Sometime ago, I heard that Walt Disney had a revelation. The philosophy for their parks, rides, and video environments would be:

“70% of what our guests see is what they hear."

Honestly I don’t know if this really came from Disney, or if anybody has ever said it... but I believe it. What you hear in a video can make or break the product. Watch the video below:

Now try and watch it with the volume muted. Notice how the sounds and music make the video.

Unfortunately, sound is usually an afterthought on low-budget productions. Pros in the video business will tell you that what separates the men from the boys in video is their sound quality. Audiences are far more likely to forgive bad video quality than poor sound quality, yet most of us invest most of our time and money into making our video content look better instead of focusing on how to achieve the best sound.

My advice: before you look for the next best camera or invest in a new light kit, take an honest look at the percentage of time you focus on sound, then make the jump to making that better first. Once you're satisfied with that, then move on to video. Trust me, it will pay off big time!

Remember, 70% of what people see is what they hear (if Disney didn’t say it, I take full credit).