In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Eloise Whitmore and Tony Churnside, award-winning sound designers and co-founders of Naked Productions, for a frank discussion on how AI tools like Descript are fundamentally changing audio production—and not always for the better. Eloise and Tony address the critical issue of how AI-assisted editing is eroding the art of natural dialogue pacing, how younger generations of producers are losing foundational skills, and what audio professionals must do to preserve the human artistry in sound design.

This conversation tackles the uncomfortable truth about AI tools in professional audio production: while tools like Descript and Adobe Enhance can be lifesavers in certain situations, their overuse is removing the nuance, emotion, and natural rhythm that makes dialogue compelling. For audio engineers, music producers, podcast creators, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and craft, this episode provides critical perspective on maintaining quality and authenticity in an increasingly automated creative landscape.

In This Episode:

• Descript and AI Transcription Tools - How Descript revolutionized transcription and some aspects of production workflow, but also introduced new challenges by allowing producers to work with text instead of raw audio
• The Loss of Natural Pacing in Audio - Why younger producers and sound designers lack the ability to recognize and preserve natural human pacing, leading to robotic, emotionless dialogue that immediately signals AI involvement
• Working with Words vs. Raw Audio - The fundamental difference between editing based on text transcripts versus listening to and editing raw audio, and why working with raw audio teaches critical production skills
• Descript's Limitations - What Descript cannot do: it cannot pace dialogue naturally, it removes meaningful silences and hesitations that convey emotion and authenticity, and it simplifies complex storytelling nuances
• AI Audio Enhancement Tools (Adobe Enhance, Studio Sound) - How tools like Adobe Enhance sterilize vocals by removing the characteristics that make voices unique, and why these should be backups rather than primary solutions
• The Impact of Time Constraints and Budgets - How production timelines have expanded while budgets remain static, forcing producers to take shortcuts that compromise quality and craft
• Building a Sound Library - Why aspiring sound designers should create personal sound libraries instead of relying on free or YouTube-sourced sounds, and how this develops a distinctive sonic identity
• Advice for Emerging Producers - The importance of learning to listen, understanding speech pacing, recording raw interviews and mixing them properly, and not relying on automation to replace human judgment

About Our Guests:

Eloise Whitmore: Eloise Whitmore is an award-winning radio producer and sound designer with 20 years of experience in professional audio production. She won the Radio Sound Designer and Producer of the Year award in 2013, and co-founded Naked Productions with Tony Chernside. Her experience spans BBC dramas, documentaries, features, and international projects, giving her deep insight into how production workflows have evolved and the critical importance of preserving craft in an age of automation.

Tony Chernside: Tony Chernside is a multi-award-winning sound designer and technical producer with a PhD in audio production. His background in acoustics combined with decades of practical production experience makes him uniquely positioned to understand both the technical capabilities and limitations of AI tools. As co-producer of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 satire The Skewer, Tony understands the demands of professional audio production under pressure.

About Our Host:

Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations between industry professionals to the Production Expert Podcast. Credits & Placements Include… Alan Walker, Holy Goof, TS7, Billy Da Kid (Kiss FM), Steve Smart (Kiss FM), The Wideboys, MER, Sony Music, 2Tone Records, BBC, SVT1 (Sweden).

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Descript - AI-powered transcription and editing software. Visit: descript.com
• Adobe Enhance - AI audio enhancement tool from Adobe
• Descript Studio Sound - AI audio processing feature within Descript
• Pro Tools - Digital audio workstation used by both producers
• Altiverb - Convolution reverb plugin by Audio Ease
• Zoom H4N - Portable audio recorder for field recording
• Sony D100 - Portable audio recorder
• Naked Productions - Award-winning sound design and audio production company. Visit: nakedproductions.co.uk
• Genelec UNI-O Monitoring Ecosystem - Professional audio monitoring solution providing seamless bridge between loudspeaker and headphone monitoring for consistent mix translation. Visit: genelec.com/unio

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Sponsorship

This episode is brought to you by Genelec. If you've ever been disappointed with the way your mixes sound on other playback systems, check out Genelec's UNI-O monitoring ecosystem. By providing a seamless bridge between loudspeaker and headphone monitoring, UNI-O allows you to quickly create great sounding mixes that translate consistently wherever you choose to work. No more guesswork, no more surprises — just truthful, accurate audio monitoring from stereo to immersive. Visit genelec.com/unio to learn more.