Michael Jacksons Thriller - Case Study Example

Running Head: Michael Jackson - Thriller Michael Jackson - Thriller of the of the Michael Jackson - Thriller Michael Jackson's Thriller is the most commercially successful albums f all time. This paper will discuss and analyze the production and overall sound f the album. As we know that Thriller was recorded in the 1982, we will discuss how Michael Jackson and his team used the equipment available at that time to make this album one f the most successful albums f the world. A person new to the recording studio environment might be awestruck by the amount and variety f equipment involved. Electric technology began to evolve in the twenties. Visionaries had begun experimenting with all sorts f electrified instruments. By the end f the 1920's, phonographs had switched to electronic sound amplification. Eighty years later, we came up with all sorts f things that those early pioneers f the twenties could have ever dreamed. There are many different recording techniques and technologies in today's studio business. To fully understand the different techniques and technologies in the studio business, one would need to know exactly what a studio is and how the Thriller was recorded. Thriller's studio was a room acoustically tuned for the purpose f getting the best sound possible on tape while using a microphone pickup. In other words, the studio needed to be structurally isolated in order to keep outside sounds from entering the room and getting on tape. The studio was also designed to keep internal sounds form leaking out and disturbing the surrounding environment. There are many types f studios. They vary in size, shape, and acoustic design in accordance with the personal tastes f the owners. For example, Thriller's studio that was designed to record a great deal f rock music was small in size with highly absorbent walls. On the other hand, a recording studio designed for orchestral film scoring would be much larger by comparison, possibly with high ceilings. Some f the first studios back in the fifties and sixties were relatively large in size. Recording studios have generally decreased in size over the last two decades. This is mainly due to the fact that in the fifties and sixties the musicians had to perform at the same time. Today, technology allows musicians to come in and record their own part; then, later that will be added to the final record. This process is called "overdubbing". Overdubbing is when one puts a part on tape at different times, different studios, or even in a different city. This process happens in a different part f the studio called the control room. In the recording f Thriller, the control room served two purposes in recording studio. The first was that the room was acoustically optimized to act as a critical listening environment. The second was that it housed the majority f studio equipment. A mixing board is a very common piece f equipment in the control room. The mixing board allows the engineer to mix together and control basically all the devices fond in the studio. A recording console is another piece f equipment one might find in the control room. The console's basic function is the large task f enabling any combinations f inputs, outputs, and effects to be made. In order for one to fully understand the recording process that takes place in a recording studio, they need to be familiar with some terms and pieces f equipment that one would use in a studio. In Thriller's recording one piece f equipment which played a very important role was transducer. A transducer is any device which changes one kind f energy for another. A sensor f a CD player or playback leads f a tape recorder are both common examples f a transducer. Another device is an amplifier or anything that makes an electrical copy f an electrical signal. A machine that consists f the controls, or divided to allow control over a number f narrow frequency range is called an equalizer. Additional speaker aimed to allow talkers or performers to monitor or hear himself or herself are called monitors. This is where feedback usually occurs. In general, feedback is the output system, or an excess f which, that's what that loud squealing noise is. An extremely important piece f equipment, f course, is the microphone. A microphone is anything that provides entry for a sound into the electrical system. Effective use f mics is considered by many audio engineers to be the most important step in providing high quality sound reinforcement. Sound reinforcement is amplifying sound and delivering it pleasantly and effectively to the ears f an audience. Microphones are the first essential step in shaping tone quality f sounds as they enter the sound system. Audio mixers are yet another piece f technical equipment found in the studio. Audio mixers mix different input signals to form combined output signals. Mixers allow the signal strength to be adjusted at several stages. But, knowing all this information does a person no good if they do not know what sound is. If a person were to ask another what sound is, they would probably laugh at them; but to tell the truth, not a whole lot f people know actually what sound IS. What we hear as sound is called acoustical energy. Essentially, acoustical energy consists f fluctuating waves f pressure in a physical medium, which is usually air. So now that we know what sound is and how it travels, a person can now understand that a studio has to have a certain layout and that the equipment is not just thrown down in the most convenient spot in the room. Equipment has a certain layout in order to get the best outcome in the recording process. Tape machines are usually located near the back, often with remote controls situated near the engineer for easy access. The console is located in the centre f the control room, with the effects rack and the remote controls for recorders on the right and left. Monitor loudspeakers are in the front with the stereo machines and multitrack recorders situated tin the back. When all the equipment is up and working, the recording process is read to begin. The recording process may be broken down