Hey, guys! ~~~ヾ(＾∇＾) Exaaaams yaaaaay. ｍ（．＿．）ｍ
A-anyway, I am writing a post today to re-announce the deadline for Mr Music! Mr Music is due by December 2011. Please take your time and focus on your exams! ♪(ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ I'd additionally like to take a bit of space to apologise for always pushing deadlines onto you. I was ultimately reminded that this chorus is a chorus made out of fun, for fun, and will hopefully always be fun for us! （￣へ￣） I'd like to remind everyone that this is a do-or-don't chorus, which means if you feel like taking part, you take part, and if you don't, you don't take part! For example, if someone just goes "OH MAN I LIKE THIS SONG, WHO WANTS TO DO EET? 8D", then those who are interested and like the song go ahead with their planning while those that have no time (I-I don't know how to make my tone sound nice but I'm sincerely not hating on anyone who doesn't have time. What I'm saying is I totally understand if you don't have time, so please don't be pressurised by this chorus! This chorus isn't a serious chorus, after all.) can choose not to participate at no negative cost.
Remember to have fun and organise as many projects as you want amongst yourselves (all of you are part of a community! I encourage you to have fun on your own! This community is more of a connecting platform than for ShichiHitler to be the only one making any rules! I'd be insanely ecstatic to see someone asking lightheartedly for a duet partner. ;A; COME ON GUYS INTERACT MOAR don't make me force a secret love letter routine for you guys to get to know each other better *coughsvomitscoughs*.
Additionally, I'd like everyone to check out the new poll! Also, a clarification: Project Star can now be ignored if you're an attachment member or do not wish to take part! We'd love to hear your voices!
Now, for a new feature of our programme:
(･ω･｀)
Every post from here after will feature a song! You may be introduced to a song you've never heard before, whether a chorus or cover or even an instrumental jazz piece, and you may just fall in love!
Here we go! Let's start with a pretty-sounding chorus:
Project Kaze
A six-man team of awesome is coming your way! ♩♬♯ Choruses we're working on: Mr. Music ♪♥♭ Upcoming choruses: Glow
Showing posts with label administrative information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label administrative information. Show all posts
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Reminder.
I think it's due time I remind you guys to remember to save your recordings in WAV format.
Also, remember that you record seperately, 1 for the melody, and 1 for the harmonies and "Hey Mr Music"s at the talking part. If you don't understand anything, please please ask. There's nothing to lose by asking and perhaps you'll be cleaning up some confusion of your peers who don't dare to ask. :) So please ask. Sometimes it's not your problem, and it's mine because I can't convey the instructions clearly enough. So please ask although Shichi is scary.
Name the filesas instructed in here. As you can see, if you clicked and thinkg "WTF I've never seen this psot before" then you obviously have a load of catching up on hand.
Can everyone send me test runs with mic sensitivity set to 0.4?
Ah, and since we're on the topic of Shichi being scary, if you send me your "final" recording and I don't hear any obvious sense of feeling that Yes, YES, this is it! and that it is obviously better than all your practice runs (as it should be), it, uhh, obviously isn't a final product. >_> Sooo yeah. I'll chuck it back into your face and tell you to redo it until you want to cry/abandon the team/hit me/other things.
That's all, folks.
-Shichi
Also, remember that you record seperately, 1 for the melody, and 1 for the harmonies and "Hey Mr Music"s at the talking part. If you don't understand anything, please please ask. There's nothing to lose by asking and perhaps you'll be cleaning up some confusion of your peers who don't dare to ask. :) So please ask. Sometimes it's not your problem, and it's mine because I can't convey the instructions clearly enough. So please ask although Shichi is scary.
Name the filesas instructed in here. As you can see, if you clicked and thinkg "WTF I've never seen this psot before" then you obviously have a load of catching up on hand.
Can everyone send me test runs with mic sensitivity set to 0.4?
Ah, and since we're on the topic of Shichi being scary, if you send me your "final" recording and I don't hear any obvious sense of feeling that Yes, YES, this is it! and that it is obviously better than all your practice runs (as it should be), it, uhh, obviously isn't a final product. >_> Sooo yeah. I'll chuck it back into your face and tell you to redo it until you want to cry/abandon the team/hit me/other things.
