Kenan Walsh E-Portfolio Project
About me
Growing up my brother was a producer who used a FL Studio to make his music. He made electronic music in his room and I would always hear it as he would blast his music during the night. This did not make my mom and dad happy however. One day I asked him if he could show me how to make music. I spent what felt like a eternity trying to make the best song I could think of as a young kid and ended up with the image above. Looking back I thought this was the best song ever but it nowadays I could make something like this in a matter of minutes. I wanted to showcase to you not only my improvement in my work, but also my experience exploring new styles of music. Music to me comes from emotion. I take that emotion or feeling and turn it into something you can hear. I decided to use my first album cover as my title for my ePortfolio, "Flavours Of Distress", which comes from my producer tag "flaV" short for flavour, when making that album I had a lot of personal things going on, along with battling inner demons. Each part of my struggles came from completely different situations, each song had a different "flavour", and with each song came a different feeling.
This is a audio clip from the image above. I managed to get this file through saving it to a cloud and putting it on all of my hard drives and SSD cards so I can see how I progress. This song means a lot to me, even though it's not much of a song it's still great to be able to listen to the first song I ever created.
Turning a Hobby into a Source of Income
The more I progressed as a producer or songwriter, I become more and more interested in making it not only a hobby, but a way to make a little money off it. By my freshman year in high school I was selling tracks to small game developers . I did this until my junior year selling songs and track from a range of $5 to my most highly paid song being around $50.
I also started posting songs on a platform called soundcloud in which my most popular song, a lofi remix of Roddy Rich's hit "The Box" getting in at almost 20,000 plays in just 2 weeks.
The Image above is a visual on of my remix, I feel like this can also capture how I learned that sound choice can make or break a song, while some of the files got corrupted ( I got a new computer and some files could not be transfered ) you can still visually see that my composition is more organized and simplistic.
Kenan Walsh
Amanda Wallace
ENC 1102
30 May 2021
Rhetorical Analysis
The speaker of the video is children, these children are the target audience for the website ABC mouse and are a promotional video for their website. Each kid has credibility in their parts of the video, they seemed to have used their website at least once and briefly describe how the website works. The exigence in this video was that abcmouse.com is a great learning tool for toddlers and young children, no only did they show visual images of actual games on the website but the company also got kids to describe the experience. For example at 46 seconds into the video, there were 2 comments that I think stood out, "It's really easy" letting the parent or guardian of the child know that their website is very kid-friendly, following the comment from a young girl stating that "I think all kids should use ABC mouse". These comments are quite short but can bring a lot of meaning to a parent or teacher wanting to get their child or students a jumpstart in their academic career. The video's end goals were to get more children and parents alike interested in ABC mouse. The visuals per se were targeted towards the children, making each learning activity like a fun game where they don't know they are actually learning spelling, math vocabulary, etc. The dialogue throughout the video was targeted more towards the children's guardians or parents. Using young kids and having them say how easy and fun their website is to use might pursue them into allowing their child to use ABC mouse regularly. There was no clear argument in this video, it was mainly a promotional video for the company's website. The video's content was very persuasive, having young children describe their website as fun, easy and making learning more of a fun game will definitely help children learn the basics and give them a boost in their academic career. I feel like this message was given out really well, parents alike will watch the video and want to give it a try based on the dialogue, and the children would want to play the games and level up like you can in the actual website itself. This ad was really well designed and was short but to the point, making it less likely for their target audience to skip the video or walk away from their screen.
Reflection
Going through this writing assignment I would jot down simple statements that would answer a given question. Once I had the basics and answers to my questions I would try to extend my thoughts and make my point(s) clear throughout my response. I feel like I could've been a little more clear with my writing, I am not a big fan of how I right to begin with. Having all the facts and answers down on paper makes it really easy for me to extend my thoughts in order to give the reader mot detail on my answers. When writing this response, I noticed how much detail can go into a one minute commercial for kids, I might be reaching a little but I feel like every word was selected to either target the parent or the child, for example how one child said it was "easy and fun" portraying more to the younger kids who enjoy having fun and playing games. I have a very simple thought process in my writing, but I feel as it gets the job done.
This is exactly how I started out making music, I only scratched the surface of music when I started out making it, but the more I learned about it the more I realized you can go into-depth on how you can turn music into true emotion.
Kenan Walsh
Amanda Wallace
ENC 1102
6 June 2021
Larger Writing Assignment 2
For image one, there was not a lot to take in visually, but I felt like the word choice and the picture car company BMW chose brings a lot of meaning to their car ad. For starters, you are presented with an image of a girl in a seductive position, within the very small text you see that it says "You know you're not the first". I thought to myself what does s very beautiful girl and a sexual text that says "You know you're not the first" have anything to do with a car company. I think the girl in the picture can be represented by one of BMW's cars, meaning that the car per se has already been driven or owned by someone else. Although the car has been used before, like the picture shows she is still really beautiful, meaning it might not matter that you aren't the first owner of a specific BMW car, you still know that there is some degree of "quality" within the car, or in this image the girl. BMW targets the male audience by using a girl and choosing to use her in this seductive way, grabbing the male's attention because his hormones are derived by the visual look at their ad. The cite "creative criminals" supports my claim that the girl in the photo represents one of BMW's used cars by stating "They are trying to get the message across that even though you are not the first owner, their used cars are still of premium quality". Another cite called "ask patty" a car marketplace website claim that the ad's message was "BMW premium used cars are so beautiful, it won't matter you are the first driver" further supporting my claims that the girl in the ad represents one of BMW's used cars.
