Project aim:
The aim of my project is to produce an album with my band CHAPODIO. I am aiming to have a 10 track album professionally recorded and mixed, ready to be distributed to the public, as well as host a small tour in promotion of the album.
Objectives:
Contact different studios/engineers and get quotes on recording and mixing.
Research different potential funding options (crowdfunding, individual funding etc.)
Look at different artists to use for our artwork
Get a good EP cover
Record a professional album
Initial project idea:
The feedback given in this video from my tutor, Nic, was very helpful and gave me a better understanding of what would be possible and what would be beneficial for us to do. The feedback Nic gave me was whether producing a ten track album would be appropriate. This was because of my final project last year which was to record a four-track EP which wasn’t successful due to time restraints and poor preparation. Nic outlined in the video whether it was a good idea or not to record a ten-track EP. As he stated, not many band’s first aim is to record a full-length album, as it is expensive and time-consuming. Another bit of feedback Nic gave me was his stance on the artwork for the potential album. Because I said that we were working with independent artists outside of college, Nic raised the point that our artwork for our previous EP was good looking and may be worth going with the same graphic artist since we already have a connection with him. Some more feedback given to me was that it may be worth looking at getting a professional recording instead of doing it ourselves in college. This is because neither myself or the people that I am collaborating with for this project are recording specialists. Therefore we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near as good a sound as a professional recording engineer. Part of this feedback was to look at a local recording studio, Loom studios, as we could get a decent price since one of the engineers there is a tutor at my college. This is something that I will have to look into further. Nic also stated that it might be beneficial to have a professional looking, well-shot video that would aid in our promotion. This could either be a music video or promotional video depending on what we would want. But in Nic’s opinion, this would be a good idea as it gives our audience something to visually stimulate them since as a band, our art is auditory. My last bit of feedback from Nic was to look at a modern record label called AWAL. AWAL is a record label that aids artists and independent labels without giving over control of their music. However, this would be for after we have successfully recorded our music.
Reflection:
Upon reflection, there are many Aspects that require improvement from my initial idea, such as;
Producing a ten track album. As outlined in my proposal video, this is a monumental task for any band, let alone a small band like mine that is on budgetary and time restraints. Last year, we recorded a four track EP that wasn’t very successful in terms of sound and comercial success. This was partly due to planning and preparation issues. When we went into our college studio to record, we did not know the songs as well as we should have and we weren’t as well rehearsed as we would have hoped. To repeat this process on a larger scale would be heartbreaking so we have decided to scale down the project to make it more manageable.
Going on tour. To organise a tour for my band would be doable, but to do it in a short space of time when none of us have our individual forms of transport would be almost impossible. This is something that will have to change when it comes to the actual project idea.
Overall, this project could be done, but given our timescale and where we are as a band now, it would be highly impractical. Because of all of these factors, there will have to be a major change in the project to actually make it manageable and to ensure we don’t repeat any mistakes that we made last year, or waste our own time.
Since evaluating on my initial idea, I have decided to change the overall idea to as follows:
Project aim:
The aim of my project is to Professionally produce an EP, along with a music video, with my band CHAPODIO, for which I am the drummer. I am aiming to have a two track EP professionally recorded and mixed, as well as have a professional music video to accompany one of the songs on the EP.
Objectives:
Contact different studios/engineers and get quotes on recording and mixing.
Look at different artists to use for our artwork
Get a good EP cover
Record a professional EP
Go into a professional studio to get the EP recorded by a professional.
Make some merchandise to promote the EP.