That's all, folks.
-Shichi
Monday, May 16, 2011
Post-Chorus Probabilities.
According to the polls, after discrediting 1 count for Cardioid and 1 count for Glow, we have 1 vote for Smiling, 3 votes for Glow, and 1 vote for KOKORO'KISEKI. We failed to receive votes from Kana and Ritia. Additionally, our animator was only recently introduced to the team, so we did not have the chance to grab her vote.
Congratulations to those who voted for Glow, and for those who did not vote for Glow, you might find an even better song in a later project. Whichever way, we hope that you will come to love Glow.
You have a very long time, which is until the December holidays to master Glow. There is no rush to learn it right now. Yes, master, not begin learning. We're building up something really good for Glow, so we will have auditions. These auditions aren't for eliminating people, but for deciding your parts. The auditions go this way: anytime you feel that you have mastered the song - really mastered, to the point that you can sing the song without looking at the lyrics - please do a recording, a serious final recording, and send it to me. Honestly, I don't think it's hard to put it into your phone/MP3/whatever and listen to it on the way to school. Listen to it to the point where it gets annoying - that usually hints that you're starting to know the song well.
During the September holidays, we'll be doing something simpler. We'll have the five-singer showcase, in which each vocalist gets to showcase their own voices. Nobody else's voice will be covering yours. Choose a song that's in your range, a song that might show off your range, a song that fits your voice type, a song that you're comfortable with.
Here's the system: members are to do solos, but have the option of featuring another singer.
You know, "Rihanna ft. Ne-yo" and this and that.
A feature means no dueting (yes, no Suki Kirai where Rin and Len sing an equal number of lines) - rather, it's like having a "guest" over. Perhaps the person will do the rap at the front for you, or the bridge, or the harmonies.
If Vocalist A features Vocalist B, Vocalist B still has to sing his/her own solo, but is then rendered unable to feature another vocalist in his/her solo. Further discussion to the cbox, please.
Congratulations to those who voted for Glow, and for those who did not vote for Glow, you might find an even better song in a later project. Whichever way, we hope that you will come to love Glow.
You have a very long time, which is until the December holidays to master Glow. There is no rush to learn it right now. Yes, master, not begin learning. We're building up something really good for Glow, so we will have auditions. These auditions aren't for eliminating people, but for deciding your parts. The auditions go this way: anytime you feel that you have mastered the song - really mastered, to the point that you can sing the song without looking at the lyrics - please do a recording, a serious final recording, and send it to me. Honestly, I don't think it's hard to put it into your phone/MP3/whatever and listen to it on the way to school. Listen to it to the point where it gets annoying - that usually hints that you're starting to know the song well.
During the September holidays, we'll be doing something simpler. We'll have the five-singer showcase, in which each vocalist gets to showcase their own voices. Nobody else's voice will be covering yours. Choose a song that's in your range, a song that might show off your range, a song that fits your voice type, a song that you're comfortable with.
Here's the system: members are to do solos, but have the option of featuring another singer.
You know, "Rihanna ft. Ne-yo" and this and that.
A feature means no dueting (yes, no Suki Kirai where Rin and Len sing an equal number of lines) - rather, it's like having a "guest" over. Perhaps the person will do the rap at the front for you, or the bridge, or the harmonies.
If Vocalist A features Vocalist B, Vocalist B still has to sing his/her own solo, but is then rendered unable to feature another vocalist in his/her solo. Further discussion to the cbox, please.
Admin Time! :D
Okay, guys! Here's some administrative info that's preeetty important.
First, let's talk about your icons. If you don't know yet, the icons I'm talking about are the ones that will represent you in the chorus video, like:
As you can see, the pictures come up with the singer's name when the singer sings.
Rule 1:
Minimally, we have to see up to the width of the forearm and the waist. Also, you should try not to have too many parts of the head chopped off. If the picture is big enough (in resolution, not character size), however, it is all right.
