My project tutor David McSherry gave me feedback on a draft track for the a scene in the sequence. Below is the sequence.
David pointed out several improvements that could be made to this scene and to the entire sequence as a whole. Firstly, the piano was immersion breaking and didn’t mix well with the drone and eerie atmospheric synth. David suggested finding an electronic alternative that mixes well with the rest of the instruments. Secondly, that I should focus more on the melodic aspect of the score as opposed to sound design. Finally, David pointed out that I should remember the sound world that i’m composing for, and that I should try new ideas to see what works best for Alien.
The final score for Alien will be based entirely on electronic instruments with more focus on the melodic aspect. I have chosen to go entirely electronic due to the range of sounds I can explore with VSTis. In addition, my reference material/composer research has provided me with knowledge most ideal for an electronic score .As a result, I’ll be trying a range of electronic instruments and approaches to find the best fit for Alien.
Although the complications with the FTV group set me back in terms of meeting some of the original learning outcomes , I’ve still met new, and some of the original learning outcomes.
Below is each learning outcome I set myself from the ‘project changes’ post with an explanation of how I met each learning outcome.
How I did it, what could be improved to meet outcome.
Improve my ability to construct music using software instruments -I utilized John Carpenter’s approach of improvising for a film score which provided me with a range of melodies to choose from. To add to this, David’s feedback of trying new ideas added to me improvising. Youtube tutorials like ‘Aggressive growling bass using FL Studio 11’s GMS synth’ by Computer Music Magazine provided me with knowledge on how to produce various sounds that fit into the music i’m trying to compose. To improve I could look at a wider range of YouTube tutorials and film composer approaches to figure out which approach or set of instructions works best for the style of music I’m aiming to compose.
Improve my MIDI programming skills – SeamlessR’s Youtube tutorial on ‘FL Studio Basics 5: The Piano Roll’ provided me with more thorough understanding of the fundamental aspects of the piano roll in FL studio. This in turn made my workflow across the project quick and efficient when composing notes and chord progressions. To improves this learning outcome I could research more in depth youtube tutorials that look at midi programming in FL studio at a more intermediate/advanced level.
Improve my mixing skills – I researched practical mixing techniques From Mike Senior’s ‘Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio’ which underpinned my approach to producing and mixing the Alien music. I have improved mixing skills such as level balancing instruments in order of importance in the music and to the sound effects and dialogue. This technique avoided frequency masking in the music, and the sound effects and music. To improve this learning outcome I could research more mixing techniques from a wider range of experts in the field of music mixing, in particular mixing music, sound effects and dialogue in film.
Deepen my understanding of music’s function in film – I researched a range of ideas/concepts from a range composers/experts in the field of film music. Debbie Wiseman’s BBC interview stresses the importance of music creating emotion and telling the story, as well as the absence of, and allowing space for music .In addition, Kassabian purposes of film music, Identification, mood and commentary, as well as Chion’s two types of music Empathetic and anempathetic. These ideas/concepts gave me a far greater understanding into the role of film music. To improve this learning outcome I could apply these ideas’concepts towards a range of films to see this concepts in practice and familiarise myself with the emotional impact on the audience.
Increase my understanding of film music composition – The John Carpenter interview and reference material reveals his simple melodic and improvisational approach. The discussion with Trent Reznor showed how he gets inside the head of the characters, works from the feelings evoked in the scene and chooses instruments that best suite that. The importance of working from the feeling/emotion in the scene is further stressed by Debbie Wiseman. The rest of my reference material shows a range complex and simple approaches to composing using orchestral and electronic instruments. This research collectively showed me a range of composing styles that achieve a certain emotional response. In addition, how simple improvisational scores are effective in the horror genre. I could improve this learning outcome by looking at a wider range of composers approaches to specifically composition. In addition, looking at the specific steps in composing they usually take whether it be an electronic or orchestral score.
Prior to producing the electronic music for Alien, I learnt a range of production and mixing techniques from various sources to underpin my approach to composing.
Before producing the Alien music I researched production techniques from a YouTube tutorial called ‘Aggressive growling bass using FL Studio 11’s GMS synth’ by Computer Music Magazine. This tutorial provides a step by step approach to creating an aggressive growling bass, and gives information on how you can create your own style of growling bass. For the brutal scene where the Alien kills Brett, I wanted to further evoke the feeling of shock. To achieve this I wanted a very harsh synthesizer sound which built up to its peak when the Alien attacks and drags Brett away.
I adopted most of the steps described in the video like boosting the bass, applying distortion and turning up distortion to around 0.27%.
The main differences in my case was having a higher level of modulation which created a more harsh distorted sound. In addition, I applied a static level of automation to the filter cutoff until the Alien attack. This created a consistent muffled growling bass sound up to the Alien attack. When the Alien appears and attacks the automation allows more of the harsh sounds to come out.
