 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
May 2, 2024 - 9:25 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
jkruppa
(Member)
|
The last few years I've been learning to work with MIDI and I recently started recreating various pieces from different scores, a few of which I've posted in other threads here. The latest, and most challenging so far, is Herrmann's "The Road and Finale" from Fahrenheit 451.
https://on.soundcloud.com/Krbx2Fbv1v5NxyyB8
I know other people are doing things like this, but I'm wondering if this is a viable option for producing film music where the recordings may be lost or prohibitively expensive to license for release, since something like this could be done for much less money than a recording session with full orchestra. Obviously, having actual musicians play scores is always preferable -- and if I were doing this for real, I would hire a few musicians to overdub parts and mix in with the MIDI -- but given the costs involved in producing a full score I was curious what everyone here thinks.
Another thing to keep in mind is that film scores today often contain MIDI elements with recordings of real musicians recorded and mixed in to bolster the sound and give a greater sense of realism, and depending on the budget some scores may be all MIDI.
The trick, of course, is using good libraries and programming the dynamics in properly for nuance and expression, which I can testify to being a painstaking process. The example posted above is admittedly not perfect and I could keep tinkering with it to make it better, but it was more an exercise to see what I could do, just working on it as I had time over the last couple of weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
May 3, 2024 - 11:41 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
jkruppa
(Member)
|
I see no reason to berate you about this project. That guy on Facebook sounds way off.
Recreating unreleased scores or other music via MIDI is certainly a nice way to get a 'general idea' of what it is, even if obviously won't replace an actual, proper recording.
I remember for years, the only way we could hear John Williams "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis" or "Fanfare for Ten-year-olds" were via MIDI recreations done by some fan. Eventually, we found other sources, even if they remain unreleased on a commercial level. Live footage (from which one could extract an mp3) of the Dukakis piece was found on a website, albeit in a terrible performance, while I personally contacted Charleston Symphony to get an early demo/studio recording of "10-year-olds". These would then supplant the MIDI versions. But I'm very thankful that we did have those MIDIs for -- I think -- close to two decades.
Thanks, I appreciate that.
Yes, nothing will ever replace real people playing real instruments in a good sounding space, led by a good conductor.
I'm most interested in things that may never get recorded for whatever reason, or even generating interest in something to say "Here's an idea of what it could sound like" as a proof of concept. Bill Wrobel on his Film Score Rundowns channel on youtube has done a good bit of Bernard Herrmann that's unreleased and in some cases unrecorded, and we all know of examples of other scores where the recordings are lost but the manuscripts still exist.
Anyway, just kicking this around. Here's another for the curious who may not have seen it in the other thread: "The Stars" from Herrmann's score for "The Lonely" from the Twilight Zone.
https://on.soundcloud.com/JsnQhjDcN3QCweoU8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maybe it’s just me but why in the hell do I have to download the SoundCloud app in order to play these? Because every time I click on the link to listen to one of these samples, it keeps wanting me to sign up for SoundCloud
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The last few years I've been learning to work with MIDI and I recently started recreating various pieces from different scores, a few of which I've posted in other threads here. The latest, and most challenging so far, is Herrmann's "The Road and Finale" from Fahrenheit 451.
https://on.soundcloud.com/Krbx2Fbv1v5NxyyB8
I know other people are doing things like this, but I'm wondering if this is a viable option for producing film music where the recordings may be lost or prohibitively expensive to license for release, since something like this could be done for much less money than a recording session with full orchestra. Obviously, having actual musicians play scores is always preferable -- and if I were doing this for real, I would hire a few musicians to overdub parts and mix in with the MIDI -- but given the costs involved in producing a full score I was curious what everyone here thinks.
Another thing to keep in mind is that film scores today often contain MIDI elements with recordings of real musicians recorded and mixed in to bolster the sound and give a greater sense of realism, and depending on the budget some scores may be all MIDI.
The trick, of course, is using good libraries and programming the dynamics in properly for nuance and expression, which I can testify to being a painstaking process. The example posted above is admittedly not perfect and I could keep tinkering with it to make it better, but it was more an exercise to see what I could do, just working on it as I had time over the last couple of weeks.
I have always thought -- and said over 20 years ago -- that the day will come when it will be possible to recreate any instrument to "perfection" electronically. That day is not here yet as far as I can tell, but we are getting closer and closer. I love real instruments and the sound of a natural orchestra, and am skeptical when it comes to recreating that sound with a "fake", electronic orchestra, but I have no doubt the day will come when no one can actually distinguish between the two by ear anymore. I enjoyed your take on Herrmann's "The Road and Finale", one of my favorite tracks from one of my favorite scores by Herrmann. It sounds very good to me (though I have only heard it here on my computer, not on my actual hifi system) and only goes to show how advanced MIDIs have become. An orchestral score fully recreated by MIDI is still a bit like a full "live action" movie without any actors, and my fear would still be that it will somehow feel "artificial". But as I said... we're getting there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I might have known that these were not the originals (maybe). But I would never have known that they were samples! Amazing work.
And kudos for tackling The Black Hole!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
