Timescale & Planning

Daniel Mitchell Timescale & Planning

Today I had my first meeting with my tutor Lee Gretton where i explained my idea and what my client wanted from me for my second audio project. After making a plan for next week he suggested I drew up a timescale showing my plans for the coming weeks explaining what i would be doing and what i will have completed by the end of each week leading up to the project deadline and my clients personal deadline:

Week 4 – Week beginning 10th February 2014

Week 4 will be spent constructing a presentation for the project proposal ready for week 5’s tutorial. As well as this i will be updating my blog and beginning research to underpin some creative choices within my product.

Week 5 – Week beginning 17th February 2014

Week 5 i will being presenting my proposal for the project with my tutor. Following this I will be continuing my research using various methods and looking into how specific genres have various effects on the human mind. Towards the end of the week i will then look at beginning to compose the 1st of the 3 tracks and start drafting ideas and rough demo’s. Finally at the beginning of the week i will be having a meeting with my client so he can give me some more specific details about the specifications of the sound system within the room and give more specifics in terms of the products content.

Week 6 – Week beginning 24th February 2014

The majority of week 6 will be spent composing the 1st of the 3 tracks and drafting and demoing ideas for the song within ProTools as well as updating my blog and researching other venues around the country similar to my clients to see what their VIP lounges feature in audio terms.

Week 7 – Week beginning 3rd March 2014

Week 7 will be spent composing the 2nd track as well as drafting ideas and demoing within ProTools and researching into production techniques for the specified genre’s ready for the production of each of the tracks to ensure they carry a professional sound.

Week 8 – Week beginning 10th March 2014

During week 8 i will simply finish composing the 2nd track and begin the composition of the final track of the 3 and hopefully finish within the same week as this will be my main focus for the week.

Week 9 – Week beginning 17th March 2014

I will finally begin the production of the 3 songs during week 9. As well as this i will be researching more production and mixing techniques, once again to ensure my final product comes off professionally. This will only be conducted if the client is happy with progress so far during our scheduled meeting on the 18th March.

Week 10 – Week beginning 24th March 2014

Production continues during this week. Also i plan to book the multitrack studio for this weekend so i can track any acoustic instruments and vocal samples i may need for the tracks. Not only will this give the product a fresh approach but it also gives me chance to enter another recording environment and use more professional equipment. Finally i will also be updating my blog this week with any extra research and relevant supporting materials.

Week 11 – Week beginning 31st March 2014

During week 11 I plan to schedule another client meeting to show what work i have done so far and talk about what feel he would like the songs to encompass through the mixing and mastering stage as by now i hope to have completed the production process. This week will also be set aside for further mixing and mastering research specifically for the chosen genre and what effects applying certain techniques will have on the final product.

Week 12 & 13 – Week beginning 7th April 2014

During weeks 12 and 13 I plan to be at the mixing stage of the project. I want to put aside 2 weeks for this to ensure I have plenty of time to smooth out any rough edges and ensure the tracks a refined and professional sounding by the end of the project. During this time i will also be updating my blog with regards to personal reflection and supporting materials for the mixing process. 

Week 14 – Week beginning 21st April 2014

Week 14 will mark my final week of production. During this week i plan to be mastering the final tracks, ensuring they give a professional sound. As well as this i will be researching the business side of music composition and the licensing behind purchasing these tracks should the client decide that its what he wants. I will also be adding the finishing touches to my blog across all of the sections.  

Week 15 – Week beginning 28th April 2014

During week 15 I plan on attending my final client meeting to ensure that everything is to his taste and that he is happy with the final product as well as discussing possible future plans for more music for the Reserve Lounge. Apart from this week 15 will be kept free just incase i over-run the schedule during the previous weeks.

Week 16 – Week beginning 5th May 2014

Final deadline and project submission.

Obviously this timescale is subject to change and will be updated throughout my blog if necessary.

Client Meeting 1 – Monday 3rd February 2014

Daniel Mitchell Client Meetings

Yesterday I visited Home Nightclub and met with its owner to partake in our first official meeting to discuss exactly what he wanted the musical pieces to include, their genre and the effect he wanted the music to have on customers.

