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my feeling is that the main road block is the goal being unrealisticly high.
We've all been chipping in on many crowd founding projects by now. And this one doesn't stand the comparison with previous re-recording projects.
I chipped in, but after a week or two. Because my first reaction when I saw the goal was "Wow! they'll never succeed".
- Our passion is a niche, we aren't as many as we would like to think we are.
- I honestly had never heard of these movies before this campaign. And I beleive I'm not the only one. The score for The Hand is very similar to Wolfen and a couple horror flicks he did at the time. I love this period in his body of work but I assume many more people prefer his 90s onward works.
- and lastely, the launch video isn't very appealing to start with.
I really wish this campaign could reach its goal. I even started to think of making my own ad video to post on social networks to help boost the interest, but my work is keeping me very busy and I hardly have time and energy to do it.
Not your job - it's the job of the label doing the Kickstarter. Intrada has lucked out doing its campaigns by letting people on FSM do the work. This goal is ridiculous and no amount of page count on FSM is going to get this funded unless the family Horner puts up the rest of the money.
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Bruce, while you're here and discussing Kickstarter campaigns, can you briefly share any progress on your own plans? In the last Intrada Kickstarter thread, I recall you saying you were in some preliminary stages of work on a film music re-recording campaign of your own, in this thread I started here:
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=151088&forumID=1&archive=0
I think you were a little miffed that the one you were interested in was on Intrada's list of ten titles they were considering and looking for feedback on?
But assuming it wasn't one of their top two vote-winners (far ahead of any competition), I kinda don't think you have to worry about it. (You could always check with them personally, couldn't you, since they sell your CDs in their retail store?)
EDIT: Oh, I found the relevant part:
"Third of all, I'm fascinated that the title we've been thinking about, have talked to an orchestra about, have booked a conductor for, is on this list. Excellent - dueling recordings! Someone spilled the beans, I'm afraid. smile
Fourth of all, and the reason we haven't moved on it yet - hard to find the right time to do it and the right time to launch a campaign when there aren't other campaigns of similar interest going on. And since no one talks to each other, that becomes an interesting game in itself. You can't do a campaign of significance anywhere near another campaign of significance."
So... is this still in the works, I hope? You have excellent taste in film music, and especially if it's Night of the Hunter, I'm in!
Yavar
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Sure, whatever LP specialty label it is, that tends to care most about collectible packaging… it’s weird that WB will keep working with them but none of our regular CD specialty labels.
Yavar
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That is a psychological aspect about this I don't quite understand about some people who think differently than you and I: why not just pledge, regardless of the super high goal, if you're interested in this? It only gets charged to your card if it reaches goal, so what do you have to lose by pledging? At best, you help make what you want to happen, happen. At worst, nothing happens at all and you only lost a few minutes putting in your info to pledge.
James Horner is the most popular film composer in terms of album sales, after John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, so I really would have expected well over 400 people pledging by now, over a month into the campaign. But I guess there is something psychological about the high goal that just turns some people off.
Yavar
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To the entire FSM thread,
It is amazing that, after everything we have done in the past, since SLIPSTREAM (and this is
the last time I am going to write about this) Perseverance is still referred to as “the label that is
not liked very much on this board". Mistakes have been made, we learned from them, became
better and move on. There is no reason, whatsoever, to keep coming back to a single ‘incident’
for the rest of time.
Allow me to address all concerns and speculations in full transparency, hoping that this will
move things forward:
? The decision to re-record the complete scores to The Dresser and The Hand was made
based on the facts that 1) they have never been released before; especially The Hand
was a bucket list item for a lot of fans, hence, we are trying to make it a reality, since the
original recordings are not going to be released anytime soon (if ever), 2) we strongly
believe, both scores are beautifully written, each representative of their respective
genres. The Dresser, especially, is a short intimate score, featuring a lyrical, turmoiled,
and solemn theme performed by a Boy Soprano, and particularly sentimental to the
entire Horner family, as Sara points out in the video. The Hand is the exact opposite.
Long, aggressive, with a hauntingly beautiful theme, and ‘hair-rising’ moments,
utilising contemporary techniques, performed by a fairly large orchestra, heavy use of
audio FX e.g. the Echoplex, Craig Huxley’s Blaster Beam, all of which makes it a very
challenging and extremely interesting recording. 3) We believe, the music written for
these films is indicative of James Horner’s early work and what was about to follow
stylistically.
