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Welcome to my website!
Hi everyone! My name is Dylan and I am an Audio Engineer, Sound designer, Musician, Singer, and Composer! This is my portfolio website so take a look around and listen to some of the things I've worked on, thanks for checking it out, it means a lot!
Final Track
I created this piece with the theme of the happiness that can come out of sadness. When I made this piece, I wanted it to start off slow, almost mysterious, and then turn into something fun and something you can dance to. I thought by doing that, it would portray the feeling of being sad but also bring out happiness in your sadness, basically looking at the good in every situation.
It’s a standard 4/4 meter, I wanted the drums to be simple and let the other instruments portray the complex emotions. Like I said earlier, the first half of the song is slower and then goes into a bridge, this is where it picks up and feels very emotional. I used a drum pad for the distinct electro drum sound, I thought this would go very well with the synth sounds I made. The bass is subtle, I purposely did that to allow the bass to shine in the background and allow the listener to hear it but not realize they hear it, which helps create the feeling of mysteriousness, or the feeling of subtle emotions popping up out of nowhere.
My composition is in E minor and the chord progression I made for the first half of the song is:
Em G Am F# Dimiv ii*
i III iv ii*
Then in the last half of the song it is:
Em G Am F# Dim Bm ii*
i III iv ii* V
In the last four measures it changes to:
Em G Am F# Dim Am ii*
i III iv ii* iv
I chose this key and the chords as I thought they really made the feeling of this song and really fit into what vibe I was going for. I also changed the chord progressions to add variety. The chords and the melody really brought out the emotions. Speaking of the melody, it started off kind of simple with it just being a rising melody, it then turned much more complex halfway through, I did this to portray changing emotions and make it seem motivational! It also gives the song the boost it needed towards the end.
I added an audio track as well. It was me snapping along to the beat, it’s very simple but I thought it gave the song more life. I also made 2 custom synth sounds on 2 different tracks. On the first one, I used the ES P synth, it’s probably my favorite synth to work with! I made an electronic disco sound which I thought would fit perfectly in the second half of the song. The second one I made much more pretty, it makes me feel almost reminiscent or nostalgic, so I decided to put that in the second half of the song as well to give it more life and feeling. I also sampled a clap, which you can hear towards the end of the song. I gave it more of a punch to allow it to burst through and give the song more percussive elements. I also have a synth rhythm guitar and synth horns towards the end of the track, as well as an ambience in the bridge of the song.
When it comes to the mixing and mastering, I like making sure each track has its own spotlight, so I made sure each track is clearly heard even if some of them are quieter you always hear them in the background. Many of the tracks have an EQ on them so I could get the specific sound I wanted from them. I added a compressor to a couple tracks, specifically the synth rhythm guitar as the compressor made the guitar sound more like a funk guitar. Many tracks have reverb, but I added reverb to the synth horns as well to make it feel like the horns were real and you were in a room with them. The melody has reverb as well as some delay in there to make it feel like it’s almost floating around the song which gives it the mysterious vibe but then comes around and makes you feel happy and makes you want to let loose! I love portraying two opposite emotions with one track.
It’s a standard 4/4 meter, I wanted the drums to be simple and let the other instruments portray the complex emotions. Like I said earlier, the first half of the song is slower and then goes into a bridge, this is where it picks up and feels very emotional. I used a drum pad for the distinct electro drum sound, I thought this would go very well with the synth sounds I made. The bass is subtle, I purposely did that to allow the bass to shine in the background and allow the listener to hear it but not realize they hear it, which helps create the feeling of mysteriousness, or the feeling of subtle emotions popping up out of nowhere.
My composition is in E minor and the chord progression I made for the first half of the song is:
Em G Am F# Dimiv ii*
i III iv ii*
Then in the last half of the song it is:
Em G Am F# Dim Bm ii*
i III iv ii* V
In the last four measures it changes to:
Em G Am F# Dim Am ii*
i III iv ii* iv
I chose this key and the chords as I thought they really made the feeling of this song and really fit into what vibe I was going for. I also changed the chord progressions to add variety. The chords and the melody really brought out the emotions. Speaking of the melody, it started off kind of simple with it just being a rising melody, it then turned much more complex halfway through, I did this to portray changing emotions and make it seem motivational! It also gives the song the boost it needed towards the end.
I added an audio track as well. It was me snapping along to the beat, it’s very simple but I thought it gave the song more life. I also made 2 custom synth sounds on 2 different tracks. On the first one, I used the ES P synth, it’s probably my favorite synth to work with! I made an electronic disco sound which I thought would fit perfectly in the second half of the song. The second one I made much more pretty, it makes me feel almost reminiscent or nostalgic, so I decided to put that in the second half of the song as well to give it more life and feeling. I also sampled a clap, which you can hear towards the end of the song. I gave it more of a punch to allow it to burst through and give the song more percussive elements. I also have a synth rhythm guitar and synth horns towards the end of the track, as well as an ambience in the bridge of the song.
When it comes to the mixing and mastering, I like making sure each track has its own spotlight, so I made sure each track is clearly heard even if some of them are quieter you always hear them in the background. Many of the tracks have an EQ on them so I could get the specific sound I wanted from them. I added a compressor to a couple tracks, specifically the synth rhythm guitar as the compressor made the guitar sound more like a funk guitar. Many tracks have reverb, but I added reverb to the synth horns as well to make it feel like the horns were real and you were in a room with them. The melody has reverb as well as some delay in there to make it feel like it’s almost floating around the song which gives it the mysterious vibe but then comes around and makes you feel happy and makes you want to let loose! I love portraying two opposite emotions with one track.