Here, we see that we have her shoulders in, and certainly a lot below the waist. Also, we can see her whole head. On the right, her hair and hand is chopped off, but we don't have to care because it's a big picture and already crosses the expectations.
THIS is not allowed because, well, you can see that pretty much everything is cut out.
Rule 2:
Give us a clear picture.
This might look like the previously linked picture, and has all the qualifications, doesn't it?
Only, well, it's not exactly clear, so that's ruled out.
Also, no "friends". You know, like if your character is with a friend, but the friend is waving and his/her arm is kiiinda blocking your darn face? Yeah? Or he/she has pwetty hair but the pwetty hair is blocking you? Yeeah.
Rule 3:
Follow up with the theme of the chorus. If it's a boppy, dancey chorus like Mr. Music, do NOT use people with expressions like this or this and if you are thinking of sending one in as a funny prank I will kick you out for being a sadist. Also, while it isn't required, it would be great if they're wearing theme-relevant clothes (like in this, or this). If it's a Servant of Evil chorus, get them wearing such and such. I'm sure you're getting the hang of it now.
Rule 4:
On to your favourite bit! Who to choose, who to choose? While we strongly encourage
from anime/manga/doujin/whatever we will not reject Vocaloid characters. There is nothing that says Vocaloids are not allowed, but think about it - it's a little redundant having a Append Miku in the music video and an Append Miku icon. That's like... That's like buying laksa and choosing more laksa as a topping. Or vanilla ice cream and vanilla sauce. Or chocolate sprinkle cake and chocolate sprinkles. That's just silly.
Rule 5:
No CG characters, and whether you're using Vocaloids or not, try to find some with drawing styles different from the video's drawing style. The next bit is important: if you know how to use Pixiv, have fun getting what you want from it, but by the by, wherever you get your picture from, note down the credits. Drawn by a Deviantart user? Tell me the screenname. Screenshot from an anime? Tell me the anime. Drawn by a Tegaki artist? Tell me the screenname. Unless you're using something like this, which is pretty much official art, please remember that there are some insane credit freaks out there (okay, not insane - it makes perfect sense).
Rule 6:
I know you're tired by now. After you've scouted your picture and taken notes on the artist, you might want to pick up a few others on the way. You never know if your first choice is rejected, so prepare about 2-3 more.
That's that, folks.
Over and out.
First, let's talk about your icons. If you don't know yet, the icons I'm talking about are the ones that will represent you in the chorus video, like:
As you can see, the pictures come up with the singer's name when the singer sings.
Rule 1:
Minimally, we have to see up to the width of the forearm and the waist. Also, you should try not to have too many parts of the head chopped off. If the picture is big enough (in resolution, not character size), however, it is all right.
Here, we see that we have her shoulders in, and certainly a lot below the waist. Also, we can see her whole head. On the right, her hair and hand is chopped off, but we don't have to care because it's a big picture and already crosses the expectations.
THIS is not allowed because, well, you can see that pretty much everything is cut out.
Rule 2:
Give us a clear picture.
This might look like the previously linked picture, and has all the qualifications, doesn't it?
Only, well, it's not exactly clear, so that's ruled out.
Also, no "friends". You know, like if your character is with a friend, but the friend is waving and his/her arm is kiiinda blocking your darn face? Yeah? Or he/she has pwetty hair but the pwetty hair is blocking you? Yeeah.
Rule 3:
Follow up with the theme of the chorus. If it's a boppy, dancey chorus like Mr. Music, do NOT use people with expressions like this or this and if you are thinking of sending one in as a funny prank I will kick you out for being a sadist. Also, while it isn't required, it would be great if they're wearing theme-relevant clothes (like in this, or this). If it's a Servant of Evil chorus, get them wearing such and such. I'm sure you're getting the hang of it now.
Rule 4:
On to your favourite bit! Who to choose, who to choose? While we strongly encourage
from anime/manga/doujin/whatever we will not reject Vocaloid characters. There is nothing that says Vocaloids are not allowed, but think about it - it's a little redundant having a Append Miku in the music video and an Append Miku icon. That's like... That's like buying laksa and choosing more laksa as a topping. Or vanilla ice cream and vanilla sauce. Or chocolate sprinkle cake and chocolate sprinkles. That's just silly.
