Hey everyone,

I was wondering what program I should get that would allow me to compose my own music for a film without it sounding too "student-filmish" (not that its a bad thing, lol). I want to get as close as possible to creating a real movie score.

Also, what type of keyboard should I get to hook up to the computer (or is one even necessary)? How much would all of this cost?

I will be attempting to create my own original movie scores completely from scratch (not with loops)

By the way, I have an Apple iMac running Mac OS X.

Thanks!

i dont like those programs that make music, well I've never tried one but every studentfilm thats has composed music by one of those programs has never sounded good to me.

I just use a piano or record sounds I hear outside. and I have no idea how to correctly play a piano, but Its fun.

fun

Thanks for your input. I noticed that too about studentfilms that use composed music.

But I most likely find that the music in my films rises the suspense and overall mood incredibly. And I am trying not to use copywrighted music anymore.

I would use the piano, but it just doesn't fit the movie I am working on.

Ok this might sound kinda strange, but whenever I am writing the script to a film, a completely original tune randomly pops into my head while writing.

Does anyone know if it is possible to create a score that sounds good with any software? I know what I want with the soundtrack, and I can assure you that it isn't corny or bad.
How much skill would it require to transfer the tune I want onto the software program?

hey thats pretty cool that music can just pop into your head like that. stuff like that happens to me sometimes when I'm falling asleep, I'll hear a great sounding piece but I'm too lazy to move and write it down.

I really want to help you out, but I can't understand your particular interest/background.
As an introduction, I'll break it down into three categories:

1- Loop-based software: you already stated you don't want these, but this might be a good starting point to sketch what you want in terms of genre/mood. In the event that you decide it's too much work to write the music yourself, I'm sure you'll save the composer some time by handing him/her these. The one problem is, that these programs use audio loops of real instruments. While you could have a sampler instead of/in addition to a keyboard, chances are your sequenced music will still sound inexpressive when using synth/sampled sounds (specially if this is your first attempt), compared to the loops.

2- Notation software: I'm incluiding these here, since you never indicated you play any instrument, or the piano/keyboard you plan on buying. Most sequencers (see below) tend to be less user-friendly for non-players, and you might find it easier to step-edit every note (write one by one, instead of playing in real time). Of course, I'm talking about the notation programs that can play what you write, though I'm pretty sure most of 'em do. Whether they do it accurately or not is another subject.

3- Sequencers: Most of these, as I said, depend on you being able to play what you need in real time (though you can have the click set real slow), though you can edit it later (if you record MIDI first, then convert to audio). The good thing is most of these programs integrate MIDI programming, audio recording, and a good amount of editing functions in both, so you can blend in MIDI sounds from your keyboard (I would strongly suggest getting at least a soft-sampler), real instruments recorded directly to your computer, and eventually, loops you might find on Sample CDs, or other loop-based software you might already have.

But from what I understand, you're also the director (and/or maybe producer, DP...?). And knowing software in any of the categories I listed to the point where you don;t have to stop every two minutes to figure something out could take over a month of continuous dedication, even if you already know how to play an instrument and/or write music. Not to mention the more technical issues associated with recording, mixing, and mastering your track(s). Unless you've mastered the other tasks you're involved with in this film, and you have too much free time that you can use to sit down and figure things out, I think you might be making this a little too hard for yourself.

But if you need more advice on specific software in any of these categories, let me know and I'll do my best to help you out.

Peace,

E.

I don't know how it's done but it is totally possible to create incredible orchestral films scores with software synthesizers. The technology relies on recordings of actual instruments for each note, I think, and is often played with a MIDI keyboard.

TD, that would be a soft sampler...

Ok, cool. Well, my composers both do it that way and it's almost indistinguishable from a real film score. It doesn't sound tinny or anything Totally awesome.

Yeah, they're the next best thing...

On many instrument banks you have to work your way around its deficiencies (like overlaping string notes a little bit when you need more legato -smooth- passages), others are not very versatile (once I had to write a Salsa arrangement, checked out about 6 trumpet sample CDs, and none had the sound I needed).

We're now pretty much obligated to be tech-savvy, not only to deliver professional sounding recordings/demos of our stuff, but also to be able to play around mixing and matching samples/loops/synths when we want a certain thing that doesn't come ready to use on a CD, or -lest we forget- we can't find a proficient player who's as willing to give away his/her work as we do.

So sometimes you're doing three or four times the work, specially if you're working for credit/copy/meals/spec type deals, and you're unable to hire an assistant to take care of that while you focus on the music itself.

But please don't misread my comments... I'm not talking about student films, which have little to no budget (and why should they). I'm talking about this trend carrying on to the indie scene a whole lot these days. But that's a whole different thread....