Sci-Fi Horror OST by Dylan Wilson
I had so much fun with this composition!I had to choose a theme for a track for the project I was working on for school and I decided to choose the genre of Sci-Fi, Space and Horror so I had to make it a creepy and unsettling theme while also making it sci fi which was so much fun to do!
I took this piece and added many little things musically that helps give the theme an anxiety inducing creepiness. For instance all of the sound effects I put in, also the conflicting notes I made which was inspired by the classic theme of "Psycho". I was also inspired by the movie Alien which really helped me be able to give it a sci fi vibe while also keeping it creepy.
There's lots of reverb and delay in here, like in the melody and the chords. I also had EQ on some things, but specifically the drums. I made the to really bring out the darkness of the kick drum to make the piece even more unsettling. I had lots of panning in it as well to make the listeners feel like they didn't know what was going to happen next.
I had lots of samples in here, from the squeaking of the metal, to doors closing, to screaming, it was a lot but this track needed it to help make the listeners feel as if they are the ones stuck in space.
The mixing and mastering was very fun to do. I made certain sounds quiet and either off to the left or right in the headphones to make the listeners uneasy and help them feel more immersed into the game.
I took this piece and added many little things musically that helps give the theme an anxiety inducing creepiness. For instance all of the sound effects I put in, also the conflicting notes I made which was inspired by the classic theme of "Psycho". I was also inspired by the movie Alien which really helped me be able to give it a sci fi vibe while also keeping it creepy.
There's lots of reverb and delay in here, like in the melody and the chords. I also had EQ on some things, but specifically the drums. I made the to really bring out the darkness of the kick drum to make the piece even more unsettling. I had lots of panning in it as well to make the listeners feel like they didn't know what was going to happen next.
I had lots of samples in here, from the squeaking of the metal, to doors closing, to screaming, it was a lot but this track needed it to help make the listeners feel as if they are the ones stuck in space.
The mixing and mastering was very fun to do. I made certain sounds quiet and either off to the left or right in the headphones to make the listeners uneasy and help them feel more immersed into the game.
War Remix
This is a short remix of a song called War that I did in one of my previous classes at Full Sail University! I loved this song and decided to add my own instruments in it as well as some new beats.
I added some new drums and other percussive instruments into the remix which gave the song a faster feeling pace. I also added new bass into the song which allowed me to play around with the lower elements of the song and added more life into the song.
Some more new things I added myself were the lead piano which also made the song feel faster and complimented the vocals, a saxophone which I used as the counter melody in the chorus, this allowed the emotions of the chorus to come out more and be interpreted in a different way!
I used lots of synths in here! I had two synth organs/pads which went along with the chords in the beginning. I also samples, those were claps and some percussive elements which fit great into the song.
In most of the tracks, I added reverb as well as some delay. The vocals were definitely the most fun to play around with while mixing and mastering because there was so many things I could’ve done with them, I added reverb, messed with the volume and fading of them, especially in the chorus! In the verse I made the vocals seem like they were coming in and out by using the volume automation.
I added some new drums and other percussive instruments into the remix which gave the song a faster feeling pace. I also added new bass into the song which allowed me to play around with the lower elements of the song and added more life into the song.
Some more new things I added myself were the lead piano which also made the song feel faster and complimented the vocals, a saxophone which I used as the counter melody in the chorus, this allowed the emotions of the chorus to come out more and be interpreted in a different way!
I used lots of synths in here! I had two synth organs/pads which went along with the chords in the beginning. I also samples, those were claps and some percussive elements which fit great into the song.
In most of the tracks, I added reverb as well as some delay. The vocals were definitely the most fun to play around with while mixing and mastering because there was so many things I could’ve done with them, I added reverb, messed with the volume and fading of them, especially in the chorus! In the verse I made the vocals seem like they were coming in and out by using the volume automation.
The Daily Dweebs Short Animation
This is one of the first projects I did for one of my previous classes at Full Sail University! It's a short animation that I had the privilege to create most of the foley sounds for it as well as have two of my friends be able to voice act in it!
I made most of the foley sounds by just using things around my room! Like for instance, the sound of the dog food was just me pouring my dogs food in a bowl! The screech of the chicken being hit was also me too! That was definitely fun to do multiple times!
I also had to put in some samples of things, like the big chicken clucking, the background music as well. I then has to mix and master everything to make it sound perfect, like the panning of the animals and the dogs owner running in and then running away, which was also my friend who voiced her and the footsteps was me just walking by my microphone! The dog was mainly voiced by another friend of mine who had such a fun time recording those sounds!
I made most of the foley sounds by just using things around my room! Like for instance, the sound of the dog food was just me pouring my dogs food in a bowl! The screech of the chicken being hit was also me too! That was definitely fun to do multiple times!
I also had to put in some samples of things, like the big chicken clucking, the background music as well. I then has to mix and master everything to make it sound perfect, like the panning of the animals and the dogs owner running in and then running away, which was also my friend who voiced her and the footsteps was me just walking by my microphone! The dog was mainly voiced by another friend of mine who had such a fun time recording those sounds!
Wilson_Dylan_FinalTrack
00:00 / 01:08
Sci-Fi Horror OST by Dylan Wilson
00:00 / 02:04
Dylan_Wilson_War_Mastered_Bounce
00:00 / 00:39
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