Research Showcase (WR 14)

This Tuesday is the 2014-2015 ISM research showcase. At this event, I will be displaying all of the research I have been doing this entire semester. This will include having my presentation board, portfolio/binder, my atmosphere, and of course myself. I have prepared all of these things in advance and they should be all ready to go, despite some expected last minute changes. Theoretically all I have to do is show up!

There is a great amount of planning and preparing that will go into the showcase on Tuesday. First, I  have my display-board (Seen below). I put a lot of time into it making sure everything was perfect. I also have updated my portfolio to include every assessment I have done so far in ISM. This includes; All my research assessments, interview assessments, weekly blogs, and all of the other various assessments. Finally, I have been preparing my 'atmosphere' for the table. While most people put snacks or refreshments, I am going to have a 'create your own song' element to my display. I will have my portable studio setup, and allow people to record their own short song. This will be great because it will give people a realistic idea of what music production is. Now, with every detail in place, all I have to do is show up. 

Display Board (WR 13)

There is no greater feeling then completing a big project, and then stepping back and it looking great. This is the feeling I had once I finished my presentation board. I had been working hard on it last week, and finished it today, Sunday, after hours of work. I certainly learned a lot throughout this whole process. The biggest thing, is that things don't always go exactly as planned. I had created a mock-up sketch prior to starting and was sure my board would look exactly the same. That didn't end up happening. The first thing I noticed was that the text was much bigger than I had planned. After realizing this, I had to rearrange my board and even leave out some parts to fit everything in. The next thing that I had to change, was the color of the titles. I originally thought they would be silver, but that color wasn't dark enough and so I switched to black. Finally, I had thought it would be a cool idea to have two stripes go across my board. After getting some different opinions from classmates, I decided to scrap them. They didn't add a whole lot and just took up too much valuable space.

Looking Ahead (WR 12)

There is one final event for ISM this semester; Research Showcase. At Research Showcase, we will be displaying ourselves and all the research we have been conducting this semester. With this in mind, the next couple of weeks will be all about preparing for this event. I have already previously created a mock-up of what I hope my display board to look like, I now just have to create it. Even know I have a plan, I will still need to put it together and make adjustments as needed. Another aspect of Research Showcase is creating a atmosphere at your table. Most people simply put cookies or drinks out, but I am not most people. I plan to bring my home studio setup to show off my work, and also have a 'create your own song' activity. People will be able to walk up and within a matter seconds create their own song. I am still working out the exact logistics, but I plan to have it all setup within a week and have people test it before the showcase. This is a very different and unique idea that is sure to set me apart and hopefully leave a lasting impression of those in attendance.

Wrapping up (WR 11)

This previous week, we did not have a whole lot going on in ISM. We were mainly focused on finishing up/tying any loose ends of the second six weeks. The main thing this included was posting the video we took of our research presentation to our class website. We did this so that our peers could watch our presentation and give us come constructive feedback/criticism. This will be very helpful moving on because I will get some suggestions to what I can make better for the next couple of speeches, both in class and at research showcase/final presentation night.

Speaking of research showcase, this next six weeks will be all about preparing for it. Looking ahead, I plan to conduct my last research interview, create my display board, and prepare for the research showcase. For those of you wondering, the research showcase is a night (Tuesday, December 16th at Heritage High School) where all of students involved in the ISM program will be displaying themselves and all of the research they have done all of the first semester. I am very excited for this night because I will get to display all of the stuff I've been working on so far. Personally, I will also get a 'checkpoint' where I can see where I am at, and compare this to where I want to be. Then, I will address this and make my goals for the next/final semester in ISM.

Time Flies (WR 10)

I accomplished two things this week. Each one of them ended a chapter of my life just as a period ends a well written sentence. But the thing about periods that makes them interesting, is what lies after. The first major thing that ended, was Marching Band. Although I love it, Marching Band takes over a season in my life. During this season, I have little to no free time to work on projects outside of school. Now that this season is over, I can not wait to get back to writing/producing music; both at home and with my future mentor.

The other big thing I accomplished this previous week was giving my research presentation. For this assignment, I had to give a 10-12 minute presentation about all of the research I have been doing. At first, I felt overwhelmed at the idea. I didn't see how I was going to talk for 10 minutes, but once I began to make my slide show I saw that I could talk about my topic for hours if I had to. During the actual presentation, I even went over the time limit by a few seconds. The most important I learned through this whole process is that having a strong introduction and conclusion is the most important part of a speech. It is the first/last thing the audience will hear and probably the only thing they will remember. 

