, calibrate and press start.
