Process Piece

In a documentary without visuals, it seemed appropriate to document an auditory process, in this case, the steps of sampling and mixing a song. However, the challenge was to present this process in a way that listeners could follow. Simply recording a series of mystical synths, bass tones, and chopped vocals—although representative of the way in which a song is produced—would not be cohesive. Just as a song needs structure with intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and outro, our documentary needed a unifying framework.

For this reason, we took a participatory approach to our documentary’s narration, a conversation between producer and subject. The two-way flow of information reduces the imbalance of power between content and creator, and invites the audience into the studio. Rather than be lectured by an omniscient narrator, listeners vicariously fulfill the role of producer, engaging with the subject and learning of their own accord.

“Scriptures” by Dean Duncan takes a similar approach, revealing the identity, and thus, the subjectivity of the author. By including both question and answer, the focus shifts onto the people involved, allowing their individual personalities to manifest themselves in the process. Whereas many fields of study such as science and engineering are dispassionate—the process of discovery and advancement tied to the procedure rather than the maker—the process of making music is frequently connected with the artist and his or her own experience.

For example, Twenty One Pilots is a musical duo that has recently come to fame for their unique style, dubbed “schizo” pop. Although their music is entertaining in and of itself, the meaning behind the lyrics cannot be fully appreciated without first knowing the creators themselves and their motivations for making the music they do. Likewise, we wanted our audio documentary to be self-revealing by acknowledging the personalities behind the process.

Beyond the content of the documentary, the form also represents its subject matter, music production. Instead of recording the continuous thread of conversation between subject and producer, we selected the specific statements that best explained the process and edited them together to create a seamless flow. It is the same way in the music industry. A hit song is rarely recorded in one take with all instruments present. Raw material is gathered, layers are added, transitions are appended, the melody is spliced, and the result is a disciplined work of art. Our documentary reflects that same methodology. The product is intrinsically linked to its process, form and content functioning together to create something new.

Trevor Free
Harrison Smith
Rollins Wimber

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