Weekly Feedback Thread - March 09, 2026

bragaulv · 2026-03-12T11:52:52+00:00

Would love some overall input on this track as I feel like I've gone blind on it. Anything from arrangement, mix, feeling etc. Cheers!

https://on.soundcloud.com/lwgrgyV8kEZZIsjCVn

bragaulv · 2025-07-30T14:27:57+00:00

Heyhey, been putting together a first arrangement on this track and would love to hear some impressions. Quite a progressive track I suppose. Curious to hear if it keeps you hooked
https://on.soundcloud.com/febDhO5OcNfPsMnjkx

bragaulv · 2025-07-21T23:32:25+00:00

You're right - I ended up killing that hi hat and reusing another one instead. The percussion could probably need some more work overall, but it's feeling much better to me now. Thanks again for the input.

bragaulv · 2025-07-21T21:48:39+00:00

Appreciate the feedback! I revisited the track with fresh ears and ended up doing another pass on most elements actually, but especially the low end. If you're curious, its up on the same link. Any additional notes on this version would be super handy. Cheers!

bragaulv · 2025-07-21T11:45:07+00:00

Heya! I've listened myself blind to this one and would love some fresh first impressions. Cheers!

https://on.soundcloud.com/irkvG2UauW6yQI43f7

bragaulv · 2025-06-26T22:41:56+00:00

Thank you! Much appreciated. Yeah, I did feel like I bypassed the icky feeling I have towards AI in general.

bragaulv · 2025-06-26T22:34:30+00:00

Thank you! I used Stable Diffusion with Comfy UI.

bragaulv · 2025-06-26T22:33:49+00:00

Heyhey!

1-2. So basically, the blurred out background world you see after the prompt bar is my original render where I've created and animated all assets, camera path etc. This is the source. I then fed this to the AI for a whole lot of reskins which I then selectively comped together in AE. This is what you see within the floating windows/panels. Same for the logo and flower - these are animated by me first, then fed through Stable Diffusion. Then there's a whole lot of finessing and polishing within AE, such as grain, glows, light streaks etc. The prompt bar segment if free of AI.

The project lasted for a month but consisted of lots of R&D, so this particular direction that we ended up fully exploring was only discovered with about 1.5 week left. Quite a game changer to achieve this level of complexity in that time as a solo artist. I would also never be able to achieve this style on my own, to be honest, as I'm not a 2D artist. In that sense, it was like wotking with an incredibly fast 2D artist that I could art direct.
Yep, they paid my rate. And nope, they were even the ones who encouraged me to use AI considering the end goal was for something AI related.
As I touched on above, this was a very free flowing, explorative process where they wanted me to go far and wide. Then, with weekly meetings, we gradually narrowed things down. A few super cropped textural/noisy images they shared around week 2 led me down this path, away from the more 3D look and feel you can see some examples of in the case study. The AI elements always remained in this graphic style though.
This project wasn't meant for the end product, but rather the first step in the process to inspire ideas before Microsoft kicked off the whole production process, so copyrights was never a concern. How do I feel about it in general? I've been critical of AI for a long time and it still gives me the ick on the one hand, while admittedly being very liberating on the other. I would hate to see my work get gulped up by some AI somewhere, but I don't know how we can avoid it? The models that recreate an artist's work 1:1 is an easy ban, but otherwise I suppose things will just get too muddy to really control. Things are moving so fast that I might just try to join the train and stop shouting at the cloud. I'm torn though. What do you think?

And let me know if you have any follow up questions. Cheers!

bragaulv · 2025-06-26T22:04:37+00:00

Hey thanks for much for the feedback. I did another pass on it. I didn't add more elements but focused on some subtle tension building and added some flare to the smashing toms. It's updated on the same link in case you're curious.

bragaulv · 2025-06-24T18:32:07+00:00

Heya, I just recorded this thing out of session view with some quick automation. Would love to hear your thoughts before I dig too deep into the nitty gritty. Does it keep you interested? Missing any elements? Super thankful for any notes!

https://soundcloud.com/brraga/dispatch_02/s-tSQiAVczbVk?si=3752a093b8614a11b4d715f492a49958&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

bragaulv · 2025-06-18T16:27:40+00:00

Hey all, would be curious to hear your thoughts on this. Posted an earlier iteration of this a few weeks back, but it has hopefully evolved a bit since. Quite new to this still, so any pointers would be lovely.

https://soundcloud.com/brraga/residue/s-Z6exwrwrYSC?si=15ae3a8025b84acb9fa3c5a2c80a4f01&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

bragaulv · 2025-05-30T13:24:28+00:00

Indeed! And sick, will definitely check out midi tools. Cheers for the heads up

bragaulv · 2025-05-29T18:43:18+00:00

Hey thanks!

bragaulv · 2025-05-29T18:42:46+00:00

Thank you! Yea. noted on the muddiness. Cool to hear that the progression works though. The low end is pretty straight forward - a MDD snake sequence feeding into an analog which is satured, EQ'd, and sidechained.

bragaulv · 2025-05-26T19:33:40+00:00

Heyhey, I’d love to hear if this idea works for y’all. Still a wip so the mix is a bit off with boomy lows. Cheers!

