Don't adjust your TV set.
It's not you, its the shockingly inept, embarrassing, eye-roll inducing and cringe-worthy South African Film and Television Awards 2014 and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) once again creating a live television mess.
The South African Film and Television Awards 2014 on SABC3 is kicking off with ZERO SOUND, embarrassing red carpet presenter Bonang Matheba who is talking but viewers not being able to hear anything.
Also, the SABC, SABC3, and the production team responsible for this instant mess, are all apparently not noticing. Or if they are, they're unable to immediately fix it - which is as bad.
Bonang Matheba is talking, looking like an overly-animated mime artist due to the complete lack of sound from the 2014 Saftas.
Then the shoddy production, clearly already out of their depth yet again, breaks away to roll the 2014 Saftas logo. There is music for a second. Then back to Bonang Matheba. Still no sound.
Bonang Matheba interviews the first red person on the red carpet. Still no sound.
The totally silent red carpet coverage breaks away mid-interview (terrible!) to a stock promo (with sound). "Catch the Saftas live on SABC3 this Saturday at 8pm".
Yes. I'm trying to, but dear NFVF, SABC, SABC3 and production company responsible for the national disgrace once again inflicted on South African viewers: there isn't any sound.
Then we get a lot of commercials.
And back to Bonang Matheba. Now there is sound but the sound is out of sync with the visuals - and remains so for the duration of the red carpet coverage.
The people being interviewed are hardly audible due to the insanely loud, monotonous background music drowning out the people being interviewed. Even Bonang Matheba can't hear and have to ask the same questions over and over.
Then Bonang Matheba interviews Isibaya actress Nomzamo Mbatha and asks her about the production schedule. Nomzamo Mbatha says she left the show. It's extremely embarrassing.
Clearly nobody properly briefed Bonang Matheba on who she is going to interview and what to ask - the TV production, the NFVF and the Saftas 2014 organising team should have had a person, or a team, helping specifically with that.
The rest of the red carpet show is done with badly spliced and edited clips - all with differing sound levels and jarring editing.
This is how South Africa does live awards show television, people. And year after year the NFVF apparently refuses to learn and do this TV trash any better.
