Audio Branding: The Hidden Gem
with Jodi Krangle
Fast forward to 1993. Through gaming (Dungeons and Dragons, to be exact), I was introduced to “Filk” music—the music that’s played at science fiction/fantasy conventions. In 1994, I joined two friends from the fandom world to form an acoustic band called Urban Tapestry. In our time together, we’ve headlined at music conventions in Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
Here are some fun facts about me:
* I was honored to be the Winner of the 2018 SOVAS Award for Outstanding Narration Demo. (That's the voice over Academy Awards. 😉 )
* I’m a filker! My all-female, acoustic band, Urban Tapestry is pretty well-known in the Filk scene (science fiction- / fantasy-themed music).
* I’m a self-taught computer nerd. I sold computer hardware back when the 386SX was shiny and new. (Wow, am I showing my age!)
* My love of computers led to my discovery of this mind-blowing thing called the internet back in the early 1990s. That led me into web design and the creation of a songwriting resource called The Muse’s Muse that I ran from 1994 until 2016.
* I started doing search engine optimization and internet marketing work back when banner ads were all the rage. (I’m getting older by the second . . . )
* If I could have a chip in my head keeping me connected to the Internet, I’d totally do that. I’m just about constantly connected (which is how I’m able to respond to emails so quickly)!
In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m a grown woman who (still) loves comic books and D&D. Think of me as a smart, wry, Tina Fey-like, post-apocalyptic warrior princess leading an army of Dr. Who and Firefly fans in an epic battle cry.
"If you're not paying as much attention to the way your brand sounds as you are to the way it looks, you're doing it a disservice and not making as deep a connection with your audience as you could."
-Jodi Krangle
I’ve done voiceovers in the healthcare, corporate, hospitality, political, and non-profit sectors, among others. I tend to stick to the commercial and corporate narration lane of voice overs - and my ultimate goal of making other people money with my voice, led me to discussing audio branding - something I knew I was contributing to with my voice.
My highly satisfied clients include Dell, Bose, BBVA, Subway, Mitre, Unisom, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Kraft, Travel Alberta, HGTV, and more.
I also happen to have some folks listening who are fellow voice talent wanting to understand more about the larger picture their voices are contributing to. But I also reach people who are just interested in the subject of how to understand how sound affects us in our daily lives.
Voice overs are what I love (I've been doing this over 15 years full time now) - but I also want to do my best to raise all boats for those of us who work in sound. Audio shouldn't be the after thought in a production - and it often is. It's unfortunate - because paying attention to the sound early on - making it equally as important as the visuals - can make a so so production into something truly outstanding - because it'll reach us on a deep, emotional level. (You think I'm making this up? Try watching a movie without the sound on and see how emotionally invested you are in what's happening on the screen. Not much, am I right? I'm not a horror fan. If I turn off the sound on a horror movie, I can watch it just fine. 😉 )
“If you take the, you know, Foley work and the soundtrack out of a movie and just show, you know, the film with just the dialogue, even a great movie, it just, it completely falls emotionally flat, right? It just it’s, you know, if George Lucas had not hired John Williams to do the score for Star Wars, it would probably be a little-remembered, B-grade science fiction movie that hardly anybody would even know. The music kind of glosses over some of the kind of tropey, pulpy shortcomings of the script. I mean, because the music is just majestic. It’s amazing.” — Jeff Bohnhoff
This episode is the second half of my conversation with musician, audio engineer, and longtime producer Jeff Bohnhoff as we discuss his firsthand experience with Dolby Atmos music production, his collaborations with a wide range of artists, and both the past and future of audio technology.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they’ll be about, and it’ll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.
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(0:00:00) – Music Production and Collaboration Experiences
Our conversation picks up with Jeff’s work with Dolby Atmos in the studio, and how it compares with traditional stereo. “It’s like, ‘I guess it’s different, yeah,’” he describes listening to a remaster, “and then I went back to the stereo mix and then it was like, ‘oh yeah, now I can really hear the difference.’” We talk about his professional and personal collaborations, and the different expectations and styles that come with each new artist. “It’s interesting, though,” he explains, “working with different people, because, you know, when you collaborate with people, everybody has their own style.”
(0:07:35) – Album Collaboration With Folk Musicians
Jeff also talks about his collaboration with such acclaimed filk singers as Katy Dröge-Macdonald and Steve Macdonald of Twotonic and Dr. Mary Crowell. “The songs are so beautiful,” he says, “and the lyrics are really poignant and I just really felt like we were both kind of on top of our game for that album.” He shares snippets of such songs as “Jazz & Mai” and “I Put My Low Stat,” and we talk about the storytelling power of music, whether it’s about gaming, mythology, or even sci-fi blockbusters. “I’ve heard George Lucas in interviews,” Jeff says, “pretty much acknowledge that, when, you know, he first saw a cut of the film with the score, it was like, ‘oh wow, we have something here.’”
(0:19:33) – How Music Can Bring Us Together
We discuss how Jeff’s independence as a producer has given him more freedom to pursue passion projects and push his limits: “I mean, it’s one of the nice things about having my own studio is that I can afford to experiment.” He also shares how the pandemic’s three-year pause made a collaboration with Kathy Mar that began in 2017 seem more timely than ever.“ She had the idea,” he tells us,” to put together an album of songs to show how music can kind of cut through some of the polarization in society. So she wanted songs basically about the things that bring us all together.”
Episode Summary
- The evolution of audio technology, from Atmos remixes to new artists and genres.
- Jeff’s work with jazz singer & pianist, Mary Crowell and his ventures into funk and filk music.
- The cinematic impact of music, Jeff’s current projects, and post-pandemic challenges.
Connect with the Guest
Website: https://www.mysticfig.com
Follow Jeff Bohnhoff on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffmbohnhoff/
Connect with Jeff Bohnhoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbohnhoff/
Musicians with samples of songs in this episode:
Heather Dale: https://heatherdale.com
Betsy Tinney: https://betsytinney.com/
Dr. Mary Crowell: https://marycrowell.bandcamp.com/
and of course, to Jeff & Maya themselves:
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocalshttps://voiceoversandvocals.com
Tweet with me on Twitter – https://twitter.com/JodiKrangle
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
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or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
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Editing/Production by Humberto Franco – https://humbertofranco.com/
Vinnie Potestivo, Editor-in-Chief of
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