My video project has been in its final stages for a little while now, and I have really had some time to mix everything and make the journey through space a believable one. I honestly am super disappointed in what they did with the original score. It seems really boring to me… I found a sound in Reason earlier this week that would fit the score, and blended that in earlier this week. I am excited to see everyone’s videos!

This week we started using Sibelius, a music notation program. On a grand staff, we notated a simple version of Deck the Halls. You can write lyrics to go along with the notes, and you can write the chords along the top. Digital notation programs are super time-saving tools, and I can bet almost no one actually writes out notation anymore. After using this program, I am definitely less scared of scoring and charting songs.

To open an empty rack, Open- Reason folder – Templates – Empty rack. To add a piece of gear to the rack you can double click, click and drag, or click create.

In Subtractor, click the folder icon by the patch window to load a new patch. After selecting a group of patches, you can use the little arrows to browse through the

Difference between insert effects and send effects.

Insert effects: sends 100% of a signal through the device Device-Effects INSERT-Mixer
100%

Send effects: sends a portion of a signal. signals-effects SEND-Mixer
Aux level knob


Starts at a MONO output going into the INPUT LEFT, but is then processed into a stereo and comes out L and R.

A send leaves from the auxiliarys in the mixer as a mono signal, and returns from the UN-16 as a stereo signal into the AUX returns R and L.

ALT and DUB

When you’re recording, after you record the take, pressing alt will create another lane above that with the first take automatically muted.

DUB creates a new lane, but it doesn’t mute the previously recorded track, so you hear what you are recording as well as the prior take.

Can adjust pitch and it wont affect tempo, and can adjust tempo and it won’t affect the pitch. Can shape the envelope of the loop, use filtering.

Toggle between Song and Edit windows. Song mode shows the regions you are working on, and Edit mode switches the view to the piano roll and the lanes where automation can be drawn in.

REASON

In Reason’s preferences, in keyboards and control surfaces, click add to add the MIDI controller you are using. We are using the M-Audio Keystation 61es. Select the correct manufacturer and oxygen 61. For the IN, select the Mbox.

The top part of the window is called the rack. Hitting TAB toggles between the font and back of the digital gear you are using. There are virtual wires that you can draw signals paths with. They are used to make connections between devices, effects that are sends or inserts, and mixers. At the bottom is the transport with stop, record, rewind and play. Can adjust tempo, do over dubs, tap tempo. There is pre-roll option as well. Reason rewire allows reason to be used as a plug in with Pro Tools. There are up to 64 available tracks out of ProTools. Above the transport is the sequencer window. Each instrument has its own track. Each track has many lanes. With lanes you can record many takes on one track. In the track list is where you can mute, solo, and record enable. The tool window has 4 modes: Device Pallete, Sequencer Tools, Groove Settings, and Song Samples.
Propellerhead is the company that makes Reason and also makes Recycle. The company started chopping audio samples into discrete chunks, and the whole file is saved as a REX file. You can expand or retract the rex file, time stretch, and change pitch while maintaining tempo.
All the instruments run through the channel mixer, then to the Hardware Interface.
The Combinator: is similar to Xpand and Structure, but you can combine many more devices than the others can.
The mixer has 14 stereo channel, 4 stereo effects sends, and a 2 band EQ.
The Line Mixer 6:2 has 6 lines summed to a two channel stereo output.
The Subtractor is a modeled polyphonic analog synth.
Thor is a polysonic synth.
The Malmstrom – polyphonic synth
NN19 digital Sampler – Allows you to sample and load samples, and create multisample patches.
NN-XT Digital Sampler – a little more advanced that the NN19sample, load preset samples, and custom samples, modify them with the built in synthesizer.
Dr. OctoRex is a Loop Player.
ReDrum – 8 different programmable pattern and 4 different groups. Can program up to 64 different steps
Kong – is a drum synth, with 16 different instrument channel options.

Reverbs, Phasers, and Delays

SHIFT-RETURN brings you back to where you started, and twice in a row sends the playhead back to the beginning. Space Bar is play and stop.

To open an empty rack, Open- Reason folder – Templates – Empty rack. To add a piece of gear to the rack you can double click, click and drag, or click create.

In Subtractor, click the folder icon by the patch window to load a new patch. After selecting a group of patches, you can use the little arrows to browse through the

Difference between insert effects and send effects.

Insert effects: sends 100% of a signal through the device Device-Effects INSERT-Mixer
100%

Send effects: sends a portion of a signals-effects SEND-Mixer
Aux level knob


Starts at a MONO output going into the INPUT LEFT, but is then processed into a stereo and comes out a L and R.

