Why Adam Savage Prefers Poor Audio on YouTube 

What are YOUR packaging pet peeves? With thanks to Tested members @DavidGunnell and @Thomas_Esson for their support and questions! Join this channel to support Tested and get access to perks, like asking Adam a question during live streams: ru-vid.com/show-UCiDJtJKMICpb9B1qf7qjEOAjoin

I wouldnt say its poor audio, I literally skip videos with actual poor audio, thats more just an artistic choice.

About the tiny object wrapped in miles of bubble wrap: I worked for a week in a Fedex warehouse unloading trucks (It's a terrible job in terrible conditions I'm honestly lucky I made it a week..) and the one thing that will always stick with me is how little care you are incentivised to pay to packages. It's about speed not delicacy. I came across a tiny box about the size of a soda can that was crushed flat at the bottom of the stack. When I picked it up powdered glassed just spilled out of the cracks. I asked the dock boss what to do and he just shrugged and said "Toss it to the side and keep working.". So i tell anyone who is going to ship something "Package it like you are going to drop it from orbit without a parachute.". It's annoying for the recipient but it's better than getting whatever component or tchotchke they bought looking like it was fed through a cuisinart.

While I fully agree with the point Adam makes, I don't think I'd call this "poor audio". The phone may be far away and all, but the sound quality in these videos is always impressively crisp and clear.

I work in a papermill, so I am used to communicating with a raised voice. And for some reason, when you move far from camera and raise your voice, it feels so much more genuine and personal.

I used to work in a computer store that serviced communities with no roads, everything was shipped by air or water. We received a laser printer all alone in a box. No packing material at all. Luckily, it's trip was uneventful and there was no damage. That we could find. Another laser printer showed up packed in peanuts. No wrapping on the printer. Every opening in the printer was stuffed with peanuts. When we shipped it back we wrapped in a large garden trash bag before putting it in the box with peanuts. We got this irate call from the customer asking why we were inferring that his printer was trash. We informed him that we bagged the printer to protect it from the damned peanuts and we had spent an hour removing the peanuts from within the printer and had charged him for it. And then there is my mother-in-law. Packages from her are so covered with packing tape they are waterproof to a depth of a thousand meters. You could use them as space habitats.

I love that Adam named his production crew. I always think it says something about the character of the "talent" that they see and acknowledge the hired help :)

I agree on the "intimacy" when filming on your phone. Up-close the audio is clear and consive, from across the room it's distant. It retains a spatial quality.

Packaging pet peeve: Books from Amazon directly. When they first started, the books were shrink wrapped to a piece of cardboard that was bigger than the book and fit exactly in the box. That was perfect. The book was isolated from the sides of the box and couldn’t shift. Now, the book is thrown in a large box with a few air cells on top. The book just bounces around and the corners get smashed.

Packaging: heavy metal objects usually need double boxing at minimum. Shake your package - if the heavy thing moves it has a good chance of escaping into the depths of a UPS/FedEx warehouse on its travels. Pro tip - air pillows work fine for screen protectors, not so great for machine tools.

I get the audio thing but I grew up with a dad who's hearing is severely impaired. He's finally got hearing aids and to him, hearing all of the words without having to use CC or rewatch a video 3 times is a wonderful thing. Being able to hear good, quality audio like wind or blades of grass rustling in a film he's watched 20 times makes me happy.

You’re so right. Because you do something a lot of people might be afraid to do, which is NOT edit out the parts where you run to another part of the shop off camera and continue talking, yelling while you get something. It really does help with that fourth wall, and make it feel like we’re in the shop talking to you.

The audio topic is an odd issue because, on one hand, I think it makes a video much more watchable as a viewer (especially as someone with some audio processing issues) to actually be able to hear the person speaking clearly at all times, but on the other hand, it can admittedly be a little jarring at times when the person walks off into another room and their voice is still perfectly clear (as you said, it feels less intimate, like you're seeing behind the curtain of production) If your editors don't already do this, you could try experimenting with compressors and upward compressor for your phone recordings. A compressor lowers the maximum volume ceiling to minimize the intensity of loud sounds, while an upward compressor raises the minimum volume floor to bring quieter sounds into a more audible range. Too much of either can make the audio sound muffled or harsh, but a bit of adjustment can go a long way in making audio levels clearer overall without losing that more intimate, proximity-based volume that you prefer

I agree! As long as audio clean and understandable (without tons of background noise or too quiet) then the dynamics of moving around a mic adds something. I’ve worked with some singers performing live that naturally have great mic techniques backing off or getting close and really add texture and a unique voice to their sound and performance.