? The concert works was an idea added later, and we thought it would be a fantastic
opportunity to pair James Horner’s early film scores with his even earlier attempts in
writing music for the concert hall, on a double CD. Most of the works are indeed part
of the composer’s student days, and definitely NOT a sound fans of his music will
expect, when James Horner comes to mind. For that reason alone, the contrast between
his early music compared to what he came to be and become famous for, we were
thrilled to include and introduce them for the first time ever.
? COSTS: The reason that we are looking to raise such a high amount is that this is what
it costs us to prep, record, produce and release the album. As you have probably read
by now in our FAQ section of our Kickstarter campaign, and I quote: “Recording
sessions alone for both film scores and concert works, will cost approximately $75K.
The remaining amount is to cover reconstruction, music preparation, conducting,
Craig Huxley’s Blaster Beam, mixing and editing, mastering, liner notes, and artwork
design costs, PLUS Kickstarter's fees.” Let me add the cost for bringing on board the
rest of our guest artists – Matt Dunkley, Gloria Cheng, travel/accommodation
arrangements for the entire team, and you can all understand where the remaining
amount will go. The total amount of days spent in Prague for this project will be 15,
which for the uninitiated, means A LOT! We thought that bringing into the project
artists that are at the top of their game, among the industry’s elite musicians/performers,
respected and recognised by their peers worldwide, and as a PLUS a few of them have
either been part of the original recordings, or have worked with James on others, will
bring that extra ‘sparkle’ to the project. Obviously, it comes at a cost. We have
reached out for sponsorship, endorsement, and support to, many companies, James
Horner's former associates, friends, colleagues, as well as our label’s clientele and
collaborators. Furthermore, we have paid advertising running on Facebook and
Instagram social media platforms, which have reached as of today, approximately
40.000+ people, and going strong. Many of them came back with positive replies and
we are waiting for their final decision. Unfortunately, it is a time-consuming process.
? KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN: We are not experts in the field of crowdfunding, and it being our first one,
mistakes are expected to be made. When the campaign was initially launched, concerns
were raised about the high amount, and the details included in the story. You talked,
and we listened. The very next day we redesigned the entire ‘Story’ of the campaign to
include as many details as possible, based on the information available at the time and
the status of the project. There are no ‘hidden’ details we kept from you. What you read
in the campaign is what the project is about. We are keeping you up-to-date with
information, previews, etc. every week. All you must do is type in the comment section
if you have any questions and we’ll do our best to answer them. As for the video
introduction, we thought that it would be best to have something short and to the point,
leaving the rest to the written content of the campaign rather than bore you with the
sound of my voice. Regarding Sara Horner’s video, you have to understand that she is
a very busy person, getting A LOT of queries about everything Horner, and us asking
her to give her ‘blessing’ to this project and personally endorse it with a video, is a
privilege and a seal of approval, not to be taken lightly.
So far, when it comes to our campaign and the board here, we have only heard that it is a good
idea but way too expensive. It’s been 37 days and we have covered about 8% of our goal, which
is not looking good. I strongly believe that if during this period a lot of ‘digital’ ink was spent
on supporting and promoting this campaign through the various forums, groups, etc., instead of
questioning it – especially, since we did ‘answer’ to your call regarding costs breakdown,
transparency, and more details about the project – the percentage today would be MUCH
higher. Having said that, we are not asking you to support this project ‘in good faith’ as it was
stated in a comment or two. We have addressed every concern you may have had in the
beginning. We are very serious about this, and it is why the Horner Estate, the City of Prague
Philharmonic Orchestra, Gloria Cheng, Matt Dunkley, and Craig Huxley (so far), have agreed
to be part of this project.
Before concluding this message to you, consider this; if the campaign isn’t successful –
something we wholeheartedly believe won’t happen - no one loses a penny.
We at Perseverance, and I personally, along with all my associates and colleagues in this
massive undertaking, are inviting you to get behind this project, promote and support it to the
best of your ability, and any constructive criticism can be voiced after the campaign is finished - more will follow so there will be room to improve.
All this constant stream of (already addressed) concerns, comparisons, etc is only hurting it
than anything else. We strongly believe that if you get behind this project; BELIEVE in it, you
will be instrumental in getting it to the finish line in the remaining 23 days.
