Post-production of a live music recording

The thesis Post-production of a live music recording is a presentation of the post-production process of a live recording. The thesis describes the steps, from the recording of the concert to the final post-production, giving detailed technical insight into each step of the process.

In the diploma thesis, we describe the differences between live recording and studio recording, as well as the technical details of recording a concert in Kavarna Bodi in Ptuj. Due to the sold-out concert and space limitation of the recording location, we encountered challenges which affected the location of the performers on the stage and the installation of microphones.

We used a Behringer X32 Compact mixing desk for the sound system and recorded a multitrack via the USB interface using the WAVES – Tracks Live program. We used the program Digital Performer 11 for post-production.

The project work encompasses the recording of the concert, its post-production (mixing and mastering) and research into the differences between live recording and studio recording. Moreover, a description of the location of the performers, a detailed description of the microphone placement, and technical documentation of the concert, including performers and the venue is described.

In the area of post-production, we described the mixing process, where we explained channel editing, the use of an equalizer, a compressor and adding effects (such as reverb). We also described the mastering, where a compressor and limiter were used for the final balance and volume of the recording.

The result of the diploma thesis were two cover songs recorded live, which were turned into a high-quality final product with the post-production process.

Through the analyses we learned the differences between a live recording and studio recording, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches. Recording live requires a lot more preparation and is more stressful for the performers, but it’s more authentic.

Post-production can be more challenging as there isn’t much room to cover up mistakes and poorly performed parts of the songs. We mentioned the role of art, design and media in raising awareness of the climate crisis, the influence of music on this topic, and highlighted the work of Coldplay and their efforts to raise awareness of climate change, reduce energy consumption at concerts and promote environmentally friendly practices.