Audio Branding

When was the last time you turned on the subtitles while watching a movie? Does it ever seem like the music and sound effects, especially the explosions, are as loud as ever, but the dialogue’s barely above a whisper? Does it seem like older movies, movies like Jaws and Star Wars, were easier to understand? Are we just getting older and losing our hearing? That’s one possibility, but if the sound quality of your last moviegoing experience resembles the “Empire Strikes Back meets Christopher Nolan” parody video posted on my blog, your ears probably aren’t playing tricks on you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWAOM3XC9Q

Cinematic sound has changed dramatically over the past few decades, in some ways for the better and in other ways maybe not so much. Those changes can tell us a lot about the value of sound, all the different moving parts and new technologies that can be involved in creating just the right audio experience, and how even the biggest names in Hollywood can overlook its importance.

One of those big names is director Christopher Nolan, and his films in general, and the movie Tenet in particular, sparked debate about whether his distinctive use of muted dialogue and booming music is a good or bad thing. But that question didn't start with him: a Los Angeles Times article from 1996 about the teen horror movie The Craft raises some very familiar-sounding complaints about the trend of music and sound effects drowning out the dialogue, and it suggested that teenagers and new media are to blame. "New media" back then meant loud music videos and the younger generation was Generation X, which just goes to show how long this trend's been developing.

Christopher Nolan is, however, something of a unique case, and his movies are often at the forefront of cinematic audio trends. According to sound editors who’ve worked with him, he believes in actively engaging the audience and focusing their attention through the use of sound, and his actors, like many Hollywood actors these days, tend to forego theatrical performances for a more soft-spoken, naturalistic style of speaking that isn’t always easy to pick up on a microphone. He’s also very enthusiastic about digital audio’s potential for crafting ambient soundscapes, and his movies often rely on a unique auditory illusion called a Shepard tone to set the pace and create tension.

A Shepard tone is a sequence of tones on three octaves layered together: the highest octave seems to fade as it ascends while the middle and lowest octaves seem to grow louder. Since two out of three octaves are growing louder at any given time, our brains combine them into a single tone that seems to be getting higher and higher, or lower and lower if the tones are played the other way around, without ever really changing. Listening to it can be a dizzying experience, and there’s a link on my blog to a video that lets you hear the effect for yourself. You might also recognize it as a sound that shows up pretty often in Christopher Nolan’s movies, from The Dark Knight to Dunkirk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MShclPy4Kvc

One quote from the director in Tom Shone’s book The Nolan Variations, however, gives us a clue about some of the other reasons cinematic sound’s changed in recent years. “I was a little shocked to realize how conservative people are when it comes to sound,” Nolan says, “because you can make a film that looks like anything, you can shoot on your iPhone, no one’s going to complain. But if you mix the sound a certain way, or if you use certain sub-frequencies, people get up in arms.”

Some of my listeners might remember a recent interview with author, guitar coach and session composer Nick Morrison. He also talked about how recent studies have shown that sound can be the most important thing to an audience: changing it affects their experience even more than changing the video. "Once you get better," he said, "you can't go back with audio. There's something in the human ear that, if you hear poor quality audio, it immediately turns off your brain and you stop listening"

Sound has a way of getting lost in the shuffle, even when research tells us that it's often the most important part of a multimedia experience. As special effects have improved and filmmaking has become more dynamic, with cameras constantly on the move, it’s easy for filmmakers to lose sight of the audio aspect of a film. Sound mixers don't usually have much authority on the set, and digital audio editing has come a long way, so it can be tempting for directors to settle for an inferior audio take because they know it can be fixed in post-production. And they're right: it usually can be fixed. But that adds another layer of complexity to the processing and can mean that the dialogue’s being reworked long after it was recorded, when the editor's probably already memorized it. And once they know what they're supposed to be hearing, it's that much harder to tell how it'll sound to everyone else.

Curious about just what a location sound mixer’s day on the set looks like? There’s a YouTube link on my blog to a very quick behind-the-scenes look at just how hectic things can get:

Once the sound makes it through production, though, it still has a few more hurdles to jump on the receiving end, the theaters and home systems where we'll be watching the movie. Movies are recorded with a dynamic range between the loudest and quietest sounds, such as a crash of thunder and a low whisper, and that range has grown wider over the years: if it seems like you're always turning the volume up and down between loud noises and low dialogue, that's the reason.

Not every movie theater has the latest sound equipment or sets its Dolby volume to the industry standard of 7, which means some theaters will sound worse than others, and there's no accounting for all the different setups people might have while watching it at home. Even the streaming service you use can make a difference since each one has its own way of compressing the audio data.

