Having dabbled with MIDI mapping in the past, it felt good to refresh my mind on the subject in the context of a different DAW(ableton). I quickly felt this exercise didn’t serve my creative taste personally however as I have become so used to live synthesis/effect manipulation in real-time through my recordings and working as a live sound engineer. In the case of the live sound work however, it is essentially pre-mapped MIDI CC (or a system based on this technology) and on the fly editing. At home, I delight in the process of not just writing out the notation, but performing the live editing and manipulation of filters, delay parameters, VCAs, etc. It is all part of the process and becomes much more intuitive and instinctive in comparison to written automation, although I understand the need for both. There are times when it is more worthwhile writing automation in order to give a more precise and accurate time-based edit, but sometimes riding the pots and faders gives the audio a much more natural feel, yet you can clearly see my bias. 

The task of improvising through live MIDI recording to film excerpts was a very fascinating and electrifying experience. It reminded me of Miles Davis recording trumpet live to French cinema. 

The first recording felt like the best take, I let go of hesitation and put instinct at the forefront, allowing myself to react to whatever was happening on screen. When listening back, there were sounds that made sense and created a tangible feeling to what was being displayed, although key moments where there were intense scenes of action and movement felt inaccurate and misplaced sonically. 

I can definitely say I will employ techniques of real-time editing or “riding” in my final work for this module, but most likely I will record these takes and make necessary splicing and volume edits to portray my intentions more accurately in the piece.