Client: “Oh, and we need a music bed for this presentation by tomorrow morning.”
Me: “….”.
Client: “Since its for a tradeshow, and will be looping the entire time, something simple and non-intrusive would be best.”
So I whipped this together and went straight to bed (I’d already been up 24 hours). It’s extremely simple. Stylus RMX + Omnisphere + EXS24 = percolating noises. Apparently I’ll get the chance to expand on this soundtrack once the presentation is converted into a stand-alone piece, complete with audio narrator, at some point in the future. At that point maybe I will post the whole presentation with the actual soundtrack, etc. Until then, this was a “fire and forget” project.
This is a sketch that was one of several options presented to a client. I think this track would work great behind underwater footage, like an ocean documentary or some sort of travel-channel scubafest.
Speaking of underwater - why don’t they rerun more of the old Jacques Cousteau specials on TV these days? Especially considering the popularity of movies like The Life Aquatic, which are obviously riffing on the JQ legend. Sidenote: can you believe that movie came out in 2004 - 5 years ago? How time flies…
Tools used on this track: Logic, EXS24, Spectrasonics Omnisphere & Stylus RMX.
Here is another sketch for the same project I mentioned in the previous post (The Wild Frontier). It is a 30 second logo spot / bumper. The client wanted something less orchestral and a bit more alternative, so I used rock instrumentation and fleshed it out with some blippy excitement.
The feeling with this track is “standard” enough, it could go lots of directions. Mainly “parent company” logo animations, with the beginning have a montage of people - as the music builds it speeds up and resolves into the logo at the end.
The ending is a little abrupt, but it’s just sketch, so I try not to spend too much time fussing until I know the client likes the style we are using.
This is a short 30 second bit that started as a sketch for a work project. Its the kind of thing that would be the opener / title sequence for a show on the Discovery Channel or the National Geographic Channel. It has traditional western orchestration with some world instruments, and an exciting driving beat.
I have been getting some serious mileage out of the Miroslav Philharmonik plugin recently - the samples are very high-quality, and, despite some initial confusion I experienced, the interface is pretty friendly. Now that I have a larger keyboard (thanks Tom!) I need to start to use some of the performance-controlling capabilities (controlling the bowing of violins and stuff like that).
Recently he posted a video to Vimeo that he made using the new Canon 5SD MkII camera - a new camera that can shoot high-definition video as well as still photography. Since it was released under a Creative Commons Attribution license, I took the liberty of creating a score for the sequence. Read the rest of this entry »
This is somewhere between a soundtrack and a soundscape, with little percussion / beats, and a sort of wandering structure that unfurls towards the end. I am no Brian Eno (although I am a fan of his), but I do like the ambient genre now and then. There is something psychologically liberating about working on a track once I’ve decided that it is evolving into an ambient thing, like at that point I can basically do anything I can think of.
In this case, that included appropriating a bit of Carl Sagan. The end result is something you might be able to listen to as you fall asleep.
Here is another soundtrack for a corporate-related video. This is a more worldly company, as you can tell from the slightly “world” rhythm track. Again, some breakdowns and build-ups that are based around interview segments and news clips.
This was my first time experimenting with Stylus RMX from Spectrasonics. It was very useful - I was able to quickly establish the basic rhythms I wanted, and get to the arrangements earlier than usual. If I can find a way to smoothly trigger Stylus RMX with my MIDI drums, it would be pretty hawt. But the Stylus RMX interface is not really geared for this, so we will see if I can work it out.
This is an experimental track I made while fooling around with some of the new plugins I was discussing in the previous post. It has an authentic “breakdown” - sort of an experiment in controlled chaos. I also played with some vocal transformations, which was amusing for a while. Now my ears are tired and I need to think about something else.
Please forgive the meandering ending segment, I barely escaped with my sanity. Don’t ask me to go back there again.
Arthur C. Clarke died last month. He was a visionary - and his brilliant mind, with Stanley Kubrick’s genius, is responsible for one of my favorite movies: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
One of the memorable traits of that film is the use of classical music to frame sequences of vehicles delicately dancing through the void. As much as I love these moments in the film, I have always agreed with Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra’s contention that “Space is the Place”.
There is something about laser beams, black holes, and big rockets that says “funk” to me. With that in mind, here is a space-funk riff for the next time you venture into the abyss.
I enjoy experimenting with the NNXT sampler in Reason. Multi-sampling instruments are lots of fun, especially now that websites like the Freesound Project make locating new sounds so easy. This short sequence was an excuse to test out one of the instruments I created, and also an attempt at creating an arpeggiator in Reason 3.0. Apparently Reason 4.0 has one built in, but I haven’t upgraded yet, so I have to fudge it using the Matrix pattern sequencer. If you are still using Reason 3.0 - here is how to do it:
Create a subtractor or any synth / sampler, with the patch you want to use
Create a Matrix Pattern Sequencer unit
Using the patch cord view, connect the Matrix Pattern Note CV output to the OSC Pitch input on your synth. Make sure the synth is connected to the Mixer, or some output (so you can hear the noise).
Then create a 4 or 6 0r 12 (or 32 - whatever) step sequence in your Matrix unit, and give it some random notes.
Hit the Matrix “run” button, and then switch to your synth and play some notes. Your notes should trigger the Matrix sequence.
Because this is not a true arpeggiator, it won’t be in tune in every key. So you will have to choose in-key notes for your Matrix sequence.
Here is a track for a non-existent video game. I’ve been doing some experiments with the Pipmak engine, and this music works well for a game in the Point-and-Click Myst-style genre.
Imagine yourself on a lonely desert planet that contains the ruins of an ancient civilization. You must solve puzzles and mysteries in order to unlock their secrets, and learn what wiped them out. Yes, its a cliche- but it works well in this genre.
0:00-0:54 - Intro sequence with Title screen menu loop
0:55-1:01 - Outro from menu into game
1:02-1:14 - Puzzle solved
1:15-3:05 - Ambient FX and music
This is music designed to fit with a questing / fantasy game. Something along the lines of the Zelda series: cute, fun, magical. Elves, mazes, tunnels, goblins, swords and armor, magic items…that sort of thing.
As you listen, you will hear the following segments:
INTRO (0:00): The music you hear during the main menu, before you start the game
EXPLORING (0:24): The general theme of the tune…traveling, questing
PUZZLE SOLVING (0:55): Presented with some sort of test / trial / puzzle
EXPLORING REVISITED (1:12): Back to the wandering theme, but fuller, more triumphant.
BATTLE (1:51): Attacked! Imagine the clashing of swords over this segment
DEAD (2:10): You sustained one blow too many, and keeled over. Hope you saved!
All of these instruments are MIDI instruments, tweaked and played in Logic Pro 8. I am a big fan of the toy piano sounds, I think they hold the whole piece together, and give it a fun feeling.
When I listen to this song, I envision some kind of scene in an glistening modern airport: a man running through the crowd. Desperately trying to reach the gate before the woman departs. Like something from the end of a John Hughes movie.
This is a background music loop for a multimedia presentation I made a couple years ago. Motorola hired me to create a Flash movie about a new technology they were showcasing. At this time I was using Cubase, I think. Just me and a keyboard.
This is a dramatic little idea that came together while I was playing with some ambient sound effect loops from the Apple library. You can hear some vinyl scratches and some gated drum parts, along with a guitar part and a keyboard part that I added into the mix. I sort of like the key change at the beginning…