So what can we do to create a better listening experience, other than turning down the volume and turning up the subtitles? We have a few options. Many smart devices have an audio leveling feature in their options menu: some call it "night mode," others call it a "volume leveler," and others label it "dynamic range compression." The audio quality will probably take a hit, but it can also mean no more room-shaking explosions.  A sound bar can help, as can any audio setup with a center speaker since the dialogue's usually played separately through it. If nothing else, a pair of headphones will at least bring the dialogue closer to your ears – but it'll bring those eardrum-rattling kabooms closer too.

There’s really only so much that we can do to fix things at home. As with a lot of things when it comes to sound, it’s up to the industry to realize its full potential, from theaters working to provide an ideal listening experience to studios making sure that audio gets the attention it deserves. When it comes to watching a movie, sound can end up being the one thing we remember most.

** You'll notice there's new music!  From Episode #150 onward, we have some new - created just for us - music by Saw & Sine's Nicolae Bogdan Bratis (he was interviewed on this podcast just a little while back!). I love it. :)  This episode has a bit of a longer ending outro so that you can hear some more of it, but future episodes will have a shorter outro.  Thanks for listening!

Would you consider giving this podcast an honest review? You can do that here: https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding.  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – Top 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“We go through all these things and talk about all these problems with annoying sounds and how important it is for the bellows sounds to be informative. And all this just hearkens back to the point where the essential goal here of these so-called auditory ‘alarms’ isn't to alarm, it's to notify. And I think if we can use better sounds like that, whether it's those bellow sounds or some of the ones Judy came up with, for the new standards, we can accomplish the same goal, which is communication and notification without the annoyance.” -- Professor Michael Schutz

This episode continues our Clubhouse discussion as Professor Michael Schutz, Professor Judy Edworthy, Dr. Elif Özcan, and Dr. Joseph Schlesinger lead a variety of questions and comments about medical alarms, hospital soundscapes, and creating a more healing auditory environment.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

No Cause for Alarm

The second half of the discussion starts with a look at alarms, and whether we might be using the wrong word to describe them. “We call them ‘alarms,’” Mike notes, “but for the most part I don't think they’re actually intended to be alarming.” The panelists take a question from Andrea about whether industry rating systems, such as the UK-based Quiet Mark certification, might help prompt a change, and Judy talks about how deep our expectations about the way hospitals are supposed to sound can run. “It’s completely embedded in our culture,” she says, “this whole idea that pieces of equipment have to make a lot of noise and alarms have to be really loud and they have to sound a certain way.”

Breaking the Silence

We continue with a talk about how modern, silent equipment like electric hospital ventilators now use digital sound effects, such as the classic "bellows" sound of a mechanical respirator, to help reassure users.  As Judy explains, "we expect things to make a noise, and we have very particular expectations about alarms.” We also look at how individual tendencies can influence the perception of sound, and at striking the right balance between different needs. “We want people to get the most out of the work,” Dr. Özcan says, “and that they are also happy. Maybe there is some room for that as well.”

Soundscapes of the Future

As the discussion comes to a close, we take a question from Max about associating alarms with their function, and our panelists reveal that this is precisely one of the directions their research has taken. “Indeed,” answers Judy, “the new sound in the standard for the ventilation sound is the breathing sound with some adaptation and the oxygen sound is a bubbling sound.” “Not only have we done that,” Dr. Schlesinger adds, “but we’ve shown benefit.” We talk about what grown-up hospitals can learn from the ambient sound design of children's hospitals, and about the importance of considering every auditory perspective, not just the staff who work there every day. “I think it’s very interesting to look at soundscapes of the future, at hospitals,” Dr. Özcan says, “from the patient’s perspective too.”

Episode Summary

• The purpose of medical alerts and whether they’re really alarms
• How pop culture helped establish our idea of the hospital "soundtrack"
• Silent devices and creating the sounds that we expect to hear
• Making hospitals look and sound more like a healing environment

Connect with the Guests

Connect with Judy Edworthy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-reed-edworthy-56b88a87/

Connect with Dr. Elif Özcan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elifozcanvieira/

Connect with Dr. Joseph Schlesinger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-schlesinger-md-fccm-ba38774b/

Follow Dr. Joseph Schlesinger on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drjazz615/

Professor Michael Schutz's website: https://michaelschutz.net/

Connect with Professor Michael Schutz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-schutz/

MAPLE Lab: https://maplelab.net/

“Death By Beep” on TEDx Talks: https://youtu.be/Ap8geRll6F0/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“Persuading hospitals and manufacturers to adopt better alarms aside from the standard is to persuade them that this is important and that it’s cool to do so, and that this is what everybody is doing and it’s a selling point for you if you’re using better alarms or more safe alarms or your false alarm rates are lower. Because that's a key problem with the whole alarm problem, it’s this very high false alarm rate, so there are a number of ways in which you can persuade people to change their practice. But they're not necessarily what you think.”-- Professor Judy Edworthy

Recently I had the chance to moderate a panel in The Power of Sound club on Clubhouse about sound in healthcare called "Alarms are Killing Us," and it was quite the discussion. My panelists came from all sectors of the health industry and included Dr. Joseph Schlesinger, Dr. Elif Özcan, Professor Judy Edworthy, and Professor Michael Schutz, who’s been featured as a guest on this podcast.

