Popstar Party at the Music Mill

Reflective Learning Diary

Introduction

The aim of this Reflective Learning Diary is for the following:

· Keep a record of the work I undertake on my placements

· Note any existing skills I develop, or new skills I learn

· Identify areas that I would like to improve upon

Work Placement: Popstars Party at Music Mill, Newton Abbott

Date:	10th October 2009
Hours worked:	4 hrs
Tasks completed:	· Setting up of a session within a commercial studio · successfully troubleshooting problems within the session and resolving them · producing 4 tracks mixed and mastered onto a CD for the customer
Reflection:	The placement was to record 4 tracks within a commercial studio for a child's birthday party and record, mix, master a CD for the customer to take home with them. Myself and Michael Walton had been approached by Rick Edwards (co-owner of the music mill) who offered us the opportunity to run a session for a Pop-stars party for a group of 10 children, this is an event which is done on a weekend and gives children the opportunity to emulate their idols within a studio environment. Mine and Michaels role was to run the session and provide the customer with a CD of the songs that the children had sung which we did successfully and with very little problems except problems that did pass our way would be resolved with better understanding of the mixer console and routing at the Music Mill

End of placement evaluation

The achievement of which I am proudest is:	Being able to setup a session and route the signal for a microphone from the live room patch bay to the mixing desk correctly first time with no issues.
The thing I found most surprising was:	How surprisingly easy it was to record 10 children in the live room without any issues and being surprised how well behaved they were!
The area I found most challenging was:	Trying my best to understand the logic behind the routing system on the mixer at the music mill is very challenging.
The area I would like to improve is:	As above the area I think I would improve most would be to gain a better knowledge of the recording console, to achieve this I feel I need to invest more time learning the mixing desk.
An example of when I worked in a team was:	Setting up the microphones and communicating back to Michael to ensure we had a signal going from the live room to the control room.
An example of when I used my knowledge was:	Having children myself I felt I could implement the experience with kids to good effect to get the best possible results out of them regarding their singing and to make sure that they have a good time.
An example of when I solved a problem was:	There was issues when a microphone was clipping and causing distortion which I identified as one of the children kicking the bottom of the microphone stand, this was rectified by moving the stand further away from the child in question
An example of when I was given responsibility was:	Operation of ensuring the mixed files from the mixer was recorded onto CD I had to ensure that none of the mixed recordings was overloading the audio within the computer which would have resulted in distortion being present on the CD.
Other comments:	I really didn't know how I was going to react to this kind of placement but my first initial thoughts was that the party was going to be an absolute nightmare from start to finish, but instead the whole session was quite a pleasant experience which ran quite smoothly and I would welcome the opportunity to repeat such a session.

Stoke Gabriel Orchestra Recording Reflective Diary

Reflective Learning Diary

Introduction

The aim of this Reflective Learning Diary is for the following:

· Keep a record of the work I undertake on my placements

· Note any existing skills I develop, or new skills I learn

· Identify areas that I would like to improve upon

Work Placement: Record a String quartet at Stoke Gabriel village hall

Date:	9th October 2009
Hours worked:	8 ½ Hours
Tasks completed:	· Research and assess surroundings for recording a string quartet · implemented researched methods successfully · trouble shoot any problems quickly and in a professional manner · record a string quartet to a professional standard
Reflection:	The task given was to record a string quartet at Stoke Gabriel village hall, we was given a brief on the location and the layout of the village hall. With the information gathered myself, Michael, Matthew and Jess researched and successfully recorded the string quartet and any problems that crossed our paths we dealt with accordingly and in a professional manner with skills learnt from lessons taught.

