Minor Project Write Up

My most obvious issue with this project is my lack of experience with protools. I have been using Live 8 since it's came out and am very comfortable with it so adjusting to the different DAW was a little time consuming at first.

 I first grouped multiple elements into one track so it would be simpler to export. Tracks such as "Piano" have about 5 different piano tracks. Instead of putting all of the midi notes into one big piano roll, I splint the tracks up in order of frequency so I could easy EQ, change release settings form the piano sampler and and reverb more precisely. I did the same with the "Orchestra" section which contains 7 different strings and some horns. In  order to keep my return effects from Live I rerouted them into a blank track and recorded the audio signal of the effects. I then had 2 different reverb tracks and a delay track which I imported into protools.

Since I composed the track with Live, I already panned and EQ'd as I went and was fairly happy with the levels. So once I exported everything from Ableton Live in about 14 condensed tracks I imported them into protools. From there I just reorganized everything and made some minor adjustments in levels as well as added some of protools effects. I plan on composing my next project solely through protools and I am very excited to produce something  in surround sound.

My mixing influences for this track are mostly electronic producers. Netsky is one of my favorite musicians, he is a Belgian drum and bass producer/DJ and is one of the highest regarded producers in the field. He also has a "Live" show now featuring a full electronic drum kick with his samples, and multiple keyboardist/guitarist playing everything live. His productions show dominance in the obvious drum and bass levels, but also stresses more ambient melodies, rhythmic elements and spacey/ambient feel. He also incorporates many organic elements and often has guest violinist, cellist and vocalist. I wanted to keep a real clear low end and stress the space and the stereo width in the high end of the track to achieve this field.

After listening to my first mix and receiving the many valuable tips from my classmates (thanks) in class I got some re-enforcement on what I knew needed some work. I recently bought (yes actually bought) the Mini V by Arturia which is a miniMoog soft synth emulator.  I re did the bass line using the Mini V and the result was a much clearer rounded  bass. I also messed around with its arpeggiator setting on the Mini V and came up with a some cool riffs using the original chords. I wanted to use that instead of the guitar for now, as I am still saving up for some guitar modeling software and was unhappy with the tone I was getting.

I then wanted to change the verse after the first chorus up a little bit so I replaced the normal acoustic kick with an 808 kick and made a couple riffs with the Mini V arp. I kept some of the ambient elements in the background and I thought it was a pretty cool sound. I hope soon add lyrics and a better suited guitar playing the arps riffs.

It was great to be able to use the EMF's facilities as it was my first opportunity. I can't wait to get started on the new project. The plug-ins I used in live were:
Native Instruments Massive, Lennar Digitals Sylenth1, Cytomic's Glue compressor, Izotope Ozone 5, TAL-Reverb 2, 3, SausageFatterner by Dada Life (yes, lol) and Arturia's Mini V. Just got a new computer so I am looking to expand my plug-ins would appreciate feedback on any favorite freeware or purchase-able plug-ins.

CS