SON ZINE

2014

SUMMER ISSUE 2014 | #001Boutique Sampling Magazine

#01Tutorials

Scripting KSP Basics,

Track Techniques:

'Creating an epic track'

Reviews

John Debney's 'Predators'

Sonokinetic Highlights

Mark Isham Q&A

Features

Sonokinetic Orchestral Libraries

Galactic Invasion feature film

From Concept To GUI

WRITING AN EPIC ORCHESTRAL TRACK

USING SAMPLES

It’s never been more fun to create an epic sounding, trailer-style cue using just samples. The sounds available

from sample library producers like ProjectSAM, Cinesamples, Audiobro and of course Sonokinetic are first rate and utterly convincing when used in the cor-rect way. In this first issue of Sonozine I’ll guide you through the basic process of creating an epic orchestral cue, from selecting your sounds to the final mixing stage.

Choosing instruments and samples for an epic orchestral track is slightly differ-ent to the approach required for a more traditional orchestral mock-up. Just like baking a cake, the final result won’t be good unless you start with the right in-gredients so choose the highest-quality

samples that your budget can stretch to. There are plenty of cheaper ‘lite’ librar-ies on the market which retain an epic sound for a fraction of the price of their bigger brothers: Consider ProjectSAM Orchestral Essentials, Spitfire Albion I or Sonokinetic Da Capo for an all-round orchestral palette and then add smaller supplemental libraries to embellish your core orchestral sounds. When it comes to composing your cue, there are no ‘rules’ for epic music. Every sub-genre from hybrid dubstep-style through to more traditional styles can be heard underscoring movie trailers in 2014. Soaring brass and string melody lines over string and woodwind ostinati are common. These repeated string motifs can be an absolute giveaway that your

sample-based track is faking it, rather than using live instruments, so use tricks to avoid that dreaded machine-gun stac-cato effect. Using libraries that include spiccato / staccato round-robin samples is a good start. I also sometimes combine the divisi sections of two different sample libraries which will constantly change the played combination of samples. Phrase-based packages like Action Strings, Orchestral String Runs and Spiritoso go some way to minimising the artificial sound of repeated staccato notes at the cost of some flexibility. Sonokinetic’s own Minimal & Grosso use a different ap-proach and can yield great results for a ‘live’ sound.

“When it comes to composing there are no rules”

Percussion is usually used as embellish-ment in traditional orchestral pieces. However, with epic music you’ll want to use it liberally and often. Complex rhythms played on timpani, taiko, snares and sticks will drive the action of your cue. You can use individual hits and construct your own patterns with libraries such as CinePerc & EastWest Stormdrum series. Alternatively, use performance-sampled loops like Sonokinetic’s Grosso or H.I.P.P. Cymbal crescendi can be used to empha-sise rises in tension or smooth transitions between different sections of your cue.

Brass should be loud and proud, the 12 horn ensemble within CineBrass PRO is a great choice for a really boombastic sound. Alternatively you can build an ensemble using individual instruments within libraries like Da Capo. ProjectSAM’s Symphobia and OBC libraries also have a really big sound. For quieter moments, solo horn lines work especially well when set against sordino strings and woodwind chords.

Speaking of woods, these are used sparingly in most epic orchestral tracks. Simply doubling the ostinati or melody. The occasional flourish, run or trill will add interest and tension so utilise a library like Berlin Woodwinds for this.

Choir libraries are used to either supple-ment the melody or harmony lines, providing an ethereal tone, or as staccato shouts or effects to add drama. The huge range from Soundiron & 8Dio are very flexible. There are other elements which can regularly be heard in epic orchestral tracks: Often a synthesized sub-bass is used to provide low-end weight. This needn’t be more complex than a simple sine wave from your favorite synth, but for a more hybrid-style feel you might consider a more complex tone. Solo vocals samples can be used and these are often abstract ethnic improvisations, layered with plenty of reverb and delay (think Zimmer’s “Gladiator”). Sonokinetic and Eduardo Tarilonte produce a wealth of ethnic vocal libraries perfect for this. More unusual sounds can be utilized to add interest. SonicCouture have some great options and libraries like Evolve and A.I.R are brilliant for twisted textures which can be used as beds, underneath your orchestral instruments.Lastly, pre-recorded orchestral bangs and hits can be used to punctuate your piece when layering multi-sampled instru-ments just won’t cut it. Sonokinetic Tutti and Boom Library have some excellent options.

The final mix of your track is important although you may find that with careful sample and mic position selection from each library, you don’t need to process the channels a great deal. However, I’d always recommend a low-cut EQ filter on each individual track (around 30Hz) and a further subtle bell curve around the 500Hz mark. This will help each element sound cleaner. Since most sample librar-ies are recorded with some “baked-in” reverb, I often don’t worry about complex reverb routing for each individual track, preferring to apply a reverb to the entire master output to ‘glue’ the tracks together and create the ‘room’ feel. Convolution reverb plugins (such as Altiverb) are a great option for this as the impulse responses are recorded from a real-life space. A church or concert hall IR with a tail of more than 4 seconds will give your orchestra an epic presence. Be wary of the low-end of the frequency range which can easily become muddy when using lots

TRACK TECHNIQUES

of reverb. Most convolution IR plugins have an EQ control so put this to good use, cut-ting the reverb frequencies below around 200Hz. This will retain the clarity of the low-end percussion, brass and strings. Lastly, some multi-band compression and limiting will help to get your track up to the volume levels and punch of a commercial score. The presets from iZotope or Wavearts mas-tering plugin suites sound great without too much tweaking. Reuben Cornell