Research Speech (WR 9)

This week in ISM my main focus has been preparing for my research speech this Wednesday. For this assignment, we have to give a ten to fifteen speech to the class over all that we have researched so far. At first, I was pretty nervous and I did not think I could talk for fifteen minutes straight but the more I work on it the easier it seems. I'm actually having to cut out parts because it is too long! The first step I took was making a google slide (powerpoint) presentation. This is where I made somewhat of an outline for my speech. After making the presentation, I now know all of the content I want to include in my speech and the general flow of the whole presentation. The only thing I have left to do is write a strong introduction/conclusion to my speech and rehearse it a few times.

This upcoming week other than present my speech, I plan to schedule my 5th and final research interview and begin to choose a mentor. I am really excited to choose a mentor because I believe that this is when experiences of ISM really start to begin.

Planning Makes Perfect (WR 8)

Theres an old saying that practice makes perfect. While I completely agree with this, I also believe that in order to be successful in life it its very important to have a thorough plan. A big part of ISM is having a professional, yet creative display board to showcase your work. The board is not due for a while, but I have already started creating a plan of what it will look like, what information it will include, and what creative elements it will include. Last friday in class, I completed a full color sketch of what I plan it to look like. For colors, I strategically picked black, silver, and orange. I am using these colors because they are my 'color scheme' for this year in ISM. Why these colors? Simply because they match the tie I will be wearing. I like to keep things simple and not overly complicated. I am also planning to bring my macbook and put studio monitors into my board so I can display some projects I have been working on, and maybe do a compare/contrast of how my work has improved.

Another day, Another Interview (WR 7)

This past week, I successfully completed my fourth research interview. On Thursday, I interviewed Bruce Faulconer of cakemix recording studios. Mr. Faulconer is a very successful composer who worked on projects such as 243 episodes of Dragon Ball Z with cartoon network and even some full feature films such as Bystander Theory. In this interview, I learned a lot of the composition side of music. He also gave me insight to what it takes to be a professional music composer and some things I can be working on right now to prepare me for this possible career. Another thing we talked about was the fact that it is hard to be a music composer in Dallas. He said that if he could do it all over again, he would have moved to LA or New York because it is much easier to get started in these places as a music composer.

Also, this week I have been doing a lot of assessments and research to prepare for our research speeches next week. These speeches have to be 10-12 minutes long and cover most if not all of the research that we have been doing, both online and through in person research interviews. This coming week, I have another research interview scheduled and plan to do some more research to help me get ready for the big research speech next week.

Professionalism (WR 6)

I had quite an eventful week this past week. On wednesday morning, I had an interview with Aaron Carpenter from fifty50 studios. It was amazing to say the least. He was a very down to earth guy and I learned so much invaluable information. We talked about a vast majority of things and I gained information that I couldn't get anywhere else. One thing he said was that as i'm learning ProTools (Industry standard recording software), I need to be learning as many keyboard shortcuts as I can. He said when a client is paying for your time in the studio, you need to be as efficient as possible and not be wasting the clients time and money. He also told me about some plugins that aren't very well know, but are very great so I will be looking into those. Another cool thing about the interview, was I got to tour his studio. I felt like a kid in a candy shop! It was an old '70s studio that they renovated and modernized. It was a very cool experience to be in a professional studio.

Another big thing that happened this week was the annual ISM Business Symposium. At Business Symposium, every ISM student gets the chance to get interviewed by professionals that volunteer their time. This helped me be more comfortable with getting interviewed and boosted my confidence with interviews. The professionals also gave me some critique about my resume, and some were even able to give me some contacts.

First Interview (WR 5)

Last friday (8/3) I had my first research interview. I met with Christian Chavarri who owns C-Factory, a music production company, and Creativation, a music school. With this being my first interview, I was slightly nervous but it turned out great and I learned a lot about my field of study. Now that I've had a successful interview, I am much less anxious about upcoming interviews and even more excited. I think one of the most valuable things I learned about the interview process is that Interviewing a real world professional is one of the best ways to research your field of study. Even though reading articles and watching videos are helpful, nothing beats getting to ask a professional any question you can think of.

While interviewing Christian, I learned many things about my field. One of the most important things I got out of the Interview is to build up a strong portfolio. He told me that having a strong portfolio of your work is one of the most important things your can have. I learned that as an unexperienced producer, I should even work for free just so that I can gain experience and build up my portfolio.