E.

here's an easy and cheap solution that i acknowledge is not as advanced as the above, but it sounds good and works for people on a shoestring budget who don't want to sound synth.

use Apple's Jam Pack 4 with Garageband.

Jam Pack 4 is thousands of orchestra samples. they actually sound really fricken good if you use them right, no joke. i've heard this put to GREAT use.

you probably have Garageband already, but if you don't, its $79 with the iLife bundle. Jam Pack 4 is $99. not bad for what you get.

Thanks everyone for your help!!

I decided to start living in reality...I don't think I have enough time to compose my own music from what I've heard.

I think I am going to get Jam Pack 4, either that or buy the new "Soundtrack Pro" Program out (my friend insists that I buy it).

Haha, you can all see how successful this attempt comes out when I finish my next film. I will make sure I let you all know when I get it on this site. Could be a while though.

Once again, thanks for all your help!

Soundtrack is decent, but the problem with it is that there are all loops. You don't really get to make your own music. And they're overused too, and recognizable. I even heard an ESPN golf show use some of their loops. It actually made me mad, because they can obviously afford to make better music.

If you want to spend a little bit more money, I would say you should invest in Logic Pro. If you buy it at the educational price, it's 300 I think. That may sound like a lot, but it's a 1000 dollar program, and it's DEFINITELY worth it. It takes a little getting use to, but after you figure it out, it's smooth sailing, and it's awesome. The orchestral instruments sound real, if you just tweek it a little bit. In fact, sometimes you don't even have to tweek the controls - it'll just sound real any way.

Garageband is a good program if you hook a midi keyboard into your computer. Otherwise, it's hard to make music because you have to use your mouse to click on the on-screen piano keys. But with Logic, you can use your computer keyboard as a piano! It's SO helpful.

Okay, that's it, I am done plugging Logic.

If you want to hear some examples of what you can do with Logic, check out this site: http://www.bandlookup.com/post/artist.php?aid=2028
There are a few "soundtrack-like" songs on there that I made using Logic. The songs "Sunspots," "Crushed Lead," and "Until I Disappear." Just click the black speaker button to listen to them. (oh, and if you want to check out other songs I made with logic, check out "Webster's New World" and "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Finding It").

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Durden,

Hey Durden...
I work on Digital Performer most of the time (for some audio recording and most mastering I use Pro-Tools)...
Have you ever tried it? And if so... How does Logic compare to it?
I have some colleagues who have made the switch and they're pretty happy with the results, I just want some new opinions.

E.

I have not worked on Digital Performer, so I would not know how it compares. But I am pretty happy with Logic. The only problem I have with it is that the software horn instruments are not too good. I'm sure there is probably a plug in somewhere for that, but I haven't gotten it yet.

I'll have to check out Digital Performer though. See how it compares to Logic.

Thank you!!!

I looked up Logic and it looks perfect. EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR

Danny

I use FLStudio and Reason for compositions. I have very high quality samples for the orchestral stuff. heres an example of something I did for a video game mod... id show you something for film score, but i dont have that hosted anywhere.

PDark-Mod -> Chicago Theme

Hey Trent, welcome.

I listened to your track, and I beg to differ on the "high quality orchestral samples"... I think most of the strings are mixed to sound almost like good synth strings (though I see that they would hardly blend in with the loop if mixed otherwise). As high quality as they might be, you don't seem to need as much, not for this particular track anyway. The Vns entrance was particularly... blunt, I guess. It seemed to lack that minimal (natural) fade in string players will get when bowing into loud dynamics.

Besides that, and as pointless as it is to judge music that is set to images (the game, in this case) without the images, I'll say this: I found the arpeggio idea tiresome. Switching (well, sort of) background and foreground instruments was good, and to my taste should have happened earlier in the piece; some more prominent melodic material might have taken some attention away from the arpeggio as well. You have some nice harmonies and textures towards the end, with the... er... muted harp? Whatever that's supposed to be, I liked it.

And the loop was really good.

Since you posted the link, I thought you might appreciate some feedback...

Peace,

E.

quote:

Originally posted by Emilio D. Miler:
The Vns entrance was particularly... blunt, I guess. It seemed to lack that minimal (natural) fade in string players will get when bowing into loud dynamics.

First off, thanks a lot for the feedback, its greatly appreciated

About that blunt entrance of the violins, that was a mistake I made and was too lazy to fix. but yeah i agree it is a little too abrupt

Hey guys,

I'm pretty much looking for the same, but I'm on a WinXP computer. What would you recommend? Noting that Logic Express is for Mac and Digital Performer as well I think.

Hey there, Gotan.

I'm Mac based, but I think the PC standard might be Cubase, and I've heard great things about Nuendo, but never seen it working, and don't even know if it would be in the same category....

But until a PC colleague drops by and gives a more informed answer, you might want to check those two out.

Best,

E.