The imperfections are what give the world true beauty. The simple act of a voice fading as it departed from the frame, is apart of the art of cinema.

this is an excellent lesson about context and knowing what tools will give you the results you want... and sometimes that's the "crappier" tool.

I found when mixing audio for sound reinforcement, the ambiance of the room did not need to be included in the reinforcing audio; however, the recorded audio was always overly dry and sounded wrong or forced and over edited. The fix I found was to include an ambiance mic in the final recorded mix. And a side benefit was it helped smooth over 'mistakes' such as mic pop, wind noise, bad mute/un-mutes, missed notes, poor tone...

the intimacies and the 1-person shots during quarantine (for better or worse) reeled me in.

I think that this is one of the most important things to consider about why viewing "content" as ubiquitous regardless of platform is shortsighted in ways that are hard to notice in how it missed minute understandings about the nature of the relationship and communication to the audience.

Audio and all its subtleties are a much bigger deal than most consciously think - great perspective and appreciate your sensitivity to the audio experience.

Your talk gave me a whole new way to resurrect an old video I did in 2007 . I had a 2 camera set up and a sound recorder. I could not get a fix on the audio to video conversion. It really bothered me for years but this talk helped me realize a great solution. I gave my client a finished video for free (I felt so bad) but I'm going to re do it. You gave me a whole new outlook on this kind of situation.

I always look for where the edge of the bubble wrap is and cut there. It doesn't matter how they taped it, if you just cut the tape at the edges of the bubble wrap it will unwrap and you won't cut into whatever you're unwrapping. Even if they neatly tuck the edges of the bubble wrap and tape them tight, you can still see a seam through the tape.

THE PACKING TAPE! Foam it up, tons of cushion, but it doesn't need a literal metric TON of TAPE!

I'm with you 100% in the proximity effect; that's why I stick with one microphone. Makes for more immediacy and authenticity in live material. Thoughtful outlook on your part, as always.

Insights like this is why a lot of audio people basically say, "you can't have too many microphones going." yeah you can, with file size limitations and such, but, covering all the bases, having more options, and such... really good to have. Especially if you make a habit of mot speaking clear enough at the mic/camera

Thanks for the video! I appreciate your insights on audio for these RU-vid-shared videos.

i almost never comment ever. but right now i am having an immence urge to let you know how i appreciate that your channel exist! you and your conversations are a gem to so many! thank you for your insights on life, sir!

I don’t think it’s an audio *quality* issue. I think it’s that you‘ve come to rely on and expect a capability based on the limitations of the audio setup you have. Proximity effect is a real thing, and you use it to great effect-feels like we’re there with you instead of just watching a polished TV show. You could probably fake it in post, but I bet it wouldn’t ring true.

As a long time audio guy, there are a million production issues that drive me nuts. What you describe however makes sense and connects with me 100%.

This is absolutely genius. It's why ASMR videos are so intimate. Adam Savage is awesome.

Okay - so I hadn’t really seen any of your “build” videos you refer to talking about the mic. So I stopped the video, and went to one. The one that appeared on the top of your video page. Building the prop knife. Let me note - I’m wearing my AirPod Pros. And doing that gives me Spatial Audio. And you’re absolutely correct. There’s an intimacy with no lav mic. The Spatial Audio really kicked in when your head went a bit behind the phone. Makes a huge difference! And since Apple makes such magnificent microphones on their devices, and fantastic software to do away with background noise… I’m not sure a lav mic is worth it. Thank you!

I agree. The on-camera mic results in audio that is is more intimate and diegetic. And YES! *Always tab your tape people!* (Fold a bit of the end onto itself to make it easy to grab.)

