Bruce Iglauer Tribute to Michael "Iron Man" Burks

Bruce Iglauer Tribute to Michael "Iron Man" Burks

This is a small piece I solely produced

Ninth Week @ BMP Audio (12.11 - 18.11)

Since starting my internship, I have learned a heap loads about Pro Tools, an industry level software program. Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, which means where ever I may go in the future, most companies would use this platform to edit and produce radio programs. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film and television post production, musical notation and MIDI sequencing. Pro Tools can run as standalone software, or operate using a range of external A/D converters and internal PCI or PCIe audio cards with onboard DSP. Pro Tools, like all Digital Audio Workstation software, is similar to a multi-track tape recorder and mixer, with additional features that can only be performed in the digital domain.

I fun fact that I have learnt is that Ricky Martin’s "Livin La Vida Loca" was the first No. 1 single to be recorded, edited, and mixed completely within the Pro Tools environment

Pro Tools can be a wonderful tool but some artists are now making a point of recording without Pro Tools. Jack White of The White Stripes argues that "I think Pro Tools is highly inappropriate to record music... It's too easy to correct mistakes, it's too easy to fix things. We hear this sort of clean, plastic perfection that's been applied to all the tracks. That is not the kind of music we grew up loving and listening to and wanting to be a part of."

I worked my usual hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday which added up to 13 hours.

Total: 106 hours

Eight Week @ BMP Audio (5.11 - 11.11)

(A rack of compressors in a recording studio)

This week I have been learning about compression and compression techniques. Dynamic range compression reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds by narrowing or "compressing" an audio signal's dynamic range. Compression is commonly used in sound recording and reproduction and broadcasting. A compressor reduces the level of an audio signal if its amplitude exceeds a certain threshold. 

When producing a program at BMP Audio, they use a Pro Tools template for 2 hour programs which normally have four tracks in the Pro Tool sessions. One track is for the presenter’s (Elwood Blues) audio, another track for the artist/interviewees and the other two are tracks for music. The two music tracks do not need to compressed in any way as they have been ripped from CDs or downloaded from iTunes and therefor have already been mastered. 
The two tracks that need the most compression are the two vocal tracks, Compression is often used in music production to make performances more consistent in dynamic range so that they "sit" in the mix of other instruments better and maintain consistent attention from the listener. Vocal performances in rock music or pop music are usually compressed in order to make them stand out from the surrounding instruments and to add to the clarity of the vocal performance.

Serial compression is what I use the most on live audio, it is a technique used in sound recording and mixing. Serial compression is achieved by using two fairly different compressors in a signal chain. One compressor will generally stabilize the dynamic range while the other will more aggressively compress stronger peaks. Done properly, even heavy serial compression can sound very natural in a way not possible with a single compressor. It is most often used to even out erratic vocals and guitars.

I worked on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, adding up to 13 hours

Total: 93 hours

Seventh Week @ BMP Audio (29.10 - 4.11)

My supervisor gave me the week off as my parents were in town from London.

Total: 80 hours