The Importance of Audio

The truth of the matter is audio breathes life into your video content.

A Great White doesn’t seem quite as menacing – at least from a distance – when there’s no ominous tuba playing in the background. That’s because audio is essential in engaging an audience which, as I’m about to discuss, makes it a critical component of your video strategy.

1) It’s All About Branding

Think about your brand book for a moment. It details specific fonts, colors, themes, and basically every other facet of your visual brand that keeps you looking on-point and professional. But have you ever seen a word about audio in any of those books? Probably not.

Using poor or even inconsistent audio is just as distracting and counterproductive as an off-brand color pallet or typeface for your visual brand, Simply put, if your audio is sloppy and unprofessional, then the video content itself will feel sloppy and unprofessional to the viewer.

Don’t forget, audiences are almost always more forgiving of poor video quality than audio. Likewise, if your audio enhances the storytelling and makes your content more immersive, everyone wins.

2) Focus on Audio Levels

Here’s a pro tip – while you always have to record your audio correctly in the field, you also need to mix it appropriately within the edit. If the sound is too loud, soft, distorted, or annoying in some way, then it’s really nothing more than noise. And that’s not good.

Therefore, always pay close attention to your audio levels, use the proper microphone, and mix your audio with an ear for your specific audience. For example, a commercial for broadcast requires different levels – around -24 LKFS – than a video for social media that typically requires a louder mix.

3) Paint an Aural Picture

Finally, try to match your music with the tone of your video. In other words, pairing a mournful cello with a dynamic motorcycle chase probably isn’t going to work, unless you’re trying to be especially avant-garde. But that’s a topic for an entirely different blog.

Thoughtful, well-executed sound design can breathe life into a storyline. Birds chirping in a meadow, a lion quietly growling, a symphony of car horns in a hectic traffic scene – these are all instances where the image and audio align perfectly, ultimately making video content more engaging and powerful.

Best of all, if you want to see what the right audio can do for your video content, then give Castleview a call. It’s what we love to do.