Interactive technology enables consumers to control their entertainment in many more ways than just channel-change and volume. This said, the advertising industry had better be thinking of ways to take advantage of this technology, because now the consumer has the control.
Consumers will begin to realize that they do not have to be held hostage by commercials anymore, because interactive is not a passive experience. The commercials aren’t going to come at every quarter hour as they do in our linear world. When there are opportunities for commercial advertising, those ads had better be interesting and truly interactive, or they will get zapped.
To address this shift, the idea of just shooting a linear :30 or :60 second commercial is no longer going to be acceptable in the near future, which means that almost every job in the production cycle will be touched in one way or another. Everything it took to produce a :30 or :60—multiply by 10. Interactivity means that the user decides when the advertising is over—not the network program director. These commercials need to be prepared to entertain for as long as 5-10 minutes if the consumer is actually interested in the product on the screen. "Tell me more: Where can I buy one? How much does it cost? Does it come in other colors?" When people are engaged, then the advertising works; if the ads don’t, the eyeballs are gone!
Until recently, audio for interactive has been sort of reserved for the video game developer crowd. The Internet has just recently been introduced to sound that is, to date, largely produced by the Web designers and programmers. Traditional sound production outfits are not exactly up to speed on the concept of interactivity, as they are currently hooked on the concept of "time code locked to picture." However the reality of interactive production is about to catch a good portion of traditional audio post houses by surprise. Once the new delivery systems are in place and begin broadcasting, the desperate need for interactive production will affect the entire production community, not just the audio people.
Musicians and sound designers will need to radically change gears with respect to production. The most difficult thing to do is break old habits, but the current skill-set for audio professionals today is no longer enough. Final mixes will no longer be done in the mix room; they will be done by the media programmer. And ultimately the final mix will be done in the viewer’s living room, depending on which buttons are clicked. Music needs to be composed in such a way that it will accommodate the random wandering of the consumer. Compositions must allow consumers to stick at one section for an indefinite period of time, and then seamlessly transition to the next section when the viewer decides to click through.
The idea here is to divorce yourself from thought of linear timelines. It’s an entirely new way of thinking and will require an additional set of skills to survive. Would anyone who’s ready please raise his or her hands … anyone?
To prepare, sound designers and composers need to develop mixing and mastering skills and, likewise, mixers need to start developing MIDI composition, and editorial skills. Everyone needs to develop at least a basic understanding of HTML, interactive, streaming, and wireless technologies, in order to begin understanding how to create and prepare more intelligent content. And everyone needs to begin to think in a nonlinear fashion.
The Internet is about to converge with the television and, therefore, the postproduction facilities must also begin to converge with the Internet.
To prepare for the coming of the change, traditional post outfits should invest not in so much new technology, but in their employees. They are going to need education and training. I urge business owners to send their best and brightest to as many seminars, training classes and on-line events as possible. Encourage them to learn the new programs and develop new skills.
All the work you can handle is right around the corner, but only for those who are ready for it.
