Project Overview

For my collaborative project , I worked with third year graphics student called Rory Cormack who has been contributing towards the creative industry for over 3 years , specialising in graphics design for sports advertising. Rory utilises a distinct pop art style of animation which sets him apart from his peers , coincidentally this design style blends extremely well for the style of music I work with and specialise in. The project I chose to work on with Rory was a documentary , showcasing Rorys work and how his role in the industry is changing due to new culture and technology and how he combats that and works through the societal pressures that stand around him. I wanted to showcase this hopeful mentality in the music so I kept it at the forefront of my mind while I wrote and recorded the music.

The project is around 10 minutes long and although using multiple songs was an option , I did not believe it was the approach I should take. Since the market Rory usually markets towards consists of big companies and corporate bodies , I wanted to the music to represent the boring monotonous side of corporate life contrasted by the glimmer of hope that is creatives. I wanted the music to feel familiar and friendly to the corporate world while utilising out of the ordinary synth work and sound design to push forward the idea that individual beauty can still shine within a corporate body. The musical parts that I have created for this project can be swapped and changed and still fit into the chord progression playing underneath , this represents the idea of being a smaller cog in a larger system. The contrast between humans , an unpredictable and free creature , being confined to an office and a desk is really what I wanted to showcase with the music and is my main message I wanted to portray.

Video

Monthly Diary

• October 26th – messaged Lauren asking about my initial project which was a dancers showreel , initial idea was an ambient track paired with an improvised dance. Hopefully filmed and edited by a local film student.
• October 30th – Contacted a local film student and attempted to discuss availability
• November 25th – Lauren stopped responding so I had to make the decision to call it for this project
• December 14th – messaged games designer about project who I work with and I believed that would mean I won’t lose contact
• January 4th – games designer cancelled
• January 16th – Family passing which halted progress
• February 13th – Got in contact with Rory and made a demo of the music so he could begin his design
• February 16th – I created a mood board filled with my inspirations for the project and how I imagine it feeling in the end product. I sent this to Rory and he utilised it within his design
• February 26th – Rory sent back his demo
• February 30th – Due to schedule errors me and Rory could not meet up , because of this I had to record him over zoom , I used his phone to ensure the quality was as good as it could be
• March 5th – Went into 109 and utilised the synths in that room to create sounds which I can use moving forward with the project
• March 24th – Finished writing the track

Evidence of Process

The project I have completed with Rory was not the initial project I began in October , as briefly mentioned within the monthly diary I began with the idea of a dancers showreel. Due to specialising in ambient synth work I thought I could use a dancer to really showcase the changes and the identity of my work in a really unique way. I started conversation with a third year dance student name Lauren. At the start of our discussion of the project she was excited about the idea and promised to of sent a demo a few weeks after I have done the same. With this in mind , I began working on my demos to send over. Once I had done this Lauren ceased to respond. After chasing Lauren up and getting confirmation that the project would be too much for her she offered a list of contacts she knows which should hopefully help me. However she did not reply again.

Luckily I had planned out a contingency for this and had another contact at the ready. A coworker who I have worked with over the last year is a third year games design student. At the start of this project I already had an understanding of how unreliable it can be working with other parties. Therefore I worked on this contingency in case the showreel failed. Lex (third year games design student) was working on calming retro inspired game. Akin to ‘breath of the wild’ and ‘minecraft’ . Already knowing and understanding these games well I was very excited to begin work and start the project right away. After creating a demo for this project and sending it over to my colleague , I found out that Lex hadn’t mentioned that they changed art direction for the game. Instead of a relaxing ambient soundtrack they required a hyper pop upbeat one akin to ‘marvel rivals’ or ‘splatoon’. Although I was still offered the role no matter what art direction the game was taking , I had to think about what would showcase my skills the best. Therefore I decided to move on from that project.

Creating the sound design was an interesting process as I really wanted the layers outside the middle section to be unpredictable and full of life. I settled on the aesthetic Frutiger aero and began crafting synth sounds which will work within that genre. Bubble and water sounds are synonymous with this aesthetic so I thought it important to have that in the piece. I used a white noise WAV I had on my laptop and modulated it until it sounded like a river or running water. After careful consideration I decided that a running river was too obtuse of a sound to put into this project and would take up too much space. Therefore I settled on bubble noises , I used Logics alchemy synth to create a bass sound , by tweaking the LFOs I created a pluck sound and then modulated that until it started to sound like bubbles.

I wanted one or two distinct instruments to play from the very beginning of the track to the very end , I began researching drones and how they can be utilised within a composition. I understand how chords can be changed and shifted to create new harmony with the same notes and I wanted to use this concept to implement my drone. Throughout the whole song you can hear the plucking guitars. Almost symbolic with corporate life or college open days this sound is the backbone of the entire track. Because of this I needed it to play from start to finish. Almost like a clock in an office or a classroom. Constantly ringing , seemingly never starting nor ending.