We first discussed the genre of the intended musical pieces. John had a very set idea on how he wanted the music to sound, he wanted 3 purely instrumental tracks sharing a genre combination of ‘ambient’ and ‘downtempo’ possibly with some jazz influences thrown in for good measure. I explained to John that simply combining genre’s isn’t as easy as he’s made it out to be, i takes a lot of time and research into both genres to understand what makes each unique and what sections of the genre can be used for collaboration. Despite this I decided i wanted to try it as researching into various genre’s interested me greatly and felt with enough research i could back up my creative choices within the final product. For the majority of the tracks John wanted an electronic rhythm section, meaning the use of sampled drums and synth bass as he believed that acoustic instruments would not give the correct atmosphere. He expressed that any instrumental choices on top of the rhythm section was completely at my own discretion, which was perfectly fine with me as it gave me more creative freedom. John finally expressed that the purpose of these pieces of music would not only encourage the rooms current customers to stay within its walls longer but also entice new customers to enter upon hearing the music while walking past the room on the way to another floor. This gave me the perfect opportunity to research and examine how each of the different genres and styles have various effects on the human mind and the emotions they could incur.

Although my meeting with John was only 20 minutes long due to his hectic schedule I felt it was extremely informative and gave me a solid base to begin my research into the mechanics of the product its self. I now feel ready to draw up a plan and timescale for my intended progression on a week by week basis.

My notes for the meeting can be found on the ‘Supporting materials’ section of my blog. Below are some of the songs the client gave me as reference material and a guide as to how he wanted his music to sound:

Reference Material: Audio Project 2 

The Space

Daniel Mitchell The Space

Today I visited The Reserve Lounge to help get a feel for the type of sound instillation I would be creating for my client. The room featured a dark interior with ambient lighting and black lights placed around various sections of the room to create a relaxed night time ambience. Placed across the room were 4 booth seating areas, 4 high top champagne tables and 3 seating areas under a large bay window at the back of the room accompanied by the bar stretching across most of the left side of the room. In terms of sound the room features a stereo system consisting of 4 JBL 12 inch speakers hanging from the ceiling at each corner of the room with 2 JBL subs in the centre of the room, all linked to a digital Kaleidovision system running as an interface on the ground floor of the club where songs can be added, changed and put into playlists. Below are a few photos of the space:

IMG_0356IMG_0376IMG_0379IMG_0373

Upon my visit i briefly caught up with my client and arranged a meeting for Monday 3rd February 2014 to discuss exactly what he wanted the sound instillation to feature. Following from this i can begin my research and begin planning the details of the product.

 

The Idea

Daniel Mitchell The Idea

For our semester ‘B’ audio project we were instructed to either work in groups or on our own to either create a product based on an outside clients needs, develop an original idea into a finished media artefact or to produce a case study of a chosen freelance profession. Based on the fact I wanted to gain experience in working in a freelance environment and that i wanted to expand my own portfolio I chose the option to work for an outside client on my own rather than in a group.

For this particular project i wanted to work more outside of my comfort zone and try my hand at composing and producing my own music. A few weeks back i was approached by a potential client through a mutual friend in the late night entertainment business. The Client was a man named John O’Donoghue who owns Lincoln’s largest premier late night entertainment venue: Home Nightclub. The club features 7 different themed bars on several floors including ‘The Reserve Lounge’ a VIP room specialising in dealing with the higher class customers of the county. John explained that although this particular room is fairly successful he found that customers would only spend an hour or so in the room, meaning that it would experience dead periods in the night meaning a loss in potential profits. Upon speaking to his regular customers he established that the music was the problem as it currently features a mixture of ‘elevator’ style music and acoustic live lounge covers driving customers away into other area’s of the building for a better listening experience. After hearing some of my previous work John had decided he would like me to create a sample of music for the ‘Reserve Lounge’ of 3 songs totalling 12 – 15 minutes for him to listen to. Based on the result of this he would later then look at commissioning me to make more and to create a more invigorating playlist for his customers.

After some consideration i decided to accept Johns offer to create a 3 song sample of music that could feature in his VIP room in the home that a more modern style of music could keep his customers in the room for longer, consequently spending more money. Its an exciting concept for a project and i look forward to working on it alongside Johns criteria.

Format

  • 3 tracks with a duration of 4 – 5 minutes each making 12 – 15 minutes in total.
  • To be delivered as either WAV or 320kbps MP3 files.
  • Burnt onto a CD as a hard backup copy.

AIMS

  • To build a trusting relationship with the client.
  • Develop a unique sounding music style to cater to specific audience.
  • Discover and research into the clients target audience.
  • Research into various music styles and the effect they have on the target audience.
  • To create music to suit a specific room’s features

OBJECTIVES

  • Compose, record and produce 3 tracks totalling 12 – 15 minutes in length.
  • Encompass various sound design techniques and post production to help create a professional product.
  • Mix and master the tracks to a professional standard.
  • Organise and attend regular meetings with the client to discuss the needs and the progress of the project to ensure it meets the clients requirements.