dannthr

Thanks, Chernabogue! I appreciate the kind words!

Decided to go to the long-pose session tonight. Glad I went, always great people and Maura is a delightful model! I should have brought a mirror, however, because I totally messed up her eyes! Media: Charcoal on 80# Drawing Paper 18" x 24" Model: Maura Pose: 4 hours

Ryan's videos are great! Always great tips, whether you're a Reason user or not.

Nice, good to see RGAmes making videos--that's a great breakdown of real-time buffer processing! DPC Latency Checker is a must have: http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml I was referred to it back in 2009 when I built a computer that was giving me some weird latency problems and I was able to track down the issue to a Mother Board monitoring tool that installed with the MoBo drivers. I consider DPCLat a requirement now for new builds.

Thanks, I was really pushing the gestures this session--but also, the model was really amazing. I heard from someone that back in her prime, she was a fashion model in London! The secret agent looking one turned out pretty well, though I think I went a bit nuts on her jacket folds--I think that was a 7 minute pose. I think it also helps the gesture that the drawings are pretty big. I'm working on 22" x 18" paper and many of the drawings are one per page (except for the first two which were part of the 5 minute poses). The face one takes up the whole page.

Tonight's Drawing Club featured fabulous model Daniella Traub in a 60s Mod Fashion Theme--very chic! 5-15 minute poses Charcoal on Newsprint

The physical components involved in the construction of the device absolutely have a great impact on the behavior of the device, for sure; and lots of software attempts to model that behavior--for better or worse--with more or less accuracy than we'd like.

If he adhered to the EBU R128 loudness standards then his music should sound mostly quiet. That specification leaves a very wide dynamic range and if it's music, which often has a very consistent level throughout, then the music would be mastered quite low compared to other music you're accustomed to--that specification actually encourages you to turn your volume up so that levels are well represented (quiet sounds quiet, loud sounds loud, etc.)--like the CALM Act, the specification is designed to make audio programming that has very little dynamic range (or highly compressed audio as is the case with commercial breaks) very quiet--this helps it maintain consistency with dynamic programming like a film or TV show.

I'm not a fan of RMS for certain things, for sure, same with LU measurements. I only mentioned the CALM Act and Mastered for iTunes because Brandon inquired as to why someone would want a ceiling under -0.8dB--I only mentioned it as an example of a legitimate specification where you would want to control your peak values. As you've mentioned, RMS doesn't inform us about how loud it will sound--but I think also pushing for an RMS value can be a very messy way of asserting a total dynamic range for a project. That's why I try to encourage people to use their ears and even more, I will HEAVILY encourage newbies to use a reference recording. So if you're mixing a rock project, maybe you'll pick a FooFighters' track as a reference--go back and forth and try to achieve the results you enjoy as a music listener. I think there are a lot of great opportunities to learn from using a reference track over just adhering to a guideline.

Totally agreed, Nabeel! This can also be a really frustrating position--I've had projects where I had to match the audio levels of another audio professional who slammed the sound beyond my comfort zone and had to resign myself to delivering what I feel is low quality audio because of the harmonic distortion introduced from crushing the dynamic range. At the same time, there's definitely a preference and I will also admit that some music handles the distortion pretty well--square waves are comprised of odd-ordered harmonics--so some music which already features a lot of odd-ordered harmonic distortion can take it more.

If it works well, go for it, but I wouldn't worry too much about hitting RMS numbers, trust your ear whenever you can--listen on a wide variety of speakers. One of the things that is really important to remember when you start cutting off peaks in your music is that any time you shave off a waveform, you begin squaring your wave-shape and this increases the amount of harmonic distortion in your program material. Sometimes this is desirable, sometimes it is not, and in these cases, trust your ear--take baby steps as you begin your mastering process--and constantly A/B things.