10:1 Principle (WR 4)

Earlier in the year while creating our contact lists, Mr. Wysong (Our ISM teacher) told us it was important to have many, many contacts. As I begin to make calls and send out emails attempting to get research interviews, I now see why this is important. Mr. Wysong told us that, on average, for every ten contacts you have you will get one response. I initially thought this was an exaggeration, but I am finding out this to be very true. As you can probably tell, my main focus of this week has been contacting music production professionals with the intent to attain a research interview. So far, I've had two responses out of the twelve attempts I've made. I count this as progress however, because of those two I have one interview scheduled and another in the process of being scheduled. This up and coming week, I will be making more calls and following up on previously contacts that have not responded yet. 

Earlier in the week, I also completed the second research assessment of the year. In this assessment, I decided to learn about mixing. Mixing is still a new concept for me and I am only just beginning to understand it. After reading some articles and receiving some advice from a friend, I began to apply some things I've been learning to my own songs.

Practice Makes Perfect (WR 3)

As the year progresses, naturally every class gets more rigorous.  This is especially true when it comes to ISM. The most recent week in ISM was all about practicing and preparing for the evident launch into the real world. In class, we practiced making professional phone calls to prepare us for actual phone calls when it really matters. This was extremely helpful because it helped calm some of my nerves on the subject. We rehearsed every possible different situation so that we are prepared and know what to say with any given question. The most important thing I learned through this process is that smiling on the phone is very important. Even though the person on the other side of the phone can not necessarily see you, smiling subconsciously helps with your tone and thus makes you sound happier and more pleasant.

Another thing I did this week, was complete the rough draft for my resume. Having an outstanding resume is a crucial part of ISM, and life in general. I will use my resume for many things throughout the year including research interviews. An interesting fact that I learned/used while creating my resume was that employers typically look at your resume for thirty seconds or less. This means that I tried to make my resume stand out, but also keep it simplistic and just have the necessary information to showcase myself in the best way possible.

Hard Work Pays Off (WR 2)

This past week, my greatest accomplishment actually had nothing to do with ISM. Over the summer, I have been practicing extensively to prepare for the 2014 All-Region Jazz audition. Last year I auditioned, and made second chair. But this year, I was determined to make first chair. The audition took place last saturday morning. Once the results were posted and I saw my name as 1st chair I was overwhelmed with excitement and joy. I am very excited, but I know that I am not done yet. Because I made 1st chair, I will now go on to the All-State audition in a couple of weeks.

This last week was also very productive in the ISM part of things. I would say the most important thing I accomplished was completing a list of twenty-five contacts in my field of study. This list will be very helpful as I start to go on research interviews in the very near future, I won't lie I'm slightly nervous! I also completed my first research assessment. For this assessment, I read an article by Joe Glider about how home music producers need to be able to balance their time with the different aspects of creating Music. This was a great article and I learned a lot that I can apply to my music production workflow.

New Beginnings (WR 1)

Welcome to my 2014-2015 ISM blog! On this blog I will be showcasing all the work and progress I make this year. Every week, I will be posting a blog about the projects and achievements I have compleated in the previous week. For those that do not know, ISM stands for Independent Study Mentorship. ISM is an opportunity for students to study and be mentored by a professional in their respective field.

This year in ISM, we hit the ground running. From the very first class we have been working, researching, preparing, and practicing. Within the first week I created a mission statement, chose a quote that pertained to my ISM journey, and gave my first speech. We were told that we had to give a speech the second class about ourself and our topic. Initially, I thought it would not be difficult but once I stood in front of my peers, I was terrified. Normally, I do not get nervous speaking in front of people but for some reason I could not think normally. Afterwards, we talked about body language and how it is crucial when speaking in front of an audience. I learned a lot about things I had never thought about before and will definitely be practicing for future speeches.

The other things I did was complete my mission statement and choose a quote. While writing my mission statment, I really had to think about what my purpose and and goals would be for ISM this year. This was good because it gave me a vision for this year and a statement to operate by. The next thing I did was choose a quote that would represent how I would operate in ISM. I choose a quote by Henry Ford that said that life was a series of experiences that develop character.  Then at the end, it says that the most important thing is to keep marching onward. I interpret this as no matter what happens, I need to keep moving forward and never give up on my dreams.

Both my mission statement and quote can be found on the "About Me" tab.