End of placement evaluation

The achievement of which I am proudest is:	Using the skills learnt from the course to successfully set-up a researched technique called the 'Decca Tree' which places microphones around the quartet at precise dimensions to capture the best possible recording, having no experience at capturing this form of music I was extremely happy with final results.
The thing I found most surprising was:	How quickly we set-up the session was quite amazing given the allotted time was only 2 hours whilst the quartet rehearsed, so there was no room for error.
The area I found most challenging was:	We came across a few issues with faulty microphone cables which caused interference in the signal chain to the computer in which we were recording into, identifying the problem quickly and resolving it proved to be one of the most challenging areas.
The area I would like to improve is:	Keeping the cabling tidy as my efforts of making sure that cables were secured and not infringing any of the audience could have been better
An example of when I worked in a team was:	When a problem with the stage microphones caused clips and interference to the mixer we all worked together to identify the problem within the signal chain and I felt I contributed equally to rectifying the problem.
An example of when I used my knowledge was:	Setting up the session with the recording console, I felt I did this with great understand and confidence and all of the above was demonstrated from skills learnt from lessons previously taught.
An example of when I solved a problem was:	Certain microphones were too loud and resulted in clipping within the mixer, I isolated each individual microphone and identified the culprit microphone that was overloading the mixer and adjusted the input to the console accordingly.
An example of when I was given responsibility was:	The concert was split into two 1 hour performances I was given the responsibility of ensuring the first half of the show was recorded successfully and any problems (which thankfully never occurred) were addressed and dealt with in a swift professional manner.
Other comments:	Overall the whole experience was extremely positive, I felt the research done beforehand helped to make the whole event a success and that each member of the team had a good knowledge of what was expected of them. The only negative side I could express was the person organising the event Mr Banks upon handing out 'thanks' at the end of the night failed to acknowledge the recording crew and could have shown a little more appreciation for the team recording the event as spending 8 ½ hours setting up and recording a concert till 10pm at night deserved a little credit for the people involved doing this free of charge and more so when Mr Banks was advertising the fact that the concert was recorded and would be on sale in the form of a CD of which we had no knowledge of beforehand and have yet to edit, mix and master. This aside the event was a success and the next phase is to edit the recording and present the finished recordings to Mr Banks.

University update

Ok went to College today to have a brief of my 2nd year of my Foundation Degree and although I'm not being complacent with things, its doesn't look all that bad as I maybe thought it was going to be... not that I knew what it was going to be anyways!

my main objective for this years course is to brain-storm some ideas for my final project, there is a few ideas cropping up and i'll keep you updated in later posts as I feel the main objective is get a few lessons under my belt and get into a routine again and then start laying out a solid plan of how I will approach possibilities and how to present them.

Music front wise... a couple of new songs the first being a cover of a Coldplay song off the 'Rush of Blood to the Head' Album & also myself and Mike finished our song we penned together titled 'This Moment' and so far the feedback has been fantastic.

Yeh its Friday!

ok my favourite time of the week has arrived and I'm planning on having a few glasses of red wine or similar to celebrate Keiley's (my Fiancee) week in college....again, mind I think its always good to celebrate things even if it is a mere excuse to get abit merry off the ole loopy juice ;-)

ok update with the music front is... myself and Mike have pretty much finished the track we were working on and the guy is a gem he came up with some wonderful touches in the song which included getting ideas from the demo's I sent to him were he played them in sync together and found some interesting crossover harmonies and guitar work which just seemed to work and he also added some subtle harmonies which sit nicely within the mix.

University side of things hasn't changed much.... still waiting to start, and I really should get my butt in gear and write some logs and journals of my 'Work Based Learning' outcomes when I spent some time in the recording studio over the summer.

The basic Idea of WBL is that I spend a minimum of 30hrs of the 2 years im studying experiencing practical hands on work to put towards a module/unit of my degree and also to give me an insight of what it is like to work within a professional environment and also within that I will be able to build up a portfolio as evidence of my WBL, I've just been extremely lazy over the summer spending time with Keils and the kids and basically taking things easy, but its kind of crucial that I start getting my head in gear and focus on the year ahead as I feel it will be quite a tough one and as with my first year the coursework load isn't very forgiving if you slack abit.

