Mobile Audio Recording Service 435 275 8981 info@mars-mobile.com
Wisdom
The difference between a great performance/ recording and a so-so job is often in the planning. It's true that you can't "plan" artistic soul and emotion, but one can certainly do everything possible to minimize distractions. You can't create smoke sculptures in a windstorm. — Anonymous And music is often like a smoke sculpture — it's there in perfect sharpness for a fleeting instant, and gone the next. A fine recording captures that ethereal beauty, and preserves it for later enjoyment by many who were not present. And while that mechanical reproduction can never be perfect, every faithfully captured nuance, every little glint of musical light, will make the reproduction all the more believable, no matter how and where it's played back. So what must we do? Even the simplest recording project can bog down if ill-planned. Here are a few simple ideas we like to pass along.
•
Rehearse; know the material. Don't strain
"the knowing" to the point of anxiety, but
the more automatic the mechanics of
delivering the notes, the more you can
decide the fine subtleties of how you
want to deliver those notes. Knowing the
material well gives you the confidence to
deviate from "just another" performance.
•
Know the performance environment;
know what's there. Do you have enough
light? Proper chairs? Will it be warm or
cool enough? Make sure you’ll be
comfortable in space. We’ll help you
assess this during our site walkthrough.
•
With that in mind, It's wonderful to have
a working relationship with the facilities
person in charge of the space you'll be
using. And if that person is not known,
both you and someone from our
organization should get together with the
Facilities person sooner rather than later.
And it's important to get with the person
with "mechanical authority" (the person
with building keys) rather than relying
solely on a building manager.
•
Don't skip or decline our pre-production
meeting! Pre-planning is included with
every MARS package.
•
Does this project call for a piano? Is one
on site? What is its condition? Can you
get the instrument reviewed by a
technician prior to the session or live
event? Tell a piano tech what you're
planning to do. An astute piano expert,
without actually getting into voicing the
instrument, can nudge the tuning a bit
for an optimal recording, or even match a
sound between sessions several months
(and seasons) apart.
Relax, have a good time. Preparing and
practicing for musical art can be a demanding
and taxing process. But the performance or
session, while still possibly a major physical
workout, should be a time of great delight. We'll
do our best to keep the technical aspects on
point so as to support and enhance the project.
