First of all, I'm not paid to endorse the product, as am I not in the top .01% of my field (though I hope that I make steps toward that every day). That is my main criticism of Bay (paid to do a job, know a product, and tell about it, but he couldn't). Second of all, I can confidently say that I'm a strong public speaker (and you're going to have to take my word for that unfortunately). Which is my secondary criticism of Bay (haven't we all had public speaking 101 by this point, come ON!). However, my argument, my anger, does not stem from the fact that that I'm mad because I missed something about this particular product, if he had failed to speak on any subject or product, I would have the same frustration with how he handled himself and his ineptitude.
If I were a salesperson and I went to a conference where the best salespeople in the world are supposed to give discussions on potentially revolutionary products, I would be in similar outrage if the HIRED spokesperson who happens to be an EXPERT in his field couldn't talk on the subject.
Now, let me first hypothesize (without doing ANY, I promise, research on the Sony curved TVs) briefly, like I would have expected Bay to at least TRY to do:
I imagine the main selling point of this Sony product is for home theater experiences. Clearly, with a curve, the viewer no longer has to sit facing directly the TV, side viewing is much improved. Since thats the main revolutionary change that was made to the product and I don't know the specs of it, I can't talk much further on it. But if I were Bay, I would have made some anecdote about the time and energy spent in making big budget, high production value movies and shows, then I would make the argument that the viewer should be able to clearly see all of that magnificence and shouldn't have to sacrifice home-viewing experiences, even if they are sitting off-center from the TV. Thats a very basic, but a selling argument, no?
Now, I'm taking 10 minutes to do my research on the product, and I will tell you a little more. Note, I have yet to see one of these things in real life, so what I say is pretty much regurgitating (how much regurgitating was Bay going to do?) Sony's product descriptions from
https://blog.sony.com/press/sony-introduces-worlds-first-curved-screen-led-television/:
The first thing about this TV is that there isn't a bad seat in the house, but that isn't only because of the revolutionary curved technology that allows viewers to see from any angle. That also isn't the only thing the curved screen allows for: image depth has been improved to immerse the viewer even more. Sony's distinct Triluminos display makes colors more vivid. With other advances in what Sony calls their Sony’s X-Reality PRO processor, Sony's TV will display with more clarity and sharpness, no matter the quality of your video, movie, or show. Finally, speaker placement along the curved television will allow viewers to have a crisper audio experience with speakers specifically placed in order to delivery more clarity in dialogue.
Could Bay not have said that? Did he not KNOW that? Who knows...walking off the stage like that indicates that he has little interest in the product (offensive to people who did have the interest to go to the unveiling and listen to an expert speak on the product). Not to mention how simple the basic selling points of this television are...
I work as a photographer and make 12 dollars an hour. I also work as a PA and make 125 a day. Michael Bay made 80 million for directing Transformers (
http://movieline.com/2009/06/05/discuss-michael-bay-made-80-million-directing-transformers/).
So, Samwagner. How does the curve affect the viewer experience?
He's the expert, I'm not, he's the one being paid to tell the world about this TV, I'm not. He can't speak intelligently on this topic (or at least he can't prove he can) that he is PAID TO TALK ABOUT. I shouldn't have to speak about this TV or sell it, for that matter, but I think I proved that it's pretty easy to talk intelligently about a product after 10 minutes of looking into it.
I also know that Bay is clearly, like him or not, a good director. He's made movies, real movies, he already deserves praise and honor. But I also know that if he can't speak on something he is being paid to speak on, he deserves no break from the criticism.
Should we not be critical? How else do we improve? How else can he improve if not for critics?
Troll my intense argument on this subject all you want, but I have said my piece, explained myself, and I will stick to my guns because I think I have made a logically sound point. I hope I have made a comprehensive point about how we treat and idolize celebrities and those at the top of our own field.
As a side note, I don't think I should have had to make this argument in favor of criticizing Bay. In my film experience, criticism is one of the main sources of good ideas and great collaboration. We should be harder on ourselves and our peers because we all need to improve.