| Author |
Topic: How Film Composers Get Those Great String Sounds |
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
|
|
|
Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 5:12 am |
|
...at how many musicians have been put out of work by people who don't know any theory?
I admit I only watched the first 40" but I didn't want to hear any more. The most work for orchestras now is not for films but for video games, which seem to have bigger budgets!
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
|
|
|
Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 5:48 am
|
|
That was fast, putting together a Hermann/Handel score in under thirty minutes.
Parts of it were like magic, not seeing what his hand was doing.
He claims you need no theory training to do it, but I wouldn't try it at home without it. |
|
|
|
Andrew Roblin
From:
Various places
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 7:35 am
|
|
VERY interesting, b0b.
Thanks. |
|
|
|
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 7:45 am
|
|
I thought his left hand expression control on the sliders was fantastic, especially towards the end of the video where he was putting on the finishing touches. Besides being a decent composer, the guy is a real musician, an artist.
And I don't weep for the "musicians put out of work". What's the real point of having 8 violins (or even 3) playing identical parts on a recording? There's grandeur and spectacle in a live performance, but for incidental music behind actors on a screen - it's just a waste of time and money.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
|
|
|
Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 8:33 am
|
|
| b0b wrote: |
And I don't weep for the "musicians put out of work". What's the real point of having 8 violins (or even 3) playing identical parts on a recording? There's grandeur and spectacle in a live performance, but for incidental music behind actors on a screen - it's just a waste of time and money. |
excuse me.....a REAL string section full of these players that you dont care are put out of work or not sounds a million times better than all that synth stuff that guy was doing. thats one of the problems these days. people are so musically dumbed down that they dont know what real music is or real musicians sound like anymore or really dont care. they just hear something fake in the background and dont have a clue. |
|
|
|
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 8:42 am
|
|
Playing the same thing that 8 other fiddlers are playing sounds like shit work to me, Bill. When the focus is not the music, as in TV or film work, and the score is mundane anyway, what's the point? It's a waste of time and money.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
|
|
|
Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 8:48 am
|
|
I'm sure I could tell the difference between the Psycho score and a digital copy, but no one would redo that anyway.
Film scoring, like TV scoring, changes to meet new demands. The guy's work on the Poirot music certainly was never in the way, and probably frequently convincing considering the demise of the analog source. It's an industry of illusions.
I mean, he can do the basic tracks (later manipulating them into different sections of a score supposedly) in the time it would take to make phone calls to line up a quartet. I don't think I'm being cynical. The guy's worked in the biz for forty years and this method seems to work for him. |
|
|
|
Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 9:59 am
|
|
I watched it cover to cover. That's a complete education and revealing of secrets for a few minutes of one's time. I never realized there were duplicate violin parts and never considered that the viola, cell and bass parts were so key to the fullness of the sound. Maybe I'm just kinda weird (or wired if you juxtapose the letters) but I was mesmerized by the sounds he achieved.
Similar productions have been attempted as backup to the steel guitar. The intro to Lloyd Green's San Antonio Rose comes to mind as does some of the elaborate work done by Buddy Spicher. |
|
|
|
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 10:12 am
|
|
I remember Bobby Seymour talking about getting in trouble with the union.
He could do violin sounds on his steel and he was putting violinists out of work.
It got him more sessions, though.  |
|
|
|
Barry Blackwood
|
Posted 26 Aug 2016 3:54 pm
|
|
| Quote: |
| It's an industry of illusions. |
Charlie, you said a mouthful... |
|
|
|
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
|
Posted 27 Aug 2016 2:32 am
|
|
As someone who works professionally producing media for clients, I can attest it's just the reality of the world today that people are looking for ways to find more value for less money while retaining a level of artistry and quality. As b0b points out, the economics are just not there for hiring string sections except for big budget Hollywood films - and even that is very rare these days.
There's a saying in the industry that "It doesn't have to be; it just has to look like it." The general audience is completely unaware of the veracity of the string sounds and in fact, the purpose of film music is to support the story and not call attention to itself. At times, the score is so compelling (Magnificent Seven, Theme from Titanic etc., etc.) that the opposite is true, but in general, music in media is in purposely in the background. The string sounds in the video certainly do the job that they are intended to do and do so very well IMHO.
Sometimes, economics is not a factor at all. A while back, I posted this link to the music from the Star Trek continues project. Fans of the original Star Trek series are creating new episodes that pay homage to all the elements of the original shows down to the smallest details .... from directing, acting styles, art direction, set decoration, shooting style and music. Everyone is a volunteer.
Perhaps most amazing of all is that 40-50 musicians are gleefully donating their time to record new, original orchestral scores in the style of the originals.
http://www.startrekcontinues.com
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 31 Aug 2016 7:41 am
|
|
| Andy Volk wrote: |
As someone who works professionally producing media for clients, I can attest it's just the reality of the world today that people are looking for ways to find more value for less money while retaining a level of artistry and quality. As b0b points out, the economics are just not there for hiring string sections except for big budget Hollywood films - and even that is very rare these days.
|
Then...I guess we also shouldn't bitch too much if someone figures the band doesn't really need a steel player? Just get a guitar player with a b-bender, or a steel-simulator program on a laptop. Problem solved, right?
As far as the movies are concerned, I know there's this push for computer-generated-everything, but how is it they balk at a million (I'm guessing at that number) for orchestra, composing, and arranging, but they have no qualms against handing the big star 20 or 30 million?
"Let's just hire one guy, and let him do all the music."
If I'm not mistaken, that same mentality got us DJ's and karaoke in the clubs.  |
|
|
|
Barry Blackwood
|
Posted 31 Aug 2016 9:23 am
|
|
| Quote: |
| As far as the movies are concerned, I know there's this push for computer-generated-everything, but how is it they balk at a million (I'm guessing at that number) for orchestra, composing, and arranging, but they have no qualms against handing the big star 20 or 30 million? |
Did you mention the Visual Effects budget....?
https://misix.com/movie-quality-index-mar-7-mar-9-2014 |
|
|
|
Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 31 Aug 2016 9:37 am
|
|
| Shit work paid the bills for a lot of great musicians, and enabled them to finance their own projects, or play their own music at other times. I'm sure the same is true in other professions. Maybe the Sistine chapel was the shit work that enabled projects of more personal interest to Michelangelo. |
|
|
|
Godfrey Arthur
From:
3rd Rock
|
Posted 4 Sep 2016 1:23 am
|
|
I would be concerned. The globalists are claiming that by 2035 men will be obsolete which is the reason they are pushing women these days to man things. Not that women will be the gender franca but that robots will.
Interesting clip though B0B and thanks for posting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlqe1DXnJKQ
Check out the planned future of humanity.
_________________
ShoBud The Pro 1
YES it's my REAL NAME!
Ezekiel 33:7 |
|
|
|
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
|
Posted 4 Sep 2016 6:48 am
|
|
No machines can make the sounds Chas Smith makes for film soundtracks
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com
Last edited by Andy Volk on 5 Sep 2016 5:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Gary Reed
|
Posted 4 Sep 2016 7:48 am
|
|
| Thanks b0b! That is one of the best. |
|
|
|