Inspirations / Influences

MUSICAL INSPO

A big influence for this project was Pop heavyweight Harry Styles and his newest release “Kiss All The Time , Disco Occasionally”. With Harrys fourth studio album came a massive U turn in his usual sound. Choosing to branch into a synth based consciousness him and his producer use a very similar sound design to what I was trying to achieve on this song. Strange analog noises and plucks , driving beats and simple yet enticing melodies are all qualities that I have implemented within my own work.

I needed the music not to be distracting but also not just sit in the background. To do this I was inspired by tracks like ‘aperture’ and how it uses one pulsing synth chord progression throughout to make the listener feel almost hypnotised by the monotonous of it. Due to the melody and instrumentation constantly changing over the same chords , I believe this causes the music to sit in a very interesting space. Just scraping its head above the water to be noticed for what it is while also falling in line to allow the other art in the space to shine.

An influence for Harry Styles’ Album was LCD Soundsystem so I believe they also deserve to be mentioned. Although I aim for more synth work inspired music for this than what LCD sound system tend to make I believe they are still an important stepping stone on which I jumped of to achieve the sounds I did. Tracks like ‘All my friends’ capture a euphoric feeling of youth and joy which I wanted to capture .

VISUAL INSPO

I had lots of different imagery in my mind while creating this piece of music. However the most prevalent was the office set from the show ‘severence’ , one table laid out in a bare forest green room , the desk littered with plastic ornaments and things which give the workers the shred of humanity they can grab. This is extremely important imagery for me and the direction I took the music. The contrast between life and work is what I wanted to represent with the monotonous chord progression and guitar plucks paired with the ever-changing fluid synth instrumentation.

In line with the imagery of severence , I spent alot of time researching different clothing aesthetics. While doing this I stumbled across “office core” a clothing aesthetic where people utilise articles of clothing which would naturally be found in an office environment. For example a shirt and tie paired with a briefcase. This style intrigued me as I found it interesting that from corporate culture and 9-5 offices has grown a sub culture of creatives claiming this style and making something new from it. The dichotomy between these subjects inspired me to create this piece for Rorys portfolio.

Technologys

I used Logic Pro X to record , edit and manipulate all audio in the track. This is the main software I have used my entire career so I have all of my plug ins and synths all ready to go. This meant I could work quickly and efficiently on the track with minimal or no technical issues. Alongside this , I believe Logic Pro X is best suited for writing and arranging music. Due to its user friendly UI and wide array of stock sound plug ins , I believe Logic is the best option for creating and arranging 10 minutes worth of music.

I used a blend of sampled loops , MIDI and recorded audio to create the final product. The synths and sound design are the backbone of this entire piece and the majority of them come from UAD Opal Morphing Synth however I have also utilised Logic pros quick sampler and other stock plug ins to achieve the final product. Alongside this I used my UA Volt 2 to record the percussive guitars throughout and my Neumann U89 to record the minimal acoustics throughout the project.

To create the documentary parts of the project I used an app called ‘Discord’ this app has a video call option along with easy access to messages between parties. This meant that while the interview was going on me and Rory could exchange messages and also read the questions in the chat. Discord also keeps a log of chats and voice calls , this is useful as it helps me create a timeline and stay on track to meet the deadlines set out to me.

Evaluation

Overall I think this project has been difficult. Although the end product is what I wanted while taking in the context of my process , I have not enjoyed the journey getting there and I really believe if I had a project from the beginning I could of had a piece of work id of been more proud of. Starting a project and completing demos is a big step in the process so to have that taken away from you twice is a tough thing to bounce back from. I also believe it is unfair that I need to rely on someone else for my project. However in spite of that and with help from Rory I made the necessary steps to get where I am now. Alongside this due to personal issues which I have been dealing with , my communication and organisation has not been what it could of been. At the start of the preheat with Rory , I was distant and struggled to maintain communication however after a meeting in Manchester and discussing things with Rory I began to get better at communicating with Rory.

One issue I stumbled upon is Rorys distain towards sending me demos of the project. Although I have had small snippets I believe it is important for me to consistently be kept up to date with where the project is at and what steps need to be taken to ensure it gets finished. On multiple occasions I was left without a response and waiting on Rory to send a demo. This halted progress massively and is something I will work on for my next project. I believe I will decide ‘check in’ dates with my collaborator where no matter what , on that day we showcase our work. I think this will ensure the process goes a lot smoother next time.

For next time , I will aim to work with established independent companies around the local area. I think my downfall was my reliance on individuals who have no responsibility to uphold a professional appearance. Because I used university students who have other responsibilities and no obligation towards helping me , it led to deadlines being missed and two projects going down. With this in mind , next time , I intend to use local businesses accessibility and the high standard they work at to my advantage , I know the owners of local business ‘Hoist House’ (found on wellington place) and would intend to pursue a collaboration with them. After researching their social media , I have noticed a significant lack of videos and audio. In a world of short form content , audio and visual stimulation is highly important , because of this I intend to start a project of advertisements , soundtracking their videos.

Overall , I think the success of projects with this nature is entirely dependant on the communication between parties. This was not at the standard which it should have been and it massively affected the project. I take partial blame for this as I understand that steps can be made to be better at organising myself and meeting deadlines and I chose not to take those steps. In the future I will utilise organisation tools like calendars and reminders to ensure I make the best product I can.