Rule 5:
No CG characters, and whether you're using Vocaloids or not, try to find some with drawing styles different from the video's drawing style. The next bit is important: if you know how to use Pixiv, have fun getting what you want from it, but by the by, wherever you get your picture from, note down the credits. Drawn by a Deviantart user? Tell me the screenname. Screenshot from an anime? Tell me the anime. Drawn by a Tegaki artist? Tell me the screenname. Unless you're using something like this, which is pretty much official art, please remember that there are some insane credit freaks out there (okay, not insane - it makes perfect sense).
Rule 6:
I know you're tired by now. After you've scouted your picture and taken notes on the artist, you might want to pick up a few others on the way. You never know if your first choice is rejected, so prepare about 2-3 more.
That's that, folks.
Over and out.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
S'more.
A lot of you have issues that need clearing up. I will be free after Wednesday's exam for most of the day - I will be there on Skype, troubleshooting on a first-come-first-serve basis. Additionally, I need to discuss something with prooobably everyone, so do we have a time and date to have a Skype conference on, say, Friday?
-------------------------------
If you have received this message from an unknown and suspicious sender, report and delete this immediately. If you received this message from Shichi-sensei, print it, laminate it, frame it, kiss it, worship it and put it on a wall. The end.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Danger.
Which of you are more negatively receptive to criticism?
During this period of time, I'll be drilling you guys into the ground trying to help you improve, whether it's off-pitchedness, pronunciation, timing - anything, everything. If you're a sensitive sort, please tell me, and I will tread with more caution. Additionally, if you're thinking, "Who is this brat who thinks she can criticise us when she herself can't sing any better?" then it's alright too. I can't say that I'm better than you, or that I have a good ear, but at the very least, I've had the most experience with computers and voices. I know what makes a person sound better - technologically. Since we're all depending on the computer here, some singing tactics won't work very well, so while I optimise your ability, you'll also develop better singing skills in the process. :>
During this period of time, I'll be drilling you guys into the ground trying to help you improve, whether it's off-pitchedness, pronunciation, timing - anything, everything. If you're a sensitive sort, please tell me, and I will tread with more caution. Additionally, if you're thinking, "Who is this brat who thinks she can criticise us when she herself can't sing any better?" then it's alright too. I can't say that I'm better than you, or that I have a good ear, but at the very least, I've had the most experience with computers and voices. I know what makes a person sound better - technologically. Since we're all depending on the computer here, some singing tactics won't work very well, so while I optimise your ability, you'll also develop better singing skills in the process. :>
Friday, May 6, 2011
DEADLINES ORZ
Deadline is the end of the post-MYE holidays. :|
Last day, 12 midnight.
(lmfao i sound like mr faeez)
EDIT 7/05/2011:
Don't be so scared, guys. =_=b
Further discussions are allowed lah.
Like, what if you're going on holiday, yeah?
Last day, 12 midnight.
(lmfao i sound like mr faeez)
♥
EDIT 7/05/2011:
Don't be so scared, guys. =_=b
Further discussions are allowed lah.
Like, what if you're going on holiday, yeah?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Choices, Choices.
I want you guys to check this out.
"Pros to scripted lines:
- Easier to record for singers - you only have a few lines, which means less time is wasted recording the whole song, and more time can be spent perfecting it, with minimal effort.
- Not so much brain power required from mixers, i.e. the mixer doesn't have to listen to everything and think what blends with what and how to mix it.
Cons to scripted:
- If it's done badly, it can result in really really bad blends.
- Apparently, less lines doesn't always necessarily mean people spend more time singing them right =_=
Pros to reverse-mixing (letting the singers sing the whole song, and the mixer picking out good parts):
- Allows the mixer to decide the best blends possible, including thinking about microphone quality, and who sounds best singing solos, things like that.
- For singers, it's a good way to feel like you're singing a whole song rather than being only a small part of it
Cons to reverse-mixing:
- Using whole solos almost always means impossible to break up lines properly - people take breaths at different places, people do slightly different rhythms etc.
