Josh Miller

Production Journal Final Major Recording

Production Journal

Josh Miller

Me + Musicians/Thememixes

JUNE 2015

Overview

MY INTRODUCTION;

The clients for my project are me and other musicians from the Miskin. I will be making the midi and sampling aspects and the other musicians will be playing guitar bass on each track. Depending of what musicians I find and need, I may need to ask external musicians to record aspects of my music and I know some that may be able to learn the parts I require.

The genre Varies on each theme. I want to remix the original tracks into more dance music, creating a more upbeat version of the original film scores. I want to vary the genre across all remixes because I think that some of the themes will suit a different genre better.

My target audience is all lovers of films. Which can vary all ages, however my remixes will mainly interest the younger audience. I think that the older generation may not be as interested in it however they are a possible target. With the new Star Wars film coming out I think that my remix will get more attention from different ages. As there are young and old Star Wars fans, and there is currently a lot of attention surrounding Star Wars. Also by putting the remix to the new Star Wars trailer video it will work better and will attract more views. By remixing a lot of the greatest films themes I think will be different from a lot of music currently being uploaded and hopefully will be seen more.

https://soundcloud.com/joshjammiller-music - Soundcloud link

All of the tracks will have a guitar recorded. To do this I will either DI the guitar or mic up the guitar

My target amount of tracks is 4. The film scores I currently want to do are:

1-Star Wars

2-Iron Man

3-Batman

4-James Bond

These are all films that have come out recently or have new versions or sequels being released soon. This will hopefully help the publicity of the Tracks.

Album cover -

TRACK 1 - Star Wars

https://soundcloud.com/joshjammiller-music/star-wars-themix

RECORDING/PRODUCTION PROCESS

For this track I will use programed drums, synth bass and other forms of bass, I also have samples of the original song over the top. I wanted to use a fair amount of programed instruments. I am using recorded percussion to attempt to add the original songs use of percussion, I am also using a recorded guitar and bass.

This is the original theme tune - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0ZQPqeJkk

This is a remix of the theme song with the standards that I want my track outcome to be similar to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DGeLt6XXqs

My target sound was more upbeat, I wanted to use a selection of samples to create a more dance feel. I also wanted to add other electronic elements like synths and sub bass. However at the same time I wanted to keep the original sound enough so that it was recognisable.

In the track I use a more upbeat drum beat. To do this I used fast high hats and it was done using a drum machine, I used this because it sound more electronic and not live, so the use of this was to bring the song closer to my target sound. With the use of the samples I tried to cut up sections of on average 1 bar, I did this to make the song sound more in time as the original tempo was completely different. Also to make it sound more up beat I cut up samples to a bar and would repeat them. To keep the song sounding recognisable, I cut the original Into and put it as the intro to my remix and cut the ending to the imperial theme tune from Star Wars, and put that as my ending. I also had a few breaks in the song with slightly larger samples from the theme tune. With the live recordings, I got a client to record the guitar and bass and used the audio in the same way I did the original track. I cut up the audio and placed it throughout my track to have a mix between samples and recorded instruments, towards the end of the track I used both of these, playing the same part.

In my mix I used a variety of effects. For the recorded guitars I used Reverb, I did this to make the guitar not sound so dry and the use of this effect helped it fit better with the other samples. I also used EQ on these instruments in an attempt to make it fit better. To do this I played around with the EQ to boost and reduce frequencies until I had the guitar sounding similar to the samples, I did this because originally the guitar sounded out of place and by boosting more low end frequencies and reducing some high end slightly, I found that it fitted better that it did before. On the output I used a compressor, I did this to try and reduce the dynamic range of the mix, whilst using a lot of samples I found that they varied in volume and I thought that rather than using automation.