Let’s make this come true. We are not doing this because we want to get rich of it. We are doing
this for the passion and appreciation of the music.
For James
P.S. As far as the vinyl of The Hand is concerned, I am as speechless as you are. We did
approach a couple of LP labels to do such an album – as a limited-edition release right after the
initial CD album release - but it is not something that is possible to happen at this time. We will
try again after the recordings are done.
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Yavar, still thinking about it. Everyone I involved in the project two years ago still wants to do it. But this has become a bandwagon of sorts and every time I see a new one pop up, it just makes me want to not do it. I know it would get support here and I know we'd probably fund because having done ten or more successful Indiegogo campaigns, I know what works for me.
As I said, Intrada lucked out in that all the heavy lifting for promoting the campaign was done right here, plus the funding goal was not unreachable - but it was the daily cheerleading that took them over.
I think Robin probably thought, oh, that'll happen for us, too. It hasn't. All I know is what I know from my campaigns - it's a time-consuming thing, you have to make it so that people WANT to do it and for me that's keeping up daily postings everywhere until we get where we need to go. I've had eight people come to me asking for my help with their campaigns - I've told all of them if you really listen and do exactly what I tell you, you'll fund - and every one of them did. You can't badger, you can't try to force - that never ever works.
Intrada is Intrada. Robin can't expect others to do what he needs to do, him personally, every day of the week until the campaign ends. What the campaign has been doing clearly isn't working. In order for that to change, posting here is not going to change anything, unless all the defensive behavior stops and it becomes a positive thing.
That said, it is my experience that you must do fifteen to twenty percent of your goal in the first two days - if you don't, you normally don't fund, but that depends on the goal and how much cheerleading is going on. This goal, however noble the project may be, scares people off - why bother if you think it's not going to fund? Why give your cc if you don't have to? That's not the way to fund anything. And while Horner, thanks to Titanic, is a huge seller, he's certainly not John Williams in terms of drawing or name power. Anyway, them's my two centimes for whatever they're worth, which is probably nothing.
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Yavar, still thinking about it. Everyone I involved in the project two years ago still wants to do it. But this has become a bandwagon of sorts and every time I see a new one pop up, it just makes me want to not do it.
I don't really understand that, but glad you're still thinking about it I guess. The reason "this has become a bandwagon of sorts"... is because nine of out nine such new film music recording crowdfunding projects thus far have successfully funded! The only realistic way the bandwagon wouldn't have happened was if there hadn't been a pattern of success.
I know it would get support here and I know we'd probably fund because having done ten or more successful Indiegogo campaigns, I know what works for me.
I had no idea you'd done that many successfully, but I recall participating in one or two of them!  So again... why not try one for a new recording?
As I said, Intrada lucked out in that all the heavy lifting for promoting the campaign was done right here, plus the funding goal was not unreachable - but it was the daily cheerleading that took them over.
I think you would get similar support on this board, if you really thing it's that significant. But I think having a reasonable and achievable funding goal was far more significant, personally. Plus they had a fairly substantial and detailed initial pitch: several minutes of video, including sound clips of the scores proposed for re-recording, plus even more details in the written portion. Oh, and appealing pledge tiers.
I think Robin probably thought, oh, that'll happen for us, too. It hasn't. All I know is what I know from my campaigns - it's a time-consuming thing, you have to make it so that people WANT to do it and for me that's keeping up daily postings everywhere until we get where we need to go.
Yeah, I think that's correct. And you're good at that kind of thing! So again... why not give it a try? If you use Kickstarter instead of Indiegogo, backers have nothing to lose and I don't think Kickstarter charges you anything, either, if it fails to fund. So why not just give it a shot and see what support there is?
Yavar
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Robin, there was a lot of good stuff in your most recent post! I hope you won't mind if I suggest you turn a lot of it into your new launch video, if this run at the campaign fails and you're up for giving it another go. In fact, I'll roughly turn it into a script for you (combining it with the earlier video you made, posted on March 14):
"Hi folks! Robin Esterhammer here, of Perseverance Records. I'm very excited to announce our campaign to re-record two complete early scores by James Horner: The Hand and The Dresser. We picked these two works because they have never before been commercially released and both scores are beautifully written, each representative of their respective genres. The Dresser, especially, is a short intimate score, featuring a lyrical, turmoiled, and solemn theme performed by a Boy Soprano:"
[play excerpt of the film recording]
"This work is particularly sentimental, and significant to the entire Horner family. Here is a word from Sara Horner about this score:"
[Play half-minute Sara Horner video which was used as your initial launch video of this first campaign attempt]
"The Hand is the exact opposite. Long, aggressive, with a hauntingly beautiful theme, and ‘hair-rising’ moments, utilizing contemporary techniques, performed by a fairly large orchestra, heavy use of audio FX such as the Echoplex and Craig Huxley’s Blaster Beam, all of which make it a very challenging and extremely interesting recording. We believe the music written for these films is indicative of James Horner’s early work and what was about to follow from him stylistically as his career really took off."
