knight rider online

I saw this question posted on the KR blooper website, and thought it was such a terrific question, that I thought I'd share it with this community. Apologies in case this issue has been discussed already.

When KITT is "scanning," that is, his red light is going back and forth, can anyone onscreen hear that "dooo-wooo" sound effect? Or, is that sound only there for the TV audience?

I've always wondered.


allen

-------------

"Right away, Michael!"

I think the sound was added in afterwards for the tv audience but what I wanna know is, what blooper website are you talking about? Maybe a link so we can check it out for ourselves!

Stylez

I'm an idiot. I should have said "KR Nitpicks," not "bloopers."

Here's the link: http://knightridercollective.com/nitpicks.htm


I'm sure the "real" explanation for the scanner noise is that it was added in post-production. Still, does Michael hear the "woo-wooo" noise?

allen

I'm sure there would have been some comment made at some time about the noise if it could be heard in the KR world.

Can't think of any reason why you would want the scanner to make a noise anyway. If it can be heard by the characters, it would have to be the single most pointless thing in KR history.

Same noise as was used for the cylons in Battlestar Galactica with their zoomy red thingie. Apparantly (according to production notes) it was added afterwards.

It was added in afterwards no matter what, in reality.

Of course, why would they have to mention the scanner if they heard it? And the one thing that does make me think that they were supposed hear it in the KR world, was because when the car went into silent mode, two things were muffled: the engine, and the scanner.

Also: his scanner slows down and speeds up in sound in accordance to KITT's reaction, so the only reason to do that is not for our benefit, but to give Michael another indicator of what is going on.

And finally, do we really want to admit that they thought that the watchers were so stupid, that they needed sound to help them identify the scanner?

There are also a few mentions in scripts of Michael hearing KITT's scanner approaching.

KI

Well, obviously the sound effect itself was added afterwards, heck, KITT's voice was added afterwards. But was Micheal Knight supposed to be hearing it?

I always thought so, now that you mention it, i guess it isn't really all that stealthy. But when he is shutting himself down or is malfunctioning or whatever, the 'scanner-swoosh' slows.

The other reason i always thought the characters were hearing it because sometimes KITT did it if people asked him question he didn't want to answer (like the trademark '80s corny laugh at the end of the show). Or sometimes if you insulted him, or even if you complimented him. It aklways seemed like a response to when he didn't actually have something to say. Almost like a cat's purr, lol.

Well there's my 2 cents or pence or whatever currency your using

Well if the charecters were supposed to hear it, than I can still see them not mentioning or pointing out that they can hear it. They could certainly see it, and were fine to just ignore that!

What I wanna know is how does a light make a noise anyway?


Oh, and just to clear things up, yes the sound in the "real" world was post production. I saw one of the KITT's at the auto museum in Gatlingburg Tennesee, and the scanner worked! No noise .

Light probably would make a sound, except in a vacuum. But anyhoo, It wasn't the light that was making the sound. I think there was a speaker wired up to it so that the sound was in synchronisation with the scanner movements.

Along time ago, before I knew anything about electronics, I used to think that there was a big light bulb on the end of a mechanical arm. The arm would then pivot, swinging this bulb left to right and back again, shining light through some sort of refractor/plastic thing at the front of the "scanner".

Then, of course, I learnt electronics and made my own KITT scanner, albeit with only three LEDs

Uh, I am guessing that people are forgetting that KITT's pretty little light up front is a scanner. It's not the light making the cute little noise, it's the scanner mechanism passing back and forth that does.

When you scan something into your computer, the scanner makes a hum as it passes back and forth due to the machine that scans activating, and scanning. When a medical scanner scans, there is a hum or a swoosh depending on which scanner it is, because of the same concept. So, why wouldn't KITT's scanner go whoosh-whoosh?

KI

Computer Scanner or not, it's still a liggle red light making a cute little noise, making KITT all the more endearing.

Besides, it wasn't a scanner at all. I don't think they really thought about it post production - it's just kind of 'Look, listen people, KITT is scanning!' Kind of like the noise in Star Trek of ships going into warp with a satifying clunk in the opening credits. Space is a vacuum so it won't make a clunk of any description. It's just there to point out that the ship is kool. (or not, depending upon your view of Star Trek, or scanners, for that matter).

Um, excuse me, what show were you watching as to be able to make that comment?

Besides, it wasn't a scanner at all.

