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As mentioned in my video, I did attempt some rough production throughout the creation process of my track. This included guitar panning, quantisation and gain-staging. I left the majority of the production process to my producer however, as I decided this would be the best option to making my track sound professional.

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Excuse some of the microphone dips, clips or pops- these are all referred to in the 'evaluation, roadblocks and correction' section.

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Here is a confirmation email from the producer, with a mix breakdown attached.

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In this screenshot you will see some of the notes I made to send to the producer in relation to my track.

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These are the notes sent over from the producer for me to check over. These notes are more in-depth production techniques than the ones I mentioned in my 'suggested
changes' production notes.

I was able to send over any final production notes and request any changes that I wasn't happy with.

(The notes pictured are not my own words)

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After searching for other similar videos to the one I propose, I made notes on their average views, type and length of content, and the positives and negatives of the videos.

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Positives:

Very clear introduction

Good lighting

High microphone clarity (mostly)

Relaxed, conversational voiceover

Video overlayed on DAW stream

Informative, whilst using universal language

Negatives:

Information can come out too fast at times

No live playing whatsoever

Mic can dip out at times

No cuts for variation of video (the same image throughout)

Views and length

148k views

14.40 mins

Ronquillo, R (2018).

How I Make My Backing Tracks | Tutorial for Guitarists | Software I Use. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LZZPrfHyr0 (Accessed March 23rd 2022)

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How I Make My Backing Tracks | Tutorial for Guitarists | Software I Use

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Positives

Video overlay on DAW stream

Shows in real-time, the creation of an entire track

DAW streamed audio of very high quality

Incorporates production elements as well as songwriting techniques

Negatives

Unprofessional introduction and transitions

Bad lighting throughout

Poor camera quality

Lower microphone clarity

No video cuts (long video)

No live playing whatsoever

Views and length

15.6k

34.46 mins

Kelly, B (2020).

How to Make a Guitar Backing Track in 30 Minutes!. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIqqoFHg3jI (Accessed March 23rd 2022)

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How to Make a Guitar Backing Track in 30 Minutes!

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Positives

Great camera angles

Very good lighting

Video cuts in and out of production view and person view

Clear voice

Negatives

Slightly muffled microphone

Instructions sometimes too brief, not enough depth on certain topics

Provided guitar tone sounds like it was recorded in the room, rather than via routed audio.

Views and length

37.1k

8.16 mins (however this is the 4th entry of a related tutorial series)

Sage, A. via Reverb (2017).

Ableton Live for Guitarists - Part 4: Arranging Your Track. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBqJh1ugJHc (Accessed March 23rd 2022)

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Ableton Live for Guitarists - Part 4: Arranging Your Track

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After conducting this research, some of the positive common themes found across all of the videos were clear deliveries of instructions, as well as professional streaming techniques (overlaying video and audio, or video cuts). Most of the negatives were due to microphone qualities being poor and a lack of live performance elements.

In order to make my video stand out from others, I will ensure that I include a lot of video cuts, from production view to performance view, and focus on my verbal delivery. I need to pay great attention to my microphone quality and my lighting, in order to produce a professional-looking video. The live performance elements will be covered in my video in the hopes of showcasing a more realistic and hands-on approach to music creation.

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Overall, I am really happy the product I created. There were some obvious downfalls but I don't think that the general direction of the video was effected by these. One of the main issues, which I will speak more in-depth about in the 'audio issues' post below, was due to lack of knowledge in the area of audio routing. It took me a long time to understand how the process worked and with a lot of trial and error, I managed to implement it into my video. This issue caused me to plan and re-plan my video multiple times, but eventually, I was able to complete my project as desired.

I think I have produced a clear and professional video, with appropriate vocabulary and speech techniques throughout. My product is easy to follow and clearly showcases the development of a project. Mainly, I am pleased that my video demonstrates my abilities as not only a performer but a logical thinker. I was able to overcome the many challenges that came with this task and find solutions to the majority of the problems that I faced.

There are some things that I would like to change if I were to attempt this project again. One of these changes includes ensuring that my audio quality is consistent throughout my entire video and also that my cuts between takes are less jagged.

I would also like to spend more time in the future choosing a more professional location to film my works, as well as focus on my branding and dress code for recording videos.

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Before this project, I was unaware that recording integrated audio in combination with external audio was so difficult. After watching a few tutorials I attempted to route my audio, with multiple different programs, but I had no success in doing so. After many unsuccessful attempts, eventually, I discovered that I had to make a change to my laptop's security policy inside of the startup menu in order for my permissions to be correct and for the application to work.

The screenshot above shows the signal chain that I had to input into the application in order to record my voiceover, guitar, internal audio, and MIDI audio through my DAW all at once.

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Picture above is a screenshot of my video editing software and the volume automation I used to try and control the levels of my recorded audio elements. As previously mentioned, I am extremely new to audio routing and video voiceovers in general, meaning that I had trouble balancing the internally recorded audio against my vocals and guitar. Over time, however, the process became more refined and my mic and music volumes became more consistent.

I did not re-record my previous poor quality video/ audio entries however, as I didn't want to disturb the continuity of the writing and production process.

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Final product 3.47mins- (use headphones)

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Final product 3.47mins- (use headphones)

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Before I upload this track to Spotify or YouTube, I may decide to re-record some of the elements that I was less comfortable with writing, such as drums.

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Tools required

Guitar

Macbook pro with iMovie video editing

Ableton Live Suite 11

Audio interface (Scarlett Focusrite)

1x instrument lead

Rhode NT1A microphone and pop shield

1x XLR lead

Ring light

Ipad (for filming)

Location

For continuity purposes, this video will be filmed in one location, which will be my room at home. As this area doesn't get much natural light, a ring light will be necessary. Another reason for choosing this location is that it has the required space for me to set my project up, without having to take it down often as it won't be obstructing others.

Approach

I will begin by filming a short and concise introduction to my project and summarising the equipment I will be using. I will continue on to record a 27-30 minute video showcasing the creation of a piece of music. I intend to include both video footage and screenrecording footage, switching between the two in order to give the viewers a more interesting video dynamic.