[Play an excerpt from the film recording of The Hand...maybe something with a bit of effects or even dialogue over it, so the necessity of a new recording is emphasized.]
"We need to raise at least $60,000 in order to restore both scores from the original manuscripts provided by the Horner Estate, and newly record both of them with the acclaimed City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. This amount will also cover production and distribution of the subsequent album. While The Dresser is a fairly brief score, The Hand is for much larger forces and also requires the specialty one-of-a-kind instrument called the "blaster beam", made famous through its use in Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek: The Motion Picture as well as the subsequent two Star Trek film scores written by Horner. Original blaster beam inventor and instrumentalist Craig Huxley has agreed to join our project, re-creating the work he did for James at the original recording sessions over 40 years ago!"
[maybe an opportunity to play a brief clip from The Hand featuring the blaster beam prominently?]
"Once that minimum goal is reached for the two early Horner film scores, we will present a series of stretch goals, giving fans the opportunity to add world premiere recordings of his early concert works, which almost no one has ever heard. Here is a mockup excerpt from Dark Stories, a work finished in December of 1976:"
[play mockup of a highlight from that work, or substitute another work if it comes across better]
"As each stretch goal is met, we will announce a new one for another concert work album premiere. Each backer will receive these bonus Horner works, and if enough additional concert pieces are funded, the album will become a 2CD set at no extra charge! Once the two film scores are funded, YOU the fans can determine how much additional music will be recorded for this round. Thanks to the Horner Estate and Spectral Shimmers Productions, we have access to no less than fourteen early concert works, so there are plenty that could be restored and recorded for this campaign, as well as future campaigns to record early James Horner film scores. We look forward to you joining us on this exciting journey, of which this present campaign is a significant first step. Please spread the word to all of your film music friends, and friends of quality orchestral music.
For James!"
I think this is more than enough content for the video itself (you could probably even cut it down a little bit), and then you can provide additional details about costs and other things in the accompanying write-up. Whoever did the fancy video editing on your March 14 video did a great job! (Nice incorporation of some of the music in the background too.) You should definitely employ them for the MAIN video of the campaign which everyone will see, rather than hiding such slick work in a mere update video:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robes/james-horners-the-hand-and-the-dresser-complete-re-recordings/posts/4052401
Some additional replies to your post:
Let me add the cost for bringing on board the rest of our guest artists – Matt Dunkley, Gloria Cheng, travel/accommodation arrangements for the entire team, and you can all understand where the remaining
amount will go. The total amount of days spent in Prague for this project will be 15, which for the uninitiated, means A LOT!
I'm not sure we do all understand. 15 recording days is indeed a very long time. I'm pretty sure Intrada recorded On Dangerous Ground/The Man Who Knew Too Much over only TWO days with the RSNO...maybe three days, tops? (I think their Goldsmith twofer was only one day of sessions for Black Patch and half a day for The Man.)
I'm quite certain that The Hand + The Dresser does not amount to more minutes of music to "get in the can" than the 70+ minutes of Bernard Herrmann Intrada recorded. So...I think it should be possible to record those two scores in about two days? Maybe half a day for The Dresser with smaller ensemble, and then a day and a half tops for The Hand? If you calculate it taking longer... why?
So is it really going to take 12-13 DAYS (!!!) to record the 7 Horner concert works? Something about this math does not seem to add up, judging from past campaigns other labels have done. But yeah, if you're paying fees for multiple celebrity guest artists, PLUS lodging for all of them over more than two weeks... I can see how that adds up really quick! No offense to Gloria Cheng or Matt Dunkley who are excellent artists, but unlike Craig Huxley they do not seem absolutely *essential* to this project, so I don't think those costs should be baked in. Prague has good pianists and conductors who live in the area, and for whom you would not need backers to fund not only their (probably higher) fees, but also lodging for them over 2+ weeks!
