Proposal Form in MSWord
| Candidate Name | Cameron Rhodes |
| Candidate Number | 10680389 |
| Pathway | Level 3 Extended Music Performance and Production |
| Project Title | Game Tracks |
| Section 1: Context (approx. 300 words) | |
| Although I enjoyed music when I started the course in 2024, I had no self-confidence in my abilities. Even though I performed live in year 1, I did not find this my comfort zone, which I struggled with in year 2. This is why I took on a more technical role as a sound engineer, which involved controlling sound levels and PA systems with a sound desk. I was much more comfortable with this role. Because of that, I realised that my skills lay primarily in Music Production. I enjoyed creating the game track I made. This was my final project in the first year. I plan to pursue a career involving music creation and production or working in digital music and producing soundtracks for video games. I have learnt techniques that will stick with me throughout my career, especially ways to mix and master my tracks, set up microphones, and research more effectively. This led me to understand my skill and interest in Music Production and Sound Engineering, which is not a very front-and-centre role that most performers have. I have decided on my following and will study creative music production at Huddersfield University. I have developed my confidence and skill set in the tools and techniques, and the next steps will help me progress to a career in the industry. For my final project, I want to recreate the title screen theme for Metroid Dread. I will utilise the skills I have gained and create new music productions using AI by creating three tracks: one created just by AI and one designed and composed by myself. Then, I will take the final track and use AI tools to see what it would amend and produce. I will get feedback on the tracks as part of my publishing and evaluation. Following the analysis and review, I will create additional atmospheric and horror-themed game tracks for the game’s promotion and publish them, including making my artwork. | |
| Section 2: Research (approx. 50 words) | |
| I will research techniques for producing atmospheric and horror tracks in video games, leitmotifs, and ways of conveying emotion in music. I will be looking through the Korg Triton again and what its expansive library offers in hopes of finding an organic-sounding instrument. I will also investigate other works and present evidence through articles, websites, videos, and screenshots. | |
| Section 3: Problem-solving (approx. 100 words) | |
| I may run into a few potential issues throughout this project, but those few pose a significant roadblock to my progress. One problem that will take some preparation is the budgeting I must do to purchase/subscribe to the AI tools I will be working with and compare prices, as I have little spending power. I will look at the benefits of each service and make an educated decision. Another issue that will crop up is the genre I am going for. Because Metroid Dread uses atmospheric music that the producer wanted to feel ‘alive’ and ‘as if a planet was making the sounds’, I need to be careful with non-organic-sounding instruments. If I use them, I must have a good reason for doing so. | |
| Section 4: Planning and production (approx. 50 words) | |
| To keep myself occupied in the coming weeks, I will update my dedicated action plan with just enough work to keep me from feeling burnt out mid-project. I work only when inspired or motivated, so I will take it upon myself to play Metroid Dread again and listen to any other works created by the composer to understand their way of making music better. The action plan was helpful for my final project. However, I will stick to it more often now as I grew disjointed and scatterbrained in the final few weeks of that project. Now, I understand how it works, and I can do research/work in turn rather than focus on research for a few weeks and then finally get to work on my piece. This also leaves me with ample time to promote appropriately on BlueSky and Discord, as well as take polls and other opinions of my WIPs as I go along. | |
| Section 5: Practical skills (approx. 100 words) | |
| Over the last 18 months, I have learnt a fair, decent array of skills. My skills primarily lie in production, which utilises Recording, Composition, and generally working behind the scenes. This will help me create multiple versions of the same track and, in doing so, prove that I have the capabilities to write my songs. I have utilised a mind map and have various ways to look at my skills, but it does not do it as much justice since I have progressed far more than single words can explain. I understand how to promote effectively. I can create posters for offline promotion and understand social media algorithms to find the most opportune posting times to showcase what I am offering. I also have graphic design skills; as an artist, I will not have to rely on someone else for this. | |
