Day #2

There was a band in the control room today that, from what I saw, was in the studio to mixdown or “mix” a few of their songs. Jim was editing the first song which was pop, and at one point he turned the volume down to see what the vibe was like even when it wasn’t loud. Jim also put in a delay upon the request of the clients. I didn’t understand exactly how the delay affected the song. Later, I asked Jim and he explained that a delay created ambience, reverb, and made it more of a “wet” sound. I noticed that he asked the clients, Kristine and Michael, many questions. To me, he seemed extremely involved with them, like he knew precisely what they wanted their song to sound like. Also, he made some editing decisions on his own and then asked them if they liked them or not. At the end, Jim said he wasn’t sure of the full balance of the song yet. I didn’t fully comprehend what he meant by the “full balance”. Afterward, he clarified that it meant you could hear the drums, guitars, and vocals but not the bass. Therefore, he added more of the bass to the song. While observing, I tried to focus on the technology part of the job. However that proved a little challenging. Mostly, I found myself taking notes regarding my surroundings. I felt that important characteristics for this job are that you must be patient, have computer skills, and interpersonal skills. The atmosphere was incredibly focused and sometimes humorous, which I liked. For the second song, before editing began, the vocals sounded a little on the angry side. But her voice had depth, or a full sound, and it was edgy as well. After the editing process, the song sounded like a rock and roll song because of the drums and guitars. The vocals sounded more breathy and whiny but in a good way! I loved the way she sounded, it was not too harsh. The third and final song was softer. The vocals were almost like she was talk singing. I noticed that I concentrated a lot on the vocals because that is the part I have most knowledge of. Overall, I thought my first real watching of the entire mixing and editing process was exciting and intriguing!