We talked about how sound has a profound effect on us, for better and for worse. Hospitals have been described as "beeping hellscapes,” which isn't surprising, considering how many machines there are in the typical hospital and all the noises that they make. But do they really have to make that much noise? And do they have to make the same noises that they've been making since the 1950s (when there were a lot less of them)? When does an alarm become too alarming? What effect does all that sound pollution have in an environment that's supposed to heal us? How can we fix it? Do notifications need to sound like alarms? Join my expert panelists and me as we discuss how the medical soundscape got so bad, and what we can do to change things. This is an important topic for all of us and I hope you'll get a lot from it. Let's hope that new standards are adopted widely – and soon!

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Too Many Alarms

We start the discussion with an introduction from each of our panelists and their thoughts about solving the medical alarm problem. “People have difficulty talking about sound,” Judy says as she tells us about her team’s early challenges in overcoming preconceptions about hospital sounds. “They have difficulty describing what the sound should be like. We didn’t have a set of metrics against which to evaluate any new set of alarms.” Dr. Özcan agrees and tells us about her hands-on research into just how many sounds, most of them false alarms, exist in a hospital setting. “We measured up to 12,000 alarms in one unit,” Elif says, “and that’s too many alarms for anyone to handle.”

Sculpting a Better Sound

Dr. Schlesinger introduces himself next, and he relates his own firsthand experience as a doctor and how the number of false alarms can not only affect the staff but how the patients perceive the staff's response to them. "What's the perception of the quality of care,” he asks, “if we seem lackadaisical to these alarms?” Michael tells us about how he met the rest of the group, and he describes his work in researching and creating a better soundscape in hospitals. As he puts it, “what I’m doing a lot of is looking at sort of the nuance to see how we can sculpt the sound to make it better.”

A Culture Shift

The first question for our group concerns the resistance that change can bring, especially when some of the sounds involved have been around for many decades. “It's difficult to persuade people with science,” Judy tells us, “because some people will just say ‘oh yes, but I don’t believe that.’” Her solution is to go deeper than the science and appeal to people on a more intuitive level: as she puts it,  “the best way to get a change in behavior is to bring about a culture shift.” Dr. Özcan tells us about how her work with nurses helped lead to a new silent patient monitor, and the importance of involving the people who work with sound directly in understanding and improving them “Without the help of psychology,” she says, “we really cannot understand how people interact with the products.”

Being Human-Centered

As the first half of the discussion comes to a close, Dr. Schlesinger tells us about how the new sound standards that our panelists helped create are leading to change, and how the individual differences in each hospital environment, from building to building and even from one patient’s room to the next, can lead to very different acoustic results. “You have to be human-centered,” he explains, “you have to think about the guideline of it, the end user, the exposure of it to everyone involved.”

Episode Summary

• How limitations in the 1950s created our current medical soundscape
• Past attempts and a recent success at creating a new sound standard
• False alarms, unactionable alerts, and what they mean for patients
• Involving doctors and staff in the process of creating a better system
• The psychology of sound and inspiring an audio cultural shift

Tune in next week for the second half of the discussion as we take questions about the role reviews play in bringing about change, how medical alarms might be designed to do a better job of conveying their message, and how new synthetic sounds are reshaping the entire alarm philosophy.

Connect with the Guests

Connect with Judy Edworthy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-reed-edworthy-56b88a87/

Connect with Dr. Elif Özcan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elifozcanvieira/

Connect with Dr. Joseph Schlesinger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-schlesinger-md-fccm-ba38774b/

Follow Dr. Joseph Schlesinger on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drjazz615/

Professor Michael Schutz's website: https://michaelschutz.net/

Connect with Professor Michael Schutz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-schutz/

MAPLE Lab: https://maplelab.net/

“Death By Beep” on TEDx Talks: https://youtu.be/Ap8geRll6F0/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

🎤Download my Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest worksheet here!🎤

After fifteen years in the voiceover industry, almost three years of hosting the Audio Branding podcast where I talk about the power of sound, and having been a guest on a number of podcasts myself, I've learned a thing or two about creating quality audio. I hope some of the lessons I've learned can help you find just the right sound for your own setup. I'm going to talk mostly about being a guest on podcasts, but this will give you some tips on how to improve your sound if you're a host as well.  Either can be a challenge, between all the different equipment each side might have, how far apart they might actually be, and making everything line up so that it still sounds seamless.  But here are a few tips I've learned about how to create the best sound impression – specifically as a podcast guest.

