3-Part Epic Instrumental - Help

[hroggero]

Hi - thanks for checking this demo out. I have been trying to improve my mixing and mastering over the last few years. I received some interesting feedback from a few submissions that pointed me in the right direction, but I keep getting that my strings are not cinematic enough; not sure what this means entirely. I suspect there are other areas of improvements. Feedback is welcome and appreciated in all aspects of this composition.

https://soundcloud.com/herve_roggero/th ... al_sharing

Thanks!
Herve

[WSAO]

Hi mate,

I'm not specialist in this genre (although I love it)
Quick listening, some parts are sounding almost clipping and I miss a bit o mid frequency in general.
Maybe use a reference song in the same style and check what areas are sounding different.
Anyway the track it self is very good, but to sound more realistic, it may need a bit more work.
This forum has some guys with great experience in this area. Hopefully some of them will give you a more detailed feedback about articulation and mixing.
Cheers!
Andre

[hroggero]

Thank you very much for taking the time to post your feedback. I will certainly look into the mids more specifically; I reduced the bass by a whole lot hoping it would be the mids up some but perhaps not enough. Thanks!

[hroggero]

Oh... great feedback! I can see how this would intensify the dramatic aspect of this music. Thank you.

[edmondredd]

Hey Herve!
You have a really nice piece of music here, and before going into the technicals, having an idea of where you want to go could greatly help.
Three-part epic instrumental, cinematic, or any other term is very generic and won't, in my mind, get you the results you want to achieve.
Let me give you a quick example: The soundtracks of Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Frozen are all cinematic music. Do they "feel" the same?
So in order to better get to where you want, I suppose you could start by picking the pieces you like and trying to emulate the feeling.

Having said that, and sorry for the long introduction, here are a couple of things that could help you achieve more using orchestral samples:
1. Don't play the orchestra as a piano player would; instead, split it into its core instruments and play each section on its own, especially the string section. 
2. Use the different articulations, just like Telefunkin suggested, to highlight different parts. Using one articulation all through is like playing the same note over and over.
3. The orchestra has been designed to cover the frequency range, from the tubas in the lows to the piccolo in the highs (other than the percussion section). Use it to your advantage.
4. Orchestration is another subject that could elevate your tunes as well. Some instruments work well together; use them.

I suppose those ideas could be enough to get you started. 
If you have any questions or if any of that needs more clarification, feel free to ask

[hroggero]

Thank you Edmond for your suggestions and thoughtful pointers. Your feedback, and previous ones, gave me a lot to work on; I started to incorporate them progressively.

As an aside, I totally understand the need to create a more engaging 3rd part, I can hear it now. After listening to various kinds of trailers, I ended up using the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as a general pointer, which appears to have fairly constant legatos until the end, relying on war drums to break the monotony of legatos. There are additional sound effects perhaps that also keep it interesting throughout. Tricky balance...

Thanks again! This has been extremely useful!