ProAudio Review - October 2008 - (Page 47) MIDI format, and then a different file of those same instruments completely quantized and mechanized so that they export correctly into Sibelius,” says d’Ambrosio. ““Sibelius allows you to modify how sensitive it is to swinging eighth notes and triplets and such, so it takes some of the guesswork out, but you still have to massage it. On smaller projects where I’m just recording one or two instruments on top of the MIDI tracks, Digital Performer’s notation software works just fine. I can print notes out of DP and go in and handmark the articulation and dynamics myself.” THE MORE THINGS CHANGE Much like the music industry, Pro Tools revolutionized the film scoring process by making sessions run more efficiently; however, the faster pace means more compressed deadlines. “It’s made my job easier because we don’t have to take into consideration what cue is on what tape,” says scoring supervisor Audrey DeRoche. “Now we can sort the music on the computer. Also, because we’re recording onto hard drives, transporting the music to the dubbing stage is unbelievable.’ Digitized film, and the ability to send video updates over the Internet, has also streamlined the process, she adds. The advancements in digital technology have also led to remarkable-sounding music libraries, which means films more often incorporate real and virtual sounds. “For a small independent film, a composer may have five cues in the movie that are just begging for orchestra, so we schedule one session, and he scores the rest in his home studio,” says copyist Ross DeRoche. “The trend is blending, even for the bigger budget films. They’re going to hire big orchestras for two or three days, but the composer also has an excellent studio and is very good at creating what the film needs that an orchestra can’t give. Or they might combine live orchestra with their own samples to create a unique effect. The important thing is to serve the film.” Budget doesn’t always dictate how much live orchestra ends up in a film. d’Ambrosio notes that he composed his first sample-free we really need to record it live?’ I said, ‘Yes, we should, because the film deserves it.’” Making those judgment calls is just another part of the job, as is composing final cut-quality tracks without exceeding time or budget deadlines. “How do you make a 20k budget sound like 60k, or 60k sound like 150k, and so on? That’s part of the creative process, almost as much as writing music.” Heather Johnson is a Bay Area-based journalist and author whose books include “If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour Through San Francisco Recording Studios.” She will be signing copies at the AES Convention, Booth #1509 (Course Technology PTR) on Saturday, October 4, at 1 p.m. Avid's Sibelius music notation software score for Rape of Europa, a PBS documentary to air November 24. “I used a nice chamber orchestra,” he says. “One of the producers questioned, ‘The samples sound great; do www.proaudioreview.com October 2008 | ProAudio Review | 47 http://www.thatcorp.com http://www.thatcorp.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.