I think this (any serious discussion on audio tools) is a good discussion to have and people should not fear being corrected or clarified--neither should people feel glory for wielding knowledge but rather they should feel encouraged to assist each other in revealing the function and procedures of the tools we all love and use. We have an opportunity to ensure a strong community where everyone improves simply by participating--simply by engaging--and we lose or miss that opportunity when we attack people for not knowing or belittle people for explaining to the community how much (or little) they may know about a subject. Knowledge is really just an ever expanding grasp of what is happening and it is in our human nature to continue to act upon what we understand at any given time we understand though our understanding may grow tomorrow--if we're lucky--and change our subsequent agency. In this way, we are all in this together and we all benefit from assisting each other. Now, for the very oddly specific (and seemingly misinterpreted) post about my input, APZX, I'm not sure why you confused me with Brandon Strader--I can only assume that you didn't really read carefully since you harp on about distinguishing Full Scale measurement vs. True Peak when I did not specify Full Scale measurement as the peak limit measurement (even suggesting that would be silly since it is a peak value we're discussing). With regards to my comparison between a limiter and a compressor, all I can say is that I choose my words carefully (though I cannot ensure you will read them with the same care). So let's work together on this, yeah? os·ten·si·bly äˈstensiblē,əˈstensiblē/ adverb adverb: ostensibly apparently or purportedly, but perhaps not actually.

A few notes: What is important to acknowledge is that a Limiter is ostensibly (functionally, at least) a compressor with a compression ratio of infinity. That means what ever you set your threshold to, any signal above that threshold will be subjected to an amplitude factor of 1/infinity. Because of this expectation, basic limiter plug-ins will usually just have a very simple gain parameter and an output parameter where the output parameter is your threshold. However, because it is also for all intents and purposes a compressor, some limiters will offer more complex or advanced compressor like behaviors. This is often true when using a plug-in which models a particular hardware device. This is because in a hardware situation, a hardware limiter (depending on the components used in its construction) may have some time delays on enacting their limiting effect. This can mean that a specialized limiter plug-in may have simulated attack and release values that make the effect less rigid. However, this can become problematic because often times limiting is a part of our mastering chain and mastering is the process where we prepare our audio to media specifications--our delivery specifications must be very exact. In the case of your Ozone plug-in, I suspect the "vintage" simulation has an attack value and possibly even a ratio less than 1:infinity (infinity isn't really achievable in a hardware scenario). This puts you in a bit of a situation if this is on your master chain because the limiter may not be brick-walling your audio signal like you need it to, so they provide a ceiling parameter which sets the absolute maximum. Your description of the limiting process is also indicative of a compressor that utilizes auto-gain (as you said it gets louder as you lower the threshold--this is not the normal result of lowering the threshold) or some kind of make-up gain acting upon your signal which is again more of a compressor style behavior and reinforces the need for an absolute maximum or ceiling parameter. If you are working on broadcast media (like film or television) then the CALM Act requires a maximum peak of -1.0 dB and a Full Scale measurement in Loudness Units--since you asked about why someone might want a specific peak limit under a particular value. I have also heard that meeting the Mastered for iTunes specification means that your music file must not have any intersample peaks, which means you will want to use a plug-in that is able to detect and act upon peak values that occur between sample values--though I haven't looked into the Mastered for iTunes specification myself.

Perhaps Andy will chime in on his approach for that track. To my ears, the two examples you gave, sounds like a Kick Drum sound that has a long release tail and a pitch modulation that has a long tail as well. I would probably approach building that particular kick drum with two envelopes a fast envelope and a slow envelope and both would have pitch modulation on it. Add in the relative contrast of having very few instruments playing to have more instruments being layered together, and you create a nice explosion of sound. Pair in a crash cymbal for higher frequency filler and maybe some mid synth and you've got a pretty fat hit. You can build a crash cymbal using noise as your primary source and modulating the sound with an envelope. Good luck!

Then you take Nabeel's advice and move on. Save the kvetching for MAGFest, GDC, or other networking events. It doesn't sound like they're any thing impressive from your description and probably not even a formalized company. Feel free to threaten them with legal action if they use any of your work, but have teeth when you attack, not just bark. I had a problem with an indie dev once when he and I had been sort of off-and-on working on this project of his since 2007--he was really slow moving--so I gave him time when he asked for it. Then time went on and he decided to do a Kickstarter, I crunched a bit for his trailer, fixed a lot of his mistakes, etc. and let him handle the Kickstarter after launch. He didn't get funding, of course, because he was terrible at marketing and he went quiet after that. Some time later I find out that he's working on the project with some other composer with no explanation at all. I eviscerated him in an email while simultaneously warning the incoming composer that the project floundered because of the main dev sitting on his ass most of the time not knowing what he's doing--my language was strong enough to scare him from using any of my assets and all the online promotional stuff with my music and sound was taken down within a day or so. I'm happy to burn that bridge, that guy was an ass to pull the crap he pulled and then I move on. If my stuff shows up on the project, you can be sure I'll send a C&D. But unless you're willing to take legal action, there is NO RECOURSE. The Internet is too much of an infinite void of rage and complaints, you just become part of the noise. Complaining does nothing. Sharpen your teeth and get serious or move on and accept that there will be people out there that will roll over the easy.

