Film scoring software for Irish Movie

C

carleton06

Member
Hi, pretty new to the forum so nice to meet you all.

I'm currently set to direct a 40-60 min film about two boys in 18th century Ireland (I am from Ireland), I'm just wondering is there any film scoring software capable of Irish type music- fiddles, flutes, drums etc. I could just ask a couple of musicians but I would much rather be able to have control over the end result.

Carleton Rodgers
Apex Pictures Ltd.
http://apexpicturesltd.com
 
Last edited:
carleton06 said:
Hi, pretty new to the forum so nice to meet you all.

I'm currently set to direct a 40-60 min film about two boys in 18th century Ireland (I am from Ireland), I'm just wondering is there any film scoring software capable of Irish type music- fiddles, flutes, drums etc. I could just ask a couple of musicians but I would much rather be able to have control over the end result.

Carleton Rodgers
Apex Pictures Ltd.
http://apexpicturesltd.webeden.co.uk/
Click to expand...

I did a rendition of "Báidín Fheilimí" using a combo of an online music score to midi-sequence generator, then used Garage Band to associated the midi sequence to a flute...

I've been looking for a sequencer or a more traditional 'scoring' program, but since music is not my main thing this has been pretty much a background activity...

The alternative was to hook up my keyboard via midi to Garage Band and go from there... but for this it was easier for me to enter in notes, give it a time base, to then import into my audio track for my short film title/credits music.
 
I use mixcraft too, but I wish I could get more complex with it and actually write my own loops..
 
Thanks guys, think I downloaded mixcraft about a year ago and never used it, I'll check it out again- from a glance I can see that it does have a ''Celtic'' loop section so maybe I might be in luck :)
 
Another option that might work is a program called Band In A Box. It "generates" music and has a lot of styles quite a few in folk styles. The more recent versions also come with a bunch of sampled instruments. I used to use it with decent sound module. You can enter songs as notes, or just chord changes. It uses styles to generate the song from there. It can be really simple or you can get pretty complicated with it. I've found it particularly useful for generating BG music because you can pick a style and just let it generate variations till you find one you like. Pretty MOR in general but then that's what I use it for so...
 
I have no idea why anybody would want to do this. You can still have "control" over the end result with a composer. IMO this is one of the biggest downfalls of student and indie films. The amount of people that settle for these band in a box situations just blows my mind. It's things like these that seperate people who make it big and the people who just skim by the paper recommendations. Not just score -- in everything.

If you're only after little tiny bits and pieces I can understand it, but if you're talking about a dramatic score, IMO it's a cheap, tacky and plain unnecessary way of going about it.

Maybe you'll find the stuff you want but seriously, I must have now seen hundreds and hundreds of short films that are basically begging for a score or decent sound design, and the filmmakers think they can get away with using loops. You aint fooilin' nobody. Except maybe deaf people. Even then, they'll go Beethoven style and feel the vibrations of your loops in their ears and thank God they don't have to hear another "4/4 irish beat #1 120BPM".

Taking on a composer is a huge risk, but then again so is making a film. Now if only a few more filmmakers decided to do what's best for the film instead of insisting on having control over everything for no reason, maybe we'd see a lot more visions come to life...in a good way. Again, score is only one of the things. Sound suffers just as much.

:violin:
 
Last edited:
In reply to ChrisHurn

In reply to ChrisHurn

ChrisHurn,

Maybe I didn't make myself clear, my apology- I want to underscore the film with some soft flute melody's etc. I am not attempting to create an entire score with software. I have got a number of extremely talented fiddlers on board with the project and as for a composer, well all Irish traditional is basically public domain so a composer wouldn't be necessary as I've hundreds of years worth of sheet music to choose from. I just find it irritating to get musicians to do the little fiddly things as they cost money- and from what I have heard in regards to software flute music, its not half bad.

I will be using and recording real musicians- and I totally agree with you, the sound is 50% of the film and if only you knew me that little bit better as my friends and colleagues do you'd realise that I am very very detailed about the score of my films as I see it as the 3rd most important step to winning over the audience.

I'm not having a rant btw lol, just wanted to make it clear that I am not falling into the student film trap of loops and such, like I said its for underscoring little segments. Hope that cleared that up :)

Carleton Rodgers
Apex Pictures Ltd
http://apexpicturesltd.com
 
Last edited:
ChrisHurn said:
I have no idea why anybody would want to do this. You can still have "control" over the end result with a composer. IMO this is one of the biggest downfalls of student and indie films. The amount of people that settle for these band in a box situations just blows my mind. It's things like these that seperate people who make it big and the people who just skim by the paper recommendations. Not just score -- in everything.

If you're only after little tiny bits and pieces I can understand it, but if you're talking about a dramatic score, IMO it's a cheap, tacky and plain unnecessary way of going about it.

Maybe you'll find the stuff you want but seriously, I must have now seen hundreds and hundreds of short films that are basically begging for a score or decent sound design, and the filmmakers think they can get away with using loops. You aint fooilin' nobody. Except maybe deaf people. Even then, they'll go Beethoven style and feel the vibrations of your loops in their ears and thank God they don't have to hear another "4/4 irish beat #1 120BPM".

Taking on a composer is a huge risk, but then again so is making a film. Now if only a few more filmmakers decided to do what's best for the film instead of insisting on having control over everything for no reason, maybe we'd see a lot more visions come to life...in a good way. Again, score is only one of the things. Sound suffers just as much.

:violin:
Click to expand...

:dankk2::thumbsup:

thanks for these fine words! next they´ll come up with demand for a asberbaidian duduk player plugin or whatever! add the oscar winning plastic of zimmers virtual violins and you have " full control"
:violin:
 
Chris,

I agree with you but I was pretty specific in what I use BitB for and it's not scoring. It's to create what we would otherwise be pawing through production music for, and by and large it does a better job. I wouldn't dream of trying to score a film with BitB, anymore than I would with production music. I interpreted the OP differently and didn't assume he was trying to score the film with software.

The places where these software solutions shine tends to be the same places it is often very hard to get a composer to go. If you need a classically cheezy intro for a Faux news show you going to have one hell of a time getting most indi composers to come up with anything in the ball park. Same goes for faux in-store muzak, "elevator" music, and often even something like some MOR jazz for BG at a party. None of that is "score" and not many composers have the range in styles to cover that.

Anyway BitB is not marketed at all for that market. Something like Sonic Fire should be more in your crosshairs or even GarageBand which Apple pushes as a product that anybody can score their film with.

I don't think we are actually much if at all in disagreement but I brought up BitB and you used the name I think as a generic thing but it implied they were one of these out fits selling "instant" score apps and that isn't really the case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top