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Agencies Find AudioNET® Made To Order AudioNET's new on-line ordering system is winning praise from agency producers. One of the first to use on-line ordering was Donna Scully from M&C Saatchi in Sydney and she admits she was nervous because the job was for a valuable client and involved extremely tight deadlines on a large dispatch. "The first job you know, if you have tight deadlines it's probably not the best time to use something, but I trusted Geoff and Gavin at GAS, so I thought, if they've used it and it's all fine then OK...and it's been amazing. It's also very immediate and we can see straight away that we've booked it in and then when it's received. "Especially with a turnaround like Woollies with the volume and the deadlines it's been amazing." ...there's not 20 million people in the middle of it all... Although she's a self-confessed technophobe, Donna appreciates the reassurance of the on-line ordering. "It's only our human input error that is ever a problem...putting the wrong key number or the wrong description or something...but it always gets sorted. "Probably the big thing is that there's not 20 million people in the middle of it all, when you input it, it goes directly to the studio, ready for dispatch so it does eliminate those extra middle men for error," Donna says. "We actually brought our client from the marketing department of Woolworths over to GAS the other day to have a look at the studio and we went through AudioNET® with them and how it worked and they were impressed as well. We just wanted to explain to them how it all worked and the reason why we can meet these deadlines is because we have these systems where we have control over it and we can track everything, which is really important." ...it gives us a professional look... From the studio's point of view, Gavin Drew at GAS says on-line ordering keeps the agency producers close to the studios after they've finished the session and left the building. "It's good for them because it keeps them within the loop of that (delivery) process. I think a lot of producers, especially hyper-organised and good ones, like to maintain some kind of control and for us, it gives us a professional look and gives them the option of being involved in the process rather than just handing it over to us and then sort of forgetting it about it - they can see the job right through to the very last stage." Gavin's particularly happy about eliminating paperwork. "The lack of paper is fantastic but you can still retrieve so much information if you need it. A lot of that information is captured, like for the tax man, you never know when you're going to get audited and you might need those figures but they're there and sitting on the server somewhere and you don't have to worry about it - it's much easier to find than a piece of paper in a haystack." "The whole thing's been really well thought out and Dave's a legend." Agency Creatives Commit To Promote Radio Several agency creative directors have joined a new Creative Advisory Committee to promote radio advertising and increase its share of the advertising market. The Committee has been formed following a day-long workshop organised by Commercial Radio Australia last month. Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner says the committee will consider a broad range of ideas to help promote radio advertising. ...education and training are important elements... "Ideas to be considered by the Committee once it's established might include broadening the education and training programs already on offer for radio copywriters and establishing a library of creative excellence including some of the best radio ads from around the world," Joan says. "The think tank identified education and training and well as peer recognition as important elements to improving the creative component of radio advertising and providing the medium the recognition it deserves." "Overall the day was very worthwhile and provided valuable feedback for the industry about ways to further improve radio advertising and gain a larger share of the overall market." The creative directors who attended the think tank include Ralph van Dijk (Eardrum); Peter Withy (KWP! Adelaide); Mike Edmonds from Perth; Craig Moore (Campaign Palace Sydney); Sean Cummins (Cummins and Partners Melbourne); John Mescall (Smart Melbourne); Steve Yolland (Magnum Opus) and Jonathon Kneebone (Glue Society Sydney). ...ballsy effort by Commercial Radio... Steve Yolland says the seminar in Sydney was an excellent start. "Better radio ads are good for consumers, good for marketers, and contribute to a better radio environment overall. The new advisory committee is a very positive step in this direction. If the best and brightest minds of Australian advertising bring the searchlight of their intellects to bear on this problem, then the future will be bright indeed," Steve said. Mike Edmonds says CRA deserves support for approaching the industry honestly. "I thought it was very ballsy of commercial radio to invite a bunch of cynical old creatives to a meeting and ask them what radio's doing wrong. The fact that the group came up with some genuinely innovative and exciting ideas is testament to the value of this approach. I hope the advisory committee helps in some genuine way to improving the standard of Australian radio advertising." The first meeting of the Creative Advisory Committee is due this month. Song Zu's X Factor Song Zu Facilities Manager David Tartak celebrated 10 years at the Zu on the fourth of July - and is still just as excited about working there as the day he started. "One of the first things...and I'll never forget this...when I walked in, the senior engineer here was Richard Lush. He was an engineer during the Beatles at Abbey Road and just talking to him and some of the stories he could come up with, that was a buzz," David says. "And another one of the early highlights was knowing I was working for Les Gock who was the mastermind behind Hush. They were the early things that made me think, man I'm working for a big studio. You'd walk out and say you work for Song Zu and people would ask "How's the Hush guy going?" and it was a good feeling for me." ...we just hung out and had a bit of a chat... Recent highlights include spending time with Will Smith who was in Australia for six months while his wife was filming the Matrix sequel. Will used the Song Zu studios to listen to the final mix for his album Black Suits Comin'. His studio sent the