Volatility & Transparency - Encountering Complications In Audio Production
In the spirit of transparency, this journal entry will detail a series of events that have taken place on the 5-day run up to the conference on April 17th. From this I aim to present encountered complications & perspectives related to the situation I find myself in. These circumstances will be presented chronologically, and culminate in recommendations & considerations for myself going forward. This will be self-reflective in nature, being in-line with the methodological approach of agile documentation - with derived R&Cs being generated through manual informating & itemisation - being the translation process of descriptions & measurements of activities, events and circumstances into visible information (Shoshana, 1988). From my own observatory, subjective perspective as participatory practitioner :
To illustrate the potential volatility of changing label environments, this series of circumstances begins on the date of a successful launch event - during which, following the reception of potentially misinterpreted information, it was observed that a breakdown in communication between the team became out of proportion. With miscommunication focusing around the subject of organisational roles - it is recommended that clarity and transparency in communication is evidently essential to ensure professional standards, and it should not be underestimated.
Following the unfortunate departure of one individual, a central organisational role and subsequently their responsibilities and qualities have been lost. Further demonstrating that it has emphasised the importance of fair and accurate representation & communication - being a learning experience in this way. It should be noted that when establishing roles and responsibilities, outlining these in detail with emphasis on clarity, transparency and mutual confirmation is very important.
With this emphasis on clear communication in mind, it is also equally as important to ensure obfuscation of some detail above - however whilst it’s counterintuitive, without doing this would not be presentable.
To now move to the next set of circumstances, following on from the pilot production project within Journal Entry 2 - due to further complications within post-production this project arrangement has concluded. Despite best efforts to ensure those given recommendations were utilised across coordination and cooperation between myself and the artist, after an overextended duration of work it became evident that continued work on this project was a fool’s errand. Approaching this artist with the mutual plan of a joint project between individuals with shared musical interests and complimentary skills & expertise. Following the stages of post production iterative work it became impossible to cater to their expectations after numerous revisions. When working with an artist to achieve a particular envisioned sound - it is crucially important to ensure this can be accurately conveyed, understood and confirmed between all parties before production begins.
Time wastage that can inadvertently occur as a result can be negatively impactful for proximate activities, and mitigating this when possible although whilst feeling sacrificial - is advisory so that onward progression can be regained both practically and mentally. It is also recommended that engineers in the field maintain their self-respect, and never subject themselves to continued vitriolic remarks. It should also be considered that communication can always remain civil and constructive if all parties proactively work in good faith.
Finally, risk assessment should be undertaken from practical and realistic perspectives. Due to the unforeseen circumstances of staff departure, it followed that a project involving vinyl production could not commence. It should be stated that mitigation of risk should be crucial towards planning practical undertakings - however despite this there is always the potential for unexpected and unaccounted for situations to occur. Whilst assessing out of the blue outcomes when they tie to project work, always put transparency and communication first with a client to ensure their satisfaction. Having done this in the situation, despite being disappointing it has maintained good rapport with the artist who appreciated the upfront presentation of information.
Open communication came around within a team meeting on wednesday morning, where activity updates, events and circumstances of the above were discussed, shortly before the conference. Unfortunately whilst in my conference presentation I lacked the articulation I’d aimed for to communicate the research project I am proposing, It has put me in a good self-reflective position in which to try to draw value from an otherwise less than ideal sequence of events.
Following the presentation I received some feedback, including to inquire into the professional standards of record labels within an educational context - being astute given the context. This would be beneficial for the label given its educational setting and will definitely be an avenue worth inquiring into. With an element to the rationale being the professional development of its organisation, this will be both relevant and potentially transformative to the contextual working environment. It was also asked whether within this research it is intended to gather perspectives, feedback and considerations from artists & label personnel. This is a key area of data collection which will serve very useful for an unbiased and pragmatic approach - given that these perspectives will undoubtedly shed more insight on areas of development, production, and organisational process.