Two questions: 1) You said you signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, did you sign any other documents? They may not be illegally using your music depending on the parameters set forth within your signed contracts as well as other communications which constitute an agreement. 1a) If you did sign other documents, have they breached your agreements in any way? 2) You said you signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, are you breaching that contract by posting publicly about this project or are in any way violating that agreement? I am not a lawyer, but if either of those questions are answered with a "yes" then you might want to cease posting about this trouble and seek legal advisement.

Thanks Jared! I use charcoal for life-drawing sessions because it's cheap but flexible/expressive. Newsprint is great for cheap scratch paper.

Here's a thread for sharing work when it seems OCRemix safe-appropriate. Clothed, etc. I'll kick it off with a figure drawing session: =========================================================== Tonight's Drawing Club featured model Debra Haden dressed up in a sort of Edwardian dress and hair inspired by Sherlock Holmes' Adler character--amazing hair, amazing model, lots of fun! Media: Charcoal on Newsprint Poses: 5-15 minute

Failure and success are part of a personal journey--and music and art are pursuits that demand a lifetime to master. If your goals online are to expose and reveal this personal journey, then put it all out there and be sincere about it. If your goals online are to present yourself as a viable contractor or enterprise, shape your presentation to demonstrate the best of your skill. Michelangelo burned all of his practice sketches because he knew people would only believe in his genius if they only saw his polished works.

"Someone I am is waiting for courage, the one I want, the one I will become will catch me. So let me fall, if I must fall." Failure is how you learn, failure is how you become the next thing you will become--success confirms only what you are, but failure makes you grow. Embrace the opportunity to grow with all your heart.

Ah, I see, it as like a +1 thing.

I can't figure out why you quoted me, Slimy. To the OP, a good general rule about audio is that people can pay attention to around 2 and a half things at once. Think about the two things you want to focus on at any given time throughout the work, it can change as the work progresses (things can come into and out of focus), and think about the thing you want to be there but maybe people don't pay attention to closely (often times this is our rhythm section). By the same idea, you could think of a Bob Ross painting, there's a background that shapes the over all feel or tone but we don't give it close attention, there's a middle ground and a foreground--the middle ground and foreground elements take turns at being the focus and often times we can see them both at the same time--but that kind of maxes out the frame for us, we don't want more. Always keep your ears fresh and try to be objective (this is often why people prefer utilizing outside engineers for their mixing process--they're usually too close to the material to be objective about their balance/processor judgements)--always think about the person who has never heard the work before and what their experience will be like.

Agreed, and many libraries are passable--but the best saxophone library is niche and passable. For example, I would assert that the Sample Modeling saxes are fairly passable, despite the fact that the SM approach is basically about as good as it gets and results in a truly flexible and programmable instrument, their woodwinds sound like they were played with very hard, plastic reeds and this bugs me. The same for the WIVI woodwinds. Straight sampled saxes sound like one would expect, a stitching of multiple recordings, but because the instrument has so much flexibility, the timbral phrasing is either inconsistent from sample to sample (or sample group to sample group) so as to create an unnatural transition from timbre to timbre; or they only recorded one timbral feel and thus is usable for only one kind of thing and can not fluidly move through timbres (which sounds boring or unnatural depending on how the user has phrased/programmed the work).

The Embertone has a very NARROW usage, similarly, the VSL Saxophones are perfect for the rare classical saxophone sound--between all the libraries out there, there's probably most everything you'll want to do with a sax--likewise with the violin--but wants to mix and match that much?

This is why you should take breaks throughout the day when it's long and if you're not under crunch, when you think you've finished, just stop listening to it for a week or so and come back to it fresh.