As a seller on ebay, I always try to make the unboxing of an item an enjoyable one. I work long hours and get 99% of my mail packages delivered to me at work. With that perspective in mind, I always try to make sure that whoever gets my packages can get them delivered in a meeting, without experiencing embarrassment.

When I worked at a warehouse, I loved packaging stuff. I had stored all kinds and shapes of boxes, I would always find the perfect size and shape for whatever I was sending over. I would always make sure to pack it so I could confidently swipe it off the table should I want to.

So grateful for you Adam!

I found tested in early covid lockdown and it was this "intimacy" that was a big part of why I stayed with this channel.

I am building a synthesizer that uses one meter long contact potentiometers for pitch control. Basically, the potentiometer is a long, thin plastic ribbon you control by pressing your finger down on it in different spots along its length to change its resistance in the circuit to get different pitches from the synth. It was a struggle to find a source for them that would sell them in small numbers. I did not want to spend $3000 for 50 potentiometers when I needed 12 at most. Amazon was selling them one at a time, so I ordered one to prototype the circuit around. They placed it in a five inch diameter cardboard tube with a length of foot wide crumpled packing paper in the tube parallel to it. The potentiometer, being made out of plastic film, ended up crumpled in one end of the tube, useless as it was shorted out on its self in each permanent crease in it. I brought this to their attention, so in stead of sending me a properly packed new one, they refunded my money and stopped carrying them (the companies that consistently ship them intact pack them between two long strips of corrugated cardboard snugly packed in a small diameter thick walled tube). I was not impressed.

Omg thank you for mentioning! Lol I handle the mail when it comes in the office & some people OVER package things and... it makes it likely for me to damage the contents trying to undo the 500 yards of bubblewrap and tape and staples... or putting the plastic label sleeves overtop of the "tear hear" tabs on fedex boxes.. and sticking down the sealing strip that is further up than the tear here, which is supposed to provide a chance to reuse the package once.

Oooooh I really like this Adam this is a great point on why some of your videos have grabbed me!

Adam gets it. Love this. Capturing audio accurately must include the sources location as a key component, without it, our understanding of the audio in the video feels false, breaking the intimacy Adam works so hard to create and maintain. Bravo.

Best advice on audio I've ever heard. Thank you!

If you are shipping something heavy, the expanding foam in a trash bag (not sure what it's called, but industrial shippers use it all the time) is amazing. Because the expanding foam conforms to the shape of the object, and does not allow it to move. Thus even a heavy machine tool doesn't get a chance to gain the momentum to really abuse the packing. I've had things weighing over 60lbs shipped to me with no issue, simply because the box was heavy duty cardboard, and it was encased in plastic bags and expanding foam.

Japan's neatness in packaging ought to be mentioned. Every box I get from there has shipping tape matching the cardboard's color and is perfectly folded over (both the box and the tape).

excellent points, well-made. thanks for this. daily struggle for me (professionally) is to convince my colleagues that they're doing audio perspective wrong. sports broadcaster, with hundreds of remote commentators working from home, & I want it to at least attempt to sound like they're at the events they're commentating on. same thing- the brain is not easily fooled when it comes to audio & speech particularly.

My friends and I always joke about the "proximity effect" and we get closer and further away from our mics to illicit different emotions in people. I use those techniques in my audios all the time (but the quality is always pretty good) 🤭 I think that good audio is vital for youtube videos, but not necessarily perfect. 😁💖

The wheels, we saw the heavy duty wheels he’s placing on his lathe stand. Been waiting for the video on this as I’m looking to build out my garage and interested in putting everything on those wheels you can dial down to a foot.

"The juicy Center of the wrapping" *lol*

The single item in a huge box is also a massive pet peeve of mine! During 2020 I ordered a bunch of new art supplies, the order came in two packages. One had a packet of coloured pencils, the other had everything else. The pencils were sent in this giant foot by 2 foot by 6in box that was empty except the packet of pencils. No bubble wrap, no peanuts, no nothing. Those pencils bounced all around from QLD to VIC in this giant box and every single pencil had broken led. The shops reply was "we'll do better next time".

I do a lot of Moto-vlogging, so quality audio is a constant battle. Many of my channel viewers are truck drivers and can't watch while driving. So, I try my best to provide good audio while keeping that in mind.

