Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/16039
However, there are times when Bongo is not involved in the conceptual stage and are given a finished idea to work on. He offers up the NFL commercial called Run, featuring Darren McFadden from the Oakland Raiders, as an exam- ple.“The spot aired during the Super Bowl and we won the National Emmy for it,” he says. “But, leading up to that was a lot of uncertainty with the music.The agency had secured the rights to use a song from U2 called “Get On Your Boots,” which had not been released yet.The idea was to tie in the Super Bowl spot with the launch of their new album.” Having a high-profile band and song presented its own set of obstacles for Smith.“I cut it together and it was just not working. On top of that, U2 would not allow any sound design to be used in addition to their music for the com- mercial.The spot is about a year of the life of an NFL player and there is the training, the draft, and many things that needed sound design elements to match the visuals. I knew right away that the sound design was going to be very impor- tant to the storyline of this NFL player. “Finally, I had to step in and voice my opinion and tell everyone that the music just wasn’t working, despite how much I love U2’s music,” Smith explains.“The spots, the approval process is done on computers, laptops and even mobile phones. Major decisions on TV spots are being made this way, so we always en- courage clients to at least listen with headphones.” When it comes to deliverables, the requirements vary significantly from the Web to a full-blown 5.1 HD spot.These vast differences require different audio techniques for commercials played in both formats. “Ideally, we would want to do two different mixes, one for broadcast TV and another for the Internet,” he explains. “Surprisingly, we are doing very little surround sound 5.1 mixing, while stereo mixes for the Internet is more in demand than ever.That means we really have to pay attention to the small speaker scenario and the lack of any kind of low-end. So, we always mix for the particular release format that we know it is going to end up on.” Because the Internet is now a part of our daily lives, Smith is ready for any- thing.“I believe that the next level for the Internet is, it will be integrated into the home entertainment network, such as your home theater. Once that happens, then we will see a much higher and constant need for 5.1 surround sound mixes and HD post production workflow. In fact, it is happening now where there is a connection from the Internet into your home the- ater’s TV and you can access the Internet.You can watch a YouTube video on your TV now, so it’s hap- pening a lot faster than people might think.” Bongo Post has two Avid Pro Tools 8|HD rooms with D-Command ICON consoles and speakers from Barefoot Sound.The systems are outfitting with many plug-ins, such as the Waves Mercury Bundle. “We love the plug-ins from engineers like Jack Joseph Puig and Eddie Kramer and, of course, the SSL and Neve plug-ins,” reports Smith.“We use a lot of guitar plug-ins for sound design such as Native Instrument’s Guitar Rig.We use Spectrasonics for sound design, like the Omnisphere and Stylus RMX.We also have Millennia Media EQs and preamps, and they are a hidden gem.They have what is called the Origin STT- 1, which is a tube and solid state recording system. With the flip of a switch, you can go between tube or solid state for a compressor and EQ.They are great for recording bass and guitar.” Smith knows that the changing landscape will re- quire everyone to reevaluate how they work and Bongo’s Bob Smith (inset) offers up this NFL spot as an example of how a commercial’s audio could be changing right up until airdate. creative director at the agency agreed with me, but the rest of the team at the agency wanted to go with it. After a lot of experimentation, I started making sound design for the spot along with an original piece of music to emphasize the visuals. At that point, I could show them how it all could work.” The client instantly loved the sound design,the new music and fell in love with their idea.“But now, everyone was torn between the cache of U2’s music verses the sound design and original music I presented,” explains Smith. “Right before the spot was going to air, the client decided to run the U2 version of the spot only once — during the Super Bowl. For all the other times after the Super Bowl, they would run the original music and sound design version I did.This in- cluded NFL broadcasts like the Pro Bowl and anywhere on the Internet. Our original version is what won the national Emmy. It just goes to show how we were bold enough to carry out an idea and move forward with it.We really de- livered on an idea rather than just the name of a band.” The Web has become a very important delivery medium for commercials and in some cases, it is equally important to clients as broadcast TV. Smith knows how this trend affects their workflow.“We find that broadcast spots are being put onto the Internet more often now.When we know it’s only going to run on the Internet, we will focus on the lo-fi aspect of things from the mixing standpoint. For example, we will always check our mixes on a laptop. If we are using a piece of music that has a lot of low-end, then we need to address that for a laptop speaker.The low frequencies are just not there with many com- puter speakers. What is really interesting is that even with major broadcast TV what is important.“I feel that there is a responsibility for the advertising agencies to help develop the standards as high as possible. For example, radio should not be the MP3 standard that it is. It should be a higher-quality file. I compare that to the idea that an agency would never take their high def or high-end Digi Beta commercial and air it from a VHS tape.That same idea should apply to audio. I believe that the advertising agency is the one that can help influence this kind of positive change.” EAR GOO Paul Goldman, president/creative director at NYC’s Ear Goo (www.eargoo. com), has spotted a surprising trend where broadcast TV spots are produced in stereo more often than 5.1 surround sound.“We do a lot of network stuff and I know that everything is going to eventually end up on the Internet, even if it was produced only for air,” he explains.“It is either going to be repurposed or put up on a Website.That’s always on my mind, and we have not done as much surround sound work as I would have predicted a few years ago. Clearly, HD on the picture side has really taken off, but what I am finding is that 5.1. full-blown surround mix- ing doesn’t seem to matter as much as the picture in many people’s minds. I feel that the technology is moving faster than people can keep up with. Clients are just wrapping their heads around HD in general. So the whole 5.1 mixing is another layer that is considered not as important all too often” That affects the workflow, he says, because he doesn’t know how clients are going to be listening to the audio.“There used to be a time when clients would make sure they came into the studio to listen to a final playback to ensure the audio’s quality,” explains Goldman.“But now there is a new generation that lis- tens on computers and cell phones. I think they are listening in a different way, www.postmagazine.com September 2010 • Post 31