Essential Questions

• What is the process of creating a song from start to finish?
• How can I distribute a song to online stores and how does it compare to my expectations?
• Utilizing my filmmaking skills and background knowledge in documentary production, how I can document my process?

 

Why?

Since I’m studying film production in college for at least the next four years, I want to explore my interest in music composition/production further before I focus primarily on filmmaking. While I will definitely continue to use my knowledge of music for my film projects, as I have done in the past, I wouldn’t have enough time to really focus on music, better my understanding of it, and complete an ambitious project like this. Turning this into a senior project will help me stay productive and motivated by having an expectation for a final product and a clear plan to help me along the way. Making a song and having it released has been a dream of mine since I was little, and turning that into my senior project will allow me to push myself and make that dream come true.

 

Week 1

• Reviewing music composition from online tutorials and assigning mini-projects for myself (creating short piano pieces for practice)
• Learning about essential plugins and production techniques from online resources and trying them out myself; assigning more mini-projects for myself (short beat loops for practice)

 

Week 2

• Practicing piano, bass, and ukulele to think of possible chord progressions and melodies for the song (recording them so that I can figure out which one I like best)
• Creating a rough layout of the chords and melody in Logic Pro X (using only piano and maybe drums so that I can focus on the song composition itself before the instrumentation)
• Brainstorming possible topics for the song’s lyrics

 

Week 3

• Making edits to the rough layout and establishing the instrumentation and genre(s) of the song
• Begin writing lyrics; figuring out the melody and rhythm of them

 

Week 4

• Finalizing lyrics
• Recording vocals
• Finishing the mix of the song
• Getting feedback from mentor and incorporating it into the mix and lyrics

 

Week 5

• Learning how to master tracks from online resources
• Mastering the track and adding any final edits/finishing touches
• Planning/creating cover art

 

Week 6

• Finalizing cover art
• Distributing the song to online platforms
• Editing together a video showing my process of making the song and reflecting on that experience

 

Final Product

My final product for this project will be a completed song distributed to various music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and more. I will also create an edited video describing my process of making the song as well as reflecting on that experience.