Evaluation

QUESTIONS: 

1. What would a successful music production project look like to you? 

Some factors that are compulsory of making what is a truly successful production project are: instrumentation being recorded in time - such as with the use of a metronome to be in time with the other instrumentation on the track, as well as being mixed and mastered to be a project which has high clarity - enough to a standard where instruments/vocals are not submerging the sounds of others, so you can hear all individual pieces that found the music itself.

2. Can you explain a decision you made in the creation of the track? 

For the recording process of capturing the sound of the acoustic guitar in the studio - we chose to capture it with a Di.I box - without the use of microphones and to record it in the control room through the D.I. Box. Originally we followed through to record it through the D.I. to avoid any bleed between the mics since we were recording drums alongside; with potential to interfere with the clarity of the guitar take - this worked however in our next session we decided to try another take, this time with miking up - using two mics, one on the neck at an octave and one on the acoustic body - taken alone. We ended up using this take anyways, as the first take was not taken to a metronome being counted throughout the track. We also had made another decision; to use two mics instead of just one - to achieve a full, encompassing - since it was the leading instrumentation of song 1 and couldn't fall flat because of this.

3. What are the best features of your project / track? 

I think that in the involvement of mixing and mastering, I had done well - whist not spending much time on the process, I have a lot of experience producing music with DAWS, and so it was very clear and warm. Also since our track is fairly stripped back with dynamics, having a clear and calm instrumentation - in comparison to something darker and heavier like our third song, it was illustrated particularly well by our timing and attention to the small details that influenced the melancholic, soulful sound. 

4. What flaws / issues does your project / track have? 

The biggest issue we ran into throughout the whole recording process was the fact that we were rarely all in college on the same days, meaning we had to record things in bits and pieces, even having other people record things for others when they weren't in. this made it a bit of a time crunch towards the end.

Another issue was the vocals. We only managed to get one take in the time we had and we had to record it in a classroom since all the studios were booked. It is not my best but it also was good enough to work. In future, planning ahead with when we can get into studios and being better with time management would be useful.

5. Considering the success criteria you identified at the start of this interview, would you conclude that this project was a success or not and why? 

I would say that overall this project was fairly successful - on the one hand, we ended up with a successfully completed track; mixed and recorded, and also succesful in the sense that this provided a learning experience for myself - particularly with the side of helping out in a studio an it's own process as a producer - rather than what I am comfortable with already - as a performer. The only downside to this project was inconsistency in being able to complete it within a timeframe that gave myself the time neccesary to redo my section - however - I am still satisfied with the captured sound.

QUESTIONS: 

1. What is the result of your performance work this term? 

I think that the songwriting exercises and limitations had let my band find it's own signature personal sound - while the genres we had played was very expansive and had alternated between our 3 created songs; the articulated sound conveyed stayed relative all songs - to their own - a result for myself personally had been learning new techniques compositionally in rhythms - such as a hemiola rhythm etc.

2. Can you explain a decision you made during rehearsals? 

An important decision we faced was dropping our fourth song - whilst I had not been set on this personally - as I had written the entirety of the song, with one band member not liking the style of the song. Due to absences and communication problems between members of the band, including myself, we got close to finishing however being close to the deadline. The rest of the band had decided it would be better to have 3 songs that were well practiced - which I was fairly okay with, rather than trying to use our remaining time to finish rewriting and putting together a whole other song - and being less rehearsed - working out fairly well.

3. What are the best features of your songwriting and rehearsed performance? 

A lot of my songwriting as a guitarist had been helping out with the melodies - playing my own part and harmonising with the vocals, the song I had spent the most time on had been the third song - starting from me playing the intro riff alongside jamming with the other guitarist who layed at a rhythm as I played a melody with interval chords, developing from there. Where I had played in the rhythm of 3/4 alongside the other exercises. Overall nearly everyone's favourite song - whereby I had room to finally solo at the end.

4. What flaws / issues does your set / songs / performance have? 

Again with the same issue we had faced, there had been lack of time due to absence between us and a lot of procrastination in rehearsals just jamming out and losing focus. We definitely could've had more rehearsal time since, particularly with our third song - we only played together for the first time during our live performance. However we performed it all well with the one bigger mistake being me accidentally skipping part of the bridge - struggling to listen to what was being played and not used to the lyrics played alongside - albeit my fault, because my solo came in early, the other members had to adjust and keep in time enough to end the song with clarity - going well. This could have been avoided with more practice time all together instead of all trying to put our individual parts together on the one day we performed live. For the third song I had found myself having to tweak the amp volume repeatedly - whilst I did tap out the notes doing so - it wasn't ideal.