The first step, and probably the most important, is to have a separate microphone. I’ll talk more about choosing the right mic for your needs in just a bit, but for now, the important thing is to just make sure that it’s separate from your computer or phone. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive mic out there: just having a dedicated device can make a world of difference in the sound quality.

Just as a dedicated microphone makes a huge difference in the outgoing sound quality, headphones make the same difference when it comes to the incoming sounds and keeping the two separate. You don't need expensive headphones either, and they can be any style you like: in the ear, over the ear, either way is fine. But there's one tip I've learned through hard experience that might not be obvious, and that's to make sure that "echo cancellation" is turned off.

Echo cancellation is a feature you'll find on remote recording services like Squadcast, Riverside.fm, and Zencastr. It works by cutting off your microphone when someone else is speaking so that background sounds, the sort that you'd have if you're listening through speakers rather than headphones, don't carry through your mic. That isn't necessary if you're in a quiet room and wearing headphones, and turning echo cancellation off means that your voice comes through quicker, cleaner, and much more smoothly.

Speaking of keeping things quiet, the recording environment can make all the difference. Is there a lot of traffic or noise outside? Closing the door and moving away from the windows can make a bigger difference than you might think in keeping those background noises out of the recording. Is your phone turned off? Are any white noise sources like fans also turned off? We’re often surrounded by ambient sounds that we hardly notice, and it’s worth taking a moment to listen carefully and make sure the room really is silent.

And what about the room itself? A lower ceiling is always better when recording, and you'll want to avoid glass, hardwood, or being in a large room that might echo. If you aren't on camera, a closet filled with clothes can make for a surprisingly simple and effective recording space: the small space, low ceiling, and layers of fabric all help absorb the room noise. If you'll be on camera, a smaller room with less hard surfaces, with rugs or carpet on the floor and a fabric backdrop like a wall curtain or blanket over a wardrobe, can help the sound quality while also making a good impression – not to mention hiding an unmade bed or laundry you haven't put away.

As for choosing the right microphone, there are a few things you’ll want to consider. First, do you want to use a condenser mic or a dynamic mic? A condenser mic can be the perfect choice for a quiet, sound-treated room, and it offers a more nuanced sound for recording the human voice. But if you don’t have the option of creating such a dedicated recording space, or if you’ll be traveling and recording on the road, you might want to go with a dynamic mic instead. It’s more durable and won’t pick up as much room noise.

If you're not sure, just give them both a try and see what you like best. You can also find a link on my blog to a helpful YouTube clip that lets you listen to the same voice recorded on a condenser, dynamic, and smartphone mic, so you can hear the difference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JbLDTe2ZXk

Microphones aren't always built the same way, and figuring out where the front of the mic really is can be tricky. Some of them are "side address," meaning you speak into the side of the grill, while others are "top address," so you're supposed to speak right down into the top of it. You can usually tell by looking for the company logo, but some brands are a little contrary and you may have to read the manual to be sure. You can make a test recording each way beforehand to see which sounds best.

Once you've decided on the right mic, the next step is to place it in just the right spot. If it's on a desk, you'll want to make sure that there's nothing on the desk like a phone or a fan that might move or shake during the interview. Even if you can't hear it, the microphone can still pick it up and make it sound like it's the loudest thing in the room. And believe me – I’ve made this mistake myself! You can also use an inexpensive microphone stand or a mounted arm to lift it from the desk: that's how I have my mic set up here, and they're very easy to install. (If I can do it, anyone can do it!)

We don’t always have the option of recording in a perfectly quiet and sound-treated room, but the closer you are to the mic, the less room noise it’ll pick up. There’s a limit, though: if your mouth is too close, your “p” sounds will sound like they’re popping. Those sounds are called “plosives” and one way to help reduce them is to set up a pop screen or pop filter in front of the mic.

Last, but certainly not least, try to be wired into the internet if you’re having an online interview, if it’s at all possible. Wireless connections can drop in and out, breaking up the flow of the interview and, even when everything seems to be going smoothly, hurting your sound quality. If you aren’t recording from home, try to be somewhere with a reliable connection, with an ethernet cable if it’s an option, on a device that you know can handle it.

It can seem like a lot to take in at first, but once everything’s set up and you’re in the habit of making sure you have an ideal recording environment beforehand, making a good sound impression will quickly become second nature. And you’ll not only impress your host, but the listeners you’ll be reaching and other podcasters who might want to have you as a guest.

