MSO | management | marketing | production

Production issues

Artistic brief

Production model

Production components

The orchestral piece 90 Minutes Circling the Earth was specifically commissioned for MSO's education unit. The composer's brief was to explore individual instruments and their respective families/sections. The MSO worked with the multimedia company Electric Alchemy to produce a Website that includes a complete orchestral performance and allows end-users to manipulate individual music lines. The work was shot in the studio on 16mm film, with interactive elements of the site requiring multiple recordings of the whole performance as well as solo performances. Tracking and crane shots were used extensively to create elements of movement and dynamic from the static orchestral environment. Public domain NASA space footage was intercut with the documentary interviews. A 24-minute documentary video includes the full recording of the composition as well as interviews with MSO artistic director Markus Stenz, the composer, conductor and musicians.

Artistic brief

90 Minutes Circling the Earth by Melbourne-based composer, Stuart Greenbaum is an eight-minute work based on the journey of a space shuttle -90 minutes being the time taken for a shuttle to orbit the earth. MSO commissioned the work for the orchestral strength of 60 musicians.

Greenbaum's brief was to explore individual instruments and their respective families/sections. He composed the work in theme and variation form allowing the various sections to illustrate the instruments. Thematically the work reflected the astronaut's experiences in space.

To assist in the understanding of the musical elements of the work, and classical music in general, the work was recorded as each individual line of the musical score. This has allowed for the new digital media to "deconstruct" the work providing the user with the opportunity to compose and experience a new depth in analysis of music.

The Music Education Courseware provides an extension of the teaching materials currently produced under the orchestra's education program. The interactive courseware provides teachers and students with short audio and video excerpts of, not only the specially commissioned work, but also other selected works, to encourage the exploration of musical performance, composition, development and execution.

State-of-the-art developments are intended to maximise interest in this area without distracting from the content. The products use sound files and pictures of the instruments as well as analysis of works and composers in the orchestra's current repertoire. Students are able to compose their own variations on Greenbaum's piece and send it back for comment. Orchestra players discussing their careers in music, details about the life of a musician and the musician profiles are also included in the site.

The MSO Website is designed as a means of communicating with the current client group and as a marketing and promotional tool to prospective customers, sponsors, government and general Internet users, both national and international. The site includes up-to-date orchestral activity schedules, artist information, a link to Ticket Master Online, discussion forums and email links to MSO staff and musicians.

The 24-minute documentary video includes the full recording of 90 Minutes Circling the Earth as well as interviews with the composer, conductor and musicians. The full work with the orchestra was shot on 16mm in the ABC studios. Strongly coloured lighting states were devised as a design element to create the look of the film and thematically represent the sunrise and sunsets the astronauts would see circling the earth. Documentary interviews were intercut with public domain NASA footage. Extensive crane and tracking shots create movement and dynamic against the static orchestra. These dynamic shots also add a sense of sophistication and grandeur to the subject matter. Closeups of the instruments and players are used as a way of exploring the individual instruments and their respective families and sections.

Production model

The MSO had been working on plans for upgrading its information technology (IT) infrastructure and had appointed a manager to develop the IT environment. This process included the development of a central database as a precursor for the development of a Website. The creation of a corporate database in preparation for the MSO Website provided a model for streamlining information and consequently for easy maintenance of the site.

Symphony Australia commissioned composer Stuart Greenbaum to write a work for the MSO education program that explored the instruments and sections of the orchestra. The style of composition provided a convenient vehicle for the company to explore the possibilities of the digital manipulation to create leading-edge interactive music for the education market.

The MSO required a multimedia company with the expertise to create a highly sophisticated interactive Website as well as the ability to work with the various staff involved. Electric Alchemy was selected from a tender process since the company offered skills in video production as well as Web design, and had strong networks with music education consultants. Tom Olsson from Electric Alchemy also had a background in music, which proved invaluable when directing the orchestra shoot.

Electric Alchemy worked closely with the MSO project manager. The following chart indicates the production model of management.

Production model flowchart

Production components

The MSO used the following source material to create the Website and documentary.

Source material	Documentary	Web
Recording of production 90 minutes, Circling the Earth	yes	yes
Interviews with creatives		yes
Score	yes	yes
Software for manipulating the composition		yes
Audio	yes	yes
Text and graphic		yes
Footage of NASA space	yes	yes

Concept to product

The MSO required a multimedia company with the expertise to create a highly sophisticated interactive Website. Electric Alchemy was selected and the company offered skills in video production as well as Web design, and had strong networks with music education consultants. The orchestra shoot was conducted over three days and was shot on 16 mm film.