also updates with the concert recording I'm going to be testing out the Alesis mixer/interface over the weekend to make sure its fully functional and will cover the requirements for us on the 9th October, checklist would include making sure the macbook has the required drivers to run the interface and it is full compatible with either Pro Tools or Logic 9.

ok so theres my little text crit to you guys for this sunny friday, again apologies if what you read is pure blabber and makes no sense, I tend to write as I think and feel its possibly one of the best ways to express myself.

have a good weekend people :)

-Clint

Microphones, Mixers, Confusion and personal ongoings :)

The venue as I think I mentioned before is a Village hall located in lovely Stoke Gabriel and up to 100 people may possibly be attending, and our goal is to capture the live performance of the gig in its entirety and take it off for mixing and submit it as part of our coursework for our degree.

Ok went into college today to sort out equipment for the recording session with fellow students Michael and Matthew we established what microphones we had available at our disposal and what recording equipment we could use on the night that seemed to go all very smoothly.

The confusion comes with the method of recording.... we have 3 maybe four options in which to record the Orchestra and only 1 hr to setup on the night! oh the joy of it all, this is why im very glad we showed the initiative to attend early to sort equipment out as oppose to the 7th October which was our starting date which would have left us no time at all to sort things out.

Microphones are sorted and we have them pre-booked and ready at hand for when we need them the next is the interface to use for recording, we either have the option of taking a Digidesign 002 rack which will accept up to 4 microphones directly into the interface, but the problem we face is we may possibly need 5 microphones which in that case we may need to book a mixer out of college for that (grrr more stuff to throw around so much for a simple setup eh) which in that case I will be trying out a mini Alesis mixer which will accept 8 XLR inputs directly I just need to test the sound quality out and the ability to use it as an interface, which if the case would allow us to remove the Digidesign 002 rack out of the equation.

and all of this will be run off my little Macbook laptop (god bless technology in small devices) running directly from the mixer into Logic 9 via Firewire cable.

That aside im really looking forward to getting back into my 2nd Year of the course although being very grateful for the time off, things are abit too laid back for my liking and its time to squeeze the agenda and pressure on ;)

on the home front Mike (Doctor Castille) and myself are making advances on the song writing front and the current song were working on temp title of 'Edge of Time' is making good steady progress, were at the stage of putting the production together and making tweaks as we go along, still yet to devise a 2nd verse put were banging our heads together and im sure that is just a minor issue :)

right Blog 2 done and more from me very soon take care all and have a good day :)

-Clint

My first Blog!

Ok not really sure with these things how to go about them but after seeing fellow youtuber 'Scribbletunes' creating her blog page I thought it would be a fun thing to do and would also give a few people an insight that would like to know abit more about me.

I promise to try keep this updated as regularly as possible plus with starting my second year in University I have to keep some form of diary/blog/log of my thoughts throughout the year, so for those interested there may well be a handful of boring stuff being thrown on here hehe.

current situation at the moment is I have just finished a Coldplay Cover 'Politik' which I aim to upload in the very near future and also I'm in the middle of writing an original song (yes I know it only takes me every 6months to write lol) with Mike aka 'Doctor Castille'.

Its a very weird scenario for me to be writing songs as half the time I really feel as I'm totally useless that creating a idea for a song and I end up drifting off into either a Beatles, Oasis or Coldplay tune ( I know bad habit eh?) so in this case im grateful I have Mike to lean towards as were at the point now we can throw ideas at each other without that feeling of insecurity as such.

besides that im currently also still waiting to start Uni which resumes on 7th October but I have to have a brief of the year ahead on the 29th September of which I already have found out we have to record a Orchestra in a village hall on the 9th October..... Yikes!

so in preparation I will aim to find my way into college to find out the nitty gritty details so im better prepped for the event.

well first Blog...... I really didn't know how I should present this and I really hope that this didn't come across as blabber and hope you all have a good day :)

Clint

Mark Nightingale album recording

Reflective Learning Diary

Introduction

The aim of this Reflective Learning Diary is for the following:

