Part 6: Creative Work

In MDIA 1200 (Audio Production Basics), one of our projects was to make a podcast analyzing and critiquing the work of a music producer. I submitted this podcast assignment to Soundcloud on Monday, April the 8^th.

The producer I selected is Madlib (Otis Jackson, Jr.), a renowned underground hip-hop producer, because I greatly admire his work and his fresh perspective on hip-hop. Blending together a mixture of some of his instrumentals and songs, I used the media lab’s audio booth to record narration highlighting various aspects of the songs I critiqued. I am not 100% satisfied with the way the project turned out (specifically, with the recording of my narration), but it is still a solid display of my knowledge of Pro Tools.

The assignment can be accessed at https://soundcloud.com/theorganic/peter-vilardi-producer-podcast.

Part 5: Weaknesses

NB: This blog post references an essay by David Rendall called "FREAK FACTOR: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness."

One suggestion David Rendall makes in his essay is that we should choose situations where we can play to our own strengths, rather than always choosing to adapt or conform. I wholeheartedly believe this is true, and I have already taken steps to incorporate this way of thinking into my own creative process. For instance, in my high-school biology class we were split into groups to make informative videos about assigned topics in biology. I helped write and record parody versions of popular classic rock songs, changing the lyrics to illustrate biological concepts. We got a very good grade on the project, but, most importantly, I felt very creatively satisfied with the way it turned out. By playing to my strengths, I was able to shine, and so this suggestion has definitely held true for me.

There is, however, another point of Rendall’s that I do not completely ascribe to. This suggestion states that we should not both fix our weaknesses and build our strengths. While I understand why he makes this point—we should focus on our specific talents rather than trying to be the best at everything—I still believe that it is important to focus at least a little on both. For instance, I love (and excel in) music, and I absolutely despise (and do poorly in) math. There are certain areas of math that greatly influence the creation and capturing of sound, and, while I would rather not stumble through complicated math problems, it will ultimately benefit me greatly to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the concepts.

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One of my own major weaknesses in the creative processes is my desire to get projects done as quickly as possible. For instance, as a musician, I tend to write many of my songs in very, very short periods of time. I feel the need to rush any musical or lyrical idea I come up with into fruition, rather than letting it gestate or develop. Essentially, I am instinctive rather than methodical, and sometimes this approach creates less-than-stellar results. I tend not to develop musical ideas as much as they can be, preferring to leave many of my songs as simple sketches or concepts without much development. This is not only true of my music, but also of the writing I have done in creating short screenplays and comedic sketches. In many different aspects of my own creative process, I am a rush-job creator rather than a careful one.

But this weakness is not necessarily a handicap; it is definitely something I can see myself building upon. I can learn a lot by collaborating with others who are more focused on attention to detail, and my own drive to look at the big picture or greater idea behind the work can keep their own focus in perspective. In addition, this means that I can also work on sudden or last-minute projects, and hopefully add something of value to them by coming up with spur-of-the-moment ideas.

Part 4: Personal Essay

There are some people I know who, upon hearing that I am attempting to go to college in an artistic field, wonder why I am spending the money on a college degree when I could dive right into the workforce. Sometimes I worry about this very question myself. I know, however, that having a degree from the Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies will benefit me greatly throughout my career.

Even though I have only taken a few media classes, I already feel that I have learned a great deal that will benefit me throughout my career as a creator of media. For instance, one topic that particularly interested me was the legality of sampling and remixing, and the core precepts of the Remix Manifesto. I am a performer and enthusiast of hip-hop music, which is very frequently based upon making beats out of samples of other songs. As such, this topic is of great consequence to me, and understanding the history and implications of sampling has the potential to give my work a new weight (or, at least, to help me understand what I am trying to do a little better). This is one extremely important benefit of a degree from the Media School: it will provide me with a sense of context of where I am now and what I have the ability to create.

Another highly impactful thing that a Media Arts and Studies degree will offer me is a wealth of experience working with fellow creators. I cannot stress enough just how important and beneficial it has been for me to work with like-minded people in my field. My college experience thus far has enabled me to collaborate and make projects with fellow media students who are very serious and dedicated to their work. I am currently acting and working on a student-run sketch-comedy TV show, and I am a member of an independent group that writes, shoots, and edits short films. I may never have had these experiences had I gone straight from high school into an industry job, and the experience is invaluable. These projects have the advantage of looking good on a resume, portfolio, or demo reel; most importantly, however, they have given me the chance to work with people who are dedicated to their respective crafts and who love what they do as much as I love what I do. And my current experience is only the first step: with a degree from the Media School, I can maintain connections and learn how to work with other people outside my main discipline.

I am honestly still unsure exactly what job I would like to have in several years, but this is what college is for. With a degree in Media Arts and Studies, I hope to pursue my future music and writing projects while making frequent and effective use of the knowledge and skills I will learn. Although it may be uncertain, I am so excited for the future.