🎤Download my Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest worksheet here!🎤

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“They often have a suite of sounds. Now you still have to follow all regulations that have to do with safety and that kind of thing, but now the sound inside the car can be reflected in the marketing communications around it, so that’s a very big use of sound.” -- Colleen Fahey

This episode’s the second half of my interview with author, creative executive, and sonic branding expert Colleen Fahey as we talk about her role in creating innovative sound strategies, the signs of a well-managed audio brand, and some of Colleen’s favorite brand voices.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available. And if you’d consider it, I’d love to hear what you think of the podcast! You can leave a review (that I’d love to feature on future podcasts!), either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page.

The Sound of Innovation

As the second half of our interview begins, Colleen tells us how she helps clients innovate and find their own sonic DNA, their own audio brand identity. “We have done sounds to communicate innovation,” she explains, “but our goal is not to be innovative in our use of sound. Our goal is to help people tell their story by using sound.” We also talk about how audio branding is becoming more accessible to small businesses. “It doesn't always have to be big fat advertising budgets. It can be in your app, it can be in your hold music, it can be in your TikTok videos, your Instagram posts, your brand video on your website. This isn't just for big fancy brands with lots of advertising money.”

An Authentic Voice

Colleen tells us about her work with a small industrial company, and how creating a sense of sonic consistency in their internal videos helped them establish their own audio brand. “They're extremely disciplined about using their audio brand,” she says, “and it’s a beautiful one” We talk about the role of voices and audio slogans in modern sonic branding, as well as some of the most memorable brand voices in the past, from Motel Six television ads to Tony the Tiger. “People have been using voices with strong characters,” she tells us, “but not everybody, and not enough. Often, they just want the voice to sit back instead of having the voice be somebody that you can picture in your mind.”

The Universal Language

As our interview ends, Colleen talks about an auto campaign that required a creative approach to stand out from the competition. “Everybody was using metallic sounds,” she recalls, “sounds like motors and engines, essentially functional sounds, but not emotional sounds.” We talk about some of her favorite advertising campaigns, from financial institutions to snack foods, and the integral part audio plays in connecting businesses all over the world with their customers. “As you can imagine,” she relates, talking about her experience with clients from around the world, “many international companies opt to have a fully musical sound because music is a universal language”

Episode Summary

• Helping companies innovate and find their own sonic DNA
• How small businesses are embracing audio branding and advertising
• The evolving role of voice and music in sonic marketing
• Creating inventive sound campaigns and distinctive audio brands

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.sixiemeson.com/

Connect with Colleen Fahey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenfahey/

Follow Colleen Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SixiemeSon/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“All news music doesn't have to have trumpets and trombones, and all trains don't have to just ring, you know, or honk. And all appliances shouldn't always sound like ‘beep beep beep,’ you know, chip sounds instead of having a tune that would make people remember them better and maybe like them better.” -- Colleen Fahey

This week’s guest is a creative executive with deep experience in branding and marketing at multiple touchpoints. When she learned of Sixième Son, a sonic branding agency that had created over four hundred brands, she approached them about expanding to North America. She opened a sonic branding agency in Chicago at the end of 2012 and, in 2017, co-authored the book Audio Branding: Using Sound to Build Your Brand. Since those days, her team has led Sixième Son's sonic branding initiatives for Atlanta, Michelin, Huggies, Merrell Footwear, USAA Insurance, Sparkling Ice drinks, a hospital, a news network, an AIDS treatment, and many more. The North American business now operates out of New York, Toronto, and Cleveland, as well as Chicago. Throughout her career, she's been a creative director for leading brands in the US, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Raised in Madrid, she speaks fluent Spanish, conversational French, and a courageous-but-embarrassing Portuguese.

Her name is Colleen Fahey, and if you’ve always wanted to ask questions about audio branding from one of the oldest premier companies in the business, you’ll want to hear this interview.  I have no doubt Colleen will blow our minds with her observations about the audio branding landscape.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available. And if you’d consider it, I’d love to hear what you think of the podcast! You can leave a review (that I’d love to feature on future podcasts!), either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page.

An Elegant Idea

The episode begins with Colleen’s earliest memories of sound: she tells us about leaving the U.S. at the age of four to live in Spain, and how the sound of the ocean liner’s horn as they departed literally shook her from head to toe. “It somehow also got into my psyche too,” she tells us, “because it was almost like a book had closed with that sound.” We then talk about a pivotal moment in 2011 when she first learned about sonic branding, as she attended the Audio Branding Congress at Columbia University. “I was struck by how elegant the idea was that these people were so excited about,” Colleen explains, “how elegant the idea of having a sound that repped the brand from every angle.”

