Dramafest music

Yes Herman, you did s awesome work. Cant wait to hear what you can do for My Tokyo Angel.
 
Edgen said:
...Aaron. Are you game for sharing your MP3?

/j
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I have tons of Justin's music on my playlist, now I've got some of Hermans too, the score from 18 seconds would be a nice addition... :)
 
Edgen said:
Aaron. Your one film... You chose wisely! Loved what you did for it.

We should have a thread and list with everyone's music. There's some really great music that came from the fest.. (and some bad ones)(imo) . Aaron. Are you game for sharing your MP3?
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Thanks Edgen. I can only handle about one or two films per fest. I don't see how you guys do it. :)

Here is the Eighteen Seconds score.

Aaron Marshall - NYC
Aaron Marshall - Two
Aaron Marshall - Eighteen Seconds

Thanks for tuning in. If you're on http://Last.fm be sure to scrobble, and tag all of us composers. If you're not on Last.fm, what're you waiting for? It's awesome.
 
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Aaron Marshall said:
No, I only scored Eighteen Seconds
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Well chosen! As you know I thought it was great, so keep it up! And thanks for posting the mp3's :)

Edgen said:
herman.. "Threading the Needle" from TTN was badass! I remember watching the visuals to that film and saying, "Hells ya. music is kickin and buildin' up". The Chase and final from @ the park was also really cool. Love the fact you use live instrumentation within your music. Makes me want to invest in something besides my computer microphone. :)
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Thanks Justin! I thought your scores for As Silence Falls and The Artist were great!
Using live instruments is one of my favourite parts of composing music. I'm just a total addict to musical instruments, be it woodwinds, percussion or plucked strings :)

Edgen said:
We should have a thread and list with everyone's music. There's some really great music that came from the fest..
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Feel free to jump in! The thread title is Dramafest music anyway.
 
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Justin (Edgen),
My at is also off to you my friend, I really liked the music you did for Where Silence Falls, very nervy and suspenseful.
 
give it up for chirs hurn. he let me sample from him a great sounding track that haunts my films Life is Good. Thanks Chris!
 
jeremytuttle said:
i just wanted to add my praise to your score. I really liked it and I think it made the movie.
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Thanks Jeremy. I appreciate it. You're too kind. I think the film made the score. :)

I put up another track from Eighteen Seconds called NYC.
 
Ooh ya!! Post Chris Hurn's track in here too. That one was really sweet too. So EPIC for such and EPIC movie :) I'm sure he's lurking around here somewhere. Chris.. Please stand up!

/j
 
Ya, I agree.. I could sit here and let this one loop all night and drift to another world. So Aaron, did you score this custom to the project, or did you have a few and splice them all together?

Curious how you guys work too. Do you start from the beginning and go to the end, or did you start at the end and work your way to the beginning.. orr... ya. How do you start?

/j
 
Edgen said:
Curious how you guys work too. Do you start from the beginning and go to the end, or did you start at the end and work your way to the beginning.. orr... ya. How do you start?

/j
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Well... It depends on the project I guess.

In some cases, I may develop a concept for the music I will base the whole score on, which also includes the instruments I will use (orchestral, just strings, small ensemble, or just 2 or 3 instruments). Other times I prefer to give myself the freedom to add changes in the ensemble during the composition process. This partly depends on whether the director prefers to use a temptrack or not. I don't like temptracks, generally.

When getting started, the first thing I usually do is writing themes, and moving these over the timeline, to see where it's fitting best. The theme writing is mostly with a certain scene in mind, but what I like, is that sometimes, the theme I compose over a certain scene works a lot better with a different scene, or with both scenes (after making a few adjustments). Once I have some thematic material (and manipulations/derivative versions of it), I like to put it on the timeline. Sometimes (in powerful dramatic or action sequences) I may prefer to actually score to the screen, either playing MIDI instruments or live instruments along with the film. I then decide on the feel for the performances and record live instruments if needed.

