Over the years I’ve found one of the easiest ways to motivate me into giving 110% on an idea, is telling me my idea won’t work. It’s not that it makes me mad. It (usually) doesn’t. I think it comes more out of a desire to prove my idea right.
…That doesn’t sound much better, does it? Let me spend the next few minutes attempting to convince you it’s not JUST immaturity.
I can’t tell you how many projects I’ve worked on where the client said something to the effect of “Maybe just a couple light transitions… nothing big… let’s not distract from the dialog/music…. actually can you turn that down some more?…”
Where do I go from here?
40% of the time…
I completely agree with them. Little to no sound design is often the right call for the moment. Balance is key. You can’t have quiet without loud; harsh without soft; epic without basic. I try my best to keep the final listener experience in mind, and my bias for sound design in check.
20% of the time…
I disagree, but I’m not so invested in the project to put up a huge fight. I’ll plead my case and maybe show a quick demo of what could be… but I’m not going to waste my time or the client’s money on unwanted sound design for a piece that I won’t be bragging to the world about.
30% of the time…
I disagree, and I’ll put up a good fight. If I haven’t already designed something, I’ll talk about what I think it could bring. If they still disagree, I’ll set aside time to put some good effort into designing a sample that showcases my vision. If I’ve already designed something and they aren’t liking it… I’ll come up with alternate versions in an attempt to keep my vision alive. Sometimes I’ll win, and sometimes I’ll lose. In these cases, if the sound design doesn’t make the cut, I think the piece still works. It’s still tells it’s story (albeit less effectively so) without sound design.
10% of the time…
I really disagree. In these situations, I think the client has the total wrong view on what a scene/moment/etc needs to help tell the story. I think that neutering the sound design is a disservice to the piece and to the viewer.
It’s this 10% of the time that I want to talk about… What do I do? Well, like many things in art, budgets, time… it varies. But aside from having the obvious conversations about what’s most effective, there’s one thing I almost always do:
Design the hell out of it.
But Why?
Generally I go into this with the optimism that I do in fact believe the clients opinion can be changed. I have the goal to design something so effective… so helpful to the story… so bad ass… that the client CAN’T say no.
That doesn’t mean I always go big, or in the style I initially intended. My goal after all is to win the client over, and that might mean changing my angle. If I’m fairly confident I have a good read on the kind of design the client responds positively to, I’ll try to rethink my idea through that lens. There are always alternative methods to get the same desired effect on the viewing/listening experience. As long as the client and I can agree on the effect we’re going for, I’m going to do my best to find a solution that works.
So What Happens?
Well, I hate to be anti-climactic, but the sound design I pitched either stays or goes! For me, it’s maybe a 40% success rate. I know that’s not particularly exciting, but I’d like to talk about what happens 100% of the time, no matter the result…
The client sees my passion for my craft and their project.
It’s hard to overstate how beneficial that is. There are plenty of sound designers out there. Plenty of choices for clients to go with. Plenty of folks who could do the same kind of work you’re doing for your client to the standard they desire.
However, not every sound designer will have the same passion that you have for a project. Not everyone will feel strongly enough to push for a sound design moment, rather than sparing themselves the potential time-waste. Creative folks are passionate about their projects. When they work with another creative person who’s passionate for their project and craft, regardless of whether they agree with them, in my experience they recognize and appreciate it.
A Real (Vague Enough) Story
There was a very neat commercial I worked on recently that sparked this post. The client was pretty clear that they wanted light sound design with a strong focus on music. It was definitely a 10% situation, where I felt very strongly that heavy sound design could drastically help the project. However, I also was able to tell that the client was most likely deeply set in their opinion and wasn’t going to change their mind. In our spotting session I was pretty open with them about this. I recognized their opinions and told them I wanted to get them exactly what they were going for, but that I also wanted to take a spin at my vision for the project. I’d deliver two versions with no hard feelings if they hated the heavy design version.
I was super happy when they said they loved the idea, and boy oh boy did I go ALL OUT. I threw everything I had at this thing. I did a bunch of custom recordings and dove deep into some new-to-me plugins that I wasn’t quite familiar with yet. I got feedback from a couple colleagues who had some great ideas and direction. As much as possible, I mixed the design to feel as if it might be part of the music. I was feeling pretty good!
The time finally came to show the client my work. The “heavy” sound design version? To put it bluntly, they hated it. Hate is my choice of word. They were much kinder, but I could tell they really weren’t digging anything my heavy design was bringing. This was a bit of a unique instance, as from the start, I didn’t have much faith at all that the client could be swayed. So in a sense, I was well prepared for that kind of a response. They did say how much they appreciated the passion and fresh take on the project, but in the end… it was a no-go.
The “light” sound design version? They dug it! We had a couple rounds of notes, but it was much more in line with what they envisioned. The client was very happy with the final mix, and the project closed out successfully.
Well… Darn
So why go through all that in this case even though I knew the almost definite result was rejection? At the time, I probably would have told you it was just a really cool piece that I felt deserved the effort… and that’s true! But looking back, I think it’s much more than that. I got to..
- Learn new tools/techniques
- Record a bunch of new source material
- Challenge myself
- Showcase my sound design skills to a client
- End up with a very cool reel piece
All of that is incredibly fulfilling for me. It’s the kind of stuff that reminds me why I love the field I’m in, and why I got into it in the first place. It takes me back to the days when I did this kind of thing solely for the fun of it… no money involved.
So whether I can change the clients mind or not isn’t what really matters. It’s having the passion to want to try… to want to learn… to want to create… to grow. I love sound designing. I know I do. But giving myself a reminder of that every now and then doesn’t hurt 😉