WHOOPS! BOMBED OUT ON THESE!

[ibanez468]

These 2 didn't make the cut, unfortunately. Oh well, 2 for 4 ain't bad, I guess. I wasn't banking on "A Decisive Moment", but I thought I'd give it a shot. However, I was hopin' that "The Serious Stage" would've been given some consideration. Can't win 'em all! BIG DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a Leading Video Game Developer of DS and Wii game titles. They are hoping to expand their catalog of music, and are needing a wide variety of Dramatic Orchestral Instrumentals as background music for future video games projects for the Wii game console. The style can range from suspense to excitement/adventure, from dark/brooding to happy/mellow - a wide range of emotions and dynamics are recommended for this.A Decisive MomentThe Serious StageI-468

[crs7string]

Ibanez,Great attitude about the returns. I think these tracks have potential for other listings.Just a couple of observations. During my mentor sessions at the Rally last year, my mentor listened to about 16 or so tracks on my Cd. The only critical comment was that my orchestral stuff was weak. I knew I had the right tools (East West Gold, Kontakt 2 (now 3) with VSL)I just hadn't spent the time learning how to use them.My goal after the Rally was to improve my orchestral recording.I've found one of the critical aspects of getting the sample libraries to speak was the use of CC11.(expression) Normally I record the notes on one track and CC11 on a second track.The subtle variation in volume on a horn sample or sustained clarinet note makes all the difference in the world.The other pitfall of sample libraries is combining sounds and creating an overall sound that ends up like a mediocre organ patch.In "Serious Stage" I hear a couple of places that sound like that. I think there is room to simplify the orchestration and add clarity to your ideas.BTW Alot of this I've learned from other folks on this forum and reading orchestration books and listening.The other trick I'm using regularly (stole this from Mazz who stole it from Matt Hirt) is using a solo string as the section leader. The three of us are using the Garritan Strad and Gofriller cello to accomplish this. These are very expressive instruments and add a tremendous amount of realism to a section. Fortunately for you,(meaning I'm not trying to get you to spend money) you can't buy them currently. Garritan is working on re-releasing these with their own player instead of Kontakt 2 Player.The folks that worked with Garritan to develop these have also released a solo trumpet http://www.samplemodeling.com/en/products.phpI also understand that a viola is in the works.Final observation is the piano on A Decisive Moment dosen't seem to fit the track as well as it could. Do you have other pianos to audition?Hope this is helpful.Chuck

[ibanez468]

Thanks for takin' a listen Chuck. Yeah, I'm tryin' ta' have a better attitude about returns and all. I think I'm slowly gettin' there, and I'm developing a better understanding of WHY somethin' may have gotten returned. But overall I'm just tryin' not ta' sweat it.I am familiar with CC11, but I can't recall if I actually used it or not when laying out some of the tracks for "The Serious Stage". I definitely used it for the brass section on A Decisive Moment. Uhhmm, I probably used it on the timpanis, I'm pretty sure, but can't recall how many other times I may have used it (or not). I'll make sure ta' keep that in mind, and possibly do some revising of certain sections of the tune. I may hafta' look into the solo string software and see what's up with that.That's a really cool trumpet software package there. I may get my hands on that at some point. Still tryin' ta' get some other things right now. I'm slowly catchin' up with the BIG DAWGS! (software that is) Yeah, I've got some other pianos I could use. I'd hafta' play around with that though. That tune has been forwarded once already as is. This was only my second time throwin' it out there. But I hear what you're sayin'. I'll try another one the next time I submit. It's currently pending for another submission, so we'll see what happens.This has been quite helpful. Thanks for the input. 'Preciate it.I-468 PS -- Personally, I didn't think that "A Decisive Moment" was a good fit for this listing because it was lacking on the "orchestral" side of things, but I thought the dramatic side of it might be enough ta' get it thru. Obviously, it just wasn't what they were looking for. I can accept that. Like I said, I wasn't banking on it, just thought I'd give it a shot.

[jh]

Mine got the big [R] as well I had an "aha" moment when I checked out the forwards.They were looking for "another kind of dramatic". Oh well, you live you learn - JH

[jamesolszewski]

I also use EWQLSO, if I could add my 2 cents. I'm a fan of CC11, as well as CC1 for some of the instruments. But don't discount the layered samples, how the timbre of the instrument changes from piano to forte. Here's what I do, which works for me anyway. I don't just rely on CC11 for dynamics; I try to perform the instrument using the dynamics of the patch itself, then tweak dynamics with CC1 (since some instruments cross-fade from sample to sample, so you also get the timbre changes). Then if the dynamics need further tweaking I finally go to CC11, which changes the volume of the instrument (but not the sample used).My wife asks me why I take so long to write an orchestral piece: that's why! # of parts * CC1 tweaks * CC11 tweaks = slow goin'!