November 2012
1 post
Just an FYI, I’m not using this tumblr anymore and will instead be using my own website’s blog at www.johnnyrk.com/blog
August 2012
2 posts
I got bored yesterday and had to make something.
Opinions abound.
July 2012
1 post
My email inbox is better than your email inbox because I look at it backwards until it’s empty. Sort from oldest to newest. You’ll thank me.
June 2012
4 posts
If your product needs a half-naked girl wrapped around it to be sold then you need to make a better product.
WatchYesterday I spent some time with Apple’s Motion 5 software and created a brand-identity which I’ll place at the start of my demo reels.
I made the original video in Motion based on my logo, which was created in Pixelmator. Next I exported the Motion project as a QuickTime movie and scored to that clip in Pro Tools. After that I transferred my new score audio back to Motion so I could...
Mac Power Users interview →
I am honored to have been a guest on the Mac Power Users podcast. A big thank you to David and Katie.
The only downfall to being a guest on the show? Now I can’t listen to their podcast this week or I’ll just end up criticizing myself.
Short and simple reflective piece
May 2012
2 posts
Listen
Fun cue from this week
April 2012
7 posts
geeeetahr
Listen
(un)Professionally (un)Paid
A professional is defined as a person engaged in a specified activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.
Paid is the key word in that definition. An unpaid professional is known as a hobbyist.
quirky cue i made, not sure what they plan on...
I have too many music posts on this blog and not enough text. I suck. I will work on fixing this. (Even though nobody is reading this post… let’s be honest.)
March 2012
4 posts
This is a cue I made yesterday… a little...
Another song I made which sounds like another song...
Another acoustic guitar cue but with a little 808...
A very simple little guitar cue
This is a more happy cue, reflective with a...
A dramatic rock tension cue… kind of
February 2012
4 posts
Uplifting cue from this week
this was a fun and easy cue to make
January 2012
2 posts
From Jay to Z
Am I the only person who thinks 99 problems are way too many problems to have? I mean, at that point does it really matter if you have a girl problem? You are already pretty screwed. Even homeless people only have, like, 6 problems.
another ditty that sounds like somebody...
September 2011
4 posts
I Love Not Being in the Mood
I love it when I’m not in the mood to create. When I’m not in the mood I focus on the work at hand and think about it in a logical way. I think about Point B; what Point B is, where it needs to be, and what is required to get me there from where I am now.
I love it when I’m not in the mood to be creative, because then I get my real work done.
Don't get dead
Two things that I think every composer should have in his or her studio:
1) Jump Rope
2) Perfect Pushup apparatuses
Keeping your body healthy and in shape is crucial to keeping your mind sharp. These two exercises are excellent and quick which is useful since we are not always given the luxury of time.
“A lot of people just want to get by, I want to get better.”
Points aren't very pointy
The series of events which take you from point A to point B are sporadic and random at best, so much so that point B often can’t be identified until you’re already there. The goal is to be prepared when that happens, otherwise the moment will pass unnoticed and become one more waypoint as you continue on your travels to find a new point B, one further away.
August 2011
4 posts
The Influx Capacitor
There has been a large influx of music creators in recent years. This is pointed out often. What is pointed out less often is the (perhaps equally) large influx of motion picture creators.
Both of these groups work with very limited budgets, and both of these groups are large. As a result there is a very low average budget. This over encumbrance will be self-corrected as all bubble inflations...
To write a wrong
I have wanted to write short stories in an eloquently crass style for many years. Too bad I’m not a writer. Which is strange because I’m pretty sure I wrote this—and several other things—by writing. I wish there was a word for that, like ‘writing’. What a shame.
A person writing is a writer.
I won’t get a following on my blog. I won’t receive a penny for my...
To-do, or not to-do: that is the lame joke
I use a program named OmniFocus to manage my to-do lists. OmniFocus is well suited for my needs. It functions in a way most agreeable to my life’s routine.
One of the greatest aspects of my to-do list is that it helps trim the fat; it aids in the elimination of unnecessary tasks. On occasion I become overzealous, I prepare further ahead than I ought to plan. These inessential tasks are...
July 2011
7 posts
A/B comparisons: C how well they work
My mixes sound much better if I continuously do A/B comparisons while mixing… and of course they do. If you don’t A/B your work to the work of others then you’re flying blind and unnecessarily so.
Beta Blockers
Everything is in Beta testing. The day something ceases to be in Beta is the same day it dies an arrogant death. A thing changes or it ceases to be relevant.
“Expensive notebooks have less writing in them”
– me
You're not a Jedi... so don't force things
The easiest way to kill a good idea is by forcing it to be anything other than what it should be. Sometimes people may not realize they are forcing the material. Alas, they often do exactly that.
I forced some music today. I then had to erase it and started again. The end result was much better and it flowed. I originally didn’t take the time to understand my material and began writing...
Going public
Once a work of art is released to the public it is controlled by the public. The creator is merely a bystander and can only observe the public’s reaction to the work.
Think of it as an IPO for a company. The public owns the company and funds it allowing the board of directors to progress the company. The board of directors must answer to the shareholders once it is publicly traded. The...
Preparation keeps you moving
Having my own custom session templates in Pro Tools is an unbelievable timesaver and without them I would lose countless hours each week creating new sessions. That’s right, hours per week. Not month. Week.
If there are recurring projects—such as creating loops for a library, mixing post production audio, producing an electro group, etc.—then there should be templates created for those...
June 2011
5 posts
“Mix with your ears, not with your eyes.”
– everybody
Rough around the cut corners
When I have a hard time with a music project it is almost always due to cutting corners. Perhaps I tried to fix the drums by group compression and EQ instead of splitting them out and dealing with them one by one. Or perhaps I found a good volume for an instrument and just left it there through the song instead of automating it and multing the track to treat the different sections as they should...
“You can give me deferred pay when I can give you deferred music”
– me (Johnny Knittle)
tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?
Music is Music (even when it isn't)
I often come along composers criticizing other composers for their processes used to create music. Some stand firm by traditionalism and others welcome technological advances.
The process used to create is the important part, regardless of what that process may be. Art-music is judged by the process and not necessarily by the end result. Excellent examples are Stockhausen’s...
May 2011
1 post
Easy Readin'
You won’t find work if you can’t communicate clearly. We all must share ideas in clear and concise ways. This rule extends to emails and texts as well. I recommend reading Revising Prose by Richard A Lanham to help streamline your communiques. His editing rules are simple yet unrelenting.
I received countless emails when I worked for a music library. Emails piled up from composers, clients, sales...
April 2011
1 post
March 2011
1 post
