Driving home from lunch on Wednesday, I heard a radio advertisement for the University of Phoenix that I felt was exceptionally well composed. The ad began with the narrator outlining what we may envision when we think of someone taking online courses (accompanied by the sound of someone typing on a keyboard). The narrator then began outlining what we may not actually see. It progressed something like:

“What you don’t see is the student studying nights after working two jobs”

*Crickets sounds effect fades in*

“Or the baby asleep in the next room”

*Fluorescent lights hum and dog begins barking outside*

And so on and so forth until the complete audio picture was painted.

By withholding sound effects and introducing them one by one to create an environment, the advertisement created reveals. What had begun as the sound of one person typing turned into a fully fleshed out character just trying to pay bills and support their family while pursuing a better life. By the end of the ad, all the sound effects were present at once, and the audience got a sense of what exactly this nameless, voiceless, but completely believable student’s life was like.

I’ll be honest, it was kind of powerful, which is something I was not expecting from a radio advertisement. This is a technique I think we can all learn from and apply. It sounds a little bit “Ducky-Horsey” as Wes has described certain B-roll cuts when discussing video, but I think it has more to do with patience and a sense of completion. In an audio story, we can develop characters by presenting an incomplete picture and slowly introducing ambient elements. In this way, we can create mini-reveals that drive plot points, establish characters, or even add a twist, just like we can with written word.

Thinking back to our barista assignment, and looking forward at our “inexplicable” assignment, this idea of the subtle audio reveal could be truly useful. None of us really used the ambient noise as a plot device (though we didn’t particularly need to) beyond establishing the coffee shop setting, to my recollection. However, now that we are preparing to dive into something with more complexity and intrigue, this seems like an effective tool.

What are your thoughts on this?