Audio in the time of a pandemic: from solutions to minimise physical contact with devices, to the positive role it can play in reopening public spaces and resuming social interaction. With the hope that audio can help people feel comfortable and safe when they can return to public places and resume normal socialising, encouraging their desire to do so.
I met Graeme Harrison at ISE and interviewed him as many times as I could – his insight into the industry and his passion for audio always provides interesting insights for articles and posts. Recently, Graeme, who is now Vice President and General Manager at Bluesound Professional, published a thought-provoking letter about the role that audio will play in the return to attending public venues, and also for the recovery of our industry.
In fact, sound and its ability to make us feel comfortable in an environment or situation can also be an important element in helping us return to enjoying public spaces. For example, in the letter we find several suggestions for restaurants and bars for when they reopen to the public, and an important cue for those dealing with new work spaces: no longer used on a daily basis, hybrid working spaces can be understood as a new form of hospitality, where we can find the typical services associated with this type of experience, including voice messaging and a good background sound in common – or personal – spaces.
Finally, as Graeme points out, AV like other sectors has slowed down considerably due to the pandemic, but the positive experience offered by a well-designed and installed system may be directly proportional to the chances of seeing it actually taken up by the client. An encouragement, once again, to System Integrators and Sound Engineers, to do their best work while rediscovering the importance of their role.
The original version of Graeme Harrison’s letter is available on the Prase Media Technologies website, Bluesound Professional’s Italian distributor.
www.bluesoundprofessional.com
www.prase.it/
