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.

Tormey's Legal Advice

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to entertainment attorney, John J. Tormey, III in New York. Tormey specializes in intellectual property, copyright and trademark, liabilities within the music, film, and television industries. He not only makes sure these liabilities are avoided for his clients, but also offers them legal advice if they are searching for professional services in their line of work.

Industry Liabilities

My focus this month is returning back to entertainment law pertaining to music editing. After reading about different ways to protect your intellectual property to ensure your creations aren’t stolen, I found some articles online that show what could go wrong that I’d like to share with you.

The first is about a small firm that met the reality of trying to confront the big names in the business. “Sounding Off: Tiny Firm Accuses Disney, Warner, Other Studios of Patent Infringement on Film Soundtracks,” by Apodaca tells of Drexler Technology, Corp. and how they believed two patents of theirs were being infringed upon by “Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20^th Century-Fox Film Corp., Paramount Pictures Corp. and Savy Pictures Entertainment Inc.” These patents were for digital sound technology and data storage. As is turns out, the infringement happens to be the widely used, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) technology. In the end, a few companies offered to get the patent rights from them, but were declined. They also did not pursue any further after being ignored due to lack of funds.

Artist and Product Management Skills for the Sound Supervisor

In continuing my findings on how audio post for film and television uses some skill sets one would use in product or artist management, the position of sound supervisor popped in my head immediately. Admittedly, I haven’t wrote about this position in a while as my fascination with music editing grew, but I assure you many of the same skills can transfer to music editing and other audio post jobs just as well. Although through my studies, the main artist in question regarding artist management is usually a recording singer or actor or some sort, I believe anyone creative is considered an artist. In the case of audio post, think of the composers, the field recorders out there recording crickets, or the sound designers blending bears with wolves and lions to create a new animal.

How Artist Management Skills Aid Music Editors' Products

This month I'm studying more about artist and product management. A music editor may have to work with artists and composers if they're working on films, but not in a managerial position. While I can pull some information from certain aspects of artist management to improve my communication and workflow when dealing with these types of people to make sure we collaborate and create something that sounds amazing, it's the end product I would be worried with. Of course there are manager characteristics a music editor would have to have to have some control over the sound department.

Becky Howard's Emotional Negotiations

This week I had the opportunity of interviewing a professional in the entertainment industry, Becky Howard. She is an agent and manager working with numerous actors and recording artists. With 15 years under her belt, she’s managed to move up from being an intern at a recording studio. Due to confidentiality and legal contracts, the names of her clients can’t be divulged, unfortunately. I spoke with her this week about how she deals with negative emotions that come up while negotiating. Unfortunately for this blog post, this successful woman is a busy woman and was called away after only a few questions and casual conversation.

Investing in Music

I came across a blog post through CNN Money this week by investor, Brad Svrluga entitled, "Investing in the music business, where 'you can't make money'." Svrluga writes about investing opportunities and analyses which to pass on and which to take up. In this particular blog post, he writes about why he thinks the music industry is one that shouldn't be ignored when considering which opportunities to put your money into.

Most people are aware of the music industry's reputation for being a rather risky one with many outside, and inside, factors constantly changing it. Consider technology. With more and more advances, the consumer's music medium changes. We've seen cylinders, records, tape, digital CDs, and audio file downloads. Along with that, genres change, artists are more eclectic, and we see things like the controversial auto-tune. With each new idea, change, "advancement", etc. we are constantly thinking, "Will this last? Will this be the new norm?"

Any businessperson can tell you taking risks is a good thing. Obviously, you want to know as much as possibly to make a sound decision. With something like technology and the music industry, it changes all the time. Because investors aren't too fond of throwing their money out to random opportunities in the hopes that one will be successful (and frankly, who is?), they often pass up the music industry as an option. 

Business Thoughts for Creative Minds

Focusing on the financial aspects of the entertainment business this month, I found an article that proves very helpful for anyone considering starting their own creative business. Personally, I plan on being a freelance service provider, so Bob Koch's, "The Business of Creative Services" had valuable information for me to keep in mind.

