it's a bird!

This morning on the radio, it was mentioned that the bird chirping sounds heard during the just held Masters golf tournament weren't real... they were added as sound effects. I didn't watch more than a handful of shots, but I did notice in particular the sound of a bird during the golf coverage and thought to myself how nice it was. But since it turns out it wasn't real, well, I'm just all kinds of cynical. I guess now you can't believe what you hear, even during a "supposed" live sports event.

I'm already used to the idea of live musical performances being enhanced, but that's entertainment. And with the sophistication of image enhancement software so prevalent nowadays, I've had to suspend much of my belief as to what is real visually and what isn't. But adding birds tweeting to golf?

I remember years ago watching a nature show and there was a scene of a Steller's jay feeding out of a tray style feeder. I don't know for certain what a Steller's jay sounds like, but if it's anything like a scrub jay, it sure doesn't sound like a songbird. Yet there it was, chirping and tweeting like a bluebird! Even then, I was positive that the sounds were added later during production (and not very accurately in this case). Adding sounds happens all the time when putting together shows about nature. Apparently, sounds are added to sports events too. So, why stop there? How about adding a chorus of fans 'booing' athletes that don't promote the sponsor, and 'cheers' to the ones that do. And so on. Imagine the possibilities!