The Client's Point of View

What are clients looking for? Who do they prefer doing business with? While they don't like to make generalizations about an industry in which they aren't familiar with all of the players, they do mention who they work with most frequently. Much, it seems, depends on the nature of the project, the individual engineering talent, and a studio's ability to provide top notch customer service.

"I started traveling to Atlanta in October 1996 to produce a monthly audio magazine for the sales force. I checked out several studios and was impressed by the quality of the work being done as well as the sophistication of studios. While I do my work at Creative Sound Concepts, it seems to me there's less than a fine line that separates many of the studios from each other. From a service standpoint, I appreciate the blend of artistry and technical sophistication I'm able to get here, something that's crucial when trying to make a product as good as possible."

Ralph Caldwell, Corporate Business Development, UPS

"Even when we get our in-house audio facility up and running, there will always be a certain amount of work that goes out of house simply because we've got so much to do. Although the talent pool may not be quite as deep, of those facilities I use and am familiar with, I believe they can easily compete with audio houses in L.A. and N.Y. The two facilities I use most often are Crawford and Creative Chaos. My biggest requirement is one-stop shopping. Some facilities offer great video work and not audio, others do audio but not video. To be honest, I don't have the time to go across town to a second facility. What I appreciate most about Crawford and Creative Chaos is that they think more like producers than audio engineers. Before I ask, they know what I want. Before I tell them I want a certain effect, they're already looking for it."

Daryn Leigh, Writer/Producer, CNN


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