Pre-Production

• What is the type of Production?
• For my production, my client will taking an already existing song and then taking it and remixing it into another genre. In this case it will be going from Metal into Electro/Dub-step and by this it will be more available and likeable by a lager audience. The song which will be remixed is by the band Bring Me The Horizon from their 2013 album Sempiternal, "Go to Hell, For Heavens Sake." It will be done similarly to way this YouTube artist has remixed.

• Who is your client?
• For this production, my client will be the band Bring me the Horizon and they tasked me to take one of their songs and recreate it in a different genre as a means for the to branch out and appeal to more audiences

• What are your ideas for the media production?
• As I mentioned previously, my idea for the production is to take an already existing song from Bring me the Horizon and recreate it in a different genre with the intention of allowing the band to branch out to appeal to different style of fans. Those who are and aren't fans of the band will be able to enjoy this remix. One way in which I will be spreading the news about this remix will be either through my own Facebook and Twitter pages, or I will ask the band to spread news to their fans. This way it will be able to get an equal amount of coverage and see and larger group of people.

• What production equipment do your require?
• The only production equipment I really require is the software to actually make the remix itself which is Cubase. The reason I only require the music creating software is because the track I will be using already exists so I won't need to re-record it or anything like that. I can just load the track into Cubase and get to remixing it straight away.

• What post- production equipment do you require?
• The only bits of post-production software I really need is yet again Cubase for mastering the track and possibly Adobe Premiere Pro so that I can put my music track into a video which would allow me to upload it to such platforms as YouTube and Facebook.

• What other materials do you require?
• The only other material I need, is Midi controller so that I'm able add in midi notes allowing me to create the music in Cubase.

• What copyright issues need to be addressed?
• It is argued that remixes are compliant with copyright law. For example, article 13 of the Agreement on Trade-Related aspect of Intellectual Property states that in "certain special cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder" an exception to the copyright can can be made. This school of thought argues that as long as the remixed work remains in the realm of amateur creativity (i.e. no commercial gain is derived from it), the exclusive right of the original author can be limited, as the new work does not threaten the “normal exploitation” of the work.
• Here's is the website where I got this information

Being a Recording Engineer

Microphones Types

Dynamic microphones records sound by having a plate named the Diaphragm which is attached to a magnet that also has a coil wrapped around it. When the diaphragm vibrates in response to incoming sound-waves, the coil moves backwards and forwards past the magnet. This creates which is channelled from the microphone. Here a photo of how a dynamic looks 

A condenser microphone has a diaphragm similar to the dynamic microphone but the condenser has another plat behind the diaphragm and in-between those plates is a voltage . A voltage is required for the capacitor to work. This voltage is supplied by either a battery or by external phantom power. The diaphragm vibrates when struck by sound waves changing the distance between the plates and therefor changing the capacitance. When the plates are further apart, capacitance decreases and a discharge current occurs. 

Condenser Microphone

Polar Patterns

Cardioid

 Cardioid mics are most effective at picking up sound from most infront of them and least effective at picking up sound behind them. Cardioid Mics are essential mics for considering a live music performance.

                        Omni-Directional

Omnidirectional microphones are equally sensitive to sound arriving from all angles. Therefore, the microphone does not need to be aimed in any particular direction. This can be particularly useful when using a lapel mic to capture a speakers voice. The disadvantage of omni-directional is that it cannot be aimed at a specific source. 

Figure of 8

A microphone with a figure-of-eight polar pattern picks up the sound from in front of the microphone and from the rear but not the sides (90 degree angle). Microphones with a figure-of-eight polar pattern are typically ribbon or large diaphragm condenser microphones.

Super Cardioid

Super - cardioid microphones offer a narrower pickup than cardioids and a greater rejection of ambient sound. However, they also pick up a small amount of sound from directly behind. For this reason, it is particularly important to place monitor speakers to the side facing the 'dead spots'. 

Microphone Specs

Shure SM58

Shure SM58

• Microphone Type: Dynamic 
• Distance: 20cm from the glockenspiel
• Polar Pattern: Cardioid

AKG D112

AKG D112 (Left) and AKG C1000 (Right)

• Microphone Type: Dynamic
• Distance: 20cm from the glockenspiel
• Polar Pattern: Cardioid

AKG C1000

• Microphone Type: Condenser
• Distance: 20cm from the glockenspiel
• Polar Pattern: Cardioid & Super Cardioid

H2 Microphone

H2

• Microphone Type: Dynamic
• Distance: 20 cm from the Glockenspiel
• Polar Pattern:  Diverse range of Polar Pattern