We thought that bringing into the project artists that are at the top of their game, among the industry’s elite musicians/performers, respected and recognised by their peers worldwide, and as a PLUS a few of them have either been part of the original recordings, or have worked with James on others, will bring that extra ‘sparkle’ to the project. Obviously, it comes at a cost.
If the cost is the recording not happening at all because the goal is more than twice as high as it needs to be... I don't think that's worth it.
We have reached out for sponsorship, endorsement, and support to, many companies, James Horner's former associates, friends, colleagues, as well as our label’s clientele and collaborators. Furthermore, we have paid advertising running on Facebook and Instagram social media platforms, which have reached as of today, approximately 40.000+ people, and going strong. Many of them came back with positive replies and we are waiting for their final decision. Unfortunately, it is a time-consuming process.
40,000 people, really? Is that unique individuals? Because I've seen it advertised to me on FB probably a half dozen times or more, now, and I'm already a backer. I wonder if I counted as 6+ people, or only one. If you've really reached 40,000 people on FB (I'm guessing this is a targeted ad based on people liking classical/film music? If not, it SHOULD be -- the whole advantage to Facebook ads is that it can be targeted to people's FB "likes") then I'm actually very disheartened that less than 200 people have pledged so far. That means less than half of 1% of people who have seen the ad have pledged, so I really don't think you are getting your money's worth on it.
We are not experts in the field of crowdfunding, and it being our first one, mistakes are expected to be made. When the campaign was initially launched, concerns were raised about the high amount, and the details included in the story. You talked, and we listened. The very next day we redesigned the entire ‘Story’ of the campaign to include as many details as possible, based on the information available at the time and the status of the project. There are no ‘hidden’ details we kept from you.
I mean... as indicated above here are some details I am interested in:
1) Why does it require 15 days to record two film scores and seven concert works? (Are the concert works so long and substantial that they would each require more than a whole day of recording?)
2) How much is Matt Dunkley's fee for conducting, vs. a conductor based in Prague? How much is Gloria Cheng's fee, vs. a pianist based in Prague?
As for the video introduction, we thought that it would be best to have something short and to the point,
leaving the rest to the written content of the campaign rather than bore you with the sound of my voice.
Sorry but that was a misjudgement. If you don't feel comfortable recording the main campaign video, then maybe have your producer/orchestrator or someone else associated with the campaign do it?
Regarding Sara Horner’s video, you have to understand that she is a very busy person, getting A LOT of queries about everything Horner, and us asking her to give her ‘blessing’ to this project and personally endorse it with a video, is a privilege and a seal of approval, not to be taken lightly.
Absolutely! Getting her endorsement as well as that lovely half minute video from her is actually a BIG deal and you SHOULD be proud of it and feature it! But it should not be your launch video... at most it should be incorporated within it.
So far, when it comes to our campaign and the board here, we have only heard that it is a good idea but way too expensive. It’s been 37 days and we have covered about 8% of our goal, which is not looking good. I strongly believe that if during this period a lot of ‘digital’ ink was spent on supporting and promoting this campaign through the various forums, groups, etc., instead of questioning it – especially, since we did ‘answer’ to your call regarding costs breakdown, transparency, and more details about the project – the percentage today would be MUCH higher.
This is not going to win people over, Robin. This comes across like you blaming the fans for the state of your campaign rather than taking responsibility yourself. You actually got a lot of enthusiastic support in this thread up front, mixed in with some hesitation and questioning about the costs. Some people like me expressed both.
Having said that, we are not asking you to support this project ‘in good faith’ as it was stated in a comment or two. We have addressed every concern you may have had in the beginning. We are very serious about this, and it is why the Horner Estate, the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Gloria Cheng, Matt Dunkley, and Craig Huxley (so far), have agreed to be part of this project.
Surely the City of Prague Philharmonic, Matt Dunkley, Gloria Cheng, and Craig Huxley (so far) have agreed to be part of this project because they are going to be PAID, and not just purely out of love for James Horner (though I'm not in any way saying that's not part of it)?
Before concluding this message to you, consider this; if the campaign isn’t successful – something we wholeheartedly believe won’t happen - no one loses a penny.