This has been such an eye opener of an insight. Today when I opened Adobe Premiere I saw there was a preview of an AI too to remove filler words. They had a before and after clip as a demo. I prefered the before clip with all the "aaahs" and the "ammms". It was more chill less work to listen to. Maybe I'm just old. Had I not seen your video, I would have thought I was "supposed to" use this new tool. I realise now that it's another artistic choice, not an upgrade.

My favorite way of unboxing something is when they have the expanding foam around the object. perfect form fit every time. Though it does have its downsides

Wisdom! I could listen to Adam for days straight, he is absolutely right though, the intimacy of engaging with the audience is very important, the feeling/sound of being there with Adam himself is definitely a factor that he has just opened my eyes up to🙌

I really enjoy hearing things that aren't polished and processed. Good, bad, or ugly I enjoy hearing things raw and how they are. I understand the need to cut out some obtrusive sounds, or to do retakes and get your words out in the right order, but when things are digitally polished or shifted people can tell. There's a popular podcast that I love the content of, but the host insists on changing his vocal pitch and polishing the audio to the point that I just can't listen to it as I can't take 30 minutes of something sounding so wrong. Same thing goes for music, live performances are so much better, and you get the feeling of that performance and enjoy its uniqueness.

I think a new way of "achieving intimacy" on RU-vid is to compress audio to the point where You can always be heard clearly and just talk without "RU-vidr accent" for a change

I reckon a few more detail about that are it feels more relatable, less produced and detached from reality, and it's also got a more sound production/design aspect to it, which is it gives you a sense of space and creates variety in the audio experience. It has an effect on our minds when we can hear the space, because that feels natural to us. You move away from us, we hear more of the space and less of the direct sound. I suppose it's somewhat tied into that intimacy you talk about, but I felt it's worth mentioning.

8:00 ...because it's from China. One of my first jobs as a prototype engineer was basically problem solving anything that came over on boats from China. One time, I opened a box of components to find that whomever packaged the items had left a tape dispenser in said package. I kept it as a souvenir. It's actually been my favorite one throughout the years. The ergonomics are spot on and though I've had to mend it once with a TIG torch, it's been more durable than any plastic pile of junk I've ever had. (I used up the cheesy yellow tape over a decade ago)

Hey Adam, as an audio engineer I found your insight really interesting. I might suggest that instead of a Lav mic, you might use a Large Diaphragm Condenser mic mounted on a separate stand nearer to the camera to retain some of the dynamic nuance of leaning in for intimacy. I might try out this approach on a video for my recording studio

I think of audio as something that should be considered as something that really needs to be just right. So many times I hear people talking and they sound like they are in an empty room, echoing all over the place, while other audio attempts sound like the person is right up against a poor quality mic. Oddly, I never thought of it in the way you described. To have that intimacy when you get closer, as the sound gets clearer. It made me think that what you do is more thought out than most. Too many people who put content on here, take a lav mic and hold it in their hand, up to their mouth as if it is a huge mic for television reporters, and it gets so breathy, and really looks silly. They are meant to be worn on your clothing, and will perform just fine that way. The same with table mics…there isn’t any need to hold that mic, or even show it in the frame. Mics are sensitive, and have the capability of picking up your voice just fine. But in your case, it does feel like you are talking to us as individuals or a small group. I’m always surprised how the sound comes through. Keep it up! Sometimes better is not always best! 😊

6:15 I bought a 50lb steel anvil that arrived in a cardboard box. "In" is a strong word, there was just enough tape and remnants around it to keep the delivery docket attached 🤣

It makes perfect sense that sound should match the camera perspective for maximum immersion/intimacy.

I agree on the audio. For your style of video, spacial audio is so intrinsic to the feel of the video.

So using those good mic's for the 1 on 1 shows. The editor could raise and lower the volume depending on where you are from the camera. Mostly raising it a bit on the lean it's.

