Making my own Film Soundracks at DVinfo.net

Ben Gurvich · May 2nd, 2004, 02:44 AM

I am a primarily a filmmaker,but im also a musician too.
Whilst i know a lot about computers for editing , im pretty clueless in regards to music.
I would like to do my own scores but dont really understand how i can use sampled strings etc on a PC.

I have tried programs like fruity loops but its not really what i want. I would rather perform the samples on a keyboard, rather than having some midi sound, i have to articulate in a grid.

I just watched the music doco on T2 DVD, and it had the composer talking about sampling sounds, such as violins using a fairlight and then performing the music onm the keyboard.

Would you play these samples and output them to waves in a program like acid or pro tools? or is it differentfrom that.
Do i actually need a keboard. Where do u get these samples?

If someone could shed some light on this process and talk about software id be most appreciative.

Cheers,
Ben Gurvich

Matthew Groff · May 2nd, 2004, 10:01 AM

Get a MIDI keyboard and hook it up to your computer. Then you should be able to play/record MIDI notes with your strings samples in programs like Fruity Loops. Check the help on FruityLoops as I know it's possible to use a MIDI keyboard with that software.

mg

Matt Stahley · May 2nd, 2004, 11:23 AM

There are literally hundreds of sample CDs available from many different companies that contain real instrument samples recorded professionally. You may also want to look into Reason as an all around low budget but excellent music creation software.

Cannon Pearson · May 2nd, 2004, 11:31 AM

You should check out Reason. It come with a pretty good Orchestra sample set. There's also an app that let's you use Reason to score to Quicktime movies. I think it's called Revision.

Reason also runs in conjunction with most major audio software. You could sequence and mix in Protools(or whatever) and use Reason as a soundbank. This is what I do most of the time. I run it in rewire mode with Digital Performer or Cubase.

You don't have to have a MIDI keyboard, but it's a lot more fun to play the music than to draw in notes.

Keith Loh · May 2nd, 2004, 01:36 PM

The musician who did the soundtrack to my (and Dylan's) Lady X episode 13 did it all using a keyboard and sampled instruments.

http://www.ladyxfilms.com/theater/e13/episode_13.shtml

His website:
Fidgital.com

Federico Dib · May 2nd, 2004, 04:23 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Ben Gurvich :

I have tried programs like fruity loops but its not really what i want. I would rather perform the samples on a keyboard, rather than having some midi sound, i have to articulate in a grid.

Cheers,
Ben Gurvich -->>>

Which version of fruity loops are you using.. I use FLStudio (v. 4)... and It' s much more than midi and grids.
There´s actually a lot of improvement from version 3 which I had before.
And you can perform and record live from a keyboard ... on top of your loops or the whole song.
(I actually use my PC Keyboard as I don´t own a real one)

FL gives you the posibility of approaching your composition in many different ways. And I find it very powerfull. On the other hand.. the learning curve is steep, and a lot of it´s power is hidden in the many knobs and buttons.

Most of the music in my works (see my webpage video and audio sections) has been done with Fruity Loops and a couple of live guitars.
There´s a link on my site to a whole Experiment Album of my band. It was done in Floops 3, except guitars and voices and final mix done in Cubase.

Ben Gurvich · May 2nd, 2004, 09:18 PM

With the string sample Cd's would gthey be Wav files?
I want real sounds not midi
Also i want some more detailed info on playing samples from a keyboard,

i want it to sound as good as the music in T2, which is done in thsi waty, not musak!

Cannon Pearson · May 3rd, 2004, 05:18 AM

MIDI has no sound. It is just performance data. The sound is determined by your samples that are mapped to a keyboard and triggered by MIDI notes.

May 2nd, 2004, 02:44 AM	#1
Ben Gurvich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 329	Making my own Film Soundracks I am a primarily a filmmaker,but im also a musician too. Whilst i know a lot about computers for editing , im pretty clueless in regards to music. I would like to do my own scores but dont really understand how i can use sampled strings etc on a PC. I have tried programs like fruity loops but its not really what i want. I would rather perform the samples on a keyboard, rather than having some midi sound, i have to articulate in a grid. I just watched the music doco on T2 DVD, and it had the composer talking about sampling sounds, such as violins using a fairlight and then performing the music onm the keyboard. Would you play these samples and output them to waves in a program like acid or pro tools? or is it differentfrom that. Do i actually need a keboard. Where do u get these samples? If someone could shed some light on this process and talk about software id be most appreciative. Cheers, Ben Gurvich

May 2nd, 2004, 01:36 PM	#5
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	The musician who did the soundtrack to my (and Dylan's) Lady X episode 13 did it all using a keyboard and sampled instruments. http://www.ladyxfilms.com/theater/e13/episode_13.shtml His website: Fidgital.com __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

May 2nd, 2004, 04:23 PM	#6
Federico Dib Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Barcelona Posts: 312	Re: Making my own Film Soundracks <<<-- Originally posted by Ben Gurvich : I have tried programs like fruity loops but its not really what i want. I would rather perform the samples on a keyboard, rather than having some midi sound, i have to articulate in a grid. Cheers, Ben Gurvich -->>> Which version of fruity loops are you using.. I use FLStudio (v. 4)... and It' s much more than midi and grids. There´s actually a lot of improvement from version 3 which I had before. And you can perform and record live from a keyboard ... on top of your loops or the whole song. (I actually use my PC Keyboard as I don´t own a real one) FL gives you the posibility of approaching your composition in many different ways. And I find it very powerfull. On the other hand.. the learning curve is steep, and a lot of it´s power is hidden in the many knobs and buttons. Most of the music in my works (see my webpage video and audio sections) has been done with Fruity Loops and a couple of live guitars. There´s a link on my site to a whole Experiment Album of my band. It was done in Floops 3, except guitars and voices and final mix done in Cubase. __________________ Messenger Boy : The Thessalonian you're fighting, he's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him. Achilles : That is why no one will remember your name.

May 2nd, 2004, 10:01 AM	#2
Matthew Groff Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 132	Get a MIDI keyboard and hook it up to your computer. Then you should be able to play/record MIDI notes with your strings samples in programs like Fruity Loops. Check the help on FruityLoops as I know it's possible to use a MIDI keyboard with that software. mg

May 2nd, 2004, 11:23 AM	#3
Matt Stahley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Waynesboro, PA Posts: 648	There are literally hundreds of sample CDs available from many different companies that contain real instrument samples recorded professionally. You may also want to look into Reason as an all around low budget but excellent music creation software.

May 2nd, 2004, 11:31 AM	#4
Cannon Pearson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 123	You should check out Reason. It come with a pretty good Orchestra sample set. There's also an app that let's you use Reason to score to Quicktime movies. I think it's called Revision. Reason also runs in conjunction with most major audio software. You could sequence and mix in Protools(or whatever) and use Reason as a soundbank. This is what I do most of the time. I run it in rewire mode with Digital Performer or Cubase. You don't have to have a MIDI keyboard, but it's a lot more fun to play the music than to draw in notes.

May 2nd, 2004, 09:18 PM	#7
Ben Gurvich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 329	With the string sample Cd's would gthey be Wav files? I want real sounds not midi Also i want some more detailed info on playing samples from a keyboard, i want it to sound as good as the music in T2, which is done in thsi waty, not musak!

May 3rd, 2004, 05:18 AM	#8
Cannon Pearson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 123	MIDI has no sound. It is just performance data. The sound is determined by your samples that are mapped to a keyboard and triggered by MIDI notes.