CP Evaluation

• Compare your work to professional work in the same area. Are you satisfied with your work in comparison?[[a

Overall, I feel our work does follow the same standards of quality shown in similar music. In terms of creative production, we have made good use of the techniques and methods commonly found in similar trap music. 

• How does your work fit into the music industry? Provide professional examples

Our work definitely fits around the modern hip-hop/trap industry standard. The Sounds we used are very stereotypical within the Trap genre and sound very similar to songs found in Trap and hip-hop playlists.

• What areas have you still struggled with?

I have struggled with time management, I spent too long researching areas around things like Ambience and Ambient Production while neglecting writing aspects such as progress reports. I also found trying to juggle the workload with personal matters difficult, as my assistance at home is needed extensively.

• With hindsight, what would you do differently?

Prepare outline plans for when to do the written work and prepare more detailed notes when preparing to write progress updates. Better timetabling.

• How will you improve in the future?

I will attempt to prepare plans as stated, I will also need to make sure I am able to make the time out of my busy schedule for doing the work. This may also mean making use of the college's library, as well as local resources.

• What were your key areas of research?

Ambient music and trap production techniques.

• What research methods did you apply?

My main method of research was using the internet, which involved sources such as articles, interviews and scholarly studies. I also used a small collection of books as well as 'YouTube videos.'

• Have you been able to synthesise your research into your work?

Yes, Using the research I have done I have been able to source the content for my case study and my progress reports. In terms of practical research, I have been able to display good use of the techniques and methods I was researching within my practical work.

• Do you feel that you completed sufficient research?

I feel I have completed a good amount of research, however, I would be more satisfied with further research as my topics chosen were broad enough for the research to be endless. I feel I could've done more research into recording techniques, however, my issues with time management left me feeling I could've done more.

• In hindsight, are there other topics you should have researched?

I believe my chosen topics were the right ones in terms of relevance and improvement of my skills, however, research into promotion and the industry side of making an EP would've been helpful.

• Are there other areas you would have liked to research, but did not have time?

As stated above, topics regarding the music industry rather than research into practical music would have been useful. In terms of time, there was enough for me to expand on these topics but I did not choose to do so when starting my research points within the proposal.

• What have you learnt that you can apply to your future projects?

I have learned the ways of working in a collaborative environment and the problems
that can occur when doing so. This will help me evaluate who I decide to work
with collaboratively in the future.

• How has your research informed your practical work?

In terms of practical research, I have learnt a lot of production techniques and methods within Trap and Hip-hop music. This research has all been displayed within the EP and the production process to get these songs would have been difficult without this research.
I have also researched into the Ambient genre and the origins and values of it's music. This has helped me incorporate the Ambient themes into my work

• What skills (new and existing) have you developed in order to complete your project?

I have developed a massive skill set regarding production techniques and am now confident in producing Trap songs such as the ones on the EP.
I have also massively advanced in my mixing and mastering skills, improving and evaluating the many mistakes I have made previously in this area. This has specifically been developed from my collaboration with D'Angelo, where he has helped me to become more confident in my mixing.

• Do you feel your practical skills have developed sufficiently during the course of the project?

My Practical skills have developed massively. Research made during the project has helped me in advancing as a producer as well as a mix engineer.

• What problems did you encounter during the CP? How did you overcome these problems?

I encountered some problems regarding time management and workload management, especially when working collaboratively with people encountering the same issues. It is clear now that plans should've been created in order to complete the written work, not just the practical work.

• Have you completed all of the work you intended to create for this project?

In terms of practical work, I feel we completed the work we intended to create. In terms of the written work, I feel although there is a satisfactory amount to be shown, there was always room for more research and updates regarding my progress and the themes of the project.

• Did you discover that you had tried to do too much over the course of 1 term? How did this affect your project, did you reduce the scale of your work?

I knew a 4 track EP was always going to be realistic and accomplishable with the recourses available. I do not feel I tried to cram in too much but I also feel that I did not expand on too little regarding updates and practice.

• How did you make use of the access time that is available to you?

I made use of this time by holding collaborative meetings with my peers during college hours in the classrooms provided. 2 of the 4 tracks were also completed in the production rooms available to book via the college.

• Who have you worked with to complete your project? What role did they fill in your project?

I worked with D'Angelo and Blaine. We all played an equal role in the production, D'Angelo specifically worked on the mixing and mastering and Blaine represented us with a performance aspect by doing a DJ set.

• Describe the collaborative experience. Was it enjoyable, or did you encounter problems?

The experience was definitely enjoyable as I chose people with similar taste and interests and we were able to create a solid final product.

We encountered problems regarding communication between peers when organising dates to work together outside of college. This is due to our areas of residence being fairly far apart and the personal problems and issues at home that constrained our progress.

• How did you overcome any problems with your collaborators?

We overcame this by focusing on the time we had in college hours and using this time to make collaborative decisions.