Monthly Archives: October 2017

Aims, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

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For my project I will be working with David Farnan (aka DB Jones) to produce a 4-track solo EP which will involve a full band sound. Stylistically it will have elements of indie, indie rock and pop genres, require me to source an appropriate session drummer and to produce it in such a way that it stands up to and stays relevant with my reference playlist.

 

Aim:

To work with a client to produce, engineer, mix and master 4 tracks of an EP which they can then readily release onto multiple music platforms.

Objectives:

1. To source a client and make contact with them to discuss what direction they want to take with the EP.
2. Work on pre-production with the client so we both have a clearer understanding of what we want to achieve in the recording sessions to ensure an effective workflow throughout the project.
3. Source the appropriate session drummer and work with them and the client to book all of the required recording sessions.
4. Record all of the required parts for the EP using the different outboard techniques and approaches that i have researched whilst making sure the client is happy with with what has been captured.
5. Edit and prepare all of the recorded tracks and then begin the mixing process whilst specifically focusing on the use of outboard processing and different vocal techniques.
6. Ensure the client is happy with the mixes and then, using the research i’ve gathered, master the EP so it can be distributed to the required platforms.

 

Learning Outcomes

1. To improve my knowledge and understanding of outboard hardware, specifically eq and compression, by researching the workings of the hardware itself, establishing how other producers use hardware and utilising it in my own work for recording and mixing.

2. To improve the way in which I tackle the workflow of the project by ensuring constant contact and communication with the client, improving time keeping and by looking at how other producers create an effective workflow.

3. To improve the sonic aspects of my vocal production by using different recording and mixing techniques that are inside and outside of the box, and then applying the appropriate ones to my work.

4. Have a clearer understanding of the mastering process by looking at the technical aspects of mastering and what it consists of, having an insight into how other producers master their work and benchmarking this project with my previous work to ultimately master this project to a higher standard than before.

Tutorial – Week 4

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Since last week I completed my aim, objectives and learning outcomes so that they were ready to be signed off and posted to my blog. When showing them to Ben however we decided that a few things needed tweaking slightly just so they were clearer. For example, I needed to specify the number of tracks I would be recording, elaborate more on my third learning outcome (vocal production) by describing how I would measure its success and link my learning outcomes to my objectives so I simply wasn’t just listing the steps I would take to record the EP. Once we had resolved these, we discussed the best way to lay my blog out so that my research and learning outcomes were easy to follow. Ben suggested having a separate page for my reflective summary and to make notes after each recording session of what did and didn’t work so that I can elaborate on these when writing my reflective summary. He also suggested making a production plan for the project and to take plenty of photos during the recording sessions to make my blog posts more interesting.

Week 4 – Jez Riley-French

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This week’s guest lecture was conducted by Jez Riley-French who is an experimental sound artist whose work focuses a lot on field recording. A lot of today’s lecture consisted of Jez showcasing some of the different work he has done, all of which was recorded in variety of interesting locations. He began by playing the sound of teleferica cables being blown about by the wind in Italy which he had recorded with some contact microphones he had made himself. As he continued to showcase his work, he discussed the different skills and techniques he’d used to capture them as well as the different microphones he’d used such as hydrophones, ultrasonic recordings and infrasound. One of his pieces I really enjoyed was Height Of The Reeds where he’d placed contact microphones in the roof of a building to capture the sound of an orchestra. This led to the piece sounding really eerie whilst simultaneously sounding extremely musical and rich. This is an experimental technique I may now use in my music production and is reflective of Jez saying that you should treat the recording space and the microphone as an extra instrument.

Jez also gave some tips and hints into the world of experimental sound recording which were; to try and record things for as long as possible as short recordings may get perceived as sound effects, technology is the least important tool and its more about how you use it (also mentioned by Dean in the previous week), always try to record at low gain levels to avoid unwanted compression, there’s always a market for your work if you specialize in a certain area, make you sure you have good quality head phones, acoustics are crucial when presenting a sound design piece and a lot of sound recording is all about the experience.

Tutorial – Week 3

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For this week’s tutorial, the main focus was to try and finalize some specific learning outcomes for my project. The two that sprung to my mind initially was that I wanted to improve my use and knowledge of outboard hardware during recording and mixing as well as improving my overall work flow for the project. For my third learning outcome, I then decided that I wanted to improve my vocal production. This learning outcome is quite an important one for this project due to the fact that I’m working with a solo artist and his vocals will play quite a key part in the finished EP. Finally, for my fourth learning outcome, I decided that I really wanted to look at the mastering process and apply these methods and approaches to the EP, especially because I will be mastering it myself.

Myself and Ben then discussed the ways in how I would go about achieving these learning outcomes and monitoring them throughout my project. A lot of my research is going to involve researching other general and genre specific producers in the industry and looking at what skills and techniques they employ in their work. I can then use this research and utilize the techniques in my own work and see how effective and beneficial they are in my recording sessions.

Week 3 – Dean Humphreys

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For todays guest lecture we had re-recording mixer and sound editor Dean Humphreys. Although he works within the TV and film industry, his talk was mainly focused on how to act and portray yourself in the media industry, how to further your career in it and things to avoid when trying to climb the ladder. Some of the keys things he mentioned was that despite how creative you are and your ability to work with media software and hardware, it wont determine whether you get a job outside of the university environment. You need to be able to work with people in a professional manner despite whether you agree with their choices and understand that there is no definitive right or wrong answer to everything and use this to not be stubborn.
With it being a highly professional industry, he also mentioned it is very important to show up to work well on time, usually up to 45 minutes before the shoot at the latest, dress appropriately and to always ensure that when contacting potential employers to always double check your spelling and grammar before sending an email to them.
Dean mentioned that rejection is a huge part of your career and succeeding is about how you deal with the rejection and keep on going. If you give up too easily then you wont stand a chance at finding work and the industry will have already filtered you out as a potential employee. As an aspiring music producer and musician, I found this quite motivating to a degree as I don’t always receive the response I’d hoped for from people when looking for work. If this is the case I always try to keep going and not let these rejections hold me back.

Be a team player, don’t be an arsehole….