Glockenspiel Evaluation

For this lesson I was given the task to record a Glockenspiel in two different locations. We recorded in the studio and out in the open. For the studio recording, we had 3 different types of microphones a Shure SM58 which is a dynamic microphone typically used for recording vocals, the 2nd is an AKG D112, this is another dynamic microphone that is normally used for recording kick drums and the final microphone is another AKG model but it is the C1000 which is typically used for recording wind instruments. Also, the polar patterns for all Cardioid except the C1000 which is Cardioid as well as Super-Cardioid.   Each time I recorded the Glockenspiel, I would have each microphone slightly above the glockenspiel and played a different tune for each microphone. For the open air recording, 

Here is a playlist link on SoundCloud to the recording I did of the Glockenspiel: 

https://soundcloud.com/mrjamierox/sets/glockenspiel-recording-task

Multiple Area Recordings

For this lesson, I was set the task to go and record different tracks of different intruments in two different places. For the first set of recordings, I went into a different classroom and we recorded an acoustic guitar and a glockenspiel. We had the mobile desk and we set that up with a new track as well as setting up the microphone to record the different instruments. We placed the microhpone about 20cm away from the instrument before we started reocrding, the microphone we used for the recording was the C1000 condenser microphone. After setting up the microphone, the guitarist played a rhythm after which, we ended the recording and transferred the file from the computer and uploaded to SoundCloud.

Here is a playlist link on SoundCloud to the multiple area recordings

https://soundcloud.com/mrjamierox/sets/recording-task-29-09-15

Final Recording

Here are my final recordings:

https://soundcloud.com/mrjamierox/sets/final-recordings

Sound on Sound Article

Sound on Sound Article

 Beatles Hard Day's Night

A Hard Day's Night was recorded at EMI Studios in a session taking place from 7-10pm. It took nine takes to record, and complete the number of songs needed for the film soundtrack. There may be more inventive Beatles records, Sgt. Pepper’s, for example and there may be better ones, Abbey Road, for one. But no one Beatles album better encapsulated the essence of the band than this one.

AKG D19c (One of the mics The Beatles used)

The Beatles used an AKG d19c. It was a general-purpose mic and was liked for a lot of things. They also used U67s and AKG C12s. The backing track - two rhythm guitars, bass guitar and drums - was recorded onto track one of the four-track tape, and Lennon and McCartney's lead vocal were recorded live on track two. They added more vocals on three, along with percussion, more drums and acoustic guitar; and George Martin's piano and the jangling guitar that ended the song were on track four. On 16 April 1964, the Beatles gathered at Studio 2 of the Abbey Road Studios and recorded "A Hard Day's Night". It took them less than three hours to polish the song for its final release, eventually selecting the ninth take as the one to be released.     

In contrast to their first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, showcasing the development of the band's songwriting talents instead developing more quieter more melodic songs. The album contains some of their most famous songs, including the title track, with its distinct, instantly recognisable opening chord, and the previously-released "Can't Buy Me Love"; both were transatlantic number-one singles for the band. This album marked a new phase, a "middle phase". In a sense, it was a new phase for pop music generally, with attention swinging for the first time from singles to albums.

Officially, the song doesn't have a music video, like all songs of that era, but most view the opening sequence of the movie 'Hard Day's Night' as a music video for the song. The same is done for some of the other songs in the album. 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'She Loves You' are two others cases from the film where the clip from the film is used as the music video for the track itself. 

The first two Beatles albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, were recorded on the BTR two track machines with the introduction of four-track machines in 1963 (the first 4-track Beatles recording was "I Want to Hold Your Hand" there came a change in the way recordings were made. The tracks themselves could be built up layer by layer, encouraging experimentation in the multi-track recording process. 

A Hard Days Night (Movie Opening Sequence

A Hard Day’s Night not only captures The Beatles at the peak of Beatlemania, the most exciting time in pop music up to that moment, and arguably ever since; when continents fell and music was changed forever, but also sees them perfecting the art of pop.

I myself have made recording using vocals and different instruments. Compared to the Beatles recordings, I unlike them only used a single instrument and vocalist where as they had multiple instruments and vocalists. As well as this, The Beatles used older models of mics compared to ours which a lot modern. The Beatles used an AKG d19c which was a general-purpose mic, as well as this, they also used a U67s and an AKG C12s. Where as I used an AKG C1000s which is a condenser microphone and also a more modern model compared to the ones The Beatles used. The sound quality is probably one of the biggest notable difference between the two recordings. The Beatles is a bit more muffled sounding, but this is because of the technology of the time as well as the track becoming a lot older. My recording is lot clearer because of the updated mic.

https://soundcloud.com/mrjamierox/guitar-studio-recording


Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/4mcg

http://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/a-hard-days-night/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hard_Day%27s_Night_(album)

http://www.thebeatles.com/album/hard-days-night

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Interview_Ken_Scott_Part_1_Recording_with_The_Beatles_Inside_the_Studio