into two basic formats: live recording and multitrack recording. The first type f recording, live recording, often involves the mixing f microphone pickups in a live or "real time environment". This type f recording may take on several forms, ranging from a two channels recording to the multitrack recording f a live stage concert. The second type f recording is called multitrack recording. This is what one would hear if they listened to an album. Also, multitrack recording provides increased flexibility in the production f quality audio. This recording enables the engineer to record and isolate multiple sound sources synchronously on multiple tracks. A perk f this method is that sounds may be added to a recording at a later date to augment or "sweeten" the original soundtrack. A key concept f multitrack recording is isolation. This makes it possible for tracks to be replaced f manipulated at a later time. A process called mix down happens in multitrack recording. This is where the track is artificially balanced by using volume, tone, and special effects. The mix down process comes after the overdubbing phase and the final record is known as the master mix. In order for the master mix to sound top-notch, there are a few things one could do. The guitarist Jack Johnson once said, "When recording a track, instead f playing all the instruments at the same time, just overdub them into the record; it's a more harmonious outcome". Fine execution is another thing that helps the record sound better. It is very important that, while in a recording session, the musician completes the song as best as they can. The recording musicians obviously have to know their stuff too: "Studio musicians must have a working knowledge f music from all styles and periods and must keep up with new styles and trends", said Christian. If after a run-through or two, the artist cannot play them correctly and up to tempo, the artist should consider his sight reading skill inadequate: "A high degree f sight reading skill is necessary because recording musicians rarely see the music they are to play until the beginning f the session ad the quicker the complete the recording process, the cheaper". Recording studio time is very expensive. Cost f studio rental, hiring technicians, and the bringing in f other musicians can all be very costly, but the cost f keeping and maintaining a sound system is expensive. There are different types f sound systems too, some more expensive than others. Essentially, a sound system is just a functional arrangement f electronic components designed to amplify sound. There are three main reasons for having a sound system. The first is to help people hear something, second is make the music sound louder for artistic reasons, and the third is to enable people to hear sound I remote places. Sound systems amplify sound by converting it into electrical energy, increasing the power f electrical energy by electronic means, them converting the more powerful electrical energy back into sound. The input transducer converts sound into a fluctuating electrical current or voltage, which is a precise representation f sound. The fluctuating voltage or current is referred to as and audio signal. Input transducers convert sound into those audio signals and the output transducer converts audio signals back into sound. Some examples f input transducers are air pressure or velocity mics, contact pickups, magnetic pickups, tape heads, laser pickups, and optical pickups. Some examples f output transducers are subwoofer speakers, midrange loudspeakers, tweeter loudspeakers, and full range loudspeakers. When talking about input and output transducers, signal processing is what makes it possible. There are three parts to signal processing: preamplification, equalization, and mixing. During preamplification, microphone input amplifies the level f audio signal from each microphone, bringing it up to line level. Equalization provides the means to adjust the tonal balance f each mic individually. Mixing adds the equalized signals f the mics together to produce a single line level output signal. There are basically two kinds f sound systems because f changes in the surrounding environment. The needs for a sound system are different when it is outdoors rather than indoors. This is essentially due to the fact that outdoor environments are free f reflecting surfaces or obstructing objects, therefore assuming a "free-field condition". Sound indoors, when compared to the outdoor environment, shows a little more complicated behaviour. The walls, ceiling, and floors f a room are, to some extent, both flexible and porous to sound, but barriers none the less. When sound waves hit these surfaces, it is reflected back. That is the reason for the need f different types f systems. Looking back over the last fifty or so years, it is amazing to see the technologies and advancements in sound systems and recording technology since that first electrified system. We have come up with all kinds f new technologies and ideas and techniques just in the past decade! What the future has in store, no one really knows; but it is going to be a great advancement in the recording studio business. This is why musicians have to stay on top f their game, because no matter how many different recording techniques and technologies there are in today's studio business, there will always be something new being developed. A little piece f advice from Brandon Boyd for those wishing to go into a recording studio, "While in the studio, try to keep it how you found it, there is a much better chance you'll make more friends throughout your recording studio experience." References Baker, Rick., The Making f Michael Jackson's Thriller DeLorenzo, Michael, Michael Jackson - Video Greatest Hits Grover, Ronald; Webb, Cindy., A Michael Jackson Thriller For Sony. Business Week, 7/3/95 Issue 3431, p36-36 Jackson, Michael., Michael Jackson 25th Anniversary f Thrill Ressner, Jeffrey and Kettmann, Matt., The Thriller Begins. Time, 2/14/2005, Vol. 165 Issue 7, p15 Stevenson, Richard W., Pop Music; 'Thriller,' Can Michael Jackson Beat It. New York Times, 11/10/1991, p1 Read More