The second photo that we had to look over in this writing assignment shows someone with a prosthetic leg, with the message that states that "spare parts for humans are not as original for those of cars, don't drink and drive." This message was a very informal ad that should help prevent the terrible mistake of drinking and driving. Unlike cars, all animals are biological. while some may grow back certain limbs in order to survive, we don't have that luxury and resort to mechanical components in the event of a serious injury such as limb loss. Cars however are mechanical in their own nature. Created by man, cars are relatively easy to repair and fix. The WordPress site "Media" claimed that the "literal meaning is that drinking and driving can result in losing limbs further than resulting in getting prosthetic legs; the prosthetic legs are not made of parts that would originally be used for the human body". BMW is trying to target the 21-30-year-olds, this age group, in particular, is the most likely to drink and drive. They used a scared tactic that leads the reader of this ad to believe that if you drink and drive the consequences will be drastic and you might not ever be able to operate at 100% ever again. With this age group having so much more to do in their life in contrast to the older generation. I might scare these young adults into taking a uber or having a designated driver when they go out for a drink together. While I feel like they did this ad really well it demoralizes amputees, devaluing their life as they will never technically be "at 100%" ever again.
Reflection
After reading some other responses in comparison to mine, I have discovered I might not be as thorough as I once thought I was. I always imagined I pay attention to a lot of detail in a given image, but it seems like I have missed a little more than I expected. I got the general idea of each ad to a point, but there is so much more meaning to these ads then I would ever have thought of. One example is that the second ad. BMW chose to use a leg as a example to "stand up against drunk driving" opposed to using a hand. I did not realise this until reading another students post and I can't stop thinking about it now. When dissecting each ad I only payed attention to the surface of the ad, the image, and the text. I didn't try and go into detail with why they chose this specific picture, or why they worded the phrases the way they did. I feel like I could use these visual skills in a audio standpoint. As a producer it is crucial to balance every sound that is playing at a given time. It can be really hard and I'll find myself listening to 5 seconds of the song for over a hour just to get it to sound balanced and full at the same time. This assignment taught me that I need to dig deeper into any information given to me, because there is always a deeper meaning.
Kenan Walsh
Amanda Wallace
ENC 1102
11 June 2021
The Pensacola Beach Classic
Pensacola is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the state! Between the perfect blue waters or the bright white sand that covers the coast! On July 21, 2021, at the Pensacola Beach Pier Emerald Coastkeeper Inc. will be hosting a beach volleyball tournament! We will have 4 separate brackets and each will have its own respected prize! These brackets include the Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Family! All proceeds will go to research to learn more about our beaches and wildlife and how we can do our part to make them safe! Don't want to play volleyball? That okay too! We will also be having a cookout that will include hamburgers, hotdogs, and ice cream!
Reflection
During this assignment I was extremely stressed about this assignment, I don't think of myself as a good writer or good at making ads like this and I went through multiple ideas that I ended up scratching. I like the volleyball idea but I should have gone more into depth about the event. Unlike the other compositions we have done in the past, this assignment was meant for a real world situation or event. First off I knew I wanted to do Emerald Coast with my vast ocean background and my original plan was to host a fishing tournament. Learning more about Emerald Coast however the potential amount of people who would participate would only really bring more fish out of the water then bring them in. I wanted to make it work really badly but I knew in my heart that anything fishing related would end up killing fish and not teaching the community the importance of out marine ecosystem. Not to mention the line, hooks, and weights that will be snagged on the bottom increasing the chance of a fish getting caught on the hook and dying. I think this was a great assignment for me because it put me out of my comfort zone. At the same time however I wish that I was able to layout my ad better and give the audience a more visual representation instead of a paragraph. These skills we are learning will help us out of the classroom because not everything we will do in our lives will be only for academic purposes and won't always be in out comfort zone, it is important to be diverse in your work and be ready for the unexpected.
During this assignment, I learned a bit about myself. Undergoing stress makes my work crumble. This is not something new for me. When I started making music as a job, I found that having specific due dates and specific ideas of what my client would want, the quality of work would go down exponentially. It made me not want to make music ever again because it got so stressful. When I am undergoing stress, I always turn to making music, while this song is vastly different from the others that are in this portfolio, I wanted to include this song called "NOISE". I made this song during really hard times in high school, from school itself to family issues.
