S3 E11: Communication Skills & Educating Clients

The immersive audio environment is beginning to be more understood and accessible, both for engineers and consumers. But there's still a lot of confusing, conflicting, or missing information about it out there. So in this episode, we discuss a lot of common topics that come up in working with Dolby Atmos, and take some questions from a live audience as well!

When we first start our music making journey, just grasping the basics is a lot to figure out. But over time, we advance on into more technical aspects. However, what we can lose sight of in that process is that often times, the fundamentals are really all that's required to do great work. This episode dives into that idea with some practical advice for people at all stages of their music making career.

A challenge we face daily as audio engineers is finding (and maintaining) the right balance between a track's fullness being either too overpowering or too lacking in any given tonal range. In this episode, Adam breaks things down into five tonal categories, providing some challenges and solutions for each of them, but also provides some big picture ideas to be aware of and incorporate into your workflow.

Using compression tastefully in audio is an absolute core skill to have, but it can be a difficult topic to have a firm grasp on. Part of the consideration is when to use compression to begin with, then it becomes a question of how to use it, and how much to apply. So we're dedicating today's bonus episode to our thoughts surrounding these questions.

It's sometimes hard to know what to say, when to say it, and how and where to say it too. But having great communication skills is essential to building great working relationships. Another challenge is knowing how and when to speak up when you have knowledge or perspective on a topic that you think your clients may need. We'll be addressing all of these issues in today's episode.

Adam gives a quick address to the audience in this "episode between episodes."

In the world of microphones, there is no shortage of choice. You have your pick of everything from under $100 to over $10,000. You have a vast variety of brands. You have many different types and styles. All of these options can get confusing and potentially overwhelming. Furthermore, knowing when and how to use all these different kinds of mics adds even more decisions to your plate. So we're dedicating this bonus episode to be all about microphones. Enjoy!

With a slew of Billboard number 1's, including a run of 13+ weeks at number 1, mixing engineer Doug Weier has a ton of very valuable experience and insight to share. In this episode, we talk with Doug about his approach to being a mix engineer and working in the music industry. You'll learn about everything from philosophy to mix buss techniques. Get ready, it's a good one!

In this bonus episode, you can get some helpful insight into a range of areas including recording, mixing and mastering as Adam takes a look at lots of the most common questions he is asked.

Jason Miller, owner of Red Barn Studios, is no stranger to mixing things up and adapting his business model to work with what people are needing. In this interview, we hear about his views and approach to building community online and in person, as well as being an early adopter of new or different ideas.