Our First Project Reflections

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Hello and welcome to Rhythm and Purpose, the podcast where we two high school graduates navigate the world an alternative way. I'm Melody and I'm Ori.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

So we have some massive announcements today. Next week we're officially dropping the first project of our internship.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Yes, I'm so incredibly excited to finally reveal what we've been hinting about for the past few weeks, and that is Doctor and Q's Three Faces demo mixes. Next week, I'm officially dropping the track demos I've been mixing and mastering.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

And on the visual sides, I'm gonna be dropping a matching lyric video to one of the songs, Famiverstory.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

The song Famiverse is actually from a new family tradition of ours that's also happening next week. It's a beautifully chaotic, highly competitive tournament that brings us closer.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

We love it so much that we are dedicating an entire separate episode to Famiverstory next week to share this year's games made by each of the family members and who is this year's winner. But today we're also going to be talking about our creative internship experience. Hey Ori, what was it like mixing Dr.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

NQ's project? It was a huge learning experience. I learned quickly that creative progress isn't just about skill, it also depends on your mindset. And going into it, my mindset was very flawed. Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

How did that mindset bleed into the music?

SPEAKER_01 2:09

We had to alter our schedule a bajillion times to get this right. I let my own ego get in the way of the artist's sound. I was so caught up in my own perspective that I forgot what was most important. This body of work isn't centered around me. It's about what the artist wants and what serves their audience. I boosted backup vocals of songs simply because I thought it sounded best, completely ignoring the organized formatting and labels that were already set up for me. I had to deep dive in the actual science of mixing, learning how to precisely balance reverb and compression to make NQ's vocals pop without overwhelming the track. The ultimate test was the Fanverse remix itself, because I was juggling four distinct voices on one track Dr. NQ, myself, the Noah, and Kyla the Bear. Getting four different vocal dynamics clear and balanced taught me so much. But on top of that, I was also making a ton of basic mistakes as well, like leaving the click track on. The biggest lesson though that I learned, even as I do my own artist QG Harmony, is that you cannot successfully complete a project without being vulnerable. I suck badly at this, and in reality I barely got by this time. But I recognize it's something I have to be more willing to do.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Yeah, and I feel the same way about even my own work. So speaking of matching that energy, let's talk about the visual side of this internship, the Famiversary lyric video. Now, the lyric video I have been working on is actually our official theme song for the Famiversary. I'm going to be doing animation with animated lyrics. The exact inspiration for the style is the end credits from the 2018 Teen Times Go to the movies and the Incredibles end credits. If you remember those credits, you see the characters doing these very simple but detailed dance movements while the actors and the people behind the scenes have their names pop up next to them. This is kind of the vibe that I'm aiming for. To make it happen, I'm going to be drawing out these clean loop dance animations for everyone featured on the track. Dr. NQ, Ori, the Noah, and Kyle the Bear. The biggest piece of the work for me is being correct on the timing. I'm going to be doing frame by frame animation to make sure that the text bounce exactly when the vocals hit on Ori's mix. It's a lot of clicking, but seeing our animated characters dancing right on the beat makes it worth it.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

It's far from perfect, but it's a proud start. The tracks dropping next week are Phoenix, Martyr, Changeling, and Famiversary with a lyric video. You'll be able to stream them directly on Neofored.com and check out our brand new podcast site, OlimaioArts.com, and we'll see you next week for the Ultimate Family Showdown episode. Stick around for a quick sneak peek of the mixes right now.