Reflective Diary
Updated: Jun 5
Week 1
Initial Ideas:
AI in music production.
How musicians rise and fall.
Controversial music artists.
What it takes to be the musicians.
For my FMP, I wanted it to be focused on music so I came up with some ideas which in my opinion would be interesting. But I decided to choose 'AI in music production' as this topic will impact everyone who listen to any type of music and this topic is also relatively new.
The use of AI in sound production
AI tools : Amper music, LANDR, WavTool, AIVA, Ecrett Music.
Amper music - a pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) music platform designed to empower creators to produce original, customizable, royalty-free music without needing formal musical training.
LANDR - a comprehensive AI-driven music production suite designed for creators.
WavTool - a browser-based Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that integrates artificial intelligence to assist with music production.
AIVA - Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist.
Ecrett Music - an AI-driven music composition service designed specifically for content creators (YouTubers, filmmakers, game developers) to generate custom, royalty-free backing tracks.
For my FMP, I thought about many ideas all in music sphere. The best one out of all of them is 'AI in music production' and I decided to write my FMP on this because its a very growing topic right now which impacts nearly everyone.
For producers, it takes their job in some places and for listeners, it makes them confused on what is real and what is not. It also increases greenhouse gas emissions.
I searched up 'music AI' in App store to see how progressed it is already and the amount of apps which allow you to create music using AI is outrages.
To investigate this even further, I decided to try one of the apps. I downloaded an app called 'Soniva Music'.
I asked this AI app to come up with a song which is romantic and melodic; about sun and moon.
I thought this would be a good idea, as this will show me how easy it actually is to make music using AI just on your phone; and how AI is taking over music production as it basically made a whole song with no effort from me in it.
Lyrics which AI came up with:
I watch the shadows lengthening across the dusty floor
While you are waking up behind a distant, golden door
I am the silver silence in the cooling evening air
You are the morning fire with the sunlight in your hair
We chase each other's footsteps in a cycle never-ending
A broken line of destiny that's always slowly bending
I catch a glimpse of amber as the purple starts to fade
But I must retreat back into the quiet of the shade
Oh, the moon only glows because the sun is still alive
In this cosmic dance of ours, it’s how we both survive
You burn with all the passion that the daylight can provide
While I keep all the secrets that the midnight has to hide
We are worlds apart but tethered by a gravity so strong
Waiting for the moments where we finally belong
There are fleeting minutes in the haze of early dawn
When the veil between our kingdoms is momentarily drawn
I see your crown of crimson rising high above the sea
And for a heartbeat, darling, you are looking back at me
But the law of stars is cruel and it keeps us in our place
Two lonely travelers drifting through the emptiness of space
I paint the tides in white while you turn all the gardens green
The greatest love the universe has ever felt or seen
Oh, the moon only glows because the sun is still alive
In this cosmic dance of ours, it’s how we both survive
You burn with all the passion that the daylight can provide
While I keep all the secrets that the midnight has to hide
We are worlds apart but tethered by a gravity so strong
Waiting for the moments where we finally belong
Sometimes the sky turns dark when we meet in an eclipse
A shadow on the heart and a prayer upon the lips
The world stands still in wonder at the black and silver ring
To hear the silent melody that only we can sing
Oh, the moon only glows because the sun is still alive
In this cosmic dance of ours, it’s how we both survive
You burn with all the passion that the daylight can provide
While I keep all the secrets that the midnight has to hide
We are worlds apart but tethered by a gravity so strong
Waiting for the moments where we finally belong
Week 2
We were asked to enter Young Creative Awards of Nottingham. I picked the 'Creative Writing' Category as it would be the easiest because I have a good article already written. I talked about the rise of heroin chic in model industry. I explained this topic to be very important as it focuses on body discrimination and how people blamed Kate Moss for it.
Pre-Interview
This week I decided to start contacting people who I could interview. First people I contacted were people from JY Soar music studio located in Nottingham. I decided to contact them as they focus on helping new artists produce music and rehearse in their studio. Also, due to them
working in music industry, they could have a very strong opinions on AI in sound production.
