May 11

In audio production, there’s something known as the “noise floor.” It’s the amount of unwanted signal coming from any source other than the one that you’re actually trying to record. Listening to someone speak in an environment with a high noise floor is like trying to have a conversation at the beach with a crashing ocean ten feet away. You can make out what they’re saying, but it’s not easy to do.

Many of us not only allow but invite a high noise floor into our lives. We have signals coming at us from every direction, inputs, requests, demands, and marketing, then we fill our lives even more with noise via the apps we interact with or the stimuli we allow into our lives. Our noise floor is so high that we can’t discern the signal pattern. It’s too buried.

Here are a few signs:

►You feel overwhelmed but don’t know why.

►You have difficulty with short-term memory and often confuse

simple concepts.

►You are perpetually distracted and struggle to maintain atten-

tion on one project.

As creative pros, it’s important that we monitor the noise floor in our lives and ensure that we are able to discern the signals we’re trying to pay attention to. Be still. Stop. Think. Clear the signal chain so that you can focus deeply.

Be aware of the amount of latent noise in your environment. Lower the noise floor.

QUESTION

Do you have a high noise floor? How can you lower it?