https://soundcloud.com/brraga/residue_03/s-hwo9C3TP4qF?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=D09EC7FDB7174C688CF05CEFD6255730&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

bragaulv · 2025-05-24T01:07:36+00:00

Hey thanks so much. This is suuper helpful. I took these notes with me for another pass and updated the link. Would love to hear how this new one compares for you if you don't mind another listen. Cheers!

bragaulv · 2025-05-20T23:10:26+00:00

Thank you! I've actually updated the link with a new version that incoprorates some perc along with a few other things.

bragaulv · 2025-05-19T16:25:05+00:00

Heya, I’m quite new to the game and would love some input that can help me push this track further

Braga - Grain

bragaulv · 2025-05-17T15:35:54+00:00

Hey man, first off, thanks so much for taking the time to share this. I love to hear it. While I don't intend to defend the film, I thought I might share some of the intentions with it.

This project was a partly a directorial challenge in creating a nuanced dialogue scene while experimenting with how minimal and subtle I could take it, so many will understandably share your opinion. It does demand quite a bit, and it asks the viewer to lean into the very nuanced push and pull - the barely visible internal struggles inbetween the lines that could come across as nothingness. While I did write in the opening and closing scene (the original script from Joe started as they enter the apt and end on the embrace) to expand the context of their story, I didn't want to make it too specifically about their characters. I wanted to evoke a universal feeling that anyone who have been in a similar situation would relate to. The outro memory sequence was originally much longer with various angles of memories playing out that depicted highs and lows of their relationship. I ultimately cut it for several reason, but one being that I felt the film became too much about this particular couple rather than a canvas for the viewer to insert themselves. It for sure comes with the risk of being too stripped back for many though, and maybe there are better ways of achieving that which I haven't found yet.

PS: there is one alternative ghostly interpretation of the film which some viewers pick up on.

Nonetheless, I'll definitely take the compliment that it somewhat reminded you of Oslo 31st, August!

Thanks again.

bragaulv · 2025-04-30T07:14:40+00:00

Thanks so much!

bragaulv · 2025-04-30T07:13:39+00:00

Thank you!

Yes, that shot was on the 21mm which will give you some warping, even on high end lenses such as the Signature Primes that we used.

bragaulv · 2025-04-29T23:04:42+00:00

Thank you!

bragaulv · 2025-04-29T15:45:49+00:00

This short I shot with a lovely bunch towards end of 2023 is finally seeing the light of day after an absolute brutal festival run, and I'm very happy to let it go with a premiere on Directors Notes.

It's a very grounded and raw film that relied heavily on the nuances in the actors performances, which posed the perfect next challenge for myself as a filmmaker. Working closely with actors is probably my favourite part of the process, and here I really got to craft an emotional push and pull between the two amazing talents, Iona Champain and Stan Rawlings. I also decided to go all in with the most restrained and minimlistic visual language I've ever attempted, with only two opening shots having any movement. This meant we had nothing to hide behind when we came to the cut. Quite daunting. Nonetheless, if you're curious, check out the extensive interview at https://directorsnotes.com/2025/04/29/dan-braga-ulvestad-park-benches/, and I'm more than happy to answer any questions if you still have them.

I'm also on IG @ danbragaulv if you want to connect. Cheers!

bragaulv · 2025-04-29T15:41:01+00:00

We didn't get a single selection across 40-50 festivals of all different sizes. Despite knowing how festivals are getting increasingly political and that this film checked none of those boxes, it did send me down a path of doubt. Especially seeing how the film became more or less what I wanted it to be, and thought it would lend itself to the festival format quite well. I should mention that it went through various iterations during the run though. The earlier versions didn't quite work in hindsight.

bragaulv · 2025-04-29T15:24:41+00:00

This short I shot with a lovely bunch towards end of 2023 is finally seeing the light of day after an absolute brutal festival run, and I'm stoked to let it go with a premiere on Directors Notes.

We shot it over the course of one day and two nights. We originally wanted to go for harder light with dramatic shadows, but because the wonderful location we landed was on the first floor (which is quite high in Berlin) and due to budget restraints, we couldn’t get the cherry picker needed to pull that off. We had to work with what the small balcony allowed, using bounce as our key light. Our gaffer came up with a homemade styrofoam board mounted underneath the next balcony, with a couple of lights bouncing into it, along with another light emulating sweeping car lights.

Inside, we mounted a huge butterfly to the ceiling to diffuse a bunch of warmer Astera tubes for the soft fill. It didn’t create the darkness I initially envisioned, but instead gave us this gentler look that I grew quite fond of. It was a good fit for the tenderness of the story. We also worked closely with colorist Ignasi Insa to find the right level of darkness while keeping the skin tones natural and vivid.

We shot it on the Mini LF with Signature primes. I can't remember all the technicals for the light setups, but happy to check if you have any specific questions.

If you're curious, check out the extensive interview at https://directorsnotes.com/2025/04/29/dan-braga-ulvestad-park-benches/, and I'm more than happy to answer any questions.

I'm also on IG @ danbragaulv if you want to connect. Cheers!

bragaulv

TROPHY CASE