I feel like I met some aspects of my target sound. However the track developed to be different from my original ideas. I ended up not using any midi instrument that was not drums. I did this because I felt that synths didnt go with the samples at all and I didnt like the way it sounded. I felt that once all the samples and recorded instruments were in place, the sue of other instruments would ruin the song and be too much. With this is mind I still think the song was successful in the way that I actually prefer the way it sounds now in comparison to the way I thought it would sound. However if I was judging its success on meeting my original target, I would say it was less successful as I did not meet my original target.

TRACK 2 - Iron Man

https://soundcloud.com/joshjammiller-music/iron-man-themix

RECORDING/PRODUCTION PROCESS

For this track I am going to use a recorded guitar to play the theme song. I want to use samples from the original track however I am having an issue finding the sound I want. With the other tracks I could pick parts with little percussion or other instruments, however as this is a rock song, it have a large drum element. I will also be using programed drums and potentially synths.

This is the original theme (Im doing the original song by Black Sabbath) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzXzcyZmL_c

This is a remix of the theme song with the standards that I want my track outcome to be similar to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GCRYm1URkw

My target sound has aspects of the original sound, as the guitar will still be a big element however I want to make the track sound more upbeat, with the use of programmed drums I want the sound to sound like a mix between electronic and rock.

In the track I recorded the guitar using a DI, I did this in appose to using a mic because I preferred the sound and I feel like it fitted better. In the track I used programmed drums to keep to the target sound. I also used a synth bass that played the main riff, I used this to make the song sound more electronic.

In this track I used a limiter on the output of the track, I did this because I wanted to stop the track from peaking at certain points. I also added reverb to the guitar because I think it fitted better to the track, I also used EQ on the guitar to boost the high end slightly. I felt like I had used a lot of bass so I wanted to even the track out slightly but decreasing the low end and increasing the high end.

I think I achieved the sound I wanted with the track. I like the outcome and I think the guitar was recorded well. However I am regretful that I couldnt use samples from the original track. I was going to but I had an issue of finding the correct parts and I couldnt find a piece without a drum in the background. Apart from that I think that I achieved the genre I wanted.

TRACK 3 - Batman

https://soundcloud.com/joshjammiller-music/batman-themix

RECORDING/PRODUCTION PROCESS

For this track I want to use a recorded guitar that will play the main theme, I also want to use samples from the original track to go alongside the guitar. I am going to use programmed drums to get the sound I want rather than using recorded drums.

This is the original theme tune from the TV show of batman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qP-NglUeZU

This is a remix of the theme song with the standards that I want my track outcome to be similar to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JFpkUgFeYE

My target sound for this track I wanted to keep the original sound but I wanted to make it more upbeat. I want to create a mix between the original song and a more modern electronic song, so Im going to use a programmed drum machine in appose to a recorded drum kit.

In this track I used samples from the original track, I wanted to get the vocals in the track however I struggled to find vocals without the backing track, so I cut up the samples to make them fit. Along side the samples I had a recorded guitar, which played the original theme, this was handy to have, as it sounded similar to the theme tunes guitar. I cut up the guitar like I did the samples. I used the guitar and samples throughout the song to keep the sound of the original track. I also used programmed drums, I did this to make the track sound more electronic.

On this track I used reverb on the guitar to help it fit better to the original track. I felt like the guitar sounded out of place and too dry without the use of reverb. I also used EQ on the guitar to help it fit better to the sound of the original tracks guitar. I reduced the high end and boosted the other frequencies slightly, I felt that this fitted better and Im happy with the result.

I think I have achieved my target sound for this track, however originally my idea was for it to sound more electronic, with possible a synth or bass, but when I started this song I didnt think that it would fit, but I think that the song worked well without it.

TRACK 4 - James Bond

https://soundcloud.com/joshjammiller-music/james-bond-themix

RECORDING/PRODUCTION PROCESS

For this track I am going to be using a recorded guitar that will play the main theme melody. I will also be using samples that will be vocals and other sound effects to go into the song. I will also be using programmed drums to help it sound more electronic.

