Three days before a public broadcaster planned to televise（电视播出）/'telɪvaɪz/ its centenary gala, producer Selma Rowe saw the archival soundtrack in question（所涉及的）/ɪn ˈkwestʃən/ arrive three seconds before the live picture. The announcer（播音员）/ə'naʊnsə/'s hoarse（嘶哑的）/hɔːs/ vocalization（发声）/,vəʊkəlaɪzeɪʃən/ overlapped the resounding（响亮的）/rɪ'zaʊndɪŋ/ anthem（颂歌）/'ænθəm/. A stereo（立体声的）/'sterɪəʊ; 'stɪərɪəʊ/ cassette（盒式磁带）/kə'set/ transfer fed the main amplifier（放大器）/'æmplɪfaɪə/, yet the equipment remained responsive（响应正常的）/rɪ'spɒnsɪv/ and the live ensemble sounded vibrant（富有活力的）/'vaɪbrənt/. Selma stopped the rehearsal rather than（而不是）/ˈrɑːðə ðæn/ continue with an uncertain running order. She did not reopen the stage until every cue had one source and one timecode. The repair required not only correct timing but also explicit source labels.
The programme was deliberately varied. A hymn（赞美诗）/hɪm/ and carol（颂歌）/'kær(ə)l/ opened the evening, followed by a violinist（小提琴演奏者）/,vaɪə'lɪnɪst/ playing an instrumental（器乐的）/ɪnstrʊ'ment(ə)l/, symphonic（交响乐的）/sɪm'fɒnɪk/ arrangement. A poetess（女诗人）/,poə'tɛs/ introduced a lyrical（抒情的）/'lɪrɪk(ə)l/, poetic（诗意的）/pəʊ'etɪk/ reading. A tragedian（悲剧演员）/trə'dʒiːdɪən/ delivered a theatrical（戏剧性的）/θɪ'ætrɪk(ə)l/ monologue without becoming histrionic（夸张做作的）/,hɪstrɪ'ɒnɪk/, while a comedian（喜剧演员）/kə'miːdɪən/ linked a sitcom（情景喜剧）/'sɪtkɒm/ scene to a cabaret（歌舞表演）/'kæbəreɪ; ,kæbə'reɪ/ blues（布鲁斯乐曲）/bluːz/ number. An acrobat（杂技演员）/'ækrəbæt/, ballerina（芭蕾舞演员）/bælə'riːnə/, and contemporary dancer（舞者）/'dɑːnsə/ shared the next live segment. The variety was not the problem; the unmarked transitions were.
Visual files needed the same distinction. Designers used a freehand（徒手绘制的）/'friːhænd/ caricature（漫画）/'kærɪkətjʊə; 'kærɪkətʃɔː/, a watercolor（水彩画）/'wɔ:tə,kʌlə, 'wɔ-/ study, and photographed graffiti（墙面涂鸦）/grə'fiːtɪ/ to recreate（重现）/riːkrɪ'eɪt/ the broadcaster's first studio in a form faithful to（忠实于）/ˈfeɪθfəl tuː/ dated photographs. They had to redraw（重画）/ri'drɔ/ one panel because it put a modern logo in the historic scene. A rodeo（牛仔竞技表演）/'rəʊdɪəʊ; rə(ʊ)'deɪəʊ/ clip and a thrush（画眉鸟）/θrʌʃ/ recording were archival, although publicity made both look live. Instead of（而不是）/ɪnˈsted əv/ trusting the publicity copy, Selma checked the asset register. She refused to dramatize（戏剧化处理）/'dræmətaiz/ the correction or turn the gala into a simple story of stardom（明星地位）/'stɑːdəm/.
The sound library revealed where the timing had broken. An old radio jingle（广告短曲）/'dʒɪŋg(ə)l/ began with a chime（钟声）/tʃaɪm/ and bleep（哔声）/bliːp/. A rural sequence combined a thrush chirp（啁啾声）/tʃɜːp/, cattle bellow（低沉吼声）/'beləʊ/, car honk（喇叭声）/'hɒŋk/, and owl hoot（猫头鹰叫声）/huːt/. Domestic effects included a door creak（吱嘎声）/kriːk/, cloth rustle（沙沙声）/'rʌs(ə)l/, kettle gurgle（咕噜声）/'gɜːg(ə)l/ and hiss（嘶嘶声）/hɪs/, food sizzle（滋滋声）/'sɪz(ə)l/, dish clatter（碗碟碰撞声）/'klætə/, glass tinkle（清脆碰响）/'tɪŋk(ə)l/, a comic snore（鼾声）/snɔː/, a metal clang（金属撞击声）/klæŋ/, and a dropped-box thud（砰的一声）/θʌd/. Distant rumble（隆隆声）/'rʌmb(ə)l/ belonged only to the rodeo clip.
At this stage（现阶段）/æt ðɪs steɪdʒ/, all those labels had entered one effects bus and produced a barrage（接连不断的一阵）/'bærɑːʒ/ of sound at each transition. No technician could account for（解释）/əˈkaʊnt fɔː/ the routing choice. One obvious howler（明显错误）/'haʊlə/ described the comic bellow as an emergency blare（刺耳响声）/bleə/. Selma instead set aside（暂时搁置）/set əˈsaɪd/ the imported cue sheet and rebuilt it by scene, source, and duration. She told the sound engineer, 女“We can preserve every historic effect, but we cannot play all of them whenever the picture changes.” They then tested each transition with captions and without them.
Selma then acted on that basis（据此）/ɒn ðæt ˈbeɪsɪs/: the final rehearsal kept archive, live performance, and effects on separate channels. The anthem began after the announcer, and no effect crossed into another scene. The measured result was exact: all forty-two cues landed within one video frame, so the gala aired without an audible collision. The broadcaster no longer（不再）/nəʊ ˈlɒŋɡə/ presented archival clips as live events. Beyond that（除此之外）/bɪˈjɒnd ðæt/, it retained the corrected map for access copies and published the status of every clip.