Yeah, this is a point I've continued to make on your behalf, here, at JWFan, and on social media. But I guess a lot of people feel similarly to what Bruce described in his post above. I don't really understand it, if they have nothing to lose except a few minutes to input their info. Heck, if you've ever backed a Kickstarter before (such as the nine successful similar campaigns before this) you should have an account with them already, and even your credit card on file! So all one has to do in that case is simply log in.
We at Perseverance, and I personally, along with all my associates and colleagues in this massive undertaking, are inviting you to get behind this project, promote and support it to the best of your ability, and any constructive criticism can be voiced after the campaign is finished - more will follow so there will be room to improve. All this constant stream of (already addressed) concerns, comparisons, etc is only hurting it than anything else.
Again, I very much disagree with this. There aren't many people here who are rooting for you to fail. The constructive criticism some of us are offering is because we want you to succeed, but it seems like you shot yourself in the foot out of the gate, so to speak. I'm hoping you will take some of my feedback (and others') into account when/if you relaunch the campaign.
Or if Sara Horner is somehow waiting in the wings to put this across the finish line with a $100,000 donation, then GOOD FOR YOU! Good for us/everyone! I look forward to hearing those concert works in particular.
Yavar
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Posted: |
Apr 18, 2024 - 4:16 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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That is a bit odd, yes. Completely passed me by. Would be great to know what requires 15 days, exactly. I know that two scores and seven concert works aren't recorded in a hurry, but the amount of music isn't that massive, is it?
According to Wikipedia, John Williams recorded STAR WARS "over eight sessions at Anvil Studios in Denham, England on March 5, 8–12, 15 and 16, 1977." So less than 15 days. I don't know how long Shore took to record FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, but probably not 15 days either. And those are two of the most massive scores in history.
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Hello. I’m the project’s orchestrator and music producer. Nice to meet you all.
Thank you for supporting this undertaking and for your insightful comments.
About the sessions, the film scores – as of this moment – are going to be recorded over 4 days (2 sessions per day), and the concert works over 7 days (1 session rehearsal, and 1 session recording per day). That’s a total of 11 days.
Bear in mind that there is a significant amount of effects used in The Hand score, e.g. Echoplex, Reverb, etc. either per instrument or per section, thus, requiring quite a few overdubs, in order to have a ‘clean’ take and add said effects during mixing. PLUS, the music is quite challenging; detailed, precise, full of extended techniques, leaving us with no room for error if we are to capture the score's sound and essence as James Horner intended.
Concert music requires a different approach, and preparation. Each composition is different from the next, both in context, structure, instrumentation, and overall sound. Requires extensive rehearsal for the players to connect, and interpret the work, in collaboration with the conductor (where needed) and music producer.
We are taking 2 days off between sessions, to make necessary changes, listen to recorded takes, regroup, recharge, so we can be focused and on-task for the remaining sessions. Recording for 11 straight days is not advised. After a while, fatigue kicks in – body and mind – which affects the entire process. The remaining 2 days are for traveling to and from Prague.
As previously mentioned, the studio costs alone are $75K, of which approximately $30K is the cost for the concert works. The remaining amount (of the $129K) is for music reconstruction and preparation, artists, remote sessions (Blaster Beam), editing, mixing, mastering, artwork, liner notes, Kickstarter fees etc. As a side note, the total cost for the 2 guest artists – not including Craig Huxley who is indispensable as HE IS the Blaster Beam – is negligible, compared to the rest of the expenses.
Hope this clears things up a bit.
Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
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Hello. I’m the project’s orchestrator and music producer. Nice to meet you all.
Likewise! Thanks for chiming in here with more details.
Thank you for supporting this undertaking and for your insightful comments.
About the sessions, the film scores – as of this moment – are going to be recorded over 4 days (2 sessions per day),
So tell me if my math is wrong: isn't The Dresser short enough (over 10 minutes, probably around 15, but I'm pretty sure no more than 20!) that it would only take up a single (half day) session with smaller ensemble, on its own? So that means seven sessions for The Hand?
Bear in mind that there is a significant amount of effects used in The Hand score, e.g. Echoplex, Reverb, etc. either per instrument or per section, thus, requiring quite a few overdubs, in order to have a ‘clean’ take and add said effects during mixing. PLUS, the music is quite challenging; detailed, precise, full of extended techniques, leaving us with no room for error if we are to capture the score's sound and essence as James Horner intended.
