Robert Thompson, Teacher of Music and Music Technology at Kenilworth School & Sixth Form, Warwickshire, reports on how the department pulled together to make a viral video.
The pupils in all our various ensembles had been practising since January for our Spring Concert, due to take place on March 31. Obviously, with the developing pandemic of COVID-19, and then announcement of school closures, the concert had to be postponed.
After a few weeks, the brass band I am a member of started their own ‘social-distancing banding’ video (Star Wars Cantina Band!), and I thought… our school could do this! This was at the point of having been in lockdown for approximately 4 weeks, and it seemed like the right time to ‘bring the band back together again’.
Considerations
Of the issues to consider first, perhaps the most pertinent were: which ensembles, and what piece? I settled on using an arrangement of the Avengers theme, from the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Symphony Orchestra had recently performed it at Christmas, and with VE day looming, it seemed like a fitting choice; a piece we already knew how to play (with some minor alterations), and a piece that celebrates heroes – those who have served in the past, and those who are serving right now, in the ongoing struggle against the Coronavirus.
We are very lucky at Kenilworth School to offer a variety of ensembles, catering for pupils of all abilities. So the next decision was to make this piece available to all members of our instrumental ensembles. The comradery and social aspect of our extra-curricular music making is just as vital as the rehearsing itself, and I didn’t want to exclude those who are in our junior ensembles – I want them to aspire, practise, and look up to our senior pupils. What better way to continue that culture, than to have the spectrum of our ensembles performing together.
Safeguarding
To ensure we complied with safeguarding, GDPR, and all other sensible legal measures, all parents were contacted in advance to obtain their permission, and the 10-step recording guide was designed in a way to keep everyone safe. Pupils emailed their recordings to my school staff email address only, and all videos have since been deleted, leaving only the final completed video.
Recording
Next, how to get everyone to play in time? After some minor re-arrangement of the piece, I created a click-track, and a 10-step recording guide, allowing us to have an easier time in the editing process. The parts and backing track were sent out, with a nine-day deadline. This then gave us a week to mix all the audio and video, ready to premiere on VE day (in hindsight, this was far too short a time-frame and caused a few very long days editing to meet the deadline!).
Nearly every pupil recorded their part on a smartphone – most modern phones have the facility to record in 1080p HD, and as the pupils were indoors in their own homes, the sound quality across the videos was similar enough to be able to mix them together.
Sound was mixed and mastered using Logic Pro X. Due to the good quality of recordings, and excellent quality of playing, minimal audio editing was actually required! Mostly the process consisted of equalising all recording levels, removing ‘dead air’ when their part wasn’t playing, and doing some minor EQ alterations to remove hum or hiss.
Video was edited using Final Cut Pro X. This was more of a challenge, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, the variable amount of ‘faffing’ at the start and end of the pupils’ videos required longer to line up than just their audio. However, and perhaps most importantly, the sheer number of videos meant that the processing speed of even a high-spec iMac was put to a considerable test! Rendering over 55 videos takes a long time and processing power, and in much of the video, there are 58 tracks layered on top of each other!
This process took over 60 combined hours work between two teachers. It was lucky that one of us had previously worked in video production, and the other teaches Music Technology!
Response
The response from pupils was nothing short of incredible! The first videos came in the following day, and they kept coming – with a sudden flood on the final day (as to be expected!).
Upon seeing the finished product we have received numerous emails, social media posts, and general thanks, congratulations, and recognition of the pupils’ talents. After just one week, we had reached over 3000 views on YouTube – which is testament to the commitment and hard-work the pupils put into their music, and also the support of our Kenilworth community. We are really glad we have been able to bring some happiness to people in these difficult and uncertain times.
We all look forward to ‘assembling’ again, one day!
https://youtu.be/O9BLf77l3lA
Find more on our #CanDoMusic page here
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