· Keep a record of the work I undertake on my placements

· Note any existing skills I develop, or new skills I learn

· Identify areas that I would like to improve upon

Work Placement: Exeter Network Church, Mark Nightingale

Date:	11th August 2009 & 18th August 2009
Hours worked:	12 hours
Tasks completed:	· Setting up a recording session · Making the musicians feel comfortable in their environment · Create a rough mix of the recorded session · Overdubs and additional track overlays were necessary
Reflection:	Mark Nightingale of the ‘Exeter Network Church’ approached the Music Mill for help recording his latest album; he kindly agreed to let myself and Michael Walton help with the creation of his album from the recording aspect of things. After a previous WBL learning experience with ‘The Atlantics’ which involved similar roles in which was to be expected of me, I was hoping to learn from my experience from that session and implement all the positive elements into mark’s album.

End of placement evaluation

The achievement of which I am proudest is:	Giving mark re-assurance when laying vocals over some of the songs he did, there was elements of doubt and lack of self-belief in which I helped correct with assurance that the methods of his singing within songs was correct and any songs that did fall in to a category of doubt I helped contribute to the correction process.
The thing I found most surprising was:	The speed in which everything was done, being only use to recording amateur’s within the college such as, how many times it would take to get a clean vocal recording there would be a element of time wasting when trying to record students in the college, but this was not the case with the band here, they were very organised and structured.
The area I found most challenging was:	Understanding the mixing console and watching Shaun work his way around the mixer, trying to absorb his actions and what he was doing at any given time I found to be very challenging and understanding what he was doing also.
The area I would like to improve is:	Gaining a better understanding of instrument placement within a stereo mix when recording a band, I would like to improve on this as when watching Shaun using the pan methods to given each instrument its own place within a mix I learned it is something that I must improve on with my future assignments and personal projects.
An example of when I worked in a team was:	Setting up the musician’s equipment within the live room and ensuring that the microphone placements were to a standard that was usable within the control room and not any hindrance to the band members this was done with communication from the live room and with the control room.
An example of when I used my knowledge was:	Setting up volume levels into the mixer I was able to do this with great understanding from the skills and knowledge I had attained from the course so far, elements such as not overloading the console and making sure 48 volt phantom power was supplied to condenser microphones.
An example of when I solved a problem was:	When we were getting bad signal flow to the desk from a certain microphone I followed a procedure of checking for faults with the leads, mixer, connections and eventually found the problem to be a faulty microphone.
An example of when I was given responsibility was:	I was asked by the producer of the session (Shaun) to operate the tape recorder and to ensure that I had tracks enabled and ready when Mark was laying numerous overdubs and correcting errors on previously recorded tracks
Other comments:	Overall a positive experience and great to see how an album is created from its start point up until the mix stage, the main element I’m beginning to understand that is you can have all the skills in the world but it is very important to have a good relationship with the client when working in this kind of working environment in regards to making sure they feel comfortable within their surroundings.

WBL at Bookhams!

Reflective Learning Diary

Introduction

The aim of this Reflective Learning Diary is for the following:

· Keep a record of the work I undertake on my placements

· Note any existing skills I develop, or new skills I learn

· Identify areas that I would like to improve upon

Work Placement: Maintenance repairs at Bookhams (South Devon College)

Date:	20th May 2009
Hours worked:	3 ½ Hours
Tasks completed:	· Repairing of XLR Cables and Jack Leads · Soldering of faulty cables · Re-tuning of Instruments (Guitar and Bass)
Reflection:	The task at hand was to assess the equipment we had available at the Bookhams studio based on the south devon college campus and identify and repair any equipment that was not working. From being a student the previous year at the college I found that a large portion of cables and musical instruments available to us was broken and needed some form of repair or service required, myself and Michael Walton was asked by teacher Pete Day if we would like to service and repair some of the problematic equipment as part of our work based learning. I was very happy with the outcome of my WBL and felt that the work we carried out was of benefit to ourselves and future students at the college.