This is the original theme song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii1tc493bZM

This is a remix of the theme song with the standards that I want my track outcome to be similar to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5vGpUK0YdM

My target sound for this track I wanted to keep the original sound but I wanted to make it more upbeat. I want to create a mix between the original song and a more modern electronic song, so Im going to use a programmed drum machine in appose to a recorded drum kit.

For this track I has a recorded guitar that played the original theme, I used this alongside the samples from the original track. I recorded the guitar through DI instead of using a mic because I preferred the sound and found that there was no background noise this way. I used programmed drums to help it sound more electronic.

In this track I used reverb and distortion on the guitar. I felt like the use of distortion helped it fit with the original track. When I used distortion I didnt want to over do it, so I used a mild amount of distortion so I could get the correct sound. I also used a compressor on the drums.

I feel like I met my target sound. I would have liked the samples and recorded guitar to sound more similar, however I had an issue doing this, but Im relatively happy with the way it sounds.

MARKETING

My marketing tool is the first track which is the Star Wars remix, I am putting the remix to the new Star Wars trailer, I thought this would be the best one to use as the marketing tool due to the massively publicised Star Wars 7 that Is coming out this year.

https://soundcloud.com/joshjammiller-music/star-wars-themix

As the new film is due out December this year, there is a lot of attention surrounding the trailer and film. I think that by putting my song to the trailer, it will also gather a lot of attention.

Whilst making this track I needed to keep in mind that it needed to sound recognisable and so when people listened to it, they would instantly know what the original song was. I also had to keep in mind that it couldnt be too similar in structure to the original as it wouldnt be as interesting. This took some playing about but I think that the use of cutting up the samples helped achieve what I wanted.

Websites I could use to attract attention to my track could be

Youtube, I think using youtube is a good way to attract attention as it is a very popular site to see trailers, videos and new music, If I had used the video I originally found to use I think it would have been better to use youtube. However I still think that even just for music it is a good way to be noticed.

Soundcloud, this is a free way to post music that anyone can use, and with the use of tagging tracks, people can search keywords to find your music, this makes it a good way to attract attention to your music.

Using these links to actually post your music is helpful but it is also good to post links to these on websites like twitter, facebook and tumblr.

My original plan was to put the track to the new star wars trailer, however I didnt find the time to do it, next time I would have done it as I think it would have been far more effective. However I think that the idea of my marketing tool was successful as I think that due to the new film being released soon, lots of things surrounding the film will be noticed. I also think that all of my other tracks are minor marketing tools also. Each one of my tracks is a remix of a theme tune, so theres a possibility that one of these tracks could attract attention too.

OVERALL EVALUATION

Over all 4 tracks I think they sound reasonable, I dont think there is anything majorly wrong with them technically. However I do not think that they compare to more professional standards. I dont feel like the songs have been mastered as well as they could have been and I think that each song could have used more work. I also think that some of the samples could have been altered more so they were in time. I also feel like I could have used more effects and instruments in my tracks. Some strengths of my tracks were that I think the live instruments. I feel like they are in time and recorded well and sound good. I also like the way I used effects, I think that they work with the tracks and improve it.

I think that my product is viable. I feel that the idea of the project is good and would attract attention and be appealing to consumers. I think that the idea of it is very solid. My artwork for the project I think is very relevant as it is characters from the films, I think the album cover works well however I think it could use some writing on it as it just looks like a picture. I think that my marketing tool works well and I believe it is a good way of attracting traffic however I think the use of a video would make it better.

To monetise my project I couldnt organise a gig as it is the wrong type of music and I dont think it will work, however I think that putting my music on itunes for sale would work. If it was on youtube with a video, I has the possibility of becoming massively popular, and once it gains a certain amount of attention youtube would pay for the amount of views, so that is a possible way to make money with my project.

Phone

Fax

Web

[Street Address], [City], [State] [Postal Code]

[Your Phone]

[Your Fax]

[Web Address]

Josh Miller

11