Audio: Sweet Sounds of $uccess

By Sue Wasserman

• Audio Definitions
• The Client's Point of View

Have you ever noticed that certain sounds can sometimes grate on your last nerve? Imagine your frustration, though, if after risking your employer's ire by ducking out of work early one afternoon to see a matinee and munch on some hot buttered popcorn, you find yourself staring at a screen filled with magnificent cinematography that doesn't make a lick of sense because there's no accompanying audio. Or perhaps you're at a corporate meeting held for the sole purpose of pumping up employee morale. The people talking to you from across the screen look pretty excited about something, yet without sound, you can't feed on their enthusiasm. Still again, think back to the most recent radio commercials you've listened to. What would happen if the sounds simply didn't jibe with the on-air copy? Chances are you could guarantee at least a few frayed tempers, possibly a lost job or two, not to mention lost revenue or income opportunities. The bottom line... without the appropriate sound and/or sound effects, the best copy, film or video can be rendered almost meaningless. From inexpensive garage based operations and boutique facilities to full service post production operations providing audio as well as video services, clients have only to look around the corner to find the facility that will enable them to send their message loud and clear. While areas of expertise and levels of equipment sophistication vary from studio to studio, one thing is certain. Gone are the days of relying on a steady hand and sharp razor blade to splice tape and edit a client's project. Although there are professionals like Spencer Herzog of Creative Sound Concepts who once went kicking and screaming into the computer era, Atlanta's sound engineers are joyfully embracing digital technology that, among other things, can recall sounds and effects from memory with a simple touch of a button.

John Roberts of Creative Chaos. (l-r) owner James Klotz, Michael Kohler and Dan Schafer in Synchronized Sound's A Control Room. Spencer Herzong of Creative Sound Concepts (on left) and Craig Miller of Craig Miller Productions at Creative Sound Concepts.

The jingle business was also the driving force behind the creation of Doppler Studios. Says Bill Quinn, "Doppler Enterprises, which no longer exists, was a jingle company that decided it needed to build a studio. They found that when they created jingles, an agency might need to do a voiceover to mix a spot." When Doppler started filling that first studio, the decision was made to build a second one. "By the late 70s," Quinn notes, "we had begun to be an economic entity of our own."

(l-r) joe Boyd Vigil, Linda Bair and Ed Bair of Bair Tracks.

ISDN is not the only technology which has changed the way Atlanta's audio facilities are doing business, or to be more specific, changed the business that engineers are doing. Technology, as Spencer Herzog of Creative Sound Concepts says, has created new business markets, espcially where the use of the internet and CD-Rom programs are concerned. He comments, "We work on a variety of internet projects where, among other things, we convert data to wave files. Who would have ever thought we'd be able to do a session and then press a CD right on the spot?"

Although he'd like to expand into other markets, Charles Fedonczak of Adli Audio won't complain about the business he's built, which revolves around the internet and multimedia applications. "I built this studio so I could write music and get more into audio for television and film. But I've been spending most of my time creating gaming applications complete with sound effects for a gaming company, which sells the applications overseas."

Crawford's Steve Davis talks of other internet opportunities. "We worked with a talented composer who lived here in Atlanta," he remarks. "Thanks to the internet, even though he now lives in the Phillipines, we can still work with him easily. He creates the basic tracks and sends them to us via the internet. We download the file here and overdub with live talent and then send elements back for him to finish, before it ultimately gets delivered to the client."

While the internet has created new markets, Herzog admits certain business needs have been eliminated. He cites, "As the internet and multimedia have gotten hotter, all the whiz bang slide shows we used to do have gone away. That's the nature of business, though. While some areas expand, others will go away."

Do clients prefer working with boutique operations, or one stop turn-key facilities? That is the question. The answer is as simple as the fact that Atlanta shops offer a variety of both, and something for everyone. From day one some sixteen years ago, Crawford Communications has provided both audio and video services. "When you look at Crawford's growth curve," notes Davis, "one of the key areas that has distinguished us from others has been the degree to which we've been able to offer full service editing to our clients. We have always believed in a turnkey approach. While 40 percent of our business is audio only, the other sixty percent comes to us from clients who utilize other departments. Clients benefit because we've got so much technology at our fingertips, and so many experts who know how it works. Working together, we can create the best solutions for client projects."

Crawford Communications' Audio A Suite

Like so many of their boutique peers, Creative Chaos had considered itself strictly a video post production facility. When clients began requesting a turnkey product, Marketing Director Meghan Ritchie began asking around. She states, "Not only did clients want audio capabilities, but the company was working on projects with a sound engineer who was interested in designing a studio to his own specifications." In the two months since the state of the art suite has been functioning, Creative Chaos hasn't been worried about keeping it booked. "John Roberts came in with a list of independent producers, corporations and agencies he'd already been working with. From a growth standpoint, he provided us with an excellent opportunity to secure new clients. We couldn't be happier with the results we've seen so far."

While current costs create more ease in entering the market, Nick Ketter and Bret Hartley of Crosstown Audio believe the costs in keeping up with future technology may be prohibitive for some. Says Ketter, "With the coming of digital television, you've got television moving from stereo to surround sound. And digital video disks (DVD), which companies like IBM and General Motors are already using to enhance interactive programming." Hartley adds, "I believe the demands of DVD and surround sound will weed out and open the gap between high and low dollar studios."