End of placement evaluation

The achievement of which I am proudest is:	The amount of cables we repaired which enabled ourselves and other students to fulfil future assignments/projects more easily without the worry of equipment failing
The thing I found most surprising was:	The lack of respect in which students have for the college equipment and also the lack of administration in which the students are allowed to take equipment with no form of record to show that a dedicated student is using that equipment at that given time.
The area I found most challenging was:	Identifying fault's within XLR cables and stripping the cables back to start a fresh rewire.
The area I would like to improve is:	I would like to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the mechanics and wiring system of how the stereo cables and mono cables operate..
An example of when I worked in a team was:	Databasing which cables were repairable and which were not, myself and Michael had separate storage units to identify the repaired/repairable cables and the faulty cables, and we worked together to keep a record of each cable.
An example of when I used my knowledge was:	Understanding the relationship of how a cable functions correctly, this is something that was taught to me in previous lessons and implemented in this scenario.
An example of when I solved a problem was:	Every cable being repaired successfully was a good example of a problem being solved.
An example of when I was given responsibility was:	The fact that Pete Day asked for our help to repair the college equipment was an example of trust and responsibility.
Other comments:	The college benefited the most out of this placement as it was of no cost to the college to have these cables repaired, but it was worthwhile doing as it will benefit myself and other students in the future

Atlantic's WBL Diary

Reflective Learning Diary

Introduction

The aim of this Reflective Learning Diary is for the following:

· Keep a record of the work I undertake on my placements

· Note any existing skills I develop, or new skills I learn

· Identify areas that I would like to improve upon

Work Placement: Recording session Atlantics at The Music Mill Studio, Newton Abbot

Date:
Hours worked:	8 hours (9am-5pm)
Tasks completed:	· Setting up a recording session · Making the musicians feel comfortable in their environment · Create a rough mix of the recorded session · Overdubs and additional track overlays were necessary
Reflection:	Being my first time within a recording environment I was quite nervous of what was to be expected of me, I felt it gave me a very good insight to how a recording of a professional band should be done and done in a professional manner. I also learnt that there are a lot of social skills required to ensure that the recording was to be successful and done in a relaxed environment.

End of placement evaluation

The achievement of which I am proudest is:	Helping on the tape operating functions, I felt that I was able to put into place some of the skills that I had learnt form my classes in college with a good amount of knowledge and confidence.
The thing I found most surprising was:	The speed in which everything was done, being only use to recording amateur’s within the college such as, how many times it would take to get a clean vocal recording there would be a element of time wasting when trying to record students in the college, but this was not the case with the band here, they were very organised and structured.
The area I found most challenging was:	Understanding the mixing console and watching Digby work his way around the mixer, trying to absorb his actions and what he was doing at any given time I found to be very challenging and understanding what he was doing also.
The area I would like to improve is:	Gaining a better understanding of instrument placement within a stereo mix when recording a band, I would like to improve on this as when watching Digby using the pan methods to given each instrument its own place within a mix I learned it is something that I must improve on with my future and personal mixes.
An example of when I worked in a team was:	Setting up the musician’s equipment within the live room and ensuring that the microphone placements were to a standard that was usable within the control room and not any hindrance to the band members this was done with communication from the live room and with the control room.
An example of when I used my knowledge was:	Setting up volume levels into the mixer I was able to do this with great understanding from the skills and knowledge I had attained from the course so far, elements such as overloading the console and making sure 48 volt phantom power was supplied to condenser microphones.
An example of when I solved a problem was:	When we were getting bad signal flow to the desk from a certain microphone I followed a procedure of checking for faults with the leads, mixer, connections and eventually found the problem to be a faulty microphone.
An example of when I was given responsibility was:	I was asked by the producer of the session (Digby) to operate the tape recorder and to ensure that I had tracks enabled and ready when the band were ready to record
Other comments:	Before the placement, I had worked out that I could fit the time commitment into my academic timetable, but I hadn’t realised that it would be emotionally tiring as well as physically tiring. I have been able to apply some of the things I have learnt in classes, which I have really enjoyed, and I my self-confidence has improved.