Trends in Audio

Yesterday I came across a report by the AES Technical Council discussing the Technology Trends in Audio Engineering. By the way, for those of you who aren’t familiar with AES, it stands for Audio Engineering Society. The technical council tried to define standards for different audio uses and is made up of numerous committees specializing in these divisions. I advise anyone who is interested in audio to keep up with AES and check out their website. It has a lot of valuable information on the industry and gives you a chance to connect with an abundance of creative audio professionals. If you’re in the area when they’re hosting one, their conventions are one of the biggest in the industry to attend, which could prove to be a great way to network.

The Motion Picture Sound Editing Process

Although I am fully pleased with the information I have discovered throughout the year, and that I have shared it with you throughout the process, I realized I have strayed a bit from the true topic of audio post-production. While doing some research on the subject, I came across the website for Motion Picture Sound Editors, or MPSE, as you will often see credited at the end of an editor’s name in a film. What I like about this particular website is that it isn’t written by people interested in the field, or just a random author, but it is written by motion picture sound editors Bruce Nazarian and Scott Haller.

Adapting Pro Business Plan Techniques

After learning more about business plan writers, Sumnar Douglas, Karlee Patton, and Christie Karis from my last post a few weeks ago, I started thinking about how I could incorporate what they see as strong points in a business plan into my own. Karis is very big on making sure the business plan meets the interests of the intended viewer. As of right now, I am just simply organizing each section of my plan individually so I have the overall work finished. However, once I choose my intended viewers, I will reorganize the structure to make sure the overall look is of simplicity and interest to the audience, mine most likely being for bank loans and investments to cover start up costs and technology upgrades.

Creating a Business Plan

This month I have started a focus on business plans. In my case, I am looking more at a focus on small businesses even though I have no interest in actually starting or owning a business. However, this is the closest thing I could find to being relevant to a sole proprietor. In my research I found two professionals that write business plans and read about what their views and missions are for their work.

­­Christie Karis, a business plan writer based in Washington, specializes in writing up plans for small businesses. Her site boasts 30 years experience of working with clients like coffee shops and marketing consultants to professional services and venues for special events. What I really like about her is that she “develops business plans that are market specific” and “assures that your market intelligence, communication strategies, and financial performance are fully developed, integrated, and projected with clarity.” Just like with legal papers, if there is jargon or other words they don’t understand, you will lose their interest and possibly risk insulting the individual’s intelligence. Clarity is extremely important in these matters.

Marketing Tools for Creative Freelancers

This week I came across a short article entitled, “10 Useful Marketing Tools for Freelancers.” I thought this had a lot of interesting and helpful ideas for those of you out there, like myself, that are freelancers trying to get their name out there. What I really enjoy about this article is that it still allows you to be completely creative while making sure you are covering the self-marketing essentials. This is great since we’re in a creative industry and need more chances to show what we can do and stand out to potential clients and/or employers.

A big part of this article focuses on social media. While a lot of people may consider this more on the casual, unprofessional side, it is a reality that this type of media is a very strong influencer on people’s lives. That being said, with the abundance of sites out there like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging sites, etc., Vuong mentions ping.fm as a free and simple way to update everything at once. It is a fantastic feature for those of you on the go.

Digital Marketing in the Entertainment Industry

For freelancers especially, digital marketing can be a key point in getting your name out there and helping your image. A lot of people, however, overlook the importance of it and miss out on a lot of opportunities. In an industry where impressions play such a huge role in ones career, it’s important that not only can people easily find you and that you are accessible, but that your online image stands out in a positive and professional way.

Bigger companies and more well-known people will always be one of the first results that show up if someone is Google-ing your service. If you’re a freelancer, this is why you should make sure you know how to get your name at the top of the searches, or at least find someone who knows how to do that for you. People rarely search beyond the first 2 pages. If your name is on one of those, imagine how that would positively affect your career!

"40 Years of Sound for Film" Overview

In the excitement of the Academy Awards, I stumbled upon an event they decided to host this year. The Academy’s Science and Technology Council hosted “40 Years of Sound for Film” March 6^th. Luckily, Oscars.org archived the event hosted by sound mixers, Tom Fleischman and Chris Newman. You may have heard Fleischman’s work in films like this year’s Oscar-winning film, Hugo, Marley & Me, Goodfellas, and The Departed. Newman is known for his audio work on film greats like The Godfather, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Exorcist.

The two professionals offer some great advice as they walk you through the process of how audio is made, chosen, and put into films. They call the initial sound recordings the foundation for the rest of the audio. Newman says, “It starts with me getting crew and my myself to decide where to put the microphones, what’s going to work best, what’s going to work best for the particular director, particular actor, particular location.” A lot of people don’t consider all the factors necessary to get a specific sound right for a certain shot or film. Sometimes you may feel it would make most sense for a sound to be a particular way, but the director wants it to be completely different. At that point you may have to sacrifice your creative input for the sake of direction.