| Section 6: Evaluation and reflection (approx. 100 words) | |
| Weekly reflections (which I did in the last project) will be beneficial, and I will still record them on my phone, providing ample explanation of what I am doing and what I plan to do. Additionally, I will include roughly one or two paragraphs beneath the weekly videos so people have further insights into my thoughts after recording. Following a reflective cycle will hinder my work, as I prefer a free-flowing style with this kind of writing. Therefore, I will only use them as guidelines to ensure I have ticked off the categories as I proceed. At the end of this project, I will conduct a final evaluation and reflection. I will revisit my weekly check-ins, observe where my motivation and confidence dipped and peaked, and note what I would have done differently had I had the chance to do it again. | |
| Section 7: Presentation (approx. 100 words) | |
| The presentation of my work and portfolio will involve images of my workspace, screenshots of the DAW of choice (which shows notes, chords, and other effects used with their levels and presets), and the aforementioned YouTube videos for progress reviews. While I do this, I can further it with descriptions in the text to make a full-looking portfolio that acutely displays what I am capable of. The outcome of this project relies on the success of what I have learnt in the end, strengthening my already present skills and furthering my social media accounts with more followers and subscriptions. I consider any stream of my song on any platform a win – but if I can somehow break the 53 views and 11 like cap on my YouTube channel, I will instantly consider it a success. This will be targeted at a specific group of gamers that enjoy the horror adventure genre that Metroid is. | |
| Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format) | |
| 1. www.youtube.com. (n.d.). What Makes Metroid Music Sound Like Metroid Music? [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iHtbNrv9js A YouTube video analysis that delves into the core fundamentals of Metroid and its music shows how the producer could achieve the ambience and creepy tone that goes against the bouncy, memorable melodies of Mario and Zelda. 2. Game Developer. (2024). Audio recent news | Game Developer. [online] Available at: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/shooting-from-the-hip-an-interview-with-hip-tanaka. An interview with the original composer for Metroid for the Nintendo Entertainment System. While these are primarily questions about his personal life, I hope to find some helpful bits about his creative decisions in the music composition. 3. Anon, (2023). Unveiling the Terrifying Secrets of Sound in Horror Games. [online] Available at: https://robsummers.co.uk/unveiling-the-terrifying-secrets-of-sound-in-horror-games/. Horror game music theory and telling of why things are so creepy in these games. 4. https://www.facebook.com/scottdylantalks (2024). Composing the Future: AI’s Impact on Music Creation. [online] Scott Dylan. Available at: https://scottdylan.com/blog/technology-and-innovation/composing-the-future-ais-influence-on-music-creation/. This will help me better understand how AI is changing the present and future of composition in music. 5. mountainwestwire (2024). How to Compose Music for Your Game Using AI. [online] Mountain West Wire. Available at: https://mwwire.com/2024/11/14/how-to-compose-music-for-your-game-using-ai/ A tutorial and guide on using these AI generation tools and models to create one of the variations of my track. 6. kripeshadwaniofficial (2024). Top 9 AI Music Generators to Try in 2024 – The Future of Music is Here – Kripesh Adwani. [online] Kripesh Adwani. Available at: https://kripeshadwani.com/ai-music-generators/. This will give me insight into what AI models can best help me achieve the desired sound in the genres I seek. 7. Restack.io. (2023). AI Music Generation for Video Games | Restackio. [online] Available at: https://www.restack.io/p/ai-music-generation-answer-video-games-cat-ai . This is much better for me than articles on AI Music Generation because it focuses specifically on video games. 8. Audiosocket (2023). The Pros and Cons AI-Generated Music in Interactive Media | Blog. [online] Audiosocket. Available at: https://blog.audiosocket.