Unit 2: Communication Skills for Creative Media Production - Pitch a Proposal for your Music Recording

Unit 2: Communication Skills for Creative Media Production - 

Pitch a Proposal for your Music Recording

Scenario - As a recording engineer, you have been approached by a band to produce a demo of their latest cover song. You will have to organise the entire process from start to finish, and will be expected to produce a high quality recording for the band to give to their label. You are going to make a music recording for a client. This will require you to pitch your ideas and requirements to the client in the form of a proposal.

Choose an appropriate form of digital presentation technology to pitch your ideas for a music video to you client. For example, you could use software such as Prezi, Power-Point or Keynote and you could incorporate video clips, graphs, slides and audio clips.

The proposal should outline;

• Ideas and provide details about costs and a target audience
• Information about the artist and their USP

Requirements:

• Acoustic Environment
• Schedule/Recording plan
• Studio Timetable
• Microphones to be used
• Output/Format of the product
• Sharing and Promotion
• Quality of finished Product
• Marketability of the Product
• Re-mixing
• Copyright Issues
• Contingencies and troubleshooting
• Risk Assessment

Unit 48: Music Recording - Recording a Pop Song Cover

Unit 48: Music Recording - 

Recording a Pop Song Cover

Scenario - As a recording engineer, you have been approached by a pop band to produce a demo of their latest cover song. You will have to organize the entire process from start to finish, and will be expected to produce a high quality recording for the band to give to their label.

Unit 17: Audio Production Processes and Techniques - Mixing and Editing

Unit 17: Audio Production Processes and Techniques - 
Mixing and Editing

Scenario – You have been asked by a production company to mix and edit a series of supplied multi-track recordings. 

Task:

Create a mixed and edited recording of the supplied materials, report and recording log with track sheets. Report to include information on the following areas:

1. Mixing audio: for radio; for music; sound for games; mixing for record release; production possibilities; audio post-production; live sound; recordings; studio recordings; analogue; computer-based software; compression and equalisation; the use of reverberation and effects; synchronisation; recording and sequencing software; midi; synthesisers; sampling software

2. Editing: speech; music; background noise and ambience; content; corrections; linear editing; non-linear editing; edit lists; play lists

Make use of diagrams and technical information where appropriate.

Unit 38: Soundtrack Production for the Moving Image - Commission

Unit 38: Soundtrack Production for the Moving Image -
Commission

Scenario – You have been commissioned to create a soundtrack for a moving image project. A crime drama called “Bangers & Mash”. You and your team must plan and create the sound track for the project including theme music, background and atmospheric music as well as any sound effects required.

Task 1:

Be able to devise a soundtrack for a moving image project

Professional practice: working with a director; working to a brief; working with a studio crew; working with a location crew; meeting audience requirements in relation to issues of taste and decency

Components: dialogue; recorded music; pre-recorded music; SFX, eg pre-recorded, public domain,

licensed, own; library, eg, audio CD, CD ROM, internet, public domain, licensed material

Planning: capabilities of the available locations; recording equipment; software; recognition of various audio formats and their compatibility; copyrights; documentation

Intellectual property: public domain; internet downloading; licensed music; licensed SFX; Mechanical Copyright Protection Society-Performing Rights Society Alliance (MCPS-PRS)

Task 2:

Be able to record audio for moving image

Environments: studio and location sound formats; mixing live sound; acoustic interference

Equipment: selection; configuration and operation (studio, inside, outside, on location); video; digital; from single sources; from multiple sources

Microphones: selection; handling; positioning for different environments (indoor, outdoor and studio)

Connecting audio: awareness of talk-back; headphones; recognising and applying cabling connections

Monitor and control: monitoring and controlling of recording levels via peak program meters (PPMs) and volume units meters (VUMs); fundamentals of decibels (dBs)

Synchronisation: timecode use; SMPTE

Content: dialogue, eg individuals, groups, crowds; music, eg solo, ensemble, vocal, instrumental; location, eg background animate, background inanimate, wildtrack; SFX

Documentation and storage: marking; storing and archiving of all types of sound recording media; logging tracks and timing; log soundtracks from video and audio rushes using time-code and control track

Task 3:

Be able to produce a soundtrack for a moving image project

Professional practice: working with a director; requirements of client; requirements of audience

Creativity: using audio track to complement the visual content of a production (speech, music, ambient sound, SFX)

Edit sound to picture: locking sound and vision (synchronisation); lip synchronising; split edits; use of  timecode; adding music or background atmosphere; laying off and laying back tracks;Sound processing and enhancement: use of digital effect generators or synthesisers

Mixing and dubbing sound sources: level setting; equalisation; mixing dialogue; music and effects; using appropriate compression

Unit 49: Introduction to Music Technology - Creative Arrangement

Unit 49: Introduction to Music Technology -

Creative Arrangement

A Production company have asked you to produce a cover of an existing piece of music in an alternate style. You will be given a skeleton score of the the music to re-create.

Task 1: 

Create a cover of an existing piece of music in an alternate style.

You will be given a skeleton score with the chord and melody line, and you are expected to use this to complete a cover using Cubase. Your track must be at least 1 minute long, and will be in a choice of 4 styles set at the start of the task.

You will be required to submit:

• A full mic down of your project when completed.
• An on-going web-log documenting the following techniques used during the task:

• Interpretation: Accuracy of pitch; Accuracy of rhythm; chords; Dynamics; Articulation; Phrasing; Transposing; Idiomatic awareness.

• Editing Skills: Programme Change; Velocity; Expression; Pitch Bend; Note Length; Quantisation

• Realisation/Timbre: Step time input; Real Time Input; Style; Sound selection; Balance; Voicing techniques; Texture; Arrangement.

Unit 48: Music Recording - Ready to release? Mixing and mastering

Unit 48: Music Recording - 
Ready to release? Mixing and mastering

Scenario – The band you have recorded the demo for during assignment 3 have asked you to mix and master their recording to increase the quality. This will require you to work individually to create your own mix of the song, as well as providing the band with a remix of another track to demonstrate to the band your mixing style.

Task 1

You will be required to remix another track from scratch to demonstrate all the techniques below. This will be used to show your understanding of mixing techniques.

You must also apply these skills to mix the track you have recorded with the band. You will be required to mix all you instruments separately to get the best quality sound possible.

Pre-recording	Tick Once Evidenced
Compression
Expansion
EQ
Reverb
Limiting
Grouping
Pan
Mixing original material
Remixing material

Task 2

You are required to master your finished mix using the following techniques. You will have to use examples of other mastered tracks to produce the best quality production possible.

Mastering	Tick Once Evidenced
Formatting
Multiband compressors
EQ
Level of mix
Sweetening the sound
Mixing down