Part 3: Media Critique

NB: The piece that I have chosen to analyze and critique for this segment is the song “Dayvan Cowboy” by Boards of Canada, which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/embed/A2zKARkpDW4

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“Dayvan Cowboy” opens with distorted, low-fidelity electric guitars, hard-panned to the left and right channels, which are slightly out of phase with one another. This is not, however, an unpleasant sound; rather, the beautiful pattern of the arpeggiated guitar notes, coupled with the slight echo of the delay between the left and right channels, gives the song a calm feeling. As more instruments—wind-like keyboard textures and light percussion—enter behind the clouded guitars, the song gains a sense of depth and space. The use of panning is very effective; rather than overwhelming the listener with a large chunk of sound, each instrument feels distinct and identifiable.

The familiar guitar pattern continues, but decreases in volume as the instruments around it increase. Slowly but surely, the emphasis of the song shifts from the electric guitars to the keyboards and percussion. Much like the electric guitars, the percussion is not overpowering. It contains almost no low-end, preferring to emphasize the treble throughout the rest of the mix. A synthesized wind sound fades in, overwhelming the music, as a mellotron (vocal choir-sounding synth) rises. This creates a sudden rise in the song’s tension.

Suddenly, a tremolo electric guitar cuts through the mix, surrounded by shimmering synthesizers. This moment is deeply affecting and exciting, and represents the song’s turning point. The percussion fades back in, and strings and a drum machine join it, giving the song a trip-hop groove. The synthesized wind re-enters, and chopped-up samples of real drums join the drum machine, making the groove more complicated and abstract. A light and free-feeling keyboard motif rings out over the cacophony. The wind grows stronger as the groove grows more and more chaotic.

Finally, the drum machine stops, leaving behind the more abstract percussion motifs to carry the song for a little longer. Eventually, the echoey and splashy percussion fades out as well, and the rest of the instruments gradually disappear. The tremolo electric guitar rings out clearly and cleanly as it fades away.

Overall, the song is supremely arranged and meticulously calculated to pay off at the turning point. And pay off it does: the song stirs the listener—and brings the mood from mellow and reflective to sublime and awe-inspiring—very quickly, specifically when the tremolo electric guitar enters. Another very well-executed element of the piece is how it expands from seeming narrow and close-sounding (as though the music were being played from nearby at a low volume) into an expansive and deep mix (as if it were from far away at a high volume). This shift in the mix, however, is more subtle than the emotional shift at the song’s turning point. With the wind sounds and sweeping strings, the piece evokes feelings of flying, almost as if the electric guitar entrance marks a liftoff or a jump from very high. Because of all of these factors, Boards of Canada’s “Dayvan Cowboy” is a beautiful, exciting, and deeply rewarding piece of music.

Part 2: Storytelling

As a hip-hop performer and enthusiast, I love writing hip-hop tracks, and so I jumped at the chance to write some lyrics for this part of the blog. The theme I selected was “Tomorrow is another day,” and the audience to which the piece is directed is a class of third-grade children.

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"When It Rains"

CHORUS:

            Some days, life doesn’t go the way that I planned

            But it's too easy just to stick my head in the sand

            So I buckle down, knuckle under, grin and bear it

            And smile through my pain

            For I know one day the sun will shine

            So I don't mind, I don't mind when it rains

Now, children, gather ‘round, let me tell you a tale

About a boy like you who didn't feel too well

(Why not?) He wasn’t sick, he was down in the dumps

‘Cause ever since that morning, life was giving him grumps

His dog ate his homework, there was no denying

But he was sent to the principal, teacher thought he was lying

The lunch special was mystery meat yet again

And it rained outside, he couldn’t play with his friends

But the next day, things got a little bit better

Turned his homework in, and got a much better letter

Of the alphabet – grade A, right next to his name

He had pizza for lunch, and, best of all, it didn’t rain

Now this story that I’ve told to you children is true

And it could happen to anybody, even to you

I was the little boy, and I had a bad day

But the day after that, I got to go out and play!

So listen:

            (CHORUS)

Now, some days you wake up on the wrong side of the bed

With a scrunched-up face and an ache in your head

Maybe you stayed up hours past your bedtime

Or you were way too busy yesterday to unwind

And so you sulk and whine and you groan through your day

And even during recess, you just don’t wanna play

And when it’s time to go to sleep later on that night

All you think is “things didn’t quite turn out right”

But hey! The next morning, you can start all over

And you might get lucky as a four-leaf clover

Yesterday was pretty bad, but it isn’t your fate

‘Cause today’s a new day, I would say that’s pretty great!

So even if your day doesn’t go the way you wanted

Just wait until tomorrow, try again until you got it

Now remember: whether you’re a little lady or a fella

Even if it’s rainy weather, you can bring an umbrella!

            (CHORUS)

(Fade out)