The Value of Your Brand

Next Colleen tells us about writing her first book, and the importance of, as she puts it, “an audio brand that fits your brand, that communicates your values, that gets attention and really becomes a brand asset that lasts for years.” We talk about the power of early audio marketing in transforming Hawaii from a little-known territory into a tourist destination, and about avoiding the cliches and sonic codes that commercials have created. “A brand needs to stand out,” she says, “be recognized and differentiate, and the music has to help you differentiate in a way that's appropriate to the value of the brand.”

Using Your Ears

We go on to talk about mood boards, what exactly they are, and how they helped inspire her team at Sixième Son while creating a sonic brand for Atlanta’s tourism board. “The music,” she recalls about one brainstorming session, “instead of coming together, was layered. Everyone sounded good, but they didn't sound like they were all playing the same thing, and that was just a big a-ha moment.” There’s inspiration all around us, she explains, and she tells us about the importance of listening for it and keeping our ears open. “I'm talking about people having to really sit and use their ears,” she says. “Everyone loves doing it, and they're amazed at how exhausted they are at the end.”

Hearing Without Listening

“The thing that an audio brand can do,” Colleen tells us, “is access people at a very immediate level, and almost without their knowing that they're being influenced.” We talk about audio cues and sonic logos that have become an almost invisible part of our lives, and how brands have replaced intrusive advertising with a more subtle and widespread presence. As we close the first half of our interview, we talk about how classic audio brands like the State Farm jingle are changing with the times. “They kept the basic structure,” she says, “but they kept evolving it as the brand took on new meanings.”

Episode Summary

• Colleen’s first bittersweet experience with the power of sound
• How Colleen brought Sixième Son’s sonic branding strategy to the U.S.
• The power of sonic branding to create a unique and lasting impression
• Mood boards and the process of creating an audio brand kit
• Audio branding’s ability to reach the consumer on an unconscious level

Tune in next week for the second half of the interview as we talk about some of Colleen’s most innovative uses of sound, how smaller companies can still take advantage of audio branding, and what direction she sees sonic branding evolving, particularly when it comes to technology.

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.sixiemeson.com/

Connect with Colleen Fahey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenfahey/

Follow Colleen Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SixiemeSon/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“What’s great about podcasting is there's that intimacy there. It’s just audio. It’s really fun when I listen to a podcast or I edit a podcast and I don’t know what the guest looks like, I don’t know anything about a guest, and I’m trying to imagine what type of personality that guest has. And through voice you get personality, but it’s kind of like shaped in a different way.” -- Nicolae Bogdan Bratis

This episode continues my interview with musician, composer, and podcast producer Nicolae Bogdan Bratis as we talk about his process for creating distinctive jingles, how to make sure you’re getting the most out of your microphone, and podcasting’s expanding role in social media.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Your Whole Mind

The second half of our interview starts with a look at Nicolae’s process for creating commercial jingles and sonic brands, a challenge he takes seriously. “You need to have the inspiration there because it's literally a creative work,” he says. “You have to be there with your whole mind.” One trick he relies on to create unique compositions is to start by playing truly random notes on a keyboard or guitar and then build on them. “It comes from randomness,” he tells us, “if that makes sense. It's not coming from your mind. And then from that randomness, you can really develop something that sounds original."

Sounding Your Best

We then talk about microphones, audio environments, and all the hidden obstacles that might get in the way of his clients’ recording sessions. “Until they get a professional to help them,” Nicolae explains, "they can’t really nail it down because there are so many things that can play a role in destroying your recording.” We discuss different microphone brands, the difference between side-address and top-address mics, and whether he recommends a condenser or dynamic microphone for podcasting.  “Microphones nowadays,” he assured us, “are so good even the one-hundred-dollar microphone will sound good enough. Your audio will not suffer at the end of the day.”

Better and Better

“I think it's going to get better and better,” Nicolae says as he considers the future of podcasting. One recent trend is for podcast episodes to include visual elements, blurring the lines between audio-first content and video clips. “I have to cut quite a lot of content,” he says as we talk about the process of producing and editing visual podcasts, “just because there are so many visual references in the podcast that people may not understand because it's just audio.” He reminds us again of the power and understated importance of sound when it comes to presentation, and offers a humorous example of just how much the audio can change what we’re seeing on the screen. “If you have a horror movie with a funny track in the background,” he notes, “that horror movie may not be horror anymore.”

