Peter B. Lewis

Ever have difficulty understanding what someone is saying in a film or video? Or even on the radio? There are many factors impacting the intelligibility of the human voice in media: the volume of the voice, the level &/or complexity of the music &/or sound effects, the microphone itself, and it’s placement, of course, the performance. Then there is the ambient sound and noise of the listening environment.

The sound engineer only can work with frequency and volume of the sounds and the space between he sounds. The engineer’s most useful tools are the compressor (“automagic” volume control) and the equalizer (various ‘tone’ controls or “bass and treble” controls). With the proper EQ, we can help a voice to “cut through” the background music and effects; with a quick acting compressor, we can make the louder parts softer and the soft parts louder. If the voice was too close to the mic (a very common problem), rolling off some bass around 90 Hz will help give clarity, but be careful, don’t cut off all those ssssssdeep tones the client paid extra for!). If the person speaking has less than stunning diction, a bit of brightness is in order, I say add 3 Khz to 6Khz. Some folks have a sibilance “problem” (too much or not enough). The range for “s” is between 5Kkz and 7Khz. If we want to add presence, increase 4.5Khz to 6Khz, be careful to not add too much—we don’t want to make the voice sound “thin.” Keep in mind how it will be played back. On a computer? A big Screen system? The radio? And where it will be played back, the car, the office, an iPod?

STOP! Sometimes the words are wrong and none of the above will fix that! Has anyone seen the writer lately?

Sometimes we address and correct all the above and still the voice has trouble cutting through the music or soundtrack. We can do similar stuff with the overall music track. The music producer might have forgotten the music is background. I don’t mean to take away from the importance of the music. It is what hooks the listener. In fact, one of my mentors in commercial jingle music once put out a demo called, “They Don’t Hum the Announcer!” Yes, the music is very important, but if it obscures the client’s message, something’s gotta give. It’s like having too much stuff in a print ad—listeners don’t know what’s important.

Speaking of music: Please make it interesting and clever, make the downbeat easy to find, and make sure the rhythm track is simple when the announcer is talking. Especially when the client’s name is spoken! Give the music a cool and solid back beat.

Sound effects also play an important role in a soundtrack, whether it’s film, video, new media or even radio. Words and effects paint the pictures so they must be clear, concise and familiar. Sounds must be referred to, “It was a rainy night in the city,” explains the background sounds. The background sounds are what make the image for the listener. Who said TV is just radio with the picture already done for you?

I tend to use “hit” sound effects (door close, bird chirp, gun shot) like commas and periods, and put them in the pauses, so we can have them nice and hot. I learned from Bill Cosby and even Bob Hope before, “timing is everything.” I’m sure you’ve learned that, too!

Regarding environmental sounds, like traffic, ocean waves or crowd murmur, start with a recognizable horn honk, seagull or laughter, something to establish a clear sense of place. Of course, EQ the background to make room for the voice, EQ the hit effects for max image and EQ and compress the mighty speaker of the text for max intelligibility.

Remember, it’s all about communication and helping your audience hear your message.

Ralph’s Thoughts on Experiential Marketing
by Ralph I. Miller, Executive Producer
abridged by Peter B. Lewis

Experiential Marketing is multidimensional and, as such, can incorporate brand-side marketing, sponsorships, live and virtual events, tradeshows, advertising, promotion, public relations and several other forms of corporate communication.

Sponsors enjoy unique opportunities with Experiential Marketing – they can blend entertainment which appeals to either a narrow, focused market or broader range audiences; they can showcase their company’s, images and identities in controlled environments with straight product selling as well as less traditional methods. Each sponsors’ ability to deploy a variety of creative marketing programs in a dedicated facility, with exclusivity and prestige, provides a unique arena to entertain important customers, suppliers and friends, while fostering employee pride. Experiential Mar-keting delivers continuing short- and long-term benefits, by using multiple marketing techniques to present content, displays and experiences in an entertaining, effective and memorable manner,

Culturally appropriate entertainment is of paramount importance: it’s about the story you tell. Live communication delivers messaging and will connect people to brands starting with the face-to-face touch-point and spiraling ever wider and the experience is related and remembered. Using integrated experiences and inspired storytelling, Experiential Marketing builds and reinforces superior relationships with consumers and other key decision makers – the press, government, as well as the sponsor’s important clients.

At its core, Experiential Marketing improves the user experience, from the first moment a visitor is attracted by the sounds of your pavilion, until long after he or she leaves, having sampled your product, lived through the storyline and attached this positive experience with their personal memories. When properly executed, one user experience can be the beginning of deeply rooted lifelong relationship.

The successful blending of interests, focus and experiential elements is the future of multidimensional events. Clutter across all platforms of traditional and alternative marketing channels will increase, making the deeper, one-to-one feeling of Event Marketing have even greater value. And the Events themselves will be on a scale never before imaginable – the lines of experience and success will become blurred into a myriad of individually distinct experiences.

The opportunities for experiential marketers appear endless, however it’s not new. The snake charmers are Event Marketing! In this time of great change, the oldest becomes the newest and the most popular becomes extinct. Is it time to catch up with the old days?