Occasionally, I start at the beginning of the film, but I mostly prefer to know what I am scoring towards, using a developed theme at the end, that I can then simplify or vary on for use earlier in the film. In action scoring, ostinati (melodic/rhythmic patterns) can be a way for me to accomplish tension bows over time, adding different patterns, be it melodic or percussive, while in more dramatic scores I base the tension mostly on harmonic progressions.
 
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Thanks Herman! A wonderful insight on your creation process. Now, do you lay down your synth instruments first before you bust out the live instrumentation?

Also, what mics do you use to record your live music?

And... Temp Scores. What do you think of those? Personally, I think they hinder the entire process because the director/editor gets so used to the temp music, its nearly impossible for them to let go. Plus, it's hard as heck mimick a massive budgeted orchestral ensemble.

and.. STems Vs. No Stems (or does it depend on what you want to export for a surround mix)

/j
 
Edgen said:
Thanks Herman! A wonderful insight on your creation process. Now, do you lay down your synth instruments first before you bust out the live instrumentation?
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Depends on the occasion a bit - If it's live frame drum, like in At the Park, that's one of the first things I'll do. If it's live woodwinds, I might wait until I have a solid base of other instruments before I record.

Edgen said:
Also, what mics do you use to record your live music?
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Shure KSM44 for most woodwinds (sometimes SM57 on sax), and a pair of Rode NT5's for stereo recordings of strings and percussion.

Edgen said:
And... Temp Scores. What do you think of those? Personally, I think they hinder the entire process because the director/editor gets so used to the temp music, its nearly impossible for them to let go. Plus, it's hard as heck mimick a massive budgeted orchestral ensemble.
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I agree that these can hinder the process - The other danger is (and it is already happening for quite a while!) that film scores are starting to sound more and more similar. The temptrack phenomenon has now spread to Europe as well.

In some cases I can prefer a temptrack. It depends on the film or project. If a musical concept is asked for, or a style, I don't really need a temptrack.

Edgen said:
and.. STems Vs. No Stems (or does it depend on what you want to export for a surround mix)
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I generally mix the music myself, and deliver as a stereo mix. If I need to do a surround mix, I can use a 5.1 control room with ProTools HD at music college, and I'll most likely export as many tracks as possible from my Cubase session, to have full control over the mix.

Enough about me - What's your process like? :D
 
Herman Witkam said:
Nice! I love the atmosphere of this piece.
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Edgen said:
Ya, I agree.. I could sit here and let this one loop all night and drift to another world.
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Thanks guys. That means a lot, especially from such accomplished composers, and sonic manipulators.

Edgen said:
So Aaron, did you score this custom to the project, or did you have a few and splice them all together?

Curious how you guys work too. Do you start from the beginning and go to the end, or did you start at the end and work your way to the beginning.. orr... ya. How do you start?
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It was custom to the project. Macgregor works a lot on feelings and emotion rather than, "ok, right here at this point when the girl slips on a banana peel; I want a whistle sound." Some directors want the score that close to the picture. It's good to work with the freedom Mac gives you.

I guess my approach depends on the project. It's never the same. Sometimes I start off designing all the new sounds and textures I'll be using. Sometimes a composition will hit me first. Sometimes I spin around in my chair until I get dizzy. I suppose it doesn't really matter whether I work in a linear or non-linear fashion. I think if I had to choose it would be linear. I like to see the film, how the audience will see it and then empathize. As a score artist you have a good dramatic sense and understanding of the material & motivation, just as an actor would. So anything helps, scripts, images, storyboards, you name it.

I'm not against temp scores. Again, it depends on the director and their ability to understand the music and what they want. I think it's a way for a good director to communicate what they want. Temp scores would really start to suck if you were composing for an ultra high budget hollywood film. The reason is; a group of men in suits would be dictating from data they've collected from focus groups, and usually some very bad taste on their parts. However, that's not always the case if the director has enough clout. Ultimately it depends on the vision and talent of the director on any level. Before you sign the dotted lines be 101% confident in the director and the project.

I think this is why director/composer partnerships always work so well. Burton/Elfman, Hitchcock/Herrmann, Spielberg/Williams etc.

It's not like a blind date.
 
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