Reflection

 

Working with a number of different clients during this module has been a fascinating experience. It has also been interesting to work with clients who have different levels of experience with regard to studio work. A couple had no studio experience to speak of so it was important to make them feel comfortable and not overwhelmed in the studio environment, whereas the the others had varying levels of studio experience. The keywords to working in this way are "flexibility", "communication" and "organisation". It's important to set customer expectation levels before the project starts as well so they have a clear idea of what the final outcome will be. Of course this can be tweaked to suit the conditions of each project but it's important that both myself and the client know what to expect. I felt that by making sure that I had done adequate preparation for each project made things run smoothly. There are always unforeseen circumstances that have to be overcome, but good planning will ensure that when issues arise, they are able to be addressed in a smoother manner. Working with clients who have less experience means that my job will probably take longer and be slower, mainly due to the fact that I have to explain the process that I am going through at each stage of the project. Being flexible allows you to build better customer relationships but clear communication is the most important tool, even if that means making decisions that are difficult. I learned a lot regarding project time estimates which will stand me in good stead when I work on future commercial projects as I will have a better idea on how to cost them. I particularly enjoyed working with this group of clients as each one was different, both in terms of the material they write and their approach to delivering it. Working with a real drummer requires a totally different approach to working with a solo artist who may use a drum machine or requires drum programming input from myself. As well as adopting a professional approach to my projects, I also try and make them fun for my clients, and it's also worth spending some time buying a coffee during recording session breaks so we can discuss progress and agree future objectives. I also believe that reliability and punctuality are very important when working in any scenario. If I say that I will meet a client at a specific time, I will always be there before that time, and if I say that I am going to do something, I will deliver what I have promised. As highlighted in the "Behind The Scenes" section, not everything was plain sailing, and I did generate some unnecessary extra work for myself on the "Dave" project. Having said that, even though I generated extra work, I was able to learn from the experience. Over the period of this module, I worked around 70 hours to complete the 4 recordings / productions. The studio sessions are all about getting the best quality recordings possible, and the production sessions are all about applying the shine to the song. I genuinely enjoyed working with such a mixed group of clients and learned a lot that I will be able to apply to future projects. I logged the time that it took to complete each task on an Excel spreadsheet. It was interesting to observe how quickly the hours accumulated. When I work on future projects, I will ensure that each client completes a "Services Agreement." An example of this can be found in the "Resources" section. My client timesheet is here...