I fully understand your thinking Adam and understand why but for me as a person (I know lol) with my hearing damage a constant volume works. Constantly having to adjust the volume tends to distract me from your video so I have to replay it. But this is just me I understand that and you have to cater for millions. I don't know why just thought this might be info you might see and give you a thought for a spell. Thank you Adam and crew Kind Regards Conor

I bought a set of coil springs for my Jeep in the fall that came wrapped in crumpled paper inside the very thin oversized box. The springs rolling around destroyed the crumpled paper and punched their way through the side of the box. Springs are pretty sturdy so there was no damage to them, I just hope no one handling the box got injured by a surprise spring falling out. I've also had a uniquely northern experience with the large packing "bubbles" in winter. If you leave the package outside at -40 they don't stay inflated, and everything in the box scrunches down to the bottom. Then you bring it inside and the bubbles expand again which can lead to some interesting results. I had them blow out the bottom of a box after something got wedged and trapped them. I set the package inside the door and about ten minutes later the loud sound of a cardboard balloon popping scared the crap out of me.

The videos of Adam, self-filming on his phone.....are SO MUCH better than when someone is holding the camera.

Hi Adam, The intimacy factor related to the mics should be easy to add in editing: just increase the sound level when you're talking closer to the camera. Halving the distance doubles the volume (which means raising the level by +6dB).

Pretty sure the Rode Go 2 was the first one with onboard recording.

The bit about phone audio is such a great example of how top quality material is infinitely more important than the quality of delivery. Someone less interesting might need studio quality AV, but with Tested and Adam we're here to see what he's going to do, not to watch a video. To be fair though, the video and audio are also totally clear so it kinda feels like the best of both worlds!

In Marketing 201 50+ years ago, we students were stunned at how much the attractive packaging adds to the total price of goods. Now, with the theft prevention packaging it makes me even more irritated how much extra we honest folks have to pay for the packaging, not to mention the cost of the actual theft.

interesting explanation about film grammar, video and audio have their own rules. Audio is especially neglected by those who are new to producing audiovisual materials. The phone microphones serve as a virtual sound person , adding to the narration of the piece. You said it better, this is great advice for filmmakers. Cheers!

Fantastic video 👌🏻

Audio is an interesting beast. I learnt many years ago from a production friend that you always need a "background noise" recording... which is no where more apparent than the dubbed movies my wife sometimes watches. Any dubbed show that just has the pure voice recording from a booth etc but no ambient noise... just feels artificial, it's subtle but it can make it feel really off. I've since built myself a DIY voice recording booth and compared the sound recorded from that to just from my camera outside and the difference is night and day in clarity and "isolation". So yes... I can totally understand how different soundscapes create a vastly different experience.

I like the higher quality audio only because it captures more ASMR moments that help me sleep.

As someone who watches a lot of audio & music production channels, switching back to "regular people" can be disappointing at times. Luckily professional sounding audio is more accessible than it has ever been and the majority of larger channels *sound* fine.

Compared to other creators that have more than twice the amount of subscribers Tested has, your sound quality is above the norm.

Great video sir

Now I want to ship something in Jello to see how well it holds up

It would be cool if there was a way to match the volume of the iphone mic with the lav mic, like there's already auto syncing by waveform. But that way it would be the best quality, but also it would get quieter the further away

People forgive poor video if the audio is good. It's never the reverse: they tune out of a lovely video right away if the audio is crummy, and they do it fast.

When you changed how you made your videos during the pandemic (through necessity), you seemed more accessible. I am glad those influences remain.

Fascinating.

Glad you showed us the phone you're recording on at 2:28. Not many creators are willing to wave the video recording device in front of their video recording device while using their video recording device to get video of their video recording device.