- Very very very very tiring on the mixer...and their CPU!
- A LOT of people halfass their lines when they're expected to sing everything with the thought of "If it's bad the mixer can just cut it out" leaving the mixer usually with a whole lot of mediocre lines."
And this is why I don't really like reverse-mixing. Also, now you know some problems people make, whether reverse-or-lines, so watch out.
"Pros to scripted lines:
- Easier to record for singers - you only have a few lines, which means less time is wasted recording the whole song, and more time can be spent perfecting it, with minimal effort.
- Not so much brain power required from mixers, i.e. the mixer doesn't have to listen to everything and think what blends with what and how to mix it.
Cons to scripted:
- If it's done badly, it can result in really really bad blends.
- Apparently, less lines doesn't always necessarily mean people spend more time singing them right =_=
Pros to reverse-mixing (letting the singers sing the whole song, and the mixer picking out good parts):
- Allows the mixer to decide the best blends possible, including thinking about microphone quality, and who sounds best singing solos, things like that.
- For singers, it's a good way to feel like you're singing a whole song rather than being only a small part of it
Cons to reverse-mixing:
- Using whole solos almost always means impossible to break up lines properly - people take breaths at different places, people do slightly different rhythms etc.
- Very very very very tiring on the mixer...and their CPU!
- A LOT of people halfass their lines when they're expected to sing everything with the thought of "If it's bad the mixer can just cut it out" leaving the mixer usually with a whole lot of mediocre lines."
And this is why I don't really like reverse-mixing. Also, now you know some problems people make, whether reverse-or-lines, so watch out.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Deadlining.
You can submit your seriously done lines anytime - if, like, you suddenly think "OMG! I've learnt it all, I feel inspired to sing right now, and I happen to be free!" tomorrow and record the thing for me, go ahead! Additionally, if you want to deal with the impending MYEs first (like me) you can submit it later. Now, I'm actually going to impose a deadline on all of you. I want them latest by the middle of the September holidays, convenient by late June. HOWEVER, do not force yourself to record thinking that you're late when you are
a. in a bad mood/uninspired
b. with a sore throat
c. anything else
because you'd just sound like shit and nobody wants to hear shit and you don't want to let people hear you sound like shit. Muahahaha. So, yeaaahh. We do actually have a deadline, people. Remember to save as WAVs and not MP3s.
Optimally, if everything goes smoothly, I can complete mixing by the end of the September holidays.
a. in a bad mood/uninspired
b. with a sore throat
c. anything else
because you'd just sound like shit and nobody wants to hear shit and you don't want to let people hear you sound like shit. Muahahaha. So, yeaaahh. We do actually have a deadline, people. Remember to save as WAVs and not MP3s.
Optimally, if everything goes smoothly, I can complete mixing by the end of the September holidays.
♥
Your 2 Documents and 3 Soundtracks.
Just finished finalising and polishing up everyone's coloured lyrics.
Starting on everyone's 2nd document, which includes individual tips for sounding+recording better.
3 soundtracks are all prepared: Harmony, Karaoke, and Original.
Skype me the email account you want me to send them to.
EDIT: You'll be receiving 1 document, not two, because all that I wanted to tell you guys in your second documents are in this blog. Just read and remember all the tips.
♬
Starting on everyone's 2nd document, which includes individual tips for sounding+recording better.
3 soundtracks are all prepared: Harmony, Karaoke, and Original.
Skype me the email account you want me to send them to.
EDIT: You'll be receiving 1 document, not two, because all that I wanted to tell you guys in your second documents are in this blog. Just read and remember all the tips.
♬
Important Notice~
Guuuys, please take note to record your harmonies+"Hey Mr. Music"s (the ones where Yuki does her dialogue) in a seperate recording. Which means, first you record your solo+chorus track, not singing the harmonies+YukiBackups. Save it without the karaoke, remember that~
After saving that take, close everything extra in Audacity, starting again. Open up the original Vocaloid-sung version, and then record your harmonies+YukiBackups by singing along with the Vocaloid-sung version. Then send me the harmony track too.
