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MPR4C001R-001 Production Log Book 1 Template

Task 2: Production Log Book

1500 Words

Please use the sections below to evidence your personal contribution to the production for the portfolio. Please include details for all the tracks produced as a part of this portfolio.

Provide rationale for any of the production decisions that you made as a group. Include any multimedia (pictures, videos, audio recordings etc) evidence to the relevant sections.

Consider the following:

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Method 1 – Live Band/Ensemble Capture

This project started with us finding the bands to record. On 21^st of October we had a meeting to discuss the jazz band live recording. Initially we agreed to only record double bass, piano, drums and vocals. But there was a problem with the band’s time, so the pianist suggested his other band which we ended up using. We agreed on doing the recording the evening of the 17^th of November. We recorded drum kit, bass and piano in room 422. I suggested to move the drumkit to a different location so there’s better isolation and we decided to use the gobos in the room to help with instruments feeding into others. Every instrument was spaced in the room so the takes were better. At the end we recorded another song with vocals, but the song wasn’t that polished so we stayed with the previous and more consistent take.

For drums we used:

• Kick: Sontronics DM1B. We used it on our SSS morning session and liked it.
• Snare Top: SM7B. I suggested it due to the rejection the mic has.
• Snare Bot: SM57. We thought it would pair well with the SM7B.
• Toms: 2 Sennheiser MD421. It came with the pack and we liked the sound on the toms for this recording.
• OHs: AKG 414 ULS. We thought it would control the highs better.
• Piano: Neumann KM 184 as spaced pair. We wanted to emphasise the stereo image of the piano.
• Bass: DI, it would benefit for rejection.

For the edit and mix of this recording. We all did it together in our SS morning session. We agreed to boost the piano in the mix, so it sounds more coherent. Drums and bass were already sounding cohesive. Also, drums were panned from drummer’s perspective. Piano was set as stereo, 1 microphone to the left and the other to the right. The microphone that captured the lower register of the piano went left and the other right, to give this pianist perspective.

I believe this recording went great. We liked the final product even though there were some mistakes we had to fix in the editing stage. I believe we didn’t have many phasing issues due to the placement of the instruments and microphones. Only some management issues we didn’t thought of.

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Method 2 – Overdub Production

After finishing with the live recording Ben Pownall suggested his friend’s song to be recorded which we all agreed.

On 24^th of November we started this recording with vocals using a Brauner Phantom C. I suggested this mic since I worked with it before and I found it very good. A bright sounding mic perfect for the modern EDM Pop genre of the song. We also recorded guitar cab using an SM57 and an XAudia GRX. We wanted to get the mid range of the SM57 and the lows the ribbon could get. Both were placed close to the grill to avoid phase issues and around the same distance from the cone. The amp was a Vox AC30.

On 26^th of November we recorded drums and did some more vocal takes. For drums we used the following microphones:

• Kick: Audix D6. We though it would be more modern sounding due to our previous practice with this microphone.
• Snare Top:  Sennheiser MD441. We used it last time we practiced drum techniques and liked the result. It had a fatter sound than the SM7B and SM57 which we looked for.
• Snare Bot: SM47. We liked the result on the previous recording.
• Toms: Sennheiser e604s and MD421.
• OHs: AKG 414 XLS II. Due to the brightness of the mic, we though it fitted this modern production more.

On the 1^st of December, we decided to record bass and re-record guitar because some previous timing issues.

For bass we used a DI and for guitar we used the same setup.

On the 3^rd of December we re recorded guitar a final time because of a problem with the chord progression. This time we used the same microphones but with a different amp. We used the Fender Deluxe Reverb. We believed the Vox sounded a bit too thin for the song. We also focused on editing drums and comping together. We did some slight mixing and agreed I would finish it since I have Pro Tools installed in my computer and I could finish it.

For the mix I panned the drums from drummer’s perspective. Guitar was in the middle. I decided to use some extra vocal takes as doubles and ad libs. In total we had 5 vocal tracks, the main one was in the centre, 2 were 57 to the left and the other 2 were 59 to the right, I thought it would make the stereo image more noticeable having a slight difference in the panning. Regarding volume, I had the kick and snare more prominent than the other drums and overheads. I tried to find a balance between all the vocals and the guitar. I think the vocal harmonies had to sound louder than what I usually do to fill the space the guitar doesn’t fill on the sides.

I believe this production made us realise how much more attention to detail we need to have on every session to avoid having to re-record too much. We could’ve been able to record a synth or piano but due to the timing we didn’t. Overall, we did okay but there is things we can learn from and improve.

For both projects, I believe we could improve on the management of the recordings. I think this is a different approach than what we had so this serves us a point of reference to improve. We divided the tasks differently according at what was needed at each point of every recording. Due to all of us having different knowledge we believed every input on every task was valuable, so we didn’t feel assigning each of us to one station only would benefit much. For next project we should focus on getting more references for the project.