I decided to contact them though phone call, sadly they didn't pick up. But in approximately 10 minutes I got a text from them. We decided to meet at 3pm.
Before going to them I did some research on them (which you can see in Primary Research post). I did this because it would not only help me to come up with questions but also get a better understanding of their studio.
Qs
I came up with some questions which were relatable to the topic and easy to understand; giving the answer being answered fully not just, Yes and No questions.
I decided that my first question will be nearly the same all the time, as it gives a better personal opinion on the actual topic.
But in the actual interview, only 3 questions were asked as when answering the second question, 3rd one was also answered.
Interview
Before the actual interview bit of the meeting, I've looked around the studio and took some photos.
When taking these pictures, I also asked some minor questions like 'Which genre is the most popular in the studio?'. Due to them being very open about their diversity of music, they couldn't answer just in one genre, but did say that rock and indie are one of the favourites.
As we were speaking, person in the first picture was making a melody in a sound production software program.
I found the studio being very interesting and it did look like a very welcoming place for producing or rehearsing music. Due to seeing a lot of instruments, I can assume that studio provides people with the instruments they need, which makes the experience there even better for them and helps them out.
During the interview, I felt very confident in what I was asking and receiving. Even though I tried to stay professional, our interview went very smoothly and in a friendly kind of vibe.
The answer to the questions were very focused even though sometimes Phil did wind off.
Overall, the interview went pretty good, we had a very nice picture in the video and lightening was good too even though it wasn't professional studio lights.
I did have some fails with not remembering the question so we had to refilm some bits of the interview.
Here is an example:
Even though I had problems like this, it did not make the interview feel awkward and we continued as normal.
This small failure only helped me to understand that being prepared is very important. Even though some people could say its not that deep to forget something but on the other hand, people who are getting interviewed could get annoyed in some places if the problem keeps repeating and suggest that this interview is not taken professionally. Which then could bring a very big impact on the person, which could lead them to answer the questions without thinking about it first.
Transcript
Week 3
Due to me wanting to have at least 1 online interview, I decided to contact my friend which is interested in sound production to find out his true opinion on the use of AI in this creative aspect.
I decided to contact him though telegram. Here I attached a screenshot from our conversation, where I asked if he wants to help me with my project and share his thoughts on this controversial topic.
Even though, on the screenshot the writing is in Russian, I still decided it would be good to just add it here.
We scheduled the interview for 15th of April, as he has not a lot of free time due to the exam season incoming.
This week, I also planned out what I want to see in my final video.
This will help me understand on what to work on and focus when recording everything. Also, this will help me stay on track and remember what I need to do as there is many things which I want to include.
Easter Half-Term
This week I decided to focus on how I want my final video to look like.
First I decided to focus on my potential colour pallet:
The reason I chose these colours is, they vibrant but not too much, which will make the viewer not tired of the neon bright colours on the screen. Also, I think they go well with my idea for the final video, as I want it to look more like a "vlog" "homemade" kind of style. Because those colours are calm but vibrant at the same time, it will bring the video a vibe of homemade peace.
As our final videos will be published during summertime, these colours also match with summertime weather and will bring colour to the video.
Then I made my Setting inspo pics:
I decided to focus on this kind of setting because again it gives the video a vibe of a vlog type of story telling but still keeps it professional.
Studio - I've had an interview in a studio with JT Soar.
Street - Vox-pops.
Nature - Trees and etc. are in camera when filming.
Graffiti - I filmed piece to camera in front of a wall with graffiti.
Warm lamp - During my online interview, I had a warm lamp lightening.
Background Music:
For the background music, I will try to come up with my own melody (creating it in FL Studio). If this wont work, I will find something which has no copyright with a chill vibe.
Inspo from Youtube:
Pitch:
To show our ideas and how we want to present it, we were asked to do a Pitch.
In the pitch you must talk about the following:
Why your idea is important?
