legal, media, marketing & technology
Credit Unions are a different kind of fighter. Underdogs? Maybe. Champions of a cause? Most definitely. But what is certain, is that the ground has shifted, and your corporate-driven opponents have lost their footing. Now is the time to fight for your share and differentiate yourselves from banks. Now is the time to tell your story. Because you are a different kind of fighter.
Congrats to Third Degree for great concept and creation!
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Humor is like walking a a bleeding edge. When Tool of North America Director Erich Joiner’s comedic storytelling was used for Bud Light’s latest viral video from DDB they have a humorous winner at the expense of offending the status quo. The result is an video of amazing awkward moments that make this clever video every very memorable.
We need more humor in advertising! Real humor communicates and connects – humor works on radio and video, with and without proper attire. I recently attended the British Addy Awards (see previous article) and it was full humorous advertising. I hope we see more humor in American advertising.
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SoundWorks is beginning the year with new audio talent. We are committed to continually building our team with fresh ideas and great skills.
SoundWorks welcomes Dee Oberle to our staff. Dee brings her expertise in audio engineering–specifically post-production, video game development, live production, and video editing —in addition to knowledge in a variety of software applications to our vivid mix.
Like many people in the industry, Dee was inspired to pursue a career in audio after working with the sound team in her junior high youth group. She jumpstarted her career by receiving training from veteran engineers at Madison Media Institute.
On staff at Post Effects/Answers Media, Dee worked alongside Halo Composer, Mike Salvatori, on a series of projects including podcasts for Accenture and redesigning the audio on the Wide Load logo.
Dee’s audio portfolio with Dallas Audio Post Group includes Foley for Catacombs: Directors Cut, editing for educational company Voyager Learning, and third party post-production support on Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood.
As a sound designer, Dee worked with Gearbox Software under the direction of internationally acclaimed composer for Doom III and the Brothers in Arms Series, Ed Lima. She earned a credit on the AAA title Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway. Other products developed at Gearbox include: Borderlands and several yet to be released projects.
Additional work as freelancer includes the Lil’ Flip- Kim Kardasian video shoot, worship services at Willow Creek Community Church, TV Man, Inc. and several short films.
Software expertise:
Please leave Dee a welcome comment below or welcome her in person at the next Sound Works mixer coming soon.
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My father-in-law once told me the best defense is a strong offense. I have found that some people even memorize comebacks for defensive situations, really they do, such as:
"Do you know who I am!"
"I saved up for four years for this … and paid your top rate…"
"I’ve told you a million times …"
"The only reason I bought your _____ product was…"
"I’ve worked my butt off for years"
"You are such a ______"
We all hear it, even from politicians. Perhaps you too memorize tacky comeback lines?
Try doing just the opposite, especially in this economy. Treat the other person with kindness, return a loud voice with a soft one and so on. Besides it increases the chance that the other person will actually do something to help you. If you find yourself slipping back in your old ways, just watch "Cops" or one of the police reality shows. If that criminal had not told off the cop, would they have been treated differently?
The best defense is kindness.
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The Houston Museum of Fine Arts recently showed these winning pieces of Advertising. I love a creative commercial, especially if it hits a bulls eye with a message. Many of these winning ads use humor in a way only the Brits can do. It’s worth viewing!
Remember you have to watch a lot of bad TV to see a good commercial.
See the British Advertising Award Winners for 2009 http://bit.ly/8sfiRJ Great Stuff
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At this weeks CES show 3D is all the buzz. Many booths are touting 3D TV’s and production systems. The movie Avatar and other productions draw big crowds so we can now expect it on the small screen soon. But how do you 
produce it?
Congrats to Digital Jungle, a Hollywood post-production studio who had the distinct honor of being one of the first post production houses in the world to create a 3D workflow for the new Panasonic Viera active 3D television set, debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Read more about Digital Jungle here.
Get ready 3D is coming!
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Number One
Do you have a favorite creepy commercial? Let me hear from you. This proves my saying – you have to watch a lot of bad TV to see a “good” commercial.
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I once had a film cameraman tell me that sync was not important only to get a call later to fix his production. That was many years ago when audio was recorded on a medium called magnetic tape or film. Remember? Now it’s all digital. I really thought that digital audio would resolve issues but now there are a few more details to consider.
Digital audio is recording in slices or audio samples regular time intervals. This is called the sampling rate. The standard for recording digital audio for picture is 48 thousand times per second or 48K. The 48K rate is used because it is mathematically compatible to picture formats. If there is a variance in the audio sampling rate then the sound can drift in relation to the picture and create chaos in the editing room. Even minor drifts can create problems. Basically there will be more or too little audio for a given scene. I am pretty sensitive to this and I see one or two TV commercials weekly with bad lip sync.
Here are some common causes of drifting audio:
We all know things go wrong so some proper planning and redundancy may save the day. Always test your setup before recording the final product. Digital recording does not mean good recording. I have had to fix many digital recordings that were noisy or distorted. After you do a test recording make sure your location sound man listens to what is being recorded in headphones and listens to the recording of each scene after a take.
If problems do arise, the drift may be resolved by adjusting the playback to match the picture in an audio post house or editing room. Some productions require frame accurate recording and this adjustment is not acceptable if there is budget to re-shoot the scenes. Happy shooting and may the sync be with you.
Why is the volume of TV commercials so much greater than the program? I get this question all the time. Would you be surprised if I said there is no difference, they are the same volume. With audio there is a difference between loudness and volume. Although the volume is the same, the apparent loudness is not the same. How and why?
Broadcasters have specifications that set the volume limit to a value below digital zero, below the digital maximum (-10db below 0). Volume is measurable and it is the same because broadcasters and cable channels require the peak audio volume of both commercials and programs not to exceed this level. In a commercials the volume is near the limit more often than during the program material. Commercials stay close to the maximum volume from beginning to end. This is done with audio processors that maintain a higher average volume level – so it sounds louder than the movie or TV show. So what can you do about it?
Here is a device that regulates the apparent loudness – a TV volume regulator to the rescue. The problem is caused by technology – so why not defeat it with technology! I have not tried the device, but I am willing to try it if they send me one. Personally I’m not buying one. I make commercials and marketers want consumers to pay attention when the commercials come on. Besides the intermission reminds me to stretch.
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Super Bowl Tech
Published February 6, 2010 Marketing , Media , Software , TV Commercial , TV production , cell phones , commentary , communication , technology 1 CommentTags: cameras, cell phones, HD, smartphone, Super Bowl, tech
I hear that real-time GPS will be used track the arrival of the Lombardi Trophy and key people to the stadium. Isn’t that
great PR.
CBS is broadcasting the game with six high-speed, high-definition cameras with the ability to shoot 300-400 frames per second. Normal cameras shoot around 30fps – so get ready for amazing slow motion effects.
Sprint and AT&T are adding cell towers to handle the stadium demands on cell traffic. Do you have a smartphone? Download some new Smartphone apps to designed help you follow the game.
Security has also gone hi-tech with special cameras to scan both people and packages entering the stadium. Law enforcement also has bomb-removal robots at the ready. But there are no reported threats.
The commercials are my favorite part of the event. Be sure to have your facebook and twitter open to discuss commercials and talk trash about the other team!
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