SCIENCE WON’T SAVE YOU!

This week’s Micro Tip comes to you from the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in San Francisco’s Moscone Center where I’ve been attending seminars dealing with the audio employed in video game production.
This week’s title is in the form of a gearhead’s warning: No matter how good your audio tools are, if you don’t apply them well you’ll find you WON’T communicate your message successfully –or be heard at all.
I’ve been astounded by the poor quality of the audio in many of the presentations at this event –presentations dealing specifically with AUDIO. How ironic is that? Excellent mics and support gear were being employed; acoustically friendly rooms with better-than-usual isolation and lower-than-usual competing noise levels were the venues. So?
The chief problems have stemmed from user error and ineffectiveness. Weak mic technique has been rampant among the speakers. In some cases, relative audio levels haven’t been well controlled.
Moral of our story? Don’t wait for science to correct your sonic shortcomings. Get familiar with your gear and its application in chosen settings. Learn how to utilize these tools. Learn how to communicate through them. The dividends might surprise you…