Episode Summary

• Nicolae’s process for crafting jingles and composing original melodies
• How everything from website colors to ambient sounds can shape an audio brand
• The best microphones and sound setups for both studio and remote podcasting
• The future of podcasting and challenges of producing visual podcasts

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://sawandsine.co.uk/

Follow Nicolae Bogdan Bratis on Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bratis/

Connect with Nicolae Bogdan Bratis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bratis/

Follow Nicolae Bogdan Bratis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sawandsine/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“First things first, to get a podcast to sound good is not hard. Many people think that it’s so hard to make it sound great: it’s not. The first thing they have to remember is that, if you have a good recording, I would say that you don’t even need an editor to get it done for you at the end.” -- Nicolae Bogdan Bratis

This episode’s guest comes from a musical background and has had quite a lot of success as a musician in Romania, having been in the finale of X-Factor 2013.  He sings, plays several different instruments, has produced his own music, and he performed throughout the UK with his own solo project before the pandemic started. He moved to the UK in 2016 to study music production, and in 2018 he started his own podcast production company called Saw and Sine.  Now he edits podcasts, creates jingles, restores audio, and even records and produces audiobooks. He's always been in love with sound, whether it's music or spoken audio, and he’s all about helping his clients get the best audio brand possible.

His name is Nicolae Bogdan Bratis, and if you want to work in sound, or if you want to improve your sound so your message can reach deeper, this interview is sure to provide a lot of great tips.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

A Musical Ear

We start the show with a look at Nicolae's earliest memories of sound, his family's musical history, and his childhood music lessons. “My teacher,” he recalls, “when I was just ten, I guess, told me that I have a musical ear, I can hear sounds, I can hear the pitch and everything.” He talks about his encounter with a teenage rock band at a music school in Romania, and how it inspired him to pursue a career in sound.  “I was always interested in the technical part of audio,” he says, “not just into the artistic part, and I loved producing music, I loved working with tracks, working with computers, all that jam.”

Simplicity and Complexity

Nicolae goes on to tell us about the distinctive name of his studio, Saw and Sine. “The sine wave,” he explains, “is the purest waveform you can generate with a synthesizer and the saw-tooth is the busiest, the most harmonic waveform you can generate with a simple circuit. That's kind of like simplicity and complexity at the same time." The physical aspect of sound's always fascinated him, and we talk about how sound not only surrounds us but affects us in ways we don't often consider. "Before you actually have the earthquake, you get that big rumble," he says. “That’s all sound waves.”

Finding the Hidden Gems

We talk about how the pandemic, and the remote audio industry that emerged from it, helped shape his career as a podcast producer, and the hidden value of sound quality. It truly is a hidden gem, as he reminds us. “It’s there, it exists, but it's hidden,” he adds, “and if you don't pay attention to it, it can destroy your brand.” Fortunately, creating quality sound these days doesn’t have to involve a traditional recording studio. “You just need a basic microphone,” Nicolae says, “because the technology’s evolved so much. With just a few pieces of equipment, you can get something that sounds really good.”

Don’t Stop Learning

Nicolae offers some recording tips, including his advice to turn off the echo cancellation feature when it comes to streaming audio and replace it with a simple pair of headphones. Echo cancellation “solves the effect,” as he puts it, “but it’s not solving the actual problem.” As the first half of the interview comes to a close, he tells us about the podcasts he's helped shape and transform as a producer and his advice for people who are just starting out. “If you want to start a podcast,” he says, “go ahead and do it and you’ll learn while you're doing it. But learn while you’re doing it, and don’t stop learning.”

Episode Summary

• Nicolae’s memories of sound and childhood in Romania
• His appearance on X-Factor and career as a musician and producer
• The importance of sound quality and choosing the right equipment
• What is echo cancellation and how does it affect streaming audio
• Nicolae’s experiences and advice when it comes to podcasting

Tune in next week for the second half of the interview as we talk about Nicolae’s approach to writing jingles and commercial compositions, discuss microphones and tips on getting the best recording sound possible, and a surprising new direction that podcasting’s already starting to take.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

“When we are listening to an audio file created by AI, we try to find where the machine got it from, but when we are listening because we just want to listen, we don't really care.” -- Ron Jaworski

This episode’s the second half of my interview with Trinity Audio CEO and ad tech veteran Ron Jaworski as we talk about the future of proprietary AI voices, Ron’s vision for Trinity Audio, and some surprising statistics on just how effective sound can be when it comes to engagement.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Building a Better AI

The interview continues with a talk about such projects as the Open Voice Network, and their efforts to negotiate contracts that protect the intellectual property of voice artists whose voices become the template of future AI assistants. “We have enough examples of how we can go in the wrong direction,” Ron says, recalling the legal tangles that have often ensued, “that we can definitely use those examples to see how to build an AI assistant right this time.” He goes on to tell us about his driving vision for Trinity Audio: “we believe that basically, any type of textual content should have an audio version if it's relevant to be consumed in that manner." As he says, “we want to create the largest AI audio library in the world and deliver relevant content to listeners whenever they want to consume it.”

