So now with the deadline for the project just a few weeks away, and the Satsuma project progressing quite slowly, I want to finish everything I can now so that I don’t have to worry about it later.
I’ve started writing the final score for Satsuma. Unfortunately I can’t do it to the rough cut of the project that I had to eventually rip off of YouTube as my plan for the music was to write it in segments. Throughout the film where the main character (as forth known as ‘The Man’) drifts back to the memories of his ex-wife, how they met and their wedding. For the score I am composing two layers of music to symbolise real life and the memory. The music for the modern day is led by a piano which is rich, warm and layered with strings to accompany the chords.
Instead I am composing to the initial animatic, which is incredibly annoying as when the final cut is finished the timings will have changed of course. The satsuma team are all still perfectly happy with my idea’s for the music and I already have the basis down. (shown below)
This is the basis of the composition from which I will build the whole piece around. On there are a few simple instruments to really capture the element of the film. There are two piano’s and a pair of strings ensembles.
The main piano that symbolises the modern day is Logics own, this is due to a lack of funds to buy proper VST based sampled piano’s such as Native Instruments ‘The Gentleman’ or ‘The Maverick’ both sampled instruments from vintage upright built piano’s that were built in the early 1900’s. These sampled instruments offer a wide dynamic range, with a balanced tone offering an ensemble of lush sound, They sound absolutely beautiful.
Both of these sampled instruments come with a variety of features to boost and adjust the quality of your sound, instead of just having creative control over the frequency and ADSR filters like in the ESX24 (Where logic’s piano is stored)
(ESX24)
Instead they (The Gentleman & The Maverick) offer a variety of parameters and controls to adjust the levels of the: Pedals, String and Hammer sounds. You can alter the timbre with the colour controls, expand the dynamic range, adjust the brightness of the two and with the inbuilt effects from Native Instruments you can add all the effects you want within the interface and not straining the CPU on your computer any more than you have to …. Fantastic! And all of these sample based instruments all run in Native Instruments own sampler Kontact (which I swear by)
However, for the second piano I used possibly one of my all time favourite plug ins … Alchemy!
Alchemy
At first Alchemy was a additive synthesiser created by the wonderful people of Camel Audio but two years ago, they discontinued the synthesiser (I’m still unsure why) In the end Apple bought out the rights for Alchemy from Camel Audio and added it to the update of Logic X (Logic X v. 10.2) and was available for free!
As you can see Alchemy has a mass library with all the instruments, components and synthesisers you may ever need… but there’s more.
As an additive synthesiser, it allows you to build your sound from the ground up! allowing you to layer up to four different oscillators or ‘sources’ whilst also offering control over the filters, ADSR, Modulation, Arps, Sequencers (for performance), LFO’s, X/Y Pads and the Master controls. As a final note, all of the effects, filters can be mapped to any one of the controls on the interface so that they may be controlled and modulated over a set period of time! By far logic’s best upgrade!
The piano I used is a very lucid piano, filtered with a vinyl warmth to it, I used it to symbolise both the innocence and the positive emotions of what once were. The two piano’s are designed to blend together whilst also being distinctive from one another. An example below is shown.
Other elements in the basis are the strings, again the strings are logics own as I can’t afford a copy of Native Instruments ‘session strings pro’ ’emotive strings’ or any of the EastWest sample packs.
Session strings allows the composer to sort through 29 articulations of recorded and sampled live string ensembles, from violins, cello’s, double bass and viola’s. You can compose with a maximum of a 11 piece ensemble at any one time. Much like ‘The Maverick’ and ‘The Gentleman’ session strings allows you to take control of more than the basic components to get the greatest expression out of the performance. Within the interface you can interchange between the phrases, articulation and the mode in which they are played, such as chords. You can also edit and change your pattern smoothly by using the easy fader functions which dictates the prominence of each function, see below.
Session Strings Pro is an upgrade to Native Instruments initial product Session Strings, it basically add’s on the features shown above and allows you to be more versatile and dynamic with your composure.
Emotive Strings is very similar to Session Strings Pro, but with a layout and function of Native Instruments product ‘Action Strings’ (which I do have) unfortunately Action Strings is designed in a stacacto articulation, and as I’m composing a softer more gentle piece for Satsuma, it doesn’t quite fit the criteria for the ‘feel’ I’m going for.
As mentioned Emotive strings is the sister product to action strings and samples once again a live orchestra playing legato phrases.
Through the interface you can edit the tonality of the strings however you like, through the recording process, samples where created with various microphone positions and in the interface you can adjust the parameters for the microphone position, to almost emulate how you would record your own live string ensemble. You can also adjust the stereo image and the EQ. But the real quality of this VST is in the performance page.
In this page you can select from a wide range of patterns from which you want the strings to be played… they can come in loop form and you can insert them by using the appropriate key to do so, or you can play your own melodies, so it’s extremely versatile.
One again however I am using logic’s own library of stings which I have dampened with Reverb to fill out the space in the stereo field and to try and add more presence to them. As Moroz stated in his book ‘How To Be A Sound Designer’ know how to use what you have to the best of your ability before expanding on more equipment, because then you’ll need less time having to learn new tips and tricks.