LO4: Improving Communication Techniques

Whilst working with the animation team, I’d often get very short and vague answers when asking for their preferences on how I should record and mix certain sounds. They found it difficult to explain what they wanted because they weren’t entirely sure on what they wanted and how to achieve such results. I think this is the reason why I was given a lot of creative control over the audio production process.

When explaining the work that I do, I need to try and avoid using audio-related jargon if I want them to understand how and why I choose to produce audio in certain ways. In addition to this, I could also send my clients drafts of my work from time-to-time to avoid me having to explain my work through audio jargon.

I looked online for other various tips for improving my communication skills and found some promising ideas (Designm, 2009; 99designs, 2015). One tip was to use examples of other works when proposing ideas to my clients. And so, when proposing some musical ideas for the chase scene, I also gave examples to the animation team of music styles that I could take references from when composing. I used Amedeo Tommasi’s ‘Sunflower’ (available in the references section below) as my main example as I thought an organ could really suite the scene. I also suggested how the music could compliment the actions on scene similar to how the music of Tom and Jerry does. The animation team were still undecided with the idea but stated that I should come up with ideas for them to listen to.

Another communication tip was to ask as many questions as possible. This is very important as I need as much information on the animation scenes as possible in order to create suitable sounds. For example, I need to ask about the floor materials in certain scenes before I start recording footstep sounds.

Finally, time keeping is another important tip that I found. I need to know that the animators are making good progress. They should also be aware of the progress I make. Knowledge of their progress is important to me as I require some early animation renders in order to start syncing sound effects. During our first attempt at recording piano, I asked Healey when I could expect to see the first renders and they told me I should see some in 2-4 weeks.

References

99designs (2015) https://99designs.co.uk/blog/tips-en-gb/ways-to-improve-client-communication/

Designm (2009) https://designm.ag/freelance/communication-with-clients/