Why you?
Inspo.
Examples.
Scope and Angle.
Participants.
Plan.
These are important because it will show how we actually want our final piece to look like and it gives a better idea to everyone about what we going to do in our FMP.
Here is my Pitch:
Also, while I was doing my pitch, I did some research and got some new ideas of what I could add to my FMP final piece. So the Pitch, helped me with not only structuring my idea better but also improving it.
Week 4
This week we were presenting our pitch to John/Matt.
Here is my feedback:
--Good. Lots of info (too much, tbf). Very thorough prep. Strong angle and has already made progress. Still needs a clearer picture of what her final doc will look like.--
Also, I had an online interview with my friend this week. I asked him questions like:
What's your opinion on the use of AI in sound production?
What do you think about the replacement of human instrumental creation to AI?
Do you use AI in music aspect?
I decided to ask especially these questions, as they focus on what he likes to do (instrumental creation). Also, they are similar to the questions I asked JT Soar, so it gives me a better statistics of how many people like or dislike use of AI due to asking similar question.
Week 5
This week, we learned how to use the cameras, tripod and lightening to come up with the best picture in our final videos. (I will explain each pic in Experimentation and Tech Walkthrough)
After learning how to use cameras, I filmed some B-roll and Vox-Pops outside college.
I decided to film outside of college as there is a setting which I want to include in my final video (graffiti, street and nature).
But, I also filmed some B-roll in music shops, to get a close setting of sound studio, as it relates to my FMP.
For filming, I used Canon EOS R10 camera. I found it being easy to switch in between models and find the right settings on each.
I decided to use this camera as it has this vintage kind of video outcome, which iI think will look very cool in a final piece.
Also, this week, me and Eleanor were starting our social media work on Neon Magazine.
I decided to focus on Instagram and Eleanor wanted to focus on TikTok.
To make things easier, I came up with a PowerPoint where I wrote down all the ideas which I had for the Neon Magazine.
I'm still adding stuff to it so it will improve.
First idea which I came up with was 'Headshot Photoshoot (front projection)'.
Front projection - display method where projector casts images from the front onto a reflective screen or surface. To display journalists and their idea.
Inspo pics:
As I'm focusing on Instagram, I want this photoshoot of people which articles will be put in the magazine to be posted on Instagram. This is because, in my opinion, photoshoots are will be [resented better in Instagram post rather than Reels or TikTok.
To make this work, I decided to book a practice session for us to see the overall image in real life and try to take some photos like that.
I sent a message to Abby and Mark:
Their response was very nice and helping:
Week 6
First thing I did this week is setting up camera, projector and background in the studio room to practice the 'Headshot Photoshoot'.
I searched up some backgrounds on Pinterest which match each person who I was photographing. I also decided to use especially these pictures as they are bright and colourful, which brings the viewer a better vision of my work.
We struggles with the lightening at first couple of pics, but then after changing the background from a darker pic to lighter one, everything was okay.
Here are final results for a practice sesh:
On Tuesday, I also had last interview left, which I did online. For this interview, I decided to talk to Simon who is part of the band called Bent. Bent are an electronica act from Nottingham.
I contacted him through his private phone number on 21st of April.
Sadly, he only answered me on 24th of April. But we scheduled our interview to be on 27th of April.
On Monday 27th, Simon texted me asking if its okay to reschedule for Tuesday 28th April.
For this interview, I decided to make a mini podcast out of it, as his answers, in my opinion were very interesting and needed its own podcast.
I think this interview/podcast, went pretty well as I got very clear and extended answers to my questions.
On Friday, I got an Idea of how I could advertise Neon magazine on Instagram through Reels.
My initial idea is:
At the start of the campaign, person is walking with a neon magazine.
camera should be stabilised on the magazine.
Main focus on magazine (center of the shot).
Background could be a bit blurry to make the magazine standout even more.
Person drops it on the ground.
Camera follows the magazine.
Start filming how it's laying on the ground.
