Producing a Story, Step 8: Sound and Music

There are several rivalries in the entertainment business, but none is as significant as that which exists between audio and lighting. Which of the two trades is superior? 

It’s summed up in this short story.

An audio engineer and a lighting designer are in a room debating the long-running rivalry of “which is best?”

The lighting designer says, “Obviously, it’s light! Remember, ‘In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light.”’ So it must be light because that’s what God created first!”

The audio engineer replies, “Yes, but without sound, who heard him?”

I’m not here to say who’s right and who’s wrong. I see both sides, and I think both are equally essential in telling a story. Believe me; this is NOT an attitude shared universally. But arguably, the industry would be better off if it was. 

When I was working in news production, I didn’t feel we did enough for the deaf community or those who watched our broadcast without sound. Our producers often said our graphics were “good enough since the track (scripted voiceover) mentions [insert major point of distinction in information here].” It made my skin crawl that we were so dismissive.

I come from the land of lighting and graphics, but I’ve had my share of audio. I LOVE audio. There’s something magical to me about listening to a piece of music or a movie and picking out all the different sounds and instruments layered together to create atmosphere and help place the viewer into the story. When I was in college at Belmont University, I took audio engineering classes to mix tracks and listen carefully to everything in a project. I’m grateful for that part of my education, but I wanted to give you some insight from someone who not just had this education but a career in audio engineering, someone else from Nashville, Tom Reeves.

Tom, or “TR” as some people call him, got his Bachelors in Music Education and then moved to Nashville to tour as the drummer and bandleader for “The imperials,” a Contemporary Country Music group that won four Grammys and 13 Dove awards. After that, he transitioned into audio engineering and became a project manager and producer, logging thousands of studio hours concentrating on themed entertainment. Now he has his own studio and works with some of the best musicians in Nashville. For those who don’t know, Nashville’s musical talent pool is bottomless. To be a musician in Nashville is to be an actor in Hollywood. Everyone is one. Everyone is good. Only the best get gigs. Anyway, it requires a lot to impress me when I see someone’s resume, and when I saw Tom’s while writing this, I was shocked, and I’m grateful to him for lending a moment to help put audio, in show producing, into perspective.

As the lead producer in audio, the job varies widely. Sometimes it can be sound effect recordings with a foley artist, a studio session to lay down some guide tracks, or as big as the musical score and recording the show. There’s a complete set of “deliverables” that most clients use in various ways for every show. A “deliverable” is anything that is promised to a client or a producer of the show. For Tom, a deliverable is usually production, arranging, recording, multiple mixes, multi-track audio stems, the charts the musicians will need, and usually some amount of time on the vessel for the show install. Those items are pretty consistent in the "deliverables" for most shows. But for every aspect, there’s rarely a time when any one part of a project relies on just one person. Tom says, “It truly takes a village,” and he’s right. Some major movie scores have HUNDREDS of tracks in a project, and each has to be recorded, mixed, and maintained. Each instrument or voice is distinct and has to be treated individually while still being a part of a greater whole.

One of the most challenging parts of the process above is that it changes based on the producer, client, and project. The process is never the same, which means you have to be a good problem solver and know your way through anything you come up against. Not knowing can cost you a lot of time and money. “Knowing that there will be numerous changes and being able to make them while staying on budget [is critical]. I try to stay in a flexible, ‘virtual’ place for a long period of time so that changes are more easily made. This does, however, require TIME, and that’s something that may or may not be available. It can be tremendously challenging.” Tom explained. Remember, in the creative world, time is money. That’s part of why a good plan is really important before you start recording. And to have an excellent plan, you need to know your story. It all goes back to, “what’s the promise to the audience?” A good producer always keeps that in mind.

It’s all about the “end goal” and being capable of seeing that before the first note has been played and the first track has been recorded. That’s part of what makes a great producer. As for other aspects, “Predicting the audience reaction to get them on their feet. The ability to know your talent pool and make the correct or best calls. The ability to spend and manage a budget and schedule. Other qualities are musical sense and experience in numerous styles. It’s also always better if the producer is also playing/singing on the project.”

Well, not all producers may be able to play and/or sing on the project. But Tom’s words kind of got me thinking about that. What if they could? What if they did? What if THAT’s something that could make production better? Maybe part of what you should be looking for in an audio producer is the drive to get involved in the art? That takes a lot of forethought. 

And forethought is precisely what a well-produced story needs. Tom mentioned that from his perspective, things are always better when a show is almost entirely thought out and written before he begins a musical score. “Certainly, you have to leave room for changes and creative magic to happen, but the show simply goes to greater heights if it’s already written. It’s like building a beautiful new home with a great set of plans in your hands. Things just go better!!!”

When I asked what he would like to see more of in the future in terms of audio production, Tom’s final thoughts were these: “I think the use of as much of the recorded assets is key to an overall better audience experience. The marriage of the live musicians and pre-recorded tracks is vitally important to the impact a show will have. Sound design in the pre-records is critical with all the new musical styles being represented in production shows these days. Let “In The Heights” and “Hamilton” be your guide to that fact. The music from “Wicked” is another excellent example.”

See? Audio is important! I know I didn’t settle the discussion on if audio or lighting is more important. I still think both are equal, but we’ve shown here that sound and music can set the mood and help tell a complete story.

[Insert audience round of applause track.]