Daniel Dehaan

Composition Assignment: Ambient Music Loop - Part 1: Assessment

Composition Assignment: Ambient Music Loop - Part 1: Assessment

Provided Materials

  • Example-Video_Ambient-Nature_Loop_1080p.mp4 (4469.8KB)

Situation

A client has approached you about creating an “ambient musical bed” for a looping video that will be displayed in the lobby of their business. They aren’t totally sure of the creative direction they want to take it in. They just know that they want it to have a “similar sonic atmosphere to the video.” In your initial conversation with them, they explain that they want this video to convey a sense of “quiet strength and inner peace while making the viewer feel like they are actually in this image.” They also share that they keep imagining something with a piano and “kind of shimmering orchestral stuff,” but maybe “a cool lo-fi synthesizer with lots of compression and reverb.”

You end the conversation by suggesting a three-stage process: assessment, iteration, and implementation. However, they want to hear something first before signing any contracts. So you agree to present them with three initial options: something that is more musical, something that is more environmental, and something that strikes a nice balance between musical and environmental. The idea with these initial compositions is not to get it perfect (though that’s kind of the idea) but instead to:

  1. Demonstrate you understand and are capable of realizing the client’s vision.
  2. Provide materials that will facilitate more concrete and actionable conversations.

Creative Brief

Compose an ambient musical loop for the 30-second video above. The loop should evoke the sounds and feelings of:

  • quiet strength
  • inner peace
  • nature
  • morning sun on dewy grass

Your musical loop should blend traditional orchestral sounds with synthetic instruments, and field recordings of nature sounds.

Once you’ve finished composing your musical loop, create three variations that shift the emphasis/balance between the musical and non-musical elements:

  • Musical - mix/composition focuses on the musical elements
  • Hybrid - mix/composition balances the musical and non-musical elements
  • Environmental - mix/composition focuses on the non-musical elements

File Format & Standards

When you are done composing, make sure that each variation’s volume is similar in level and between -1 and -12 dB. Then, export each variation as a .WAV file with a sample rate of 48000 and a bit depth of 24 using the naming convention described below.

Naming Convention

Each of your three variations should be named exactly as follows:

  • Musical: SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-01_FirstName-LastName_Musical_V001
  • Hybrid: SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-01_FirstName-LastName_Hybrid_V001
  • Environmental: SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-01_FirstName-LastName_Environmental_V001

Example:

  • Musical: SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-01_Daniel-Dehaan_Musical_V001
  • Hybrid: SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-01_Daniel-Dehaan_Hybrid_V001
  • Environmental: SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-01_Daniel-Dehaan_Environmental_V001

Naming Convention Explained: [Semester]-[Department]-[Course Number]_[Week Number]_[Project Number]-[Project Phase]_[Composers First Name]-[Composers Last Name]_[File Name]_[Version Number]

Evaluation Standards

CriteriaPoints
File Format & Standards - Did you follow all file formats and standards described here or previously discussed in class?3
Naming Convention - Did you follow all naming conventions and standards described here or previously discussed in class?3
Creative Brief - Did you realize everything that was asked in the creative brief?3
X Factor - Does it have that “X” quality?1
Total10

Submission

Upload your completed materials to this Dropbox folder: SP24-MUSC-228_Week-01_In-Class-Assignment Folder

Warning: Please take extra care when uploading your files to ensure everything is in the correct file format and named exactly as requested. If, for any reason, you need to upload additional versions, please increment the version number at the end of the file for each new version of a file.

Example version progression:

  • SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-00_Daniel-Dehaan_Musical_V001
  • SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-00_Daniel-Dehaan_Musical_V002
  • SP24-MUSC-228_W01_P1-00_Daniel-Dehaan_Musical_V003

Peer Critique

Please be prepared to present your DAW project to the class so that we can collectively learn from or improve your work.

Additional Practice

  • Example-Video_Starting-Shortly_Loop_1080p.mp4 (19583.5KB)