Re: audio Yeah, it would sound _really_ off if Adam were off in some corner of the cave saying something but the audio sounds like he's right in front of the camera. I'm sure audio engineers would play with that (spatial audio) to make it seem a bit more realistic, or use the audio from one of the other mics if this were a professional shoot. In terms of whether great audio is appropriate for RU-vid or other media, I'd say that's up to the creator. I've seen great channels with passable or audiophile quality, I've seen terrible channels with impeccable audio. It's all down to what the creator wants and whether the creator decides to tweak their preferences so the audience has a better experience. Re: packaging I _love_ most of what Digikey is doing. Bags for everything so you have lots of handy and even ESD bags, the IC tubes are great for storage because you can keep them in there forever without worrying about bent pins, and paper padding in the boxes which is way better than styrofoam or even the inflatable plastic pillows. I do wish they would use shorter tubes or let us specify short tubes so we don't have to store huge plastic tubes outside of storage systems without breaking out a saw. Pet peeves... For Pete's sake, manufacturers, stop using "shoplifting-proof" packaging. You know, heavy polypropylene or PET clamshells that are welded shut, that even with a dedicated cutting tool the customer runs the risk of slashing themselves on the cut edges of the packaging. And even if you think this deters shoplifting, it does not-- the thief will just toss the entire package in a cart and walk out, they don't care about the plastic shell! The most clever ways I've seen heavy things like power bricks secured in a box is either with cardboard blocks cut and shaped to fit them and the box they're in, or (for pre-installed GPUs in gaming computers) little bags with minimally expanding foam squirted into them. I've also seen break-off plastic shims that hold heavy 3D print heads in place while keeping the smooth rods they ride on stable during shipping. The tape Adam is describing might be a copy of the tape Japan uses on packages, assuming that they really do peel off easily like in anime.

Completely with lower quality audio, specifically, less channels! Whenever I watch one of the news channels, I always click it back to 2.0, 5.1 is much quieter.

It's a good point, as a viewer... of your content :) .... but also as RU-vid in general, the unique thing for me has been, this awesome person, like Adam from MythBusters that I grew up on, it's the nonprofessional element, that makes me think that "you" Adam Savage is recording this video, and that's what I like about youtube. In terms of production quality, I think discovery channel/ Natgeo had it (for the time) down pat. This was the breath of fresh air that RU-vid provided.

1:20 I have a product I can't recommend enough, try out Sennheiser's line of USB-C lavs you can record on your phone. I think with my voice I might need to apply de-esser in post but otherwise, the audio is crystal clear and it only cost me like 90 bucks. It's a steal.

So this should be a @DJI mic feature request- auto volume adjustment based on the lav mic’s proximity to the receiver ( that is theoretically attached to the camera ). Best of both worlds. 🙂

I found one of the orginal sharpwriter pencils in my drawer and because of your video, I stowed it away.

My wife said Alibaba has the yellow tape for sure. You may be able to source it locally to you as well.

I agree with all of this. Overproducing videos doesn’t equal better videos. Another pet peeve of mine is when people use podcast mics and have booming bass in the dialogue about fortnite lore or something. I’ll watch it on my phone instead because it’s obnoxious through my pc speakers.

I think what Adam is forgetting is that most of us don’t know when he is alone and when he has someone filming. I don’t notice subtle camera movements to know, but I do notice sub-par audio 😊

In editing, you can alter the stereo field of that perfect audio matching the effect of moving around in the frame

I wouldn't call it "poor audio." I'd call it "appropriate quality audio."

Røde was the first to make the wireless mobile mics of that style, IIRC. I have a pair of them. DJI makes a competing product, which some people consider to be better.

Audio counterpoint: Hank and John Green's 'format' video with the long cable/wireless mic

Now I'm wondering what it would be like if the phone shoots used binaural audio. Leaning into the viewer being in a specific location in the room, being able to perfectly place the *bandsaw noises*.

I would argue (while it’s certainly not necessary to change) that a good quality shotgun mic lets you keep the intimacy, while having better than phone audio. You can mount it to the same tripod and everything so when you lean in you sound closer

As I get older I find that the "Super-Duper audio for audio-piles" actually makes things less intelligible. I have gone to the trouble of passing some podcasts through a software (SOX or Lame) filter to cut the quality down to AM Radio/Telephone quality and that makes it more less of a problem to background listen to. A 500hz-3Khz band pass filter can help trim the unimportant background from a clip, and for me, that makes it better. This causes all the 256Khz sample per second 32 bit ADC audio-piles to stroke out.

I learned from experience don't ship ANYTHING you wouldn't be willing to fire out of a cannon. Because, as a UPS driver told me many years ago as he handed me a box full of broken cast steel tractor parts , "Nothing we ship is fragile." So it would not surprise me if the overly packaged stuff you receive result from bad experiences.

How do you decide when to have someone there filming vs using an iPhone by yourself?