Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

Germans to drown out, we — for our purposes — had to forget him." Similarly, women who spoke in liigh soprano voices proved "too far away from the range of intelh'gibihty." Since then, Berry has been somewhat surprised that more radio and tv sponsors don't pick their announcers more selectively, with special concern on how the voices reproduce. "Hearing them on the air is one thing," Berry avers, "but something happens when a voice is recorded on tape or transferred to film. There's a loss at both ends [of the sound spectrum] and the voice becomes flatter, less resonant." Again, the bass and the soprano are the heaviest losers. In addition, more voice quality is lost with every duplicate made. "It loses definition and detail," he explains, "in much the same way that a picture of a picture docs when it's reduced and screened a third time for reproduction in a newspaper." Thus, he continues, the loss of sound penetration or "staying power" compounds itself, as when a tape is transferred to a record and then broadcast by radio. "From the sponsor's point of view," he emphasizes, "the best announcer is the one whose voice loses least in multiple reproduction." Fortunately, this, too, can be tested in advance. A really good announcing voice will lose less than 2 percent, even to the sixth generation of a print. Top sound technicians. Berry contends, are well aware of such problems and automatically take whatever steps they can to solve them during the production of a commercial. Those who don't, he feels, are slipshod. They escape general detection though, because many agencies and commercial directors aren't fully aware of such matters. The cure, of course, lies in getting the advertisers, themselves, to think of sound from a technical point of view. "If they would just listen once in awhile to what's on the air," Berry pleads, "and listen on the kind of set that's typically in use. When a local commercial cuts in and blasts you out of your chair, you know darned well that either network control over loudness hasn't been given close attention or that the local station engineer didn't preview the commercial insert to get his correct sound-level setting in advance." He also contends that automatic controls don't take care of adequate leveling. Not only are there erratic differences in sound transmission both by network and local station, he says, but there are also major differences in the way that sound is recorded at the outset — when the commercial is being made. "No standard has ever been set to regulate the level of sound at which recordings are to be made," he says with obvious disappointment. If a standard were established — and observed — stations wouldn't have to preview each and every commercial to learn its volume in advance. To cite examples of various, familiar sound systems. Berry reports that the typical telephone conversation ranges between 200 cycles and 4000 cycles. Before FM broadcasts were introduced, radio broadcasts cut off at 5000 cycles and standard AM broadcasts still do. The FM system revised radio, however, by introducing a range from 50 cycles to 13,000-14,000. Since a great many street noises fall below 500 cycles or soar above 2500, they form tough interference with the bass or soprano that usually occupies the same audio band. This audio-visual specialist draws an analogy between today's sound tapes and yesterday's tv film: "In the early days of television, you could never tell how film would look until you saw it on the tv screen. It was unpredictable." The result was that film was widely tested under simulated conditions of actual transmission, and picture quality gradually improved. He deeply regrets, however, that the same procedure hasn't been followed with tapes and records intended for broadcast. "In radio, the standard procedure is merely to check the sound as it comes from the beautiful hi-fi speakers in the control room. But listening under the ideal conditions of a studio gives absolutely no indication of what's going to happen to the sound when it's broadcast." As a result, some commercials sound as though they were "slapped right onto the air, untried and untested." Such practices ultimately undercut the basic goal of advertisers. Berry insists. What is that goal? "To reach the consumer who's unaware of the production and its advantages and to make him aware." Radio and television, like all ad media, must create customers. "But in order to do so, we've first of all got to reach them." Present practice — in which the potential customer often can't even hear the commercial — "puts too great a burden on the listener," Berry contends. "He's got to hear what you're saying before you can ever begin to sell him." In that sense, the problems of sound can be compared with politics: The middle-of-the-roader (or middle-range voice) usually attracts the greatest number of people because he doesn't offend either extreme (or either end of the soundspectrum. Berry adds, including the "hi-fi extremists"). "In terms of what the sponsor wants to accomplish, he must go along with such facts of life in order to reach the greatest number of potential customers." And the way to do it. Berry continues, is not to shout at the listener or to irritate him, but "to get into his mind." To help clear the access route into the consumer's mind. Berry recommends several steps: (1) Alert advertisers, themselves, to the technical problems involved in properly recording and transmitting sound. (2) Educate representatives of the sponsor, as well as agency personnel and workers in commercial studios, to technical needs via a workshop in sound. (3) Establish minimum recording standards, preferably through an industry group like the IRTS or NAB. (4) Help enforce such standards (as well as develop an ear) by actually listening to what's put on the air. ♦ 40 SPONSOR ^n.