Ellis McGourlay - Audio Editing and Sequencing

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Final Project

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Final Project

All audio was recorded on campus using Tascam DR-07, with a shotgun microphone connected. Most sound where metallic hits, others where background noise and machinery. We used a selection of drumsticks to create different timbres of sound. In our second session of recording we used a mobile phone.

When cropping the audio we used Adobe Audition: firstly we normalized the audio to create a hot signal then cropped out the unwanted audio section.

We imported the audio files into Ableton Live using the Drum Rack Sampler we recorded a full 80 seconds of music.

We received feedback and where told to improve our piece we should experiment with new sections of melody and bass.  We used logic to create and import new sounds into the piece.

We decided after looking at the research to explore making a video involving metallic industrial sounds. We used lots of different YouTube videos and then after the new sections had been inserted, we used clips of animals to mimic the sounds we had created. We used QuickTime player 7 to crop the video into manageable chunks.

The rest of our time was spent lining up the video with the audio. We used Adobe Premiere Pro. We matched up the videos with appropriate sounds on the audio track and used video effects on certain clips.

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Tutorial 9

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Tutorial 9: Working with video

For this tutorial I was again working with video, but this time within logic pro. I used the detect cuts function to find cuts in the video which could also be used as cues for audio.

For the audio a continuous loop was used but with the tempo automated to suit the video.

Feedback: I received feedback that I had completed this task well

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Tutorial 8

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Tutorial 8: Logic EQ, Filters and Vocoding

This tutorial explored the effects within logic, I used the audio created in tutorial 4 and added effects. Firstly the channel EQ to pin point, boost and reduce frequencies within the samples.

Secondly the auto filter to change the tone of my 'snare' sample, an audio sample of this is uploaded above.

Finally the vocoder which I effected a dull hit with to create some pad sounds.

Feedback:

My feedback for this was that I needed a longer sample to get the full capabilities of the vocoder utilised.

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Tutorial 7

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Tutorial 7: Cubase VariAudio

This tutorial was all about the VariAudio function within Cubase 6, this is a plugin similar to AutoTune and Melodyne used to correct the the pitch of audio.

The sample we were given was an acapella of Kelis singing the song "Acapella", I experimented with quantising and straightening the pitch of the audio. Finally I created multiple tracks and used VariAudio to create a 3 octave vocal harmony.

Feedback:

The feedback I received was that I had used to VariAudio function well, but could have been more creative in my harmonies.

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Tutorial 5

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Tutorial 5: Working with MIDI

This tutorial required using MIDI to create music within Cubase 6, as I have experience within Cubase 4 this wasn't too difficult. 

To create the drum beat of my loop I used the beat designer utility with GrooveAgent, I found this very user friendly and fun to create beats with.

Finally I used Halion to add a synth to my loop.

Feedback:

I received feedback from one of my fellow students that I had completed the task well.

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Tutorial 4, Part 2

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Tutorial 4, Part 1

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Tutorial 4: Audio Sequencing

In this tutorial I firstly imported selected field recordings into logic and placed them within separate audio tracks. I then used snapping to easily create a drumbeat at 120bpm.

As shown above I then bounced the regions into a loop.

For the final part of this tutorial I used dull hit and triggered different pitches of the sample using a midi keyboard.

Feedback:

The feedback I received from my tutor was that the first section of my work was good but more interesting things could have been done with triggering of samples from a MIDI keyboard

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Tutorial 3 example 3

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Tutorial 3 example 2

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Tutorial 3 example

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Tutorial 3: Field Recording

For this tutorial in a group we hired out a portable recorder and a shotgun microphone. We went round the university campus recording various hits and noises that we felt could be used as samples to create music. Whilst recording we made sure we were aware of the levels peaking, but at the same time making sure we had a hot signal.

After recording I transferred the files over to Audition and cut up and normalised the audio for later use with Logic Pro. I also gave the files appropriate names for ease of use.

Feedback:

The feedback I received from my tutor was that we had recorded and edited some very good samples, but perhaps could have got a wider variety of sounds.