Introduction

Proposed Project

Our proposed project is to create a 10-minute video presenting the fantastic array of activities available at Everyone Active’s King George’s Playing Fields. Throughout the duration of the video, we will feature interviews with Keeley, the general manager of the centre, talking about the wide range of different games that each activity has to offer. To accompany the video, I’ll be producing five tracks, one for each activity, that will feature the genres that will be most stylistically suitable for each activity, i.e. I will create an ASMR ambient piece to go alongside the sensory room.

Aim

The ultimate aim of this project is to showcase the playing fields’ five main sections of entertainment: Ninja Tag Active, Soft Play, Splash Pad, Adventure Play Area and Sensory Room. By creating a unique video that displays KGPF’s broad range of things to do, we hope to attract new customers in addition to boosting my musical and collaborative portfolio for potential employment opportunities in the future.

Personnel

My collaborator is Keeley Heasman (my mother). Keeley works as the general manager at King George’s Playing Fields and has worked there for a number of years, slowly working her way up from receptionist. The video will be shared around using the various social media accounts that KGPF own that are run by Keeley to attract new and existing customers to the facility.

I am Lucas Heasman, and I am a 3rd year production student and artist. My main musical influences include electronic dance music, jungle, pop and ambient. Throughout my musical process, I always dance along to the track to get a better understanding of how I want to compose. I have been producing for four years and have plenty of experience mixing and mastering.

Methodology & Rationale

To start, I organised some meetings over FaceTime with Keeley and approached her about the project. We discussed ideas, established the main idea for the video and made an influence playlist to start ideas for each track. We also have shared contact information to allow day-to-day communication. Over the Christmas break, I have been allowed access to KGPF in closed hours to allow me to go around and record found sound to resample for the music and use in my sound design portfolio. I will also be using this time to record the interview with Keeley, as well as get walkthrough shots of the areas. Additionally, I will be going to KGPF during opening hours to get some shots of the facilities in action, and I will be uploading my progress onto a shared Google Drive where Keeley can check in on my work and add any ideas or feedback they might have.

To create the music, I will be predominantly using Ableton Live 12 as this is the DAW I have been using for the last 4 years, and I am very capable in it. I will also be using Leeds Conservatoire’s studios to record acoustic instruments when necessary.

Market Analysis

Everyone Active’s target audience is mainly parents from the local area, as these are the customers who are more likely to book a large group for activities. To appeal to this generation, I will be taking a lot of influence from the early UK rave scene, as a lot of these consumers would have grown up in the Essex rave scene.

Essex was one of the early counties outside London to embrace the acid house scene, and raves in warehouses and fields helped push these sounds to the youth. Essex quickly became a hotspot for hardcore rave music, with DJs like Carl Cox and Ratpack organising large-scale events that experimented with chopped breakbeats and faster tempos.

The most popular social media platforms among parents are YouTube and Facebook, so these are the platforms that the ads will hypothetically run.

The target audience also includes any potential employers, as I will be using the sounds and music to add to my portfolio, so I will be making sure these are of high quality.

Costs and Budgeting

Hypothetical Budgeting

Equipment –

• Zoom H5 – £150
• 2 SD Cards – £50
• Zoom SGH-6 Shotgun Mic + Windshield – £88
• Professional Video Camera – £300-400

Wages –

• Videographer – £200 a day = I estimate that this would take no longer than 3 days
• My Wage – 5 tracks x £200 = £1000

Marketing –

• Facebook Ads – £1000 for a month
• YouTube Ads – £1000 for a month

Actual Budgeting

• Zoom H5 – already owned
• 1 SD Card – already owned
• SGH-6 Shotgun Mic – unowned, but a standard H5 mic will be suitable
• iPhone 14 Plus – owned replacement for the video camera, which also ensures only 1 SD card is needed for the H5
• All hypothetical advertisements, so no budget or wages are included

Inspiration & Influences

As Ninja Tag Active is the centre’s main attraction, these piece has to be bold and attention-grabbing. I will attempt to create a piece of music influenced by the early 90s UK hardcore scene, using fast tempos, chopped breakbeats and boutique versions of synthesisers from that time period, i.e. Korg Wavestation and Korg M1. A few of my main inspirations for this genre include Squarepusher, The Prodigy and Luke Vibert. I will also include Japanese instruments and influences to add to the ninja aesthetic of the activity. These will include Taiko drums, a Shamisen lute, a Sho organ and gongs.

