Project Implementation, Budgeting & Reflection

There are ways in which the implementation of this project would have been different had there a) not been a global pandemic and b) been a budget to access professional equipment and studios. Although the QUB facilities were available, I chose not to access them due to my own concerns surrounding COVID-19. While working from home doesn’t necessarily mean not being able to work to the same standard, for me it was restrictive in some ways that might have hindered the process. For example, when composing I was working with Ableton Live 10 Lite and Analog Lab Lite, as I didn’t have the budget nor the hard drive space to run the full versions. This gave me much less control over the sound design parameters, but I was able to tweak some stuff and achieve the sounds I wanted in a roundabout way.

Due to the small hard drive space on my laptop, I’m usually reluctant to have more than one DAW on the go, or to be running too many software programs at one in case it should all crash. I think the composition and mixing process would have been a much smoother experience in a studio environment with larger computers and a dedicated workspace that isn’t also my bed.

All in all, working in a more professional environment may have been an overall easier and less time-consuming process, but I gained so much experience and knowledge from working within the limits that my home and my equipment offered me that I feel it was a worthy creative endeavour, and I’m predominantly pleased with the final results. The budget below considers, including all equipment and time spent, what this project actually cost.

EQUIPMENT USED:

• ARTURIA MINILAB MKII 89

• ELECTROVOICE RE20 VOCAL MIC 450

• ZOOM H5N RECORDER + KIT 212

• BEHRINGER UMC404HD 85

• XLR LEAD 12

• BEYERDYNAMIC DT770 PRO STUDIO HEADPHONES 125

• YAMAHA HS5 STUDIO MONITORS. 300

SOFTWARE

• PROTOOLS MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION (X 4) 36

TIME SPENT (WORKING DAYS - 9HRS)

• COMPOSING & PRODUCING 8

• VOCAL RECORDING 3

• FIELD RECORDING 2

• MIXING 10 SONGS 7

• MASTERING 10 SONGS 4

ARTWORK & DISTRIBUTION:

• DISTROKID DISTRIBUTION SERVICE 15

• RICHARD KERRIGAN ART 10

TOTAL COST: 1334

TOTAL TIME: 24 DAYS

The next budget is what, hypothetically, this project could cost had I:

1. Used a professional studio to record and mix in

2. Paid myself for time spent composing the music

3. Paid Carly for her time as a vocalist

4. Brought in session musicians to perform the MIDI compositions

5. Paid myself for my own time to engineer, record and mix the project

6. Paid another engineer for mastering.

The figures I have below are based off the standard rates available on the Musician's Union website, and I have also been advised by Rocky O’Reilly of Start Together Studios for studio hire etc. The number of recording days have changed as I’ve accounted for 1 full 6-hour recording session for vocals, and 2 full 6-hour recording sessions for the musicians. This was different at home as it was a much slower workflow and availability windows were slightly more restricted. I have also reduced the number of mixing days to take the efficiency of working in a studio (with faster computers etc.) into consideration.

COMPOSITION

• 56.23/hr for 8 x 9hrs 4,048.56

(it's worth noting that I am by no means a professional;

this may not have taken a skilled composer the same

56 hours it took me)

STUDIO HIRE

• 225 per day x 3 days recording +

• 225 per day x 5 days mixing 1800

ENGINEER FOR RECORDING DAYS

• 150 per day x 3 days 450

VOCALIST

• 150 per day x 1 day 150

SESSION MUSICIANS (As per MU Agreement Rates of Pay for Ulster Orchestra)

• Tutti 106.41 x 2 days 212.82

• Sub-Principal 112.80 x 2 225.60

• Sub-Principal 118.12 x 2 236.24

• Section Leader 127.70 x 2 255.40

MASTERING ENGINEER

• 80 per song x 10 songs 800

ARTWORK & DISTRIBUTION

• DISTROKID DISTRIBUTION SERVICE 15

• RICHARD KERRIGAN ART 10

TOTAL COST: 8203.62

TOTAL TIME: 16 days (mastering not inc.)

With the second budget we can see that having a larger investment could have helped to get things done quicker, and for me personally, live instrumentation would have been a worthwhile expense; it's a unique energy that can be difficult to capture in electronic composition. There are ways that we could cut this budget down of course, by perhaps mixing from home instead of in a studio, or by mastering myself for a smaller fee, but apart from that, this is a fairly realistic representation of what it could cost to execute this project in a professional environment.

In considering who would cover the cost for this, there are several avenues to explore. As this is an audiobook for children, it would be worth reaching out to a publishing company in Ireland to see if it's something they could support. I could also turn to the Arts Council and apply for project funding from them.

If I wanted to fund it myself, I'd start by reaching out to organisations within Belfast such as Acoustic Picnic, Volume Control & The MAC. With such a wide range of topics explored we could also consider brand or company sponsorships - anything from local gymnastics clubs to Malone Dental Care - anyone willing to be of support in any way.

My intention for distribution is to have the album available on all streaming platforms but to push for people to support it on BandCamp; this has been the most sustainable method for me in trying to earn an income from online streaming. With Carly's Instagram platform of over 2,000 followers, I'm looking forward to seeing what the engagement and response will be, and I hope that we'll receive some support if people do enjoy it!

REFLECTION

This blog itself has been quite a useful tool for reflecting on my work over the last period of months. I've learned a lot about time management and self-discipline; for future projects I will endeavour to have a clearer structure at the beginning of the project. I could have easily spent another month growing and refining the album, but that's the good thing about deadlines - projects actually get finished! I don't want to repeat myself too much here but I think the one thing I'd like for the future would be to have a set workspace with a larger laptop for a more efficient and deliberate working environment as I do think it would have made things a lot easier.