Edit it with After Effects (digits).
Use neon colour pallet to reflect the name of the magazine and make it vibrant/outstanding.
Inspo:
I'm planning to film this campaign later on this week. As the weather is going to be very good and the shot will look better.
The editing bit of it would be on the Adobe After Effects, as I could do there a digit outline of the magazine.
Its going to look something like that but with moving digits:
I found this editing idea on Youtube:
I think this would be a very interesting campaign because even though it might look basic at first, the digit magazine will make it standout and people who watch it might be interested in reading our magazine. As if the campaign is well presented, people will think the magazine is going to be as good.
Outcome of the campaign video (no editing yet):
Vox-pop/Piece-to-camera
After filming the campaign for Neon magazine, I filmed some more of Vox-Pops and a Piece-to-camera. I used mics and a gimble to make my video be as professional as possible.
Helping
On this day, I also helped Eleanor film her piece-to-camera, I used the same equipment as her so it wasn't difficult.
Editing
During the weekend of this week, I tried to edit the campaign video. It took me long time to get a hand of Adobe After Effects but I still came up with something. Sadly, its not what I was expecting and I did not like it, so I will try to re-do it next week.
If next week, I wont get a better result of my editing, I will come up with another way to edit the video.
Week 7
This week I tried to edit the campaign video. Unfortunately, it didn't turnout how I wanted it to turn out again.
I also started doing some more research not only for my final video but also for the article draft. I made research on topics like how Lil Uzi Vert's fans use AI to finish his unreleased snippets on SoundCloud.
Fans could be using this AI powered website to upload snippets and finish the song with the use of AI.
Nowadays, AI is hard to see but in this situation is very easy to tell when the song is finished with the use of AI. As Lil Uzi Vert in his official songs is not very clear with words and could mumble, where as in the AI finished songs, his wordings are very clear.
Also, I did some research on artist Lauv, as he used AI to translate his song into Korean with the help of DJ Swivel Young and his platform Hooky - popular AI voice cloning/licensing platform-.
Yung Lean's new music clip also got the attention from the public as he did not use any AI in production of his clip.
I did all this research mainly for my article draft. Which I started writing this week, I decided to add the research info which I talked about above and mention 2 of my interviews (JT Soar and interview with Simon). To make sure my article has proper grammar, I used Grammarly.
Week 8
This week I helped with interview with gfc (Global Farming Company). I helped with setting up cameras, also with moving some of the background like chairs, TV and plants. I helped with mic checks and with the countdown to start the interview.
Also, this week I started working on my InDesign for the article.
For the photo used of the iPhone and earphones, I made it myself:
I used background remover website to remove the background for the second picture.
When I will be finished with my article fully, I will insert the actual text into InDesign and fix
some bits.
Week 9/10
In the Final weeks of my FMP, i decided to start editing my final piece.
For my main final piece, I decided to make a video. But I did not want to make it look too boring so to make my video more interesting, i added intro and outro.
Intro and outro were edited in cap cut.
For intro, as a background I used a video which I edited myself recently using TouchDesigner.
As for the text, I added it in CapCut using their own typing templates. Also, for intro, I added keyboard typing sound, as the template looks like its being typed out on the keyboard and then a girl in the video is also typing on the keyboard.
For the Outro, I also used CapCut, but here I decided to make Bloopers as my outro to the video. I did this because it would not only be engaging but also its fun to see that not everything turns out how you want it from the first try.
Problem solving:
While editing video, I faced a problem of computer replacing old audio files wih new ones and therefore deleting old ones. I had no choice but to keep the bad quality audio from the actual footage as audio from the mics couldn't be returned.
VoiceOvers/Last recordings:
For my last video footage of intro, vox-pop and outro I had to do some voiceovers which I wrote down in my Notes app and sat in the quite room to record so their will be clean sound.
For the last days before deadline, I stayed in college for as long as I could, to make sure everything would be finished on time.
In those last days, I have completed my InDesign, Video editing, Evaluation and Wix website.
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