The “Audi Beat” Beatmaking Video

A car dealership sounds like work. A wrench hitting metal, tyres, a keyboard in the office. For the Audi Beat, that was supposed to become music: the staff of a real Audi dealership play their workplace like an orchestra, from the mechanic with his wrench to the office.

The film was made with FilmCrew Media for Audi AG, directed by Tobias Schmutzler, with Klaus Kneist on camera and Lydia Wrensch producing. I made the music and handled the entire audio production, from location sound to sound design and the final mix. The film was used in various dealerships as a recruiting video.

Why work sounds make a recruiting film

Recruiting films often look alike. Smiling people, a glimpse into the workshop, a line about team spirit. The Audi Beat turns that around: it doesn’t show that a team works together, it lets you hear it. Every department contributes its own sound, and only together do they make a beat. The message is in the form, not in the text.

For that to work, the music has to be real. A track laid underneath afterwards with a few workshop noises sprinkled in would have been obvious to everyone. The sounds had to come from the dealership, from the people who work there, and still add up to a piece you enjoy listening to.

How to turn a dealership into an orchestra

The biggest uncertainty was that we knew very little in advance about which sound sources would really be there on site. So I worked out a basic concept with a rough composition and decided flexibly on location how each sound would be arranged in the piece. I conducted the people on set.

Once we were in the dealership, the opposite problem appeared. You were almost overwhelmed by the sonic possibilities. Almost every tool and every part sounded like a possible instrument. I had to keep the overview and think carefully beforehand about the order in which we would build up which sounds.

The opening was still improvised. We knew the piece had to start in a particular place, but on the spot there wasn’t much there at first. Until someone knocked on a brake disc. It had a surprisingly metallic but beautiful sound, and the beat grew out of exactly that tone.

My favourite scene is the one where people drum on tyres. It doesn’t just look epic, tyres actually have a drum-like sound when you hit them. I pitched them to the right notes, and in the end they sound like three toms.

What came of it

Together with the editor I cut the filmed storyline into the video beat so that the dramaturgy is reflected in the sound as well. To give it more body, I composed additional instruments on top. The result is a piece in which a whole dealership plays along, and a recruiting film that doesn’t tell you what it’s like to work there but makes it audible.

I did several productions for Audi with FilmCrew Media, including the Audi Symphony, in which a real orchestra explains the principle of swarm intelligence. The making-of of the Audi Beat is available at FilmCrew Media.

Frequently asked questions about music made from noises

Can you make music from everyday sounds? Yes, if you treat them like instruments. Many objects have a pitch that can be adjusted. In the Audi Beat, tyres sounded like drums and a brake disc became the starting note of the whole piece.

Does the music have to be finished before the shoot? A basic concept with a rough composition, yes. Which sounds are really there, though, you only find out on set, so the arrangement has to stay flexible.

Why does a video like this suit recruiting? Because it shows teamwork instead of claiming it. Every department plays its part, and only together does the beat come about.

Planning a video where sound plays the lead?

Composition, location sound and mixing from one source.