PRO TOOLS | process and editing

I began by reading over the poem, lady lazarus, as well as listening to the recording of Sylvia Plath reading it on youtube to allow me to process the meaning, symbolism, and atmosphere in the piece.
The first thing that came to mind while reading it was that I could imagine it with a slight performance-esque tone to it with some reverb. Kind of like this particular scene in a movie by nicolas roeg called performance where the characters voices sound projected in a way if that makes sense.
I then read into the poem and used this website to further analyse and find extra information.
https://genius.com/Sylvia-plath-lady-lazarus-annotated
I thought the poem was quite interesting with the phonetic language and the 3 line layout.
I also had crescendo and harp type noises in my mind from the very beginning.

As well as this, I watched pro tools videos to try and understand the software to really be able to utilise it in the best way and also typed out the poem parts that i wanted to use in my soundscape to make it a minute long. I then annotated it with ideas of how I thought it could go and wrote a small list on my computer of some things i wanted to record. At this point, I was still unsure as to what I wanted to exactly do with it, however I found recording sounds then caused me to then think of things that could go with it. Also I wanted the soundscape to be able to function alone without the voice over, but at the same time compliment the language and stanza layout.


i found this cool video on youtube that i think really helped me to be able to have a more solid idea and form a structure in my head of what i could actually do with the poem and sounds.


When recording sounds, I tried to record almost everything I thought of and I found that it was during the editing process when it came together the most and i felt confident in what I was doing.
The above soundscape provoked me to add drums to my piece as I had previously thought about it when hearing it in poetry albums i listened to, like jack kerouacs, but was unsure whether it would fit.

I recorded a guitar slide 'crescendo', however that didn't turn out as well as I planned and also somehow the best one disappeared - i think it was something to do with the zoom and file numbers. However when editing I tried using MIDI for an A5 chord as I had also tried recording that using a zoom and keyboard but it sounded too tacky and it worked so i decided to try use MIDI for the slide too. It didnt work as well as if I had got a good slide recording, however i experimented and ended up rolling my hand along the MIDI keyboard to get a smooth growth transition. I also tried finding a slide guitar noise on Pro Tools but the closest I could get was a guitar that didn't sound close enough so I decided to go for a synth instead. The reason I decided to record an A5 chord in the first place was because when thinking of the poem, I thought it sounded quite melancholic and dreary but in a strange way, as its not a usual sad/typical poem with this aura, and I kept hearing this chord/song in my head and then I realised it was a chord in Warszawa by Bowie and from there i figured out what chord it was.
My first set of recording was up to the typewriter, but then when looking over the poem again and looking at the layout on the editing timeline, i thought of some more and recorded those. I feel like the first time recording was a very experimental, walking around and finding sounds, whereas the second time i had a lot more of a plan and recording list.
The drum recording was from when i had previously recorded sound and I didnt expect much as I was mainly looking for a cymbal for the 'theatrical' part and then i found that beat/rhythm that is used in the final piece which i felt worked really well. I found editing quite difficult at the beginning as I was still getting used to the program and had to figure out how to use the EQ to erase the fuzzy sound in the background of the narration, however it worked out. Another thing that I struggled with while editing was with the drum track as I wanted the light cymbal to be louder and the drum thuds to not be too loud/peak. I ended up getting the right sound using EQ and separating the drum beats and turning the db down.

 I really enjoyed using Midi as I found protools was good at this and it was easy to use with a really nice outcome, as i could listen to the piece and apply what I wanted when I wanted to. It was quite complex at first trying to remember how to set up a track and apply the piano or whatever instrument you wanted. With this, I was able to add things I didn't think I was going to be able to like a choir and a harp. These additions really helped the piece as a whole i think.

Overall, I think my piece had a good outcome as in my opinion i managed to create a sense of environment and atmosphere with the channels and from the speech and drums, to the typewriter. At the same time it's not perfect, I would have liked to try rerecord some guitar slide and also i feel the end of the piece without the voiceover isnt quite right, whether thats due to the abruptness or the attempted tension build via the midi as i couldnt edit the pitch to bend it as its not an audio clip. Despite this, it still works. I do have questions in my mind as to whether the different sounds were as complimentary as they could have been as i would have liked more time to refine it and try different volumes and placements. :)