Mechanical Voices

Ron tells us about a test his company performed to see how well people could distinguish between human and AI voices. There was one catch, however. “The one thing that none of them knew was that all of the voices were mechanical voices,” he says, including the voices that the subjects had taken for granted as being human. “The human ear is becoming more and more tolerant to mechanical voices on one hand,” Ron explains, “and the AI solution's becoming much, much better than it was, and just getting better and better.” We go on to talk about how having audio and voice options for textual content can make a dramatic difference when it comes to online engagement. “We have one publication,” he says, “that we compared the engagement of users, and saw that a hundred times more of its subscribers tend to choose the audio solution than the general population.”

Joining the Ride

As we wrap up the interview, Ron tells us about the sense of excitement and optimism that surrounds the booming audio and voice industry. “It's a fruitful ground for innovation and for being creative,” he tells us. “The audio and voice group is getting bigger, and the fun part is that it feels like this group is moving forward together.” For anyone thinking about taking the plunge, he has this to say: “People that think about joining the voice and audio space, now it's a great time to join the ride.”

Episode Summary

• Negotiating and protecting voiceover rights when it comes to virtual assistants
• How the human ear distinguishes between human and artificial voices
• Engagement numbers when it comes to utilizing voice and audio interfaces
• The exciting future of voice, audio, and the virtual sound industry

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.trinityaudio.ai/

Connect with Ron Jaworski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-jaworski-7a37112b/

Follow Ron Jaworski on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaworskiRon/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“In similar ways to when the first iPhone came out and then five years later, ten years later, we looked back and said to ourselves ‘oh my god, that completely changed my life,’ that's the same thing that's going to happen with audio and voice.” -- Ron Jaworski

My next guest is the CEO of Trinity Audio, a unified platform that allows content owners to strategically evolve and deliver audio experiences. Some of Trinity Audio's top publishing clients and brands include Forbes, Lenovo, McClatchy, and Newsweek.  An ad tech veteran with a deep understanding of the publishing and branding landscapes, he has an extensive background in leading organizations and earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, as well as an EMBA in Marketing and Marketing Management from the Recanati Business School. His name is Ron Jaworksi, and he's as passionate about voice and audio as I am.  I think you'll enjoy this interview.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

Educated by the Radio

We start things off with a look back at Ron’s early memories of sound, and he tells us about the shiver he still gets from hearing the iconic Superman theme, and how listening to the radio program The History Hour as a soldier completely changed his view of learning. “I enjoyed listening,” he explains, “the experience of sitting there in this fortified position, you know, with my guns and my helmet and everything and listening to this professor talking about how Bismarck unified Germany." That’s when he discovered audio's unique educational potential. “For me, the option to consume knowledge and information,” he says, “to be educated by the radio, that experience really made an impact.”

A Simple Option

Ron tells us about the difficulties he encountered in trying to find any sort of simple on-the-go option when it came to text-to-speech conversion, and how it motivated him to become an entrepreneur. As he explains it, “I wanted to have a simple option to listen to any type of textual asset that I want.” And it turns out he wasn’t alone when it came to preferring audio. “Thirty percent of the world’s population,” he tells us, “are better at consuming content and learning in an audio manner.”

The Voice and Audio Decade

The interview turns toward Trinity Audio and his work with bringing visual media to life, and Ron tells us about a father and daughter whose email revealed the unexpected impact he’s had on people’s lives. “People are using your product,” he says, “using your solution on a day-to-day basis in a way that you didn't even imagine, and you know you're doing something good." We discuss the links between social media, news media, and voice and audio, and what it might mean down the road. “I think we are an amazing decade,” he says. “There's no doubt about it, this will be the voice and audio decade.”

No More Keyboards

As the first half of our interview comes to a close, we talk about the process of creating synthetic, proprietary voices, whether they’re media influencers, celebrities, or just local business owners reaching out to their communities. "I think the revolution is huge due to the fact that we are changing our communication with computers to voice,” he says as we discuss the future of voice operating systems. “No more keyboards, no more mouse, no more joystick. You are using your voice.”

Episode Summary

• Ron’s memories of sound and experiences with radio and audio learning.
• How his search for a convenient text-to-speech solution inspired Trinity Audio
• The different ways voice-and-audio technology is continuing to change lives
• Turning real voices into synthetic speech while preserving their identity
• How the emerging industry of voice OS might reshape how we use technology

Tune in next week for the second half of the interview as we talk about the professional challenges behind proprietary voices, the philosophy that guides Ron and Trinity Audio as a whole, and how there’s never been a more exciting time to jump into the voice and audio industry.

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.trinityaudio.ai/

Connect with Ron Jaworski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-jaworski-7a37112b/

Follow Ron Jaworski on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaworskiRon/

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Tweet with me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding

or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/