I utilized Trent Reznor’s approach of getting inside the head of characters and working from the feelings/emotions evoked in the scene. This approach is also similar to Debbie Wiseman’s, where she stresses the importance of the emotions in film. For Each scene, I identified the feelings of the characters as well as the connotations of the environment. Common feelings I worked from were anticipation, shock and fear. For example, during the scene where Brett wanders into the hanger and his heartbeat gradually increases, I used that as a que to begin the bass notes and reflect Brett’s feelings of unease. A further example is how the harsh bass sounds come out as Brett witnesses and gets attacked by the alien. Essentially these bass notes reflect Brett’s emotional state.
Below are a range of VSTis like SQ8l, TAL noizemaker and IL Sytrus which I used to explore and construct the sounds which reflected the emotions brought forth by the scene.
With regards to composing, I utilized John Carpenter’s approach of having a simple composing style and improvising. All of the melodies contain simple note or chord progressions which I improvised towards reflected the emotions of the scene. For example, below is the simple melody I composed in the midi piano roll for the computer control room scene towards the end.
To improve my Midi programming skills, I learnt more about the fundamental aspects of FL studio’s piano roll from a Youtube tutorial titles ‘FL Studio Basics 5: The Piano Roll’ by SeamlessR.
From this I learnt more about how to adjust note parameters like volume, velocity and panning in the piano roll. I knew how to do this via the instrument and playlist itself but this tutorial showed me how to do it in the piano roll which made the overall workflow much quicker.
With regards to mixing I utilized 2 techniques from Mike Senior’s ‘Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio‘.
In terms of Level Balancing Senior writes ‘Try to zero in on what the level of each new instrument means for the mix as a whole, and be aware that a good balance usually involves some kind of tradeoff: on the one hand, you want the track loud enough that you can hear all the things you really love about the individual sound; on the other hand, you need to keep the track low enough in the mix that is doesn’t obscure the merits of more important instruments that are already present.’ (Senior, 2011, 127). In my case I made certain instruments more prominent in the mix than others. For example, during the beginning scene when the team finds the cat, I made the eerie synthesizer the loudest part of the mix to emphasis the feeling of fear and anticipation. In addition, I didn’t make this instrument so loud that it masked the dialogue and sound effects. Below is a screenshot of how I mixed the eerie synthesizer, labelled ‘melodic synth’ with the other instruments.
With regards to equalization Senior writes ‘The main purpose of equalization at mixdown is to address frequency domain problems with the mix balance…’ (Senior , 2011, 188). Senior further explain frequency masking as he writes ‘‘To put it simply, if one instrument in your mix has lots of energy in a certain frequency region, then your perception will be desensitized to that frequency region of the other instruments. ‘(Senior , 2011, 172). In my case I mixed by avoiding frequency masking with other instruments as well as the dialogue and sound effects in the film. Below is a screenshot of the subtractive EQ I applied to the growling bass titled ‘Alien attack’. In this case I removed low frequencies to make space for the low frequencies in the hanger room ambience in the sound effects.
Below is a screenshot of my project in Adobe premiere to sync my music in time with the film, sound effects and dialogue.
John Carpenter directed and composed the music for the horror film The Fog. Like many of Carpenter’s film scores, this song is simplistic and consists of dark atmospheres, haunted effects and subtle drone textures. The connotations of this piece are dread, shock and danger. For the tension building scenes which lead up to alien attack, I’ll utilize a constant low droning synth and dark atmosphere. For the alien attack scene itself, I’ll add an effect or musical element which adds to the feeling of shock and danger.
Jerry Goldsmith is an American composer best known for scoring films like Planet of the Apes, The Omen and Alien. This song, and the score for the entire film alien, is orchestral and encompasses a range of classical instruments. The connotations of this song are eeriness, unsettling and dread. For my music, I’ll be evoking similar emotions/connotations to the original score but composing through electronic software instruments as opposed to orchestral instruments.
Due to complications with the FTV group, I’ve moved onto a new project. I’m adapting the music I’ve been working on towards a section from Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’. The section is taken from a level 2 Audio visual project worked on by Audio Production students last year. They were given the task of reconstructing all of the soundtrack elements (SFX, dialogue and music) through a range of methods like dialogue recording, Foley and extracting SFX from SFX libraries. The music will be electronic as opposed to the original orchestral score.
The research I have undertaken thus far is transferable to the new project so I’ll be utilizing various concepts and composer approaches towards ‘Alien’. The new clients for this project are David McSherry who will be giving me feedback on the project and myself, looking at the soundtrack objectively. I’ll be producing at least 6 minutes’ worth of music to fit the 9 minute sequence.The music will be based mostly on electronic instruments with a few orchestral elements done through Piano VSTis. I’ll be using FL studio 12 to compose and mix the music and Adobe Premiere to sync my music in time with the original project.
I’ve changed the overall aim and objectives to meet this project
Overall Aim – To produce an electronic score to a 9 minute sequence of Ridley Scott’s Alien.
Objectives
Research music reference material, academia and composer approaches related to sound for film
Make improvements to the music based on a feedback session with David Mcsherry
Produce the music with VSTis in FL Studio
I’ve changed most of my learning outcomes from the previous project towards composing music for ‘Alien’:
Improve my ability to construct music using software instruments
Improve my MIDI programming skills
Improve my mixing skills
Deepen my understanding of music’s function in film
Increase my understanding of film music composition
