Audio & Video

Do they see and hear what you see and hear?

Audio and video are vital to getting your message out. Whether for a trade show booth, an auditorium presentation or a training program, DVDs are easy to make and send. High-quality online video is now a reality, making your video accessible 24/7 to the entire world. Audio plays a role too with downloadble files for your MP3 player or smart phone and audio cues for your interactive projects.

But no matter how it is delivered, your message must still be clear. What do you want to say? How do you want to say it? And most importantly, how do you not detract from it?

As an Editor, I focus on these points, to determine which shots, special effects and sound elements best emphasize the message. I ensure that the pace doesn’t die mid-way through, and I’ll step back and objectively view the work in progress, tweaking it early to keep it on target.

I have been involved with audio and video projects for training programs, sales tools and television commercials for numerous industries including:

  • Oil & Gas
  • Transportation
  • Education
  • Farming
  • Tourism
  • Information Technology

Ensure that your customers get the message loud and clear.

Is Autoplay Bad?

A lot of sites insist on playing music or a video when they get loaded. This can be very annoying, especially if it gets triggered every time you come back to that page. And users with limited download capabilites won’t appreciate you using up their bandwidth or data plans on a superfluous element. (Many mobile devices will not load a video until requested, for this very reason.)

I believe that the content dictates the action. If your business revolves around music, then maybe it makes sense to play a song. If your site is heavily animated, then maybe sound effects that support the animation make sense. And clicking a link designed to show a video, could then play that video automatically. But always provide a Stop, Off or Mute button, to give control to the user.

The standard rule of thumb, “When in doubt, don’t!” is very applicable here. We can discuss where and when to autoplay an audio or video file in support of your site.