July 2014 Newsletter
The Future of Remote recording
ISDN or IP
When first introduced in the mid 90‘s, ISDN was truly ground breaking technology; providing remote voice quality recording over a bridged high speed telephone line. ISDN quickly replaced satellite uplinks and revolutionized the commercial production industry by offering a world of voices to every market. At Audio Concepts we have been patching in voices since 1997 and today it’s almost as simple as placing a phone call.
But is ISDN here to stay?
Two trends are working to challenge ISDN’s dominance.
1) The telephone industry’s reluctance to install new ISDN service.
2) IP solutions are becoming more reliable as faster broadband speeds become commonplace.
With the delay of new ISDN service, production facilities have had to explore alternatives. Fortunately, broadband internet is providing a reasonable solution and each year brings new competition and improved service. At Audio Concepts we are currently testing IP solutions from Source Connect and ip/DTL. For now, Source Connect has a slight advantage due to its larger installed user base worldwide.
In addition, we are excited to be a beta test site for Source Connect Now, an IP service that offers remote recording as well as conferencing. This is a great resource for clients, writers, producers, and account team members that can't always attend sessions. We also see the potential of Source Connect Now replacing the standard land-line based analog phone patch. The record quality is more than sufficient for most non-broadcast applications such as audio newsletters and podcasts. Participants only need an up to date version of Google Chrome and a decent broadband connection.
So what’s the future of remote recording? From the research and testing we have done, ISDN still provides the highest level of performance making it the top end remote production network. Eventually, IP will replace ISDN but for now we believe ISDN is still the most reliable.
Stay Tuned!
Meet The Voices of Audio Concepts
Maria Farina is one of our most respected professional voice-over artists. She has been described as smooth as silk with the ability to cut through concrete. Maria burst on the local scene by landing an on-air shift at the legendary WMMS. She quickly became a sought-after voice over artist; locally, regionally, and nationally. As any great talent, Maria has the ability to quickly grasp the meaning of your script and make the words her own.
Steve Mackall has been one of Audio Concepts favorite voiceover artist since we began working on Northfield Park TV & radio. Nightly you can hear him on NBC promos for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Myers.
Maria Farina
Steve Mackall
Listen to their latest demos or Search our World Class Voices
Sound Design for Video:
Before the Hard Rock Rockcino, Northfield Park was Ohio’s premiere harness race track. Working with their agency for over 15 years
we recorded commercials for every major event each season. Using the voices of Steve Mackall, Don LaFontaine
and for Ohio’s Super Night, we turned to veteran promo and trailer voice Hal Douglas.
For this promotion The $ 1,000,000 Ohio Super Night we designed the sound to create the excitement of the event and produced it
like a network promo. Music and effects were critical to drive the message with a music edit and scratch track produced for the rough cut.
Final sound design and mix were recorded after the voice over. An example of how preproduct
Written and Produced by Paul Tapie
Video Edit: John Powell & RPL Television
This Month in Music:
1940: Billboard begins charting pop records. First national hit: “I’ll Never Smile Again,” Tommy Dorsey, Victor Records.
1954: The first Newport Jazz Festival was held at the Newport Casino, in Newport, RI. Over the years, the Festival has hosted performances by
Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and Ella Fitzgerald among many others.
1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience opens for The Monkees at N.Y.’s Forest Hills Tennis Stadium.
1969: Sam Phillips sells Sun Records in Memphis
1970: Casey Kasem’s “The American Top Forty” radio show debuts in eleven U.S. cities. Casey Kasem passed away June 15, 2014
1976: (More cowbell!!) “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is released by Blue Oyster Cult
1985: Live Aid, a concert to benefit world hunger, takes place at Wembley Stadium in England and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia
Recent Productions:
The Collection Auto Group developed a unique campaign to promote the opening of their new Mini Cooper dealership in Cleveland.
Audio Concepts produced the radio and sound design that captures the sense of fun that is the Mini brand. Besides radio the creative team produced
a series of films for their social media sites and drove traffic using radio.
CAG Mini Movies: Hungry Horrors
CAG Mini Movies MINI
Writer: Ian Marty
Director: Anthony Zart
Voice: Paul Tapie'
Industry News:
Spotify To Test Fewer Commercials?
Will Terrestrial Stations follow?
Spotify announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June at it is looking for advertisers to pay for listeners to hear fewer commercials.
As reported by Ad Age, Spotify plans to offer a new slate of ads - including its first so-called "native" units. The streaming music service will also present a new ad package that would swap out an entire playlist's ad load for one mobile video spot where users of the free service watch a video ad and get the rest of the playlist ad-free.
Spotify's free service competes with other advertising-supported services including terrestrial radio, streaming radio services like Pandora, Apple's iTunes Radio, Clear Channel's iHeartRadio and the just announced YouTube music service.
Spotify's will try to target ads around what they refer to as "moments," or the combination of what people are listening to and in what context.
Personally Speaking:
It's summer and the sports fans of northeast Ohio have a lot to cheer about.
With the U. S. playing in the World Cup, the Cavs first round draft pick and the Indians in the middle of the AL Central. Even in the off-season, there’s always talk about football around here. And this year is no different with Browns fans gearing up for 2014. There's a lot of anticipation over their new quarterback, Johnny Football Manzell. Is he the real deal? We'll just have to wait and see.
And as we gather with family and friends this Independence Day, may I suggest that we take a break from the action and reflect about the freedoms we enjoy. The “American Experiment” has been going strong for 238 years and unlike any nation before was founded on the principle of individual liberty and freedom. Our founding documents state that the government derives its authority from the governed. Whether you study recent world events or are a student of history, you'll recognize how profoundly revolutionary that idea was and still is.
As Americans, we have been given one of the greatest gifts ever bestowed... the freedom to pursue our dreams.
I hope you have an enjoyable 4th and the rest of your summer.
Podcast: The Marketing Minute with Chris Jensen
Throughout June, listeners have been treated to a unique view of marketing from Joe Cipriano, promo voice for Fox Television, CBS comedies, the Grammys and more. And while Joe speaks about marketing as a voice talent, his comments are just as relevant to your entrepreneurial or as he likes to say solo-preneurial business.
Coming up in July’s editions of Marketing Minute: We talk with media consultants and meet the creators of the new Mini Movies for the Collection Auto Group and discuss how they utilized traditional media to promote their digital campaign.
Listen at hearaudioconcepts.com/podcasts