They said it was a scanner in the show.
It has been called a scanner all along.
I think if you put two and two together, it's a scanner.
That is the outlet from which KITT scans, so therefore it is a scanner.
It's not just an endearing little light, it's a frikking scanner.

And if you READ the other messages, you will notice that there is mention that they actually say they hear KITT's scanner noises in the KR scripts, so it wasn't a cute little Star Trek type add-on. It had purpose, otherwise, we would be hearing the scanner noise all the time, sort of like we always heard the engines of the Enterprise in a subtle hum in the background specifically when they were in warp. They purposely dampened KITT's scanner noise in reference to the characters, so, yeah, they heard it.

KI

I used to think it was just there for our benefit and nobody in the knight rider world heard it.

that was until i saw The Scent Of Roses. when KITT is parked outside the cottage and the camera zooms out from his scanner, and the scanner sound gets quieter as the camera gets further away.

Scott

Besides, it wasn't a scanner at all.

Are you sure your watching the same show as the rest of us??

Thats the second dumb thing you've said recently about the show.

The other comment being that Micheal doesn't do the thinking in the show.

(Michael the brains of the team? Good grief, the very idea of it!)

Michael Knight the one who solves the mystery??????? Good grief...

If the sound is from the scanner why doesn'ty it match the movement of the scanner?

The sound is almost always faster than the motion of the scanner light.

So is the sound from the movement of any scanner. Watch a regular computer scanner carefully. You will hear the noise before the light moves across, and you will still hear the hum slightly after it stops.

KI

KITT's scanner in the KR world obviously did have a mechanical device that physically moved back and forth, causing the beloved whooshing sound. The characters were meant to hear this - Michael in particular. The actors did not hear it though. That sound was certainly dubbed in later.

If I were designing and building KITT, without ever hearing or seeing him as I have, I probably wouldn't have put any sound with the scanner (for stealth reasons, along with the fact that I would have probably wanted KITT's scanner to appear completely electronic, with no mechanical oscillating device). Yet, the show would definitely miss something without it, so I would have made a mistake; make no mistake about it, hehe.

Long live one man's dream!

DK

Now there’s an interesting question.... Is Kitts scanner mechanical or electronic?

"cute little noise," lol

Well, once again, knightimmortal has completely shown up ANYONE with misinformation.

And about the star trek point... Of course nothign would make any noise in space, but that would make for a very boring show!!! Silent weapons...silent explosions...

(of course, explosions might actually have made a tiny noise, i mean there WAS air on the ships, but that's a whole other story )

I think we are all forgetting that is was supposed to be super-highly advanced, and although it LOOKED like a 8 lights flashing behind an acrylic lens, it was supposed to be some kind of visual input for KITT. How it saw behind KITT, or through things, or miles away behind things is beyond me. Same sort of technology that made it possible for Bonnie to trace back a bullet to show some bloke lying down in a paddock while shooting at a race car, I guess. How can you do that?? You can't. It was fiction. Sometimes unbelieveable, but mostly entertaining. As for the sound, heck, it just SOUNDED cool! If you saw the light coming towards you in the dark, making that sound, but no other sounds, you'd freak out. Sounds good to me!

Yeah I think some people are having trouble understanding that sounds are often used to re-enforce the action being seen. Sound adds depth, feeling, and emotion to a scene.

It doesn't always have to be true to life. The warp sound in star trek gives a sense of speed, as do squealing wheels in a car chase.

They are there to help tell the story to the viewer. Not necessarily as a result of what you’re seeing.

I wasn't criticising the zoomy-type noise, I know it's there in star trek to make life interesting, I was just saying it was there to make scanning fun too.

And I still think it's cuuuute! So there!

Ya know, I've been pondering this question...


If the charecters in the show could hear the noise (which would mean it wasn't just for us), wouldn't they hear it all the time? I mean every time Bonnie was shown working on KITT or anyone was having a conversation in the semi, or anyone was around KITT at all would they constatly hear that sound over and over again?

That could get annoying!

Ghost

When a fan is going, do you constantly hear it?

When an engine is running, do you constantly listen to it?

The answer, unless you are completely psychotic, is no. The human mind will shut out any consistent noise after a period of time because the mind has a lot better things to deal with than some noise that is constantly there.

KI

Could it be that the scanner doesn't always make that noise....only when Kitts putting...shell we say...more energy into scanning?