5. Would you conclude that this project was a success or not and why? 

At the end of it all - we had created and performed 3 entire songs, the third being a favourite and me and the singer's favourite and one we'd play again. I would say that this project was as a result - relatively successful - again still not as happy with the fact we had to drop the fourth song as it isn't what we intended and still a decision i'm conflicted with - the third song performed live had also could have been rehearsed a little more thoroughly however.and seamless. 

SPACES AND FACILITIES

QUESTIONS: 

PREPARING FOR TV LIVE STREAM PERFORMANCE: 

1. What are the most essential points to consider when preparing for a Live TV Stream performance?

Whilst you are not performing to an audience live - you still need to perform as if you were - as you our. performing for an audience across the stream. Because it is still a live performance, you need to be very well rehearsed this is because you cannot do a retake, everything is a one-take much like a your average, typical stage performance - any mistakes or complications must unfortunately stay in for the livestream.

2.How well pre pared was your band for this experience?

We definitely weren't as prepared as we would've liked to have been, this is simply due to the fact we did not give ourselves the required time to play our entire set all together enough and just took a chance on the structure of song 2 on the day - however, we pulled it off smoothly nonetheless. 

3. Were there any particular challenges you personally faced in preparing for the Live Stream Performance?

I am somewhat contemplative with wanting to perform live and it alwats comes down to how I feel for the day especially on stage - not being a fan of being recorded, however despite this -the audience being people I know and just wanting to get it over with - aswell as performing with my partner made me feel comfortable with the performance. Not having any particular issues other than being a little stutter-y with my small solo section in the second song - not being something I felt passionate about in general.

TV LIVE STREAM PERFORMANCE: 

1. What went well?

The fact that I didn't forget any sections and got to play a relatively successful solo at the end of the third song was very nice for me and the entire rhythm and timing was on point - something I sometimes struggle a little with.

2. What could have gone better?

I definitely could have been a bit more charismatic and performative - for the third song I had faults with the amp having to bend down repeatedly to tweak the volume higher - worried about drowning out my band members - whilst I did just tap out the other notes on the fretboard it still wasn't ideal - and of course ending the bridge early too.

3. How could you have improved your performance?

Having another practice session with all of us there together would have been helpful - particularly with the third song since the only reason we skipped a part of the bridge was because we all had to learn our parts separately and because of that it was easy to get misguided with structure - which consequently happened with me...

What were the best / most useful aspects of the Live Stream experience for you personally / as a band?

Not being in the same standard gig environment with a live audience can be slightly problematic as a performer - being placed in-front of professional grade recording equipment surrounded with cameras and put on a stage feeling situated there - no applause and no support, just an act of teamwork. Feeling unnatural and isolating, this pushed our stage presence and being able to perform as musicians to work through this alienating experience.

STUDIO PRODUCTION ROLES:

1.    Which TV production roles did you undertake during your TV Studio Live Stream day?

I operated the cameras for all other bands - this stayed as a result of my 'natural' ability to capture others and operate the equipment.

2. Which skills did you need to learn for this role?

Operating the equipment such as the cameras setup - required the process of all of us learning how to move the cameras about for different shots with techniques of TRACKING IN/OUT, CRABBING, SWIVEL, PANNING AND TILT, as-well as features such as focusing - learning the terms panning - how to zoom in/out, as well as how to focus. You also need to utilise your listening skills and communication as it gets very hectic since you are being communicated with through a headset by the director who has to rapidly tell everyone what to  such as when to do things like change your shot and what they want to see next - which can be stressful as you have to listen close under a shouting voice which may be inaudible with the live sound drowning out the quality which gets more difficult when the bands are playing - because the headsets only cover one ear - especially since you are not the only one getting instructions through the headset making the process more confusing, so it requires a lot of focus and multitasking capabilities, which I think I held up well with.

OPPORTUNITIES:

How might the TV Studio facilities be utilised for future music projects, e.g. FMP?

The TV studios could definitely be something to utilise with our FMP work - that be for broadcasting a livestream of a performance or create a music video - potentially both together creating a professional grade live piece. It is also useful due to the fact the livestream is recorded and available after the initial premiere - just as many live streams in professional settings with live studios and sets, this adds further evidencing aswell as promotional material to potentially kickstart our professional portfolio that we advertise and/or promote a piece of our music, a song etc.