Ok, this goes some way towards explaining why The Hand would require more sessions than expected for say a 50-60 minute score. But even so, recording only 10 minutes or less of music per 3-3.5 hour session still seems small.
and the concert works over 7 days (1 session rehearsal, and 1 session recording per day). That’s a total of 11 days.
This both tantalizes me and confuses me.... the former because it indicates these are actually quite substantial and complex concert works, each needing a full day to get in the can! So I'm guessing they are probably all over 15 minutes long at least, which is very exciting. (Intrada recorded the 15 minute long Goldsmith score The Man in a single half-day session, but that was a bunch of smaller cues so much less challenging to record than a through-composed longer concert work I imagine.)
The confusing part is that 7 days are required for the seven concert works and 4 days for the two film scores... and yet those were being saved for a surprise, and not mentioned up front! I don't know how big the ensembles for each work are (would be curious if you're able to share that info), but to me that looks like doing all seven concert works might actually be a *greater* expense than doing the two film scores, even though they weren't initially mentioned as part of the campaign!
Concert music requires a different approach, and preparation. Each composition is different from the next, both in context, structure, instrumentation, and overall sound. Requires extensive rehearsal for the players to connect, and interpret the work, in collaboration with the conductor (where needed) and music producer.
Yeah, I can understand this. But again it makes it seem like, per minute of music, these virtually unheard early concert works are maybe considerably more expensive to capture for album than the two film scores, for which at least film music fans have some idea as to the sound. (Or maybe they are still cheaper than The Hand, if they are for substantially smaller ensembles?)
We are taking 2 days off between sessions, to make necessary changes, listen to recorded takes, regroup, recharge, so we can be focused and on-task for the remaining sessions. Recording for 11 straight days is not advised. After a while, fatigue kicks in – body and mind – which affects the entire process. The remaining 2 days are for traveling to and from Prague.
So this makes sense to me too -- but then why bite off more than you can chew, in a single recording trip? Why not start with The Dresser + five concert works in one trip, so that you have 5-6 days of recording, and have that be the first Kickstarter campaign? And then if/when that is successful, you can move onto a *second* Kickstarter campaign for the more ambitious film score The Hand (requiring 7 sessions on its own because of overdubs/effects, not to mention requiring a much larger orchestra + blaster beam, etc.), and pair it with another couple concert works (again, maybe the concert works on each campaign should be bonus/stretch goals rather than included in the main goal)? I think the idea of doing one film score as the base of each campaign, and then adding as many early unknown concert works as stretch goals, makes much more sense rather than trying to go for two complete film scores + 7 concert works all in one go.
As previously mentioned, the studio costs alone are $75K, of which approximately $30K is the cost for the concert works. The remaining amount (of the $129K) is for music reconstruction and preparation, artists, remote sessions (Blaster Beam), editing, mixing, mastering, artwork, liner notes, Kickstarter fees etc.
So if the Blaster Beam is a "remote session", Craig Huxley wouldn't be going to Prague himself? So that's essentially an eighth session related to The Hand, in addition to seven being done in Prague? Man... I honestly had no conception of how expensive The Hand would be to re-record, seemingly requiring more than twice as many sessions just for it, than Intrada did for their entire 73 minute Bernard Herrmann twofer. I believe you that it's that complex, but I really think maybe it should be put off until a second campaign after you've already had the chance to prove yourselves with the first (The Dresser + a few concert works as stretch add-ons? Or another short Horner score like The Stone Boy?)
As a side note, the total cost for the 2 guest artists – not including Craig Huxley who is indispensable as HE IS the Blaster Beam – is negligible, compared to the rest of the expenses.
That's kinda surprising, considering Matt Dunkley (for example) is something of a "name" conductor here, so therefore probably charges a higher fee than a Prague-based conductor (it's not as if the City of Prague Philharmonic isn't regularly recording film music!), as well as having to pay for his round-trip plane ticket *and* 2+ weeks of lodging?
Hope this clears things up a bit.
Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Thanks for your openness about answering questions. I hope you won't take any offense at the new ones I've asked.
Yavar
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Thank you for your detailed reply. That makes total sense to me and really appreciate the efforts you are making to get this music performed correctly and out there.
I am keeping my fingers crossed this project gets off the ground.
Thank you for your support. We are doing everything we can to make this project a reality.
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