laugh tracks
Recorded audience amusement
Laugh tracks are prerecorded audience laughter added to television comedies, cueing viewers when something is meant to be funny.
The practice began in early TV when shows were filmed without live audiences.
The sitcom's laugh track made the jokes seem funnier than they were.
Critics often cite laugh tracks as a sign of weak comedy that can't earn genuine laughs.
- giggleSoft, silly vocalization
- punchlinesJokes' concluding zingers
- studioCreative professional's workspace
- sitcomEpisodic TV comedy series
- sound effectArtificial audio enhancement
sweetening · background noise · dead air · comedy · audience · big bang theory · I Love Lucy · manipulative · cheesy · situational comedy · tape · cue · M*A*S*H · chuckle · applause · Hanna-Barbera · broadcast · network television
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