Music Scoring Setup

[skyy38]

Besides a computer,electronic keyboard and music software(thinking about Cakewalk "Music Creator")

what else do I need in order to do soundtracks for movies,videos etc.Please understand I am not looking to surround myself with a ton of tony gear-I just need the bare minimum in order to do the job.

 

Thanx.

[Superbobus]

Besides a printer and a MIDI interface I can't think of anything else. For notation software I like Sibelius best.

[MusicaL]

I know this sounds like a newbie question! It is!!

 

Is there a notation program that will automatically prepare chord charts or at least show chord symbols above the staves?

 

TIA

[synthetic]

Originally posted by skyy38:

Besides a computer,electronic keyboard and music software(thinking about Cakewalk "Music Creator")

what else do I need in order to do soundtracks for movies,videos etc.Please understand I am not looking to surround myself with a ton of tony gear-I just need the bare minimum in order to do the job.

Thanx.

- SVHS video deck, that's how most projects are delievered and they don't cost much more than VHS these days. Usually tapes have SMPTE (LTC) on Left, and production on the right. And a TV to watch it with, obviously. If you can afford a really nice video deck you will thank yourself later. Consumer decks take 2 seconds to go from play to rewind, and another 2 seconds to go from rewind to play. At the end of the day you want to kill.

- Sync box for the computer. Most decent MIDI interfaces have a SMPTE input, like the MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV. It would be nice if it controlled the audio clock as well if you're recording digital audio in the computer, becuase then it will stay in sync better.

- A good orchestral sample library. Gigastudio is recommended, or you could buy a Roland S-760 on eBay and the Roland orchestral library. No one wants to hear cheezeball general MIDI strings on their big romantic/dramatic/scary moment. Even techno-heavy scores usually have big orchestra behind them.

- A sequencing program which syncs to SMPTE or MIDI Timecode. Not all of them do. For example Pro Tools Free doesn't sync to timecode. Don't know about the Cakewalk product you mentioned. You can download Opcode Vision for free if you have a Mac.

- Lots of soundtrack CDs to study/get inspired by/rip off directly. The latter is more common than you think. Usually the director will have "temp" music on the track that he/she expects you to follow pretty directly.

- A decent reverb can make synth orchestral sounds a bit more realistic.

- Powered audio monitors that are shielded won't make your computer and video monitors turn green.

 

You can usually find work by putting a flyer up at a film school. Of course, plan on doing a lot of work for free until you have a greatest hits reel you can put together.

 

Good luck, -jl

[Dave Horne]

 

I'm a keyboard player and have never used the tablature (Sibelius calls it Guitar Frame) feature, but it also has tradional/jazz chord symbols as well.

 

Actually for general use, tradional/jazz chord notation is probably used more and any major music notation program has it.

 

I've used Finale and Sibelius and the results from both are quite similiar. Sibelius has the added advantage of being _much_ more friendly to use. (I do not work for Sibelius .)

 

Also, if you wish to buy Sibelius, you can save money if you qualify for an educational discount. I joined (for $35) a music teachers association just to qualify and saved considerably on my purchase.

 

One more thing, Sibelius works with Windows _and_ Mac and can import Finale files as well. It's very popular here in Europe.

 

DH