To score the Adventure Play Area, I will be creating a classic 90s Jungle track, as this will boost the treetop jungle vibe of the playground. To do this, I will also be taking a lot of influence from the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack, as it is an early ’90s platformer which is set in a jungle. The music includes banjos, flutes and bongos sampled from the Korg Wavestation, as well as the iconic xylophone.

For the Splash Pad, I will be creating a liquid drum and bass track inspired by artists like Makoto, High Contrast and Nia Archives. As well as the genre name fitting, the genre’s use of funk and soul samples, along with wide electronics, creates a calming but energetic feel that is perfect for water-based activities. This is evident in the heavy influence that the early drum and bass scene had on video game music. To add to the video game water level ideas, I will be using instruments that are commonly found here, like marimbas and steel drums.

The Sensory Room portion of the video will have an ASMR ambient piece inspired by artists like Galen Tipton and Giant Claw. These artists have a very unique softness to their music that some people describe as tingling in their brain, which is perfect for the sensory rooms vibe. The room has been designed to help people regulate, develop and engage with their senses, so ambient music will work perfectly for the video as well as to be played inside the room as guests interact and explore the environment.

The Soft Play Area is the space of KGPF where I am struggling the most to choose a vibe. At the moment, I am thinking of making a piece of music similar to the experimental pop hits that came from the early PC music era. Artists like Hannah Diamond, GFOTY and Finn Keane made a loud but cute variation of electronic pop, combining bouncy, plastic synths over rhythms and sounds derived from a variety of club styles.

Contingency/Risk Assessment

As the collaborator is a member of my family, they are a trusted client and are far less likely to cancel or change any plans we make together. That being said, I still have plans in place if this original project idea falls through, for example, I plan to attend industry events where I can meet multiple collaborators for various small pieces. I will also be scouring Reddit for potential collaborators, as I am aware this has been very successful for my peers.

I am fully DBS checked, so any issues about me filming on site are void. I will check with any parents of children who feature in the video that I have their full consent to include them.

As I have no budget for a videographer, I will be doing all of the video filming, which is a small quality issue; however, I have done some videography before, and the clients were incredibly pleased with the result, despite being aware I am not a videographer.

If I get creative block, I plan to attempt to clear small milestones with flexible deadlines rather than have one big deadline for all the music.

Potential for Development

One way I would develop this project if I had the chance is to hire industry professionals to record and edit the video, as this would not only benefit the brand by ensuring they have a higher quality video, but it would also ease the workload that is on my shoulders and overall be a better solution for everyone.

Evaluation Viability

After gathering all this evidence, I believe that my final project will be viable to create, as I have planned out the influences extensively, and I know these genres extremely well, as this is the style of music that I specialise in. I have also guaranteed that my collaborator will stick with me and the collaborative playlist and Google Drive folder we have further improve our working relationship by ensuring the client is up-to-date and involved in the music creation process. As I am working with an individual, rather than a big team, I have great communication with all parties, and I have complete creative control of the project. This is also a perfect opportunity for some experimental music composition that not only complements the activities in the advert, but also shows off my sound design abilities, and they can be listed as sync music in their own right.

Bibliography

Waring, M.E., Blackman Carr, L.T. and Heersping, G.E. (2023). Social Media Use Among Parents and Women of Childbearing Age in the US. Preventing Chronic Disease, 20(20). doi:https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd20.220194.