RECORDING September 2022 - 38

Ramin
Djawadi
Two
Decades
in the
Game
of Scoring
Logic is always listening!
[Laughs] Exactly! Back to working alongside
Pro Tools, because I am working back
and forth with rendered tracks and stems,
everything works pretty well. Even with
time stamping, which is critical in the film
world. Even if something is recorded in Pro
Tools, I can fly it into Logic, and it snaps
right to the timecode flawlessly.
When you render your stems
to send to the mix engineer or
the dub stage, are you sending
dry tracks? Do you commit your
effects or send both?
Everything always gets delivered how
I would like it to sound. Once in a while,
I will get requests to change something
or send the source track.
One exception is when you see a musician
playing music on screen. Those
tracks I always deliver dry so that the
engineers on the dub stage can place it
correctly in the room in the scene.
AH: How often does the director
weigh in on the score, or is
there anyone else you have to
get approvals through before a
score is final?
It's always a collaboration. I definitely
cannot just write whatever I want. The
producers, the director and even the studio
will get involved at some point, and
then you just hope everybody likes it.
AH: That has to be tricky
sometimes. I would guess you
almost can't be too precious
and have to be willing to be
flexible. Even if it's something
you might be attached to 100%.
I always like to say, if I write something
and I think it's the best piece I've
ever written, and they don't like it, I
can go and play it in my car all day
long and still think it's great. But if they
don't like it, I need to change it. To be
a good collaborator means I must figure
out how to make the changes but still be
able to stand behind the piece.
I know that often I finish a mix,
and my client is happy, but I
might have that one part like a
snare drum I think is too loud.
No one else hears it, but it will
bug me forever. Does that ever
happen to you when listening
to a soundtrack or watching a
movie you did?
I do that all the time. Especially in
such a deadline-driven profession. Still, I
think if I didn't have a deadline, I would
tweak and tweak and tweak, and oh,
one more time ... [everyone laughs]
I'm glad it's not just me.
AH: One of the most powerful
pieces you have done that really
resonated with me is " Light of the
Seven " from Game of Thrones.
The way it builds tension during
the whole trial sequence is
hauntingly beautiful.
Thank you, that piece definitely has
a special place in my heart. The story
behind that piece is that the showrunners
knew that they wanted something
different for that scene, and that's how
the idea to use the piano was born. We
decided to use an instrument in the score
that had not been used anywhere for the
show's first six seasons.
That's why it had such an impact. The
minute that first note was hit, the viewer
was like, " Wait, it's a piano. Where does
that come from? " And like you said, it's
so slow, dragged out and sparse. It was
a very special moment. There was even
some debate-should we use a piano,
maybe we were going too far? I actually
rearranged it for harp, and it just didn't
have the same impact. So we said, " No,
no, no, it has to be the piano. "
AH: How often are you
referencing sound effects and
dialogue while composing?
I try, but it's hard to do because of tight
schedules and everything happening in
parallel. As soon as I have my demos
done, I send that out to the sound effects
guys so they can create their sounds for
it. Once they have those going, it comes
back to me so I can edit my tracks to
make sure that things will cut through.
But ultimately, it comes down to the final
mix on the dub stage.
Sometimes the decisions you make in
the writing process-to push something or
fill out a section with music because it just
feels empty at the time-will change when
you get to the dub stage. The other sounds
come in, you realize you did not need any
of that, so let's take out all the percussion,
for instance. Sometimes it's the opposite,
and the decision might be to make something
just a musical moment. It's a fascinating
and creative process.
Ramin, thank you for your
insights!
AH: Yes, thanks. This has been
great!
Thank you, guys. I really enjoyed this!
38 RECORDING September 2022

RECORDING September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of RECORDING September 2022

