This week our objectives were like last week: practising the setlist, recording the setlist, editing music, meeting with Dan Fox, and scriptwriting. Another busy week which is a key trendsetter for how our project will turn out.
To start, we had two days of recording, Wednesday, and Thursday. I decided to continue the timetabling format that I used last week to organise us and implement more frequent but shorter breaks to stop fatigue setting in quite as fast. I also took the liberty of recording all the guitar parts for ‘Wish You Were Here’ at home to speed up the recording process. As a result, we managed to record all the remaining parts for ‘Wish You Were Here’ and most of the parts for ‘Iris’ over the two days, without mixing or mastering them.
We also managed to get feedback from Alex Gordon on some of the songs we recorded so far. We sent him some of the songs on our Microsoft Teams chat for him to listen to. For the Denial Song:
“Feedback:
For the Denial Song:
Vocal level needs to come up in the first verse- it gets better as pag (Pagan) sings out more in verse 2- (listen to a similar song and compare the vocal levels in your notes)
Bass pops out a bit a few times- try putting some compression on it- (research compression and explain the purpose of it in your notes)
You could pop a third higher harmonies on the first 'I’m going'(look at harmonising in thirds to research in your notes)
Verse 2 needs a lift- you can do this with some percussion or- and I would recommend this - piano- I think this would sound lovely- keep it simple, blue (look at the piano on the work of Nick Drake- particularly on the album 'brighter late' this record may also change your life).
Guitar sounds cool and well recorded”
For the Acceptance Song:
“Yes to double vocals idea. I would also experiment by saturating one of the vox with reverb as it has a certain Cocteau twins feel at present which could be built on. The vocals sound a little mid-range heavy at the moment- a bit more eq-ing would sort that- listen carefully. Wonder what will happen in the gap? Maybe a single tone/note which building vol? Or something else! The piano sounds great, I would work on playing it some of the time using some different chord inversions and I noticed it got louder and much clearer towards the end not sure why.”
This feedback is very useful for Bluebell and I, who will be mastering the songs, as we can alter what we have already done, or add new plugins to change the sound for the better. I will research the points he has made and include the notes I made in a future article I will upload to my website.
On Wednesday afternoon, we had our rescheduled meeting with Dan Fox to discuss the screens construction, as well as test different lights along with a practice cut-out for our placards. We decided on a Fresnel light with a blue gel. This is because it gave the clearest definition and had a fade function (so we could increase and decrease light levels), the blue gel gives a cold, sterile feel, matching the theme well. It also means we can use gels to reflect moods for each stage of grief if we plan it. (Fig 1)
The first light we tried was a builder’s light (Fig 2) which had a warm yellow that couldn’t be changed, it also covered the whole screen and got very warm quickly, possibly posing as a hazard. It also distorted the image significantly, so we didn’t opt for it. The second light was a theatre light, which could have gels applied, but didn’t have a fade function. The image was also less clear than the Fresnel light, hence why we didn’t choose it. (Fig 3)
Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3
On Friday we were confronted with another problem, I had to go out to two more primary schools for the ‘Music on the move’ project that the rest of my band had signed me up for without my knowledge. While it was enjoyable, it meant I wouldn’t be around to help my group. But because we knew this, we planned ahead and decided in our Snapchat group chat, that Pagan and Bluebell would try to complete the storyboard while I was gone, as it was a major goal that had to be completed that week. I will then be able to catch up at a later date to offer my opinions on the storyboard. We also planned before I went to have it open to the public, hence the promotion material we will soon create, so we can charge a fee (£3) for entry; 100% of which will go to a cause related to our theme (e.g., ‘Mind’).
(Fig 10 – 16)
Last week I hoped to uphold the level of organisation into this week, using time management skills to be as efficient as possible. I believe I kept it up this week, possibly more so, due to the additional commitments I had (e.g., ‘Music on the move’, and the meeting with Dan Fox). We communicated effectively as a group and with tutors/technicians to make these commitments happen, whilst taking the least amount of time out of my schedule.
Linking to communication, we got feedback on two of our songs by using our Teams group chat. Something that will benefit us massively as it will influence how we mix the other songs. Although, we didn’t finish the songs entirely this week. Our timetable says we should only be editing music next week; we will have to try and do both during our time. We are planning to record on Wednesday.
Another concern last week was the number of actors who may feature in our performance. We concluded that the only possible additional actor would be Bluebell, who would only feature in one or two scenes.
Going into next week we need to finish the songs, rehearse the script, and start the creation of the poster and handouts for the performance. Organisation and communication will be key skills then as we will be splitting tasks between the three of us and will need to share ideas, get opinions and relay our progress to one another, as well as our tutors.
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