Koch mentioned sales as being one of the more important aspects of entrepreneurship. I've told many people before, as well as wrote in this blog, about the differences and sometimes complications of people in the entertainment business that are strictly of creative skill, and those that are strictly of technical skill. It's not often mentioned in trade publications the business-minded individual. You want to sell your service to as many people as you can, which may be more difficult if you're your own business and trying to beat the well-established, go-to guys out in the business. I cannot emphasize the importance of networking enough in the entertainment industry. Koch suggests you, "evaluate the client roster on a regular basis. Provide attention to solid clients both in production as wells between project. And consider parting ways with high maintenance, low-margin clients." Once you get yourself out there, it's just as important to maintain contact with these people in your industry so they don't forget about you. To make sure you're not being taken advantage of, cutting that high-maintenance, low-margin client will only benefit your profits…and your stress level. 

Julian Treasure's Study on How Sound Affects Us

Something interesting I came across this week was a TED speech given by Julian Treasure entitled, "The 4 Ways Sound Affects Us." Currently studying business storytelling and brands, I was greatly surprised to find this talk that truly tied in my interest of music with business branding. Julian makes an effort to describe to the audience how any sound affects us and how branders should use that information if they're making a commercial tone.

The RIAA's Effect on Film Music

The Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA for short, is probably the most popular association amongst the audio industry. Even those entering the audio post field for TV/Film are often members and keep in touch with other leaders in their audio fields to collaborate, network, promote, or even meet up at events and conferences around the country. It's a fantastic way for these professionals, and even students, to share their ideas and keep up with current happenings through long distances or short. Mostly, however, the members are labels and songwriters or composers who are marketing and distributing their works and want to do it legally in order to obtain royalties instead of being ripped off by piracy. That's right, downloaders and rippers...you're not hurting the "rich artist" in most cases, it's the behind-the-scenes guy (or gal) who is trying to get the royalties earned for their creative genius! Show them you appreciate the amazing, aural masterpiece gracing your eardrums by pitching in that few 99 cents.

Richard Glasser's Take on Direction, Revenue, & Budgeting

I stumbled upon an interview online this week through Indie Supervisor. For those interested in the career of a Music Supervisor, I advise you to check it out. It's written and created by Music Supervisors, provides interviews and blogs, and even allows you to ask the professionals questions about the business or about music licensing.

This interview was with Richard Glasser and his experiences as a Music Supervisor and Music Executive on several films & television. His past work has included movies such as The King's Speech, Our Idiot Brother, The Illusionist, and The JFK Conspiracy. He is also a past motown recording artist, and a current composer and songwriter on the side. He has accomplished a lot in his career and has worked on some well-noted films. He currently works for The Weinstein Company located in New York City. 

The Music Supervisor

Lately I have been learning more about leadership and project & team management. I began to think about who the leader of the audio post-production world would be. It didn’t take long for me to come up with the answer.

If you've stayed long enough through the credits at the end of your favorite movie, you may have noticed the position of Music Supervisor scrolling up the screen. Depending on the type of film, whether it be independent, documentaries, blockbusters, etc., the tasks this person takes on varies greatly. However, the consistent duty this person has is to obtain the rights and licensing permission to legally use certain songs in the projects or films they are working on.

The Tim Nielsen Experience

Using my PLN to check the latest news and updates in my field of interest, I clicked on to Google Reader and found an interview with sound designer Tim Nielsen. If you’re interested in reading it yourself, you can find it here: Tim Nielsen Interview. Admittedly, I have never heard of Nielsen, so I did some searching and found his credits on IMDb. As it turns out, he’s extremely well-credited, having worked on film hits like Toy Story 3, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, and There Will Be Blood with positions like sound editor, designer, and recorder. You can see what else he’s worked on here: Credits.

This interview basically tells readers how Nielsen got started in his career, who his influences are, and tips for sound effects recording. He, too, hard started out in college, attending University of Southern California, and is believed to be the first intern at Skywalker Sound, learning from the great Gary Rydstrom. Through his time there he networked, which eventually helped him land a job as an assistant after he graduated, and eventually began his credited works.

Post Studio in Orlando Area

This week I decided to click on to Post Magazine's website. If you're unfamiliar with this literature, it's a great source for those interested in any aspect of the post-production part of the entertainment industry, whether it be for film, audio, new media, etc. Since I'm interested in the audio post production aspect of film, I went ahead and searched for the newest happenings in that industry. Interestingly enough, I had come across an article about a new studio that just opened up in the Orlando area, about 15 minutes from Full Sail's campus!


The new studio is called Ideas; if you're interested you can find them here: Ideas Orlando. I found out they work not only in TV, but also motion pictures and have had several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for their work. I will take this as a fantastic opportunity to network with the employees listed on their site through social networks or contacting them directly. I'm positive they can provide me with advise and lead me to opportunities to start my career.