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@Brian said:
P.S. What I'd really love to hear is an Altiverb version (up to the same tempo as the orginial soundtrack recording) and a MIR version with the same tempo compared to the original soundtrack recording. Hearing all three together right next to each other would be really enlightening.
I haven't checked, but as Jay normally provides a tutorial, it should be very easy to pick a section and do your own mix.
DG
Thanks Dietz! I love you guys! [:)] I love how uncompromising VSL is! I love how you guys decide to do something, and it just doesn't matter if anyone else has every attempted it or thought of it, you guys are going find a way to make it happen. I love that. Thank God you guys are out there to combat against the cinematic product drive ("monkey at a keyboard mentality") of some other sample libraries. I believe in the VSL mission, to make the most realistic sounding sampled orchestra. I believe VSL has the most talented team possible for that goal. That's why I'm with you guys for the long hall (pun intended [:)]). MIR is definitely 100% true to the spirit of VSL, its uncompromising and groundbreaking. MIR is absolutely the most advanced reverb/mixing software ever built period. I have no doubt it will be the new standard to which all other convolution reverbs will have to reckon with at some point. Throw in VE PRO on top of all this, and it just adds that much more to the reason why you guys are my go to company for sampled orchestra products.
However, as revolutionary as MIR is, the first two video demos were....to be honest....disappointing. It's just the sound wasn't as revolutionary as I knew the product itself was. If only Jay's demo had been the first demo then I probably wouldn't have my current mental block against MIR, and feel the need for direct comparisons with Altiverb all the time. Jay's demo really proves the realistic room quality of MIR. The room sounds practically real, Altiverb can't touch that. However, I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something more realistically satisfying with the timbre of the instruments in Jay's Rite of Spring with Altiverb compared to the E.T. MIR demo. I would like to try MIR myself to test this, but then I'd have to buy Windows Vista to do so, not to mention buy a whole new $1600 computer to run the same size orchestra as my current setup. So then to buy MIR is another roughly $1000. So in my mind MIR needs to sound $2600 better than Altiverb for me to break out the bucks at this moment. In fact, its probably worse than that, because I'd feel better thinking MIR is $3600 better than Altiverb, and that I'm getting it for a deal by only paying $2600.
I see MIR like Frankenstein. You guys created the monster, but I'm willing to bet that you're still learning things about your Frankenstein. Even though you are the current experts, I think you guys are going to be better experts on MIR in a couple of years than you are right now. In the future, when every one else is just starting to get on the multiple-impulse response train, you guys are going to be so far ahead of them. So in a couple of years when it comes to doing a major upgrade and I'm looking at Altiverb 7 or MIR, I'll probably go with MIR. I'm not quite ready to buy right now, but you never know if you keep putting out demos like Jay's....I might change my mind. [;)] Still, no matter what I'm with you guys for the long haul, and I can't wait to hear future updates and demos! [:)] I love you guys! [:P]
-Brian
P.S. You're right Dietz, there isn't always a right and wrong tempo in music...it is an art after all, but would someone please listen to track 17 (about 4:25 in) on the E.T. original soundtrack recording and tell me they like the slower tempo better.....honestly.....you like slower tempo....really???? [;)]
Great Stuff! My respect to Jay!
@Dietz said:
BTW - regarding the tempo of the "Adventures": As far as I know Jay referred to a version conducted by Williams himself, so it might be a matter of taste. But you could take the MIDI-tutorials and do the piece in a tempo of your liking, though. 😉
Listen to some of J.W.'s filmscores and compare to concert versions conducted by himself: He often tends to be faster in the concert versions by a lot (lack of tempo awareness? - I don't think so 😊 ).
E.T is a special one: He couldn't match the cue points for some larger scenes so Spielberg let him conduct musically and matched the final cut to the music afterwards - what a great director for a film musician! All that information can be found in some interviews on YouTube, in case you are interested ...
Fritz.
Herb/Jay,
Herb mentioned briefly a little of the workflow for this piece... Can Jay elaborate on the workflow, Computer specs etc?
How many instruments at once for example....
Richard
Thanks Herb, Dietz, Florian and everyone at VSL for making such a revolutionary new way to mix samples.
For the strings I mostly used Appassionata strings mixed to varying degrees with solo strings. Occasionally, I also used the Orchestral strings to add some "blur" to fast runs or to fill in articulations that are missing from Appassionata strings.
The ensemble horns were Epic horns layered with the Triple horn. The solo horn was the Triple horn.
The trumpets were (again in varying amounts) solo trumpet in Bb, solo trumpet in C, fanfare trumpets and trumpet ensemble (x3).
One of my favorite MIR features is the character preset. Each VSL instrument now has around six very useful and different sound-shaping EQ-like presets from "Airy" to "Biting" to "Distant" to "Powerful." These are very helpful for an EQ-phobic person like myself. The Austin Powers movies have Mini-Me, the MIR software comes with your very own virtual mixing engineer -- Mini-Dietz!
Best wishes,
Jay