Pre-production

The MSO in-house IT skills were invaluable in creating a database that streamlined information and provided the opportunity to capitalise on marketing opportunities. These in-house skills allowed the company to propose an interesting, leading-edge interactive idea.
A contract was drawn up with the production, approvals and sign-offs between the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the multimedia production house were against milestones to which payments were linked.
The multimedia company suggested regular meetings between the company and all theMSO staff involved.

Video production

The MSO shoot covered a three-day period which included rehearsal, video interviews with musicians, studio set-up for the shoot and audio recording of the full work.
The MSO and the production house decided to shoot on 16 mm to achieve the highest quality master the budget would permit. This was particularly important because the material would be streamed and would lose quality in this process.
Post scripting was used since the pre-production schedule was tight and allowed only a few days with the orchestra quite early in the production process.
The production house used stock footage to intersperse with the shots of the orchestra performing the Greenbaum piece. The stock footage was public domain from NASA depicting the space shuttle and shots of earth from space.
The video was edited together and run past the production committee from time to time for comment and approval. The final video was digitised and compressed for inclusion on the education Website to support the investigation of the Greenbaum piece.

Website production

The music glossary on the education Website required some further audio recording.
The multimedia developer translated detailed specifications into a site structure. The main criterion for development of the Website was cohesion with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's existing corporate design brief.
Development of the education site evolved over time between the MSO education manager, the music educational consultant and the creative director.
The splash page for the education site was envisioned because of the site's high technical specifications, which required the user to have later version browsers as well as certain plug-ins to display the music interactives and play the audio and video.
All audio and video are played using only Quicktime 3 since it has the capacity to decode the sorenson codec. This method was chosen since the production house determined it was the best available compromise between audio quality and compression for orchestral music.
Browser versions were set at 3 and above, permitting the use of Java and frames. The education site was set higher than the corporate site because of the technological sophistication of the intended audience. The bandwidth considerations for the education site were set very high at 64K since this is the minimum available in Victorian Schools, the primary end-users.
The bandwidth for the corporate site was expected to be minimum 28.8K modems, however that specification was raised as internal staff requested enhancements to the site.
The site was tested on a range of browsers and platforms (i.e. Netscape 3 on a Macintosh, Internet Explorer on a 486) as well as different connections (i.e., 28.8K and 14.4K modems).
Web service providers were judged by a number of criteria. The requirements specified in the brief included the ability to host Web boards, interface with the database containing season information, provide statistics of usage, ease of site maintenance, value for money and reliability of performance.
MSO was assigned responsibility for all proofing.
Metadata was created for each of the two Websites to allow search engines to index the site. The metadata matches closely the keywords identified in the brief development to express the Melbourne Symphony's business.

Production stages

MSO produced a documentary which took three weeks to shoot and drew on pre-existing footage the company had shot of the Austral/Asian Post-Cartoon:Sports Edition in the 1997 theatrical season. The following chart outlines the production stages of the documentary shoot.