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-ai-generated-music-in-interactive-media/. This relates more to the later end of my project, where I will focus on how AI music and the public interact, examining the pros and cons of how it affects producers and consumers. 9. Tousley, E. (2024). Best AI Tools for Music Makers: Top 20 Picks for 2024. [online] De Novo Agency. Available at: https://denovoagency.com/blogs/insights-and-strategies-for-the-modern-musician/best-ai-tools-for-music-makers-top-20-picks-for-2024. I used this as a reference in my previous assignment and found it helpful when looking at AI tools for music. Therefore, it will be beneficial in my final project. 10. Swindali, T. (2023) Music production 2024+ edition: The professional studio guide for producers, songwriters, artists & audio mastering engineers. Fortune Publishing. 11. Timothy, J. (2020) Music habits – the mental game of electronic music production: Finish songs fast, beat procrastination and find your creative flow. Independently Published. 12. Gavin, J. (2025) Music Production: Mixing: All you need to know to create a professional mix. Independently Published. I am using the above as initial references to enable me to look at music production and creativity as this is an area I need to expand my skills in. | |
| Project Action Plan and Timetable | |||
Week | Date Week Beginning | Activity / What you are intending to do – including independent study | Resources / What you will need to do it – including access to workshops |
| 1 | 17/02/2025 | Monday – Complete introduction Tuesday – Review Skills & Strengths Wednesday – Initial ideas Thursday – Finalise idea Friday – Initial aims and objectives | Laptop |
| 2 | 24/02/2025 | Monday – Start on proposal Context, Research Tuesday – Problem-solving, Planning and production Wednesday – Research Sources Thursday – – Create a presentation Friday – Update Aims and Objectives and Validate Plan over the next 9 Weeks, Register Domain and website | Laptop |
| 3 | 03/03/2025 | Monday – Listen to Metroid Music + Make Notes Tuesday – Begin Research into Atmospheric Music Wednesday – Begin Research into Horror Music in Media Thursday – Begin Research into Metroid Leitmotifs Friday – Begin Research into Metroid Music (Scales, Chords, Key, Progression) | Laptop |
| 4 | 10/03/2025 | Monday – Friday – Working on my track. Plan to access college studio to validate times available – Research Music Production review reference material books | Laptop Ableton Live Midi Keyboard College Studio Room Books |
| 5 | 17/03/2025 | Monday: I will analyse my track and see where I am at. I will see if it meets the 3-minute mark and Tweak as required. Tuesday – Research into AI tools that I need for creating the other tracks. Wednesday – Begin work on creating the track with AI tools. Plan to access college studio to validate times available Thursday – Compare the tracks (own, AI tools, AI-generated) and work more on my track. Friday – Do some more research on how to enhance the sound further. – Read Books on my reference list | Laptop Ableton Live Midi Keyboard AI Tools Studio Room Books |
| 6 | 24/03/2025 | Monday through Friday: The tracks are promoted on BlueSky and Discord. I will analyse any promotion techniques, like playing to the algorithms, to get better notice. I record the gameplay of Metroid Dread and put my music over it. I will do a run-through where I test-edit the music. | Laptop Ableton Live Capture Card Recording Software AI Tools Studio Room |
| 7 | 31/03/2025 | Monday through Friday: I will test the AI tools further and tweak my songs. I will also check Digital Space to see if everything is updated. | Laptop Ableton Live AI Tools |
| 8 | 07/04/2025 | Review work to date. | Easter |
| 9 | 14/04/25 | Review work to date. | Easter |
| 10 | 21/04/2025 | Monday – Friday – Work on creating artwork for the tracks/thumbnail of the track and researching how Spotify/Youtube works with artists when publishing music. See if this infringes on the copyright for using Metroid as a basis. | Laptop Drawing Tablet Clip Studio |
| 11 | 28/04/2025 | Monday through Friday: Make final edits to songs—work on thoroughly editing the music over my pre-recorded gameplay. Also, poll the three tracks to see what people think of them and if they can identify which is AI. Plan to access college studio to validate times available | Laptop Ableton Live AI Tools Studio Room |
| 12 | 05/03/2025 | Monday through Friday: Publish the tracks to Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube. YouTube will have a premiere release. Gather poll results. | Laptop Ableton Live AI Tools |
| 13 | 12/05/2025 | Monday through Friday: Look through Digital Space and make sure all evidence is up to date and on the system before handing in work. | Laptop |