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.