Fade In
Fast Forward
Audeze LCD-5
Plugin Outlet: Slate Digital FG-DS 902
Session Log: Bleed and Leakage with Lou Reed, Part 2
AKAI Professional MPC Key 61
Mixing My Band: Üfer Two More Skip the Last
Soundware Showcase: KeyPleezer LivingRoom Upright
Ramin Djawadi: Two Decades in the Game of Scoring
The Latest in Logic Pro
Bettermaker Stereo Passive Equalizer
PSI Audio A17-M (new) Studio Monitors
Under the Influence of Dolby Atmos—Talking with Jonathan Morrison
Soundware Showcase: GoranGrooves Handy Drums
Inside The Studio With Mark Hornsby: Mixing the Tom Hemby Band
API Select T25 Tube Compressor
Plugin Outlet: Audified MixChecker Pro
Inside The Box with Joe Albano: Virtual Tape
Plugin Outlet: Arturia FX Collection 3
Fade Out
RECORDING September 2022 - Intro
RECORDING September 2022 - Cover1
RECORDING September 2022 - Cover2
RECORDING September 2022 - 1
RECORDING September 2022 - 2
RECORDING September 2022 - 3
RECORDING September 2022 - Fade In
RECORDING September 2022 - 5
RECORDING September 2022 - 6
RECORDING September 2022 - 7
RECORDING September 2022 - Fast Forward
RECORDING September 2022 - 9
RECORDING September 2022 - Audeze LCD-5
RECORDING September 2022 - 11
RECORDING September 2022 - Plugin Outlet: Slate Digital FG-DS 902
RECORDING September 2022 - 13
RECORDING September 2022 - Session Log: Bleed and Leakage with Lou Reed, Part 2
RECORDING September 2022 - 15
RECORDING September 2022 - 16
RECORDING September 2022 - 17
RECORDING September 2022 - 18
RECORDING September 2022 - 19
RECORDING September 2022 - AKAI Professional MPC Key 61
RECORDING September 2022 - 21
RECORDING September 2022 - 22
RECORDING September 2022 - 23
RECORDING September 2022 - 24
RECORDING September 2022 - 25
RECORDING September 2022 - Mixing My Band: Üfer Two More Skip the Last
RECORDING September 2022 - 27
RECORDING September 2022 - 28
RECORDING September 2022 - 29
RECORDING September 2022 - Soundware Showcase: KeyPleezer LivingRoom Upright
RECORDING September 2022 - 31
RECORDING September 2022 - Ramin Djawadi: Two Decades in the Game of Scoring
RECORDING September 2022 - 33
RECORDING September 2022 - 34
RECORDING September 2022 - 35
RECORDING September 2022 - 36
RECORDING September 2022 - 37
RECORDING September 2022 - 38
RECORDING September 2022 - 39
RECORDING September 2022 - The Latest in Logic Pro
RECORDING September 2022 - 41
RECORDING September 2022 - Bettermaker Stereo Passive Equalizer
RECORDING September 2022 - 43
RECORDING September 2022 - PSI Audio A17-M (new) Studio Monitors
RECORDING September 2022 - 45
RECORDING September 2022 - Under the Influence of Dolby Atmos—Talking with Jonathan Morrison
RECORDING September 2022 - 47
RECORDING September 2022 - Soundware Showcase: GoranGrooves Handy Drums
RECORDING September 2022 - 49
RECORDING September 2022 - Inside The Studio With Mark Hornsby: Mixing the Tom Hemby Band
RECORDING September 2022 - 51
RECORDING September 2022 - 52
RECORDING September 2022 - 53
RECORDING September 2022 - API Select T25 Tube Compressor
RECORDING September 2022 - 55
RECORDING September 2022 - Plugin Outlet: Audified MixChecker Pro
RECORDING September 2022 - 57
RECORDING September 2022 - Inside The Box with Joe Albano: Virtual Tape
RECORDING September 2022 - 59
RECORDING September 2022 - 60
RECORDING September 2022 - 61
RECORDING September 2022 - Plugin Outlet: Arturia FX Collection 3
RECORDING September 2022 - 63
RECORDING September 2022 - 64
RECORDING September 2022 - 65
RECORDING September 2022 - 66
RECORDING September 2022 - 67
RECORDING September 2022 - 68
RECORDING September 2022 - 69
RECORDING September 2022 - 70
RECORDING September 2022 - 71
RECORDING September 2022 - Fade Out
RECORDING September 2022 - Cover3
RECORDING September 2022 - Cover4
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