Have you noticed how coffee cups are always empty in TV shows/movies?

[Doppel]

I can often tell this. There is just a way the people carry them that doesn't seem right, but a dead give away is always when a person is brought a fresh cup of coffee and the actor is immediately tilting it like it is half full.

Of course, as always, the internet tells me I'm not quite so observant and special as I had hoped. Apparently a lot of other people have noticed this. I can't help but notice it now, it's become an obsession.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=tv+shows+empty+coffee+cups

 

[olds]

So are packages, boxes, suitcases....

 

[Doppel]

So are packages, boxes, suitcases....

Oh damn you. Now I will have to look for those, too.

 

[nageov3t]

wet drinks around makeup and electronics over the course of dozens of takes for any single scene?

 

[Doppel]

wet drinks around makeup and electronics over the course of dozens of takes for any single scene?

I've had drinks around computers my entire life and yet to ruin one.

The internet seems to think the main reasons are:

1) liquids can throw off one's voice
2) Multiple takes would mean drinking a lot of stuff
3) Coffee at least gets nasty when it's cold (they could use something else dark, though)
4) Consistency from take to take (if they started full maybe it would run out after time)

So there are some decent reasons.

 

[1sikbITCH]

Many times they order the drink, it comes, speak ONE LINE to the other person and then just sit the untouched drink down and leave for some appt they are suddenly running late for. And of course nobody ever pays. I admit that always irks me.

 

[mmntech]

I've had drinks around computers my entire life and yet to ruin one.

The internet seems to think the main reasons are:

1) liquids can throw off one's voice

Internet's wrong on that one. I work around television presenters and they have to drink constantly. Otherwise they become hoarse from speaking all day.

I think it has more to due with consistency from take to take. You wouldn't want the cup full one shot then empty the next. Even little things like that can be jarring.

As for electronics, yeah, they can be sticklers for that. Not so much that it could damage electronics, but who wants to clean up spilled coffee.

 

[olds]

Internet's wrong on that one. I work around television presenters and they have to drink constantly. Otherwise they become hoarse from speaking all day.

I know when I have to teach all day I am constantly sipping on water.

 

[thecrecarc]

I will be honest, I've never noticed. But now I'm going to be looking for that, so DAMN YOU OP

I know when I have to teach all day I am constantly sipping on water.

There's classes in your dungeon?

 

[DrPizza]

Nope, never noticed it. Sounds like confirmation bias to me. If the scene starts in the middle of a meal, why would the drinks be filled to the rim? So, it's realistic to not always have them to the rim.

Went to youtube, typed "restaurant scene"
First hit: beginning of scene, glasses are filled with wine by waiter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTNs4YJfhJc

2nd hit: Yep, beverages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQiRtJ6uumk


3rd hit: beverages in various states of fullness around the restaurant as meals are in progress:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXrhzdeIsRE


edit: looked through a couple more movies. Found one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2A-GeYci0 When the entire movie relies around special effects and a plot a little kid can think of, I guess attention to detail isn't necessary.

 

[phucheneh]

Uh, he's not talking about open containers where you can obviously see they're empty. He's talking about cups with lids. And yeah, it's obvious.

Random trivia: In the parking garage episode of Seinfeld, Michael Richards insisted on actually having an air conditioner in the box he was carrying around.

Mad props (hey a pun). Also IIRC at the end of the episode he hurts himself (for real) putting it into the trunk and plays it off.

 

[DrPizza]

Uh, he's not talking about open containers where you can obviously see they're empty. He's talking about cups with lids. And yeah, it's obvious.

Random trivia: In the parking garage episode of Seinfeld, Michael Richards insisted on actually having an air conditioner in the box he was carrying around.

Mad props (hey a pun). Also IIRC at the end of the episode he hurts himself (for real) putting it into the trunk and plays it off.

"a person is brought a fresh cup of coffee"
What restaurant do you eat at where they put lids on?

 

[Doppel]

"a person is brought a fresh cup of coffee"
What restaurant do you eat at where they put lids on?

I mean for example any crime drama where somebody comes in with a cardboard thing with a few cups of coffee from some local coffee shop and dishes them out.

I've not seen in a movie drinking from a cup that was see through and clearly empty

 

[Schfifty Five]

Not to hijack this thread, but how come in sit coms, characters seem to always go to the fridge to grab a drink?

 

[nageov3t]

Not to hijack this thread, but how come in sit coms, characters seem to always go to the fridge to grab a drink?

where else would you grab a drink from if you're at home? unless you're drinking straight alcohol or something.

 

[Schfifty Five]

where else would you grab a drink from if you're at home? unless you're drinking straight alcohol or something.

But why do they always do that? I mean, why even grab a drink? Why can't they just do their talking w/o having to grab a drink from the fridge?

Like I've noticed this a lot in big bang theory. Even if Leonard is just sitting at his computer and gay sheldon comes in to talk, Leonard will get up and go grab a drink. Why doesn't he just talk? From the writer's point of view, what is the reasoning for doing that so frequently?

 

[Fayd]

But why do they always do that? I mean, why even grab a drink? Why can't they just do their talking w/o having to grab a drink from the fridge?

Like I've noticed this a lot in big bang theory. Even if Leonard is just sitting at his computer and gay sheldon comes in to talk, Leonard will get up and go grab a drink. Why doesn't he just talk? From the writer's point of view, what is the reasoning for doing that so frequently?

i drink like 10-15 glasses a day of soda. so i go to the fridge a lot. pretty much any time i'm interrupted from what i'm doing.

 

[sdifox]

i drink like 10-15 glasses a day of soda. so i go to the fridge a lot. pretty much any time i'm interrupted from what i'm doing.

get a jug.

 

[colonelciller]

the problem is with the weight of things.

empty cups are impossible to carry the same as full ones... the physics of it gves a smoother movement to the cup,box, etc when they are at least partially full than when empty cups,boxes are used. looks terrible on the screen, on stage, anywhere...

it always throws me off and kills the immersion completely, not sure why they can't just put some sand in the cups, clay, a few shoes in the boxes, etc.

 

[colonelciller]

From the writer's point of view, what is the reasoning for doing that so frequently?

has nothing to do with the story, it is to keep things visually active.

 

[Azraele]

I've seen on a few occasions cups with steam coming out of them, but mostly, they look empty.