Overheard someone say watching on 1.5x speed ruins pacing

A buddy at work was arguing that speeding up dialogue messes with how the director intended scenes to hit. I tried it on a slow drama last night and actually noticed the pauses felt rushed. Has anyone found a show that works better sped up?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_keith1mo ago

Oh man, you're totally right about Better Call Saul. I tried watching the scene where Chuck is in the courtroom and the fluorescent lights are humming, you know the one. On 1.5x speed that whole ominous buildup just got flattened into nothing, like listening to a song at the wrong rpm. But here's what I'm curious about - have you ever found a show that actually benefits from the speedup, where the original pacing was so glacial it became a chore? Like I'm thinking some of those slow-burn European crime dramas where every scene lingers for an extra five seconds too long.

dylanwilliams1mo ago

Wait doesn't that totally kill the whole vibe of like dramatic pauses and heavy silence? I feel like shows like Ozark or Better Call Saul would be unwatchable sped up since half the tension is in the quiet moments.