tracks to Song Zu via ISDN, took instructions over the phone, re-mixed and then re-fed the tracks. "Because he was sitting in here, it was just us in the studio, and it was after hours, so we just hung out and had a bit of a chat while we were waiting for the tracks to be sent down," David says. "It's not like I mixed anything for him but it was a highlight for me." David's also quick to point out that he's not the only staff member due for long service leave at the Zu. Over the next 18 months six out of the 19 staff will record ten years service. "There's 19 of us in this company and everyone seems to have an input. It's not like other companies where what the boss says is the be all and end all." ...you can walk in and have a chat to the partners at anytime... David says the partners that took over when Les and Margaret retired last year are doing a great job. "The partners are fantastic and always willing to help out and be involved. They're in the midst of it, they're not in an office twirling their thumbs. And that's one of the good things about this company, if there is anything at all, it's not as if you have to wait for a six monthly official chat, you can just walk in and have a chat to the partners anytime you want. "Without trying to sound like an advert for Song Zu we're probably the biggest in sound design and music for the advertising industry. We do other things as well, like TV shows, but our bread and butter is advertising. "And as far as technology goes what I've learnt here in the last 10 years has just been phenomenal, every year, because the technology in our industry is forever changing. "When I started working here we were mastering and recording on 2-inch 24-track Sony machines and now we've got Pro-Tools in all rooms and we've got Fairlights. I've seen the whole spectrum of analog to digital and we always feel like we've got that ability to go one step better, and that's always been the exciting part, you think "what's next what's next." And the partners have always been forthcoming in wanting to be ahead of the field so to speak. That's basically it, you come in every day and there's going to be a new challenge ahead and it's great." Loud Praise for the Hush Collection Cancer patients at Children's Hospitals around Australia will benefit in two ways from a new CD of classical music recorded with the help of John Rowland. The HUSH Collection CD is a special compilation of soothing classical music to help children relax during severe medical treatments for cancer. It's being used within Children's Hospitals around Australia in operating theatres, treatment rooms, wards and waiting areas, as well as to manage unsettled babies. A percentage of the revenue from CD sales is also being shared among eight Children's Hospitals around Australia. The brainchild for the HUSH Collection is Dr Catherine Crock from the Melbourne Children's Hospital. Dr Crock pioneered classical music therapy at the Melbourne Children's Hospital, with last year's CD "Cello Lullaby" which John also recorded. ...just the musicians and the performance... He says the HUSH Collection is special in many ways and was a wonderful project to work on from a recording point of view. "The Hush Collection is special in that it is a 'grass roots' recording," John says. "To me it symbolises the craft of real recording. Take away the controlled environment of a studio, the synthesized acoustics and digital processing and you are left with just musicians and a performance. Don't get me wrong, I love studios, however I do think this is as close to the music and the spirit of the composer as you can get. "For this recording I have taken the less is more attitude, using the least number of microphones, and no processing at all. I am happy to say this recording Hush#1 was recorded with just two microphones in the lovely acoustic space of South Melbourne Town Hall directly to DAT and mastered with no processing whatsoever." The CD costs $24.95 and contains 22 classical works performed by leading Australian musicians and is being sold through Australia Post, Big W, some Dymocks stores and the following Children's Hospitals:
You can also order online at www.hush.org.au Sleeping On the Job Improves Efficiency It's official, sleeping on the job is good for you and your company. The USA now has a "National Workplace Napping Day" and new high-tech office constructions in Japan are proudly promoting the inclusion of nap rooms as well as gyms. Technically this has nothing to do with radio commercials BUT for those of us who need to keep our creative juices flowing, any idea is a good idea until proven otherwise...so read on! According to Melbourne Health Promotion Consultant Thea O'Connor, the main reason businesses are finally acknowledging the value of napping at work is because it doesn't cost them a cent. As Thea puts it, "Napping is 100% natural and has no dangerous side effects." There is an increasing amount of research on the dangers of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders. According to researchers in Australia and New Zealand, 16 to 60% of road accidents involve sleep deprivation, and 30-40% of all heavy truck accidents involve driver fatigue. ...a quick nap's a good nap... In 2002 NASA published research that showed that a 40-minute nap improved the performance of astronauts and military pilots by 34% and improved alertness by 100%. However, Thea says napping at work doesn't mean flaking out for two hours to sleep off a heavy client lunch. Napping for any longer than 15-20 minutes will lead you into a deep sleep, from which there's no happy return, only a groggy grumpy wake-up. Here's how to make the most of your down-time.
If you're worried about over-sleeping, set an alarm. And when you wake up, take a minute or so to stretch and re-orient yourself back into work. Fact or fiction? Here's a testimonial from the official National Workplace Napping Day website: "We have experienced an increase in productivity and seen less human error as a result of our nap room." David Johnson MD Deloitte Consulting Pittsburgh. Your Bits - Studio news
Our Bits - AudioNET® news AudioNET® has a new log-in page for studios and agencies which has 3 key improvements:
The radio station log-in page stays the same with an automatic default to your Inbox. AudioNET® Thought For The Day "If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room." - Anita Koddick.
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Killer Bits: July 2004
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