Exploring new Music
Continuing my career as a music producer I ventured out of the simplistic genres of music. These genres include lofi, hip-hop, phonk, and jazz. One of the harder songs to mix fully is a genre called EDM. This can be caused by the vast amounts layering you have to do to achieve the full EDM effect. In order to be really good at making EDM, you must be able to have really good ears and have the ability to balance out each individual sound like a modern day composer does with his orchestra band or choir. This process is known as mixing and can take up to 8 hours to get the song to sound full and clear, showcasing every bit of your song with out drowning out others. My most recent EDM single, a remix from Excision and Timmer's song "Time Stood Still". Below is the image of the project and its audio.
Learning about EDM helped myself as a music producer, the music I make on its own is simplistic, I wanted to learn about EDM so I can get better and mixing and mastering a song, having a good mix can express feelings in each melody or percussion you make, at least for me.
From emotional music to what I call "humor-hop"
My friends and I have a lot of inside jokes we share together, one of the biggest jokes we have is the meme of "Biggie Cheese". It seems silly including this in my ePortfolio but it has bonded us a lot. We would spend hours making what we all call "King's Return" album. I don't think it's quite appropriate to include the actual songs, but I will include the album cover that sent us rolling on the ground for what felt like 30 minutes. I can however include a song I made for my APES project. We had the option to either make a powerpoint presentation or a music video of what we learned in chapter 4 of our textbook. The final results was a song titled "Lil Tree - Chapter IV ( Feat. Yvng Pale & Lil Big )". The song itself actually has meaning to it, and the lyrics somewhat explain what we learned during that chapter. The entire song was meant to be funny but meet the requirements, we ended up being the only group that got a perfect score on our project which was also a plus !
This is a visual and a audio clip from my EDM song "Time Stood Still", making this song was very hard for me. I really pushed myself into getting everything to be loud and complement another sound. Having so many sounds in a song can lead to distortion, so being able to master and mix each track so they fit together like a puzzle is important. I can also use this skill in writing, this can be described as the music version of "polished writing".
Final Reflection
Music producing itself has helped me so much from my childhood to the present day. I feel like it's the truest way I can express myself however I want. Making music has taught me that I can do almost anything. Doing my ePortfolio on my music means so much to me. When making this I dug up memories that were locked in my subconscious for so long and honestly I can't imagine myself doing this project on anything else. so many people who I have become friends with is all thanks to music, from making a entire music video for one of my classes, to obnoxious and funny songs ( they are 100% inappropriate for me to use in this project), to connecting with others who listen to my music when they are in distress. I make music solely to soothe my mind, and those who listen may join me in my journey. I've had people say that they can actually hear emotions in my music. It's not just a hobby or a tool to make extra money for me, It's a therapy session. Making music the way I do can explain the diversity in my craft. I create based on emotion. Not just the amount of likes or plays I might get. I make what I feel and turn my inner emotions into a song. Trying to make what is called "crowd pleaser music" is boring to me. I learned that when I remixed "The Box ''. I didn't feel proud of it and I don't even like that song. Even though it is by far the most popular song I have created. I can't really express my music journey through text or speech. So I decided to make a short song called "Inner thoughts' '. I tried my best to put my gratitude for everyone who supports me in my music, and the music I make itself. Music for me is more than just a hobby or a passion, for me it's my own personal therapy, I make my songs with true emotion and I stand true to that today. If one day I become famous it won't be because I make songs that "please the crowd" or because I want "clout", it will be because the music I make I feel like can touch people emotionally. I always try to create imagery with my work. Whether it's someone riding a train home after a long day at work, or sitting in one's room alone in the rain, I always try to have a short story to tell when making music. I feel like this is something that sets me apart from most artists today, who make music purley for the numbers. Music and producing as a whole defines who I am as a person. I’ve never been able to communicate well with basically anyone but a few, and I could never really put how I’m feeling into words. I’ve had and still have a lot of trust issues, so I never really am able to talk to people directly on topics such as depression or anxiety. Therapy never worked for me either, I never got the satisfaction I wanted and I would always remember feeling more stressed out after a session, and the more sessions I would go to the more I would just want to lie my way out of it so I can be left alone. Music however did the complete opposite, I find it so fascinating that I can pour all my distress, anger, or sadness into a song, listen to it a couple of times and just delete it and never worry about it again. I feel like that is the side of music that no one really talks about. The hours and hours of making a song purley to make oneself feel better, not to publish it for anyone to listen to. The music and imagery I chose in this portfolio wasn’t randomly picked, I wanted to showcase every part of my music, from it’s soothing, calm, and heartwarming tone, to the anger, frustration, and anger towards myself and the events that led to that song being created. Music has not only helped myself as a person, but the ones who I hold close to myself, some of my closest friends who I still talk to today have been in what I call “musical therapy sessions”, instead of talking to another when in need, I would either invite them over to my house or travel to them. We would make music. I would be the one making the actual music, but the feelings and emotions that emit from that song would be specifically for them, I wouldn’t post it, but send it to them personally so they can listen to it whenever they please. Summing up my final reflection, I make music for myself and others, but not necessarily for money or clout, I make it to help others and to bring people closer to me. I hope that you were able to understand why I make music, see my progression from my early stages as a producer, to the present day where I make complex songs that speak volumes. There is so much I have learned about my craft and there is so much more I will learn in the future, and I look forward to many memories I will continue to make doing so.
