Nosferatu score recording with VSL Horizon

[cug]

My band, Silent Orchestra, composed and recorded the 5.0 surround score for the 2001 "Nosferatu Special Edition" DVD on Image Entertainment. This is the 1922 silent film by FW Murnau.

My parts from the 2001 recording were played with a Kurzweil PC88 keyboard and an Akai sampler with Miroslav Vitous, Peter Siedlaczek AO and Roland Strings. The other guy in the duo plays percussion and electronics.

In mixing the tracks for our upcoming soundtrack CD, I'm keeping everything played by my band mate but on a few tracks I replaced all of my keyboard parts and Akai samples with VSL Horizon sounds. I replayed everything, one line at a time.

This is the first major piece I've "finished" and would like some comments. My goal is to make the symphonic part of the arrangement as realistic as possible. Help!!!

I used violins, violas and cellos from Opus 1, Flautando strings from Opus 2, a 6-violin section from Chamber Strings, a legato cello from Solo Strings. Also flute, bassoon, harp, timp roll, bass drum (enhanced) and tam hits from Opus 1.

Rich O'Meara played the other percussion including the spooky "tam roar" sounds created by a friend of ours.

This particular piece is very rubato to fit the music to the picture. I can explain what's happening in the film if it's of any interest.

Please let me know what you think:


http://silentorchestra.com/temp/Silent_Orchestra-Nosferatu-Strange_Animals.mp3

[hetoreyn]

More reverb on the basson ... much much more!! BUt I'm a reverb fiend .. we all know that. Nice atomsphere, really enjoyed the Tam tam hits.

I've seen this film before, frankly I had trouble staying awake, not a very engaging film so I can imagine the music to be of superior importance in this picture. I think the general sound is very realistic, it's only the ending of the violins notes that give it away as they stop somewhat un-naturally for a film orchestra. (Only just .. It's not all the time but enough to give it away). That's nothing you've done wrong in the composition but I would say to tweak up the sustain level in EXS or Giga, Whichever you use, a bit to let the notes 'tail' just slightly. (we're talking a few milliseconds more).

And because it's a silent film I'd say it wouldn't be bad to let the stereo width out a little more.

Nice Job overall. You lucky devil you landing a film like this. It's not my favourite, but still it is a classic! ;D

Good luck.

Hetoreyn

[weslldeckers]

Very atmospheric. Quite treathening... except the basoon which I find to sound quite comical when it enters. I don´t know, maybe it´s just because it plays fast and goes against my expectations... Maybe it just lacks reverb as Hetoreyn said. It just doesn´t sound omnious enough to me.

But the rest is creepy graveyard music!

[William]

The music sounds like it will accompany the film well, but needs some work on EQ in the high strings - they sound very electronic with excessive high frequency. Also some more dynamic variation within the line so it sounds more natural.

The bassoon really needs more reverb, but also a mixture of legato and sustain on the notes that actually would be slurred if played live. As it is now every note sounds separately tongued.

I'd say in general a much wetter reverb, and a better one. The sounds don't seem to "inhabit" a space and need to.

Nosferatu is one of the greatest horror films ever made by the best silent film director in history. Quite a nice little film to be scoring! Congratulations on the job and good luck with it.

[PaulR]

The bassoon part can still be in your face - but you can make it much wetter with reverb, so that it's not quite so obvious.

[jamriding]

Spookissimo!!! [6] I've got another version of "Nosferatu" but I'd like to acquire this one as well. Just a question, tho'... The DVD of your orchestral version of "Salomé" is apparently Region 1 (U.S. & Canada only): any chance of a PAL version for we Europeans? I'd especially like to acquire that one, if possible...

Also, how did you manage the get the music to be so "free" in terms of rubato?

[cug]

@weslldeckers said:

Very atmospheric. Quite treathening... except the bassoon which I find to sound quite comical when it enters. I don´t know, maybe it´s just because it plays fast and goes against my expectations... Maybe it just lacks reverb as Hetoreyn said. It just doesn´t sound omnious enough to me.

Thanks for the comment. I should explain what's going on here.

In this scene, the protagonist has stopped for a meal at an inn while heading to Transylvania to sell a house to Count Orlok (the Dracula character). The inn keeper says, "You can't go out there now, the werewolf is roaming the forest."

The next shot is a hyena coming out of the woods. The bassoon melody was improvised to go with this funny little "werewolf" and it provides a voice for the character.

I'm not sure if the director, FW Murnau, intended this as a joke or he seriously thought that people would be frightened of a hyena. In any case, the hyena shot usually gets a laugh at our live shows.

[cug]

@hetoreyn said:

I think the general sound is very realistic, it's only the ending of the violins notes that give it away as they stop somewhat un-naturally for a film orchestra. (Only just .. It's not all the time but enough to give it away). That's nothing you've done wrong in the composition but I would say to tweak up the sustain level in EXS or Giga, Whichever you use, a bit to let the notes 'tail' just slightly. (we're talking a few milliseconds more).

Hetoreyn

Hetoreyn

Thanks for the support. I'm using Logic by the way.

I'm not sure I understand you. Are you saying that some of the string notes end too abruptly? Sustain wouldn't fix that but a longer release time would. I used mod wheel (where possible) and expression to add variety to the note ONs and create little fades at the end of longer notes.

I'm also going through and adding more volume automation to some of the phrases to make them more dynamic. Thanks to William for that suggestion..

Carlos

[hetoreyn]

@cug said:

Hetoreyn

Thanks for the support. I'm using Logic by the way.

I'm not sure I understand you. Are you saying that some of the string notes end too abruptly? Sustain wouldn't fix that but a longer release time would. I used mod wheel (where possible) and expression to add variety to the note ONs and create little fades at the end of longer notes.

I'm also going through and adding more volume automation to some of the phrases to make them more dynamic. Thanks to William for that suggestion..

Carlos

Oh yeah sorry about that .. my bad. I meant Release ;D and like I said it's only now and again that it happens, it's usually the sort of thing that reverb sorts out, but in this case increasing the release by a fraction will probably sort it out too.

;D

Hetoreyn