That way, you won't be finding yourself dying while attempting to switch from on-pitch (chorus and solo) to purposefully off-pitch (harmonies) in between lines.
Also, please make sure you know your lines. Haha. Faltering is highly hearable, darlings.
Here's the dealio: mouse clicks are very easily picked up by your microphones. Mouse clicks? Really? Tchah. That's what you might think, but the truth is, if we have 1 person clicking 4 times (once to open the document, once to scroll, once to scroll again, and possibly to position the document), we'll have masses of 24 ungodly clicks. Srsly, sounds like crap. Also, it's distracting to hear a click while someone is singing.
Now, especially since Mr Music starts immediately after 3 drumstick taps, you'll be clicking the red record circle, quickly maximising your document, maybe dragging it around to get it the right size so that you can see both your recording and the words. That sucks, distracts you, and makes click noises.
The trick is:
Max your Audacity (i.e. fullscreen) with your karaoke track inside and whatever.
Open your document. And here you're probably thinking, Duh, I would've done that. But remember that with Audacity in full screen, opening the document then pressing Record will make the document go behind Audacity. Pwned. Document gone.
So, open your document. Then, see the picture? Gee wow! How do you do THAT? Well, there's a thin ridged portion beside the "taken out" section. Clicking that once will make it float. You can drag it over to your document or wherever, and now, when you press Record, the document stays there, PLUS you can see your spectrogram.
Oh, by the way, you don't have to open your document that fat. =_= That would be stupid. Just to the end of the sentences or something like that.
You can put the tray back to where it should be by accessing View>Dock Control Toolbar.
That's the end of yet another lesson! That's all, folks.
Remember that if you do the overlapping thing mentioned in "Too Close For Comfort", save each individual recording as "Name1" and "Name2" and so on so forth.
Here's an example: For Ahika, it's "Ahi1" and "Ahi2". First three letters of the name. Then, "AhiHarmo". If there are more than 1 (which is highly impossible unless you breathe really slowly) you use your common sense and name it "AhiHarmo1" and "AhiHarmo2". Hope you remember all this: it'll help you, the singer, not just the mixer.
After saving that take, close everything extra in Audacity, starting again. Open up the original Vocaloid-sung version, and then record your harmonies+YukiBackups by singing along with the Vocaloid-sung version. Then send me the harmony track too.
That way, you won't be finding yourself dying while attempting to switch from on-pitch (chorus and solo) to purposefully off-pitch (harmonies) in between lines.
Also, please make sure you know your lines. Haha. Faltering is highly hearable, darlings.
Now, especially since Mr Music starts immediately after 3 drumstick taps, you'll be clicking the red record circle, quickly maximising your document, maybe dragging it around to get it the right size so that you can see both your recording and the words. That sucks, distracts you, and makes click noises.
The trick is:
Max your Audacity (i.e. fullscreen) with your karaoke track inside and whatever.
Open your document. And here you're probably thinking, Duh, I would've done that. But remember that with Audacity in full screen, opening the document then pressing Record will make the document go behind Audacity. Pwned. Document gone.
So, open your document. Then, see the picture? Gee wow! How do you do THAT? Well, there's a thin ridged portion beside the "taken out" section. Clicking that once will make it float. You can drag it over to your document or wherever, and now, when you press Record, the document stays there, PLUS you can see your spectrogram.
Oh, by the way, you don't have to open your document that fat. =_= That would be stupid. Just to the end of the sentences or something like that.
You can put the tray back to where it should be by accessing View>Dock Control Toolbar.
That's the end of yet another lesson! That's all, folks.
Remember that if you do the overlapping thing mentioned in "Too Close For Comfort", save each individual recording as "Name1" and "Name2" and so on so forth.
Here's an example: For Ahika, it's "Ahi1" and "Ahi2". First three letters of the name. Then, "AhiHarmo". If there are more than 1 (which is highly impossible unless you breathe really slowly) you use your common sense and name it "AhiHarmo1" and "AhiHarmo2". Hope you remember all this: it'll help you, the singer, not just the mixer.
♥
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