Description of the production stages		Timeline
Video Production
Content Development	Setting the parameters of the project based on a briefing by MSO. Electric Alchemy will develop the final Concept Development document which involves creating the technical and content flow of the program eg options available, choices to be made, paths, a generic template flowchart applicable for all levels of study will be developed.	2 Nov - 22 Nov, 15 working days
Research & Scripting	Involves the MSO compiling the content for the Website and writing the script for each page.	2 Nov - 22 Nov, 15 working days
Video Shoot	16mm shoot
Editing	Using AVID system	9 -26 Nov, 14 working days
Special Effects	Using 'After Effects' NB Smooth integration with AVID	30 Nov - 18 Dec, 15 working days
On-line	Using AVID system	7 - 11 Dec, 18 - 22 Jan, 10 days
Sound Mix	Using AVID system and ABC sound suite studios	14 - 18 Dec, 18 - 22 Jan, 10 days
Approval Deadline		4 & 14 Dec, 2 days
Corporate Site
Research Scripting	Involves the MSO compiling the content for the Website and writing the script for each page.
	The Orchestra	30 Dec, 1 day
	Tickets & Bookings	7 Dec, 1 day
	Calender	7 Dec, 1 day
	Education	14 Dec, 1 day
	Rest	14 Dec, 1 day
Media Compilation	Gathering all images, sound, graphics and content in one place.	9 Nov - 13 Dec, 25 working days
Audio Design	Researching and applying a sound program that will be applicable for the Web.	30 Nov - 13 Dec, 10 working days
Graphic Design	Creating an overall design for the program and then designs for each page.	2 - 30 Nov, 21 working days
HTML Layout	Writing HTML for the site.	16 Nov - 31 Jan, 49 working days
Programming	Creating the interactive design of the program and writing necessary programming so it will be interactive.	4 - 17 Jan, 10 working days
Testing	Technical Testing: testing the program on as many different computer platforms, browsers & connection types as possible for technical problems. User Testing: testing of the program by students and MSO people	1 - 21 Feb, 15 working days
Final Changes	Structural Revision: any structural changes required to make the program flow in a more logical manner. Database Revision: adding or deleting any field in the database. Graphic Revision: making changes to any of the graphics as a result of feedback from the user testing and any additions that may be made to the structure of the program. Media Formatting: formatting images so they are applicable to the program. Programming Revision: rewriting of programming as a result of user testing. Final Bug Fixes: fixing any problems that have risen as a result of the user testing.	1 - 21 Feb, 15 working days
Program Completed	Program finished and ready for distribution.	22 Feb
Education Site
Research Scripting	Involves the MSO compiling the content for the Website and writing the script for each page.
	The Orchestra (inc instruments)	30 Nov, 1 day
	The Music	30 Nov, 14 Dec (Edu. Pack), 2 days
	Teacher's Resource	14 Dec, 1 day
	Rest	21 Dec, 1 day
Media Compilation	Gathering all images, sound, graphics and content in one place.	9 Nov - 13 Dec, 25 working days
Audio Design	Researching and applying a sound program that will be applicable for the Web.	16 Nov - 20 Dec, 25 working days
Video Manipulation	Researching video delivery to run smoothly on the Web.	30 Nov - 20 Dec, 15 working days
Graphic Design	Creating an overall design for the program and then designs for each page.	30 - 14 Dec, 11 working days
HTML Layout	Writing HTML for the site.	7 Dec - 31 Jan, 34 working days
Programming	Creating the interactive design of the program and writing necessary programming so it will be interactive.	30 Nov - 17 Jan, 29 working days
Testing	Technical Testing: testing the program on as many different computer platforms, browsers & connection types as possible for technical problems. User Testing: testing of the program by students and MSO people.	1 - 21 Feb, 15 working days
Final Changes	Structural Revision: any structural changes required to make the program flow in a more logical manner. Database Revision: adding or deleting any field in the database. Graphic Revision: making changes to any of the graphics as a result of feedback from the user testing and any additions that may be made to the structure of the program. Media Formatting: formatting images so they are applicable to the program. Programming Revision: rewriting of programming as a result of user testing. Final Bug Fixes: fixing any problems that have risen as a result of the user testing.	1 - 21 Feb, 15 working days
Program Completed	Program finished and ready for distribution.	22 Feb
Milestone Reporting	Reporting by Electronic Alchemy to MSO of achievements to date for the MSO to include in their report to the Funding Committee.

Budget

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was awarded $150,000 from the PAML Pilot Project.

INCOME	Budget	Actual
Cinemedia	150000	150000
MSO	130589	130589
TOTAL	280589	280589

EXPENSES	Budget		Actual
EXPENSES	Cinemedia	MSO	MSO	EA
Research and Writing	9600	6550		7200
Project Management		23500	33160	17700
Design	10330	60		14400
Artists		56000	66313
Video Production	34720	1800		52952
Audio Production	6400	4720	7500	1774
Graphics and Animation	1250			1200
Media Integration	10000			6000
Digitisation and Compression	4000			3800
Programming	29000			16000
Office and Administration	10300			3200
Royalties, Copyright and Licence fees	30000	7400	11220	730
Other (marketing, travel etc.)	4400	3431	22518
Contingency		25508
TOTALS	150000	130589	140711	124956

FINAL RESULT	Budget	Actual
Total Income	280589	280589
Total Expenditure	280589	265667
Surplus/(Deficit)	0	14922

Production credits

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