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December 2014

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www.postmagazine.com 30 POST DECEMBER 2014 STRENGTHS: "A strength has been our ability to apply the aesthetics of audio post for motion picture to an actual game space. Some games tend to be designed with a level of unpredictability — a nonlin- ear progression that is determined all by the user playing the game. So you don't know where the player or players will end up and essentially you have to make sure your audio, for all variables, sounds good. In post, we know where everyone will be and where they'll end up. We need to give the game a similarly rich experience." WEAKNESSES: "The biggest hurdles are having to deal with the factors of a game engine and how that impacts the post game audio. It could be an "in- game" cinematic, where the scripted and systemic audio is running in realtime with the game engine. For those, you will need to account for the game audio system/ tools limitations. Additionally, moving forward with just a post audio workfl ow will not always play out the same every time in this case, especially for music. Then there's the opposite of that, for what are called pre-rendered cinematics, where the workfl ow is closer to audio post for fi lm. The pre-rendered cinematics don't have a full dependency on the game engine audio system. Another weakness is, when some- thing changes within the cinematic for the game, if it gets added or cut, we have to budget some time to 're-do' it depending on the initial level of the audio bar." OPPORTUNITIES: "I feel the opportu- nity in the game industry is on par with the movie industry in terms of positions needed and even the budgets nowa- days. For individuals in the audio fi eld, this is even a bigger opportunity for that person to cross over from either industry. They're very similar but there are some logistical diff erences." THREATS: "There is really no deep threat for post game audio I can think of. Although, with future games on more powerful game consoles, the bar will keep going up on the game cinematics. There will be greater pressure for a game to be something new and shiny with features that are next gen and groundbreaking. That, in turn, puts the focus on 'in-game' cinematics to be just as good as pre-ren- dered cinematics. So there will be less of a post audio fi lm approach and we'll have to use the game engine audio systems to trigger the audio/music." OUTLOOK FOR 2015: "For 2015, I see a big boom for the video game industry. From AAA to mobile gaming, there are a wide range of platforms and genres to choose from, more developers, and all new sets of challenges overall! Games will al- ways need audio and the latest tech/tools to support it. I do feel mixing will be faster and simpler with less of a 100 percent post audio approach for specifi c game cine- matics and more of a push to 'in-game' cinematics. Again, pushing that target quality bar and increasing the frequency of mixing for 7.1 surround." TOM JUCARONE Founding Partner and President/Mixer/Sound Designer Sound Lounge New York City www.soundlounge.com Sound Lounge provides a full range of audio post services. The company not only works with top ad agencies on major brand campaigns for companies like Ca- dillac, Budweiser, Gap, Sprint, Visa, Nike, and Axe, but it also has an extensive list of feature fi lm work, including ADR for indie favorites Moonrise Kingdom, 12 Years A Slave, and Kill Your Darlings. STRENGTHS: "One of the major strengths of the audio-post industry is the continu- ing evolution of software and technology. We have so much more ability now than we have ever had before to create, manip- ulate, control, and repair sound. That, and having immediate access to huge sound libraries connected directly to our worksta- tions, allow us to quickly and easily explore many creative paths and fi nd the best way to tell a story with sound. "Also, a new aspect we've had to deal with in the last few years when mixing for broadcast is the new loudness restrictions initiated when the government passed the CALM Act. Not everyone thinks this was a positive step, but I believe it has allowed us to create better and more interest- ing-sounding mixes. This new way of measuring loudness has freed us from the constraints of over-compressing and limit- ing our mixes to get them to play loud. A more dynamic mix actually sounds louder and more pleasing. So now we can throw out the conventional meters and mix for what sounds best." OUTLOOK AUDIO O OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK There is really no deep threat for post game audio I can think of. Although, with future games on more powerful game consoles, THE BAR WILL KEEP GOING UP on the game cinematics." Of course, in 2015, we expect the CONSUMPTION OF CONTENT ON MOBILE DEVICES TO CONTINUE ITS CONSISTENT RISE." CONTINUED ON PG 46

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