A send leaves from the auxiliarys in the mixer as a mono signal, and returns from the UN-16 as a stereo signal into the AUX returns R and L.

Structure free is an instrument plug-in that does not require a midi controller to function. The default setting is a sine wave patch. To load a patch, click on the browser tab – application-digidesign-protools creative collection/Structure free. There are 6 smart knobs and a master fader. There are factory pre-assigned, useful parameters. There is Chorus Mix, Reverb Mix, Cutoff (applies an EQ filter), Resonance (controls the resonance of the cutoff), Attack, Release, and Master control. There are green keys that can loop patches and creates a variation of the groove and blue keys. These key switches are velocity sensitive. You can change the pitch and tempo of the drum kits. Key switches do not produce pitch, they send info. The keys are green when used, and blue when not used. Key switches produce a variation in the loop of the patch. Pull up a loop, note where the key switches are, play them play with your left hand while you use switch keys with your right while recording. Bring up the midi edit window, and pull the key switches out of their range and they will become pitches. The patch module contains the patch list. You can create, midi assign, mix, select, route, and group patches. By clicking on patch, you have the option to load a new patch, add a patch, duplicate, remove one or all patches.

Vacuum and Boom

Vacuum is a monophonic digital synthesizer that generates tones. It is monophonic because can only play one midi note at a time. Polyphonic synths allow you to play chords. The more important parts of the Vacuum are the oscillators and the envelopes. This is where the majority of the sounds are manipulated. The two top left modules are VTO’s 1 and 2 (vacuum tube oscillator). The VTO’s are where the sound begins to generate. There are range knobs that allow you to change which overtones are emphasized. In WIDE mode, the fine knob has a 5 octave range, and while not in WIDE mode it has a range of + or – 7 semitones. LO mode turns VTO 2 into a low frequency oscillator, or LFO. VTO also switches between blending octaves. There are suttle changes when switching through these modes and they can create thick, detuned sounds. There are different wave shapes to choose from on the VTOs: Triangle, Sawtooth, and Pulse waves PW0 and PWO50. The Envelope to shape knob controls the modulation of the current VTO shape via envelope 1. There is a mixer next to the VTO’s that blends the two together. The ring modulator sends a variable amount of VTO 1 and 2. It heterodynes 2 waves and outputs the sum and the difference of the waves. There are high pass filters and low pass filters, and they both do exactly what they sound like. A high pass filter lets all of the high frequencies pass through while keeping out the low frequencies. A low pass filter does the opposite – keeps the highs out and lets the lows through. These filters have a slope that sets the curve, and that changes how many dB/octave is attenuated. A steeper slope on a high pass filter will result in cutting out more low end. These filters have cutoffs as well. This control determines when the frequencies roll off in reference to the audible sound spectrum, 20Hz-20KHz. The resonance setting affects the filter resonance. The saturation knob distorts the resonant frequency. The envelopes change the shape over time. The attack of a wave is the amount of time it takes for a sound to get to full volume. The decay is the point where the noise decreases in amplitude, and the sustain is the persistence of the sound after the attack. The release is the point at which the sound stops, and some sound may persist at the end but that is considered to be reverberation, and that sound and length varies depending on the size and type of room. In the BOOM drum machine plug, there are 10 different kits. There are ten different “channels” where you can have different piece of the kit on. Each channel has options to change pan, level, tone, and decay. Each channel also has a solo and mute button. The matrix on the left provides a visual overview of the current drum pattern you have selected. Each row corresponds to a channel. You can click the little red dots and they get brighter and darker. Off is like a rest, and bright red is a loud it, and the dimmer ones are softer hits. This option enables you to put feel into a beat by changing the dynamics of it. There are 16 steps available to make a beat, that would be in 4/4. You can copy patterns to any one of the 16 patterns, or delete any pattern.

A few more things to know about ProTools LE: Markers and Crash Course Automation Tips, and MIDI control assignments.

Markers make your work flow more efficient and help keep your sessions visually organized. Where it says Markers at the top of your tracks in the edit window, click the triangle “∇” icon to make the ruler appear across the screen. This way you can see the markers that you place down for the different scenes in your movie scoring project. Markers make it easy so see where certain actions or sound effects need to happen. They are also for other editing notes or reminders. You can enter these while your movie plays by pressing ENTER+ENTER …not return+return!!! If you are fast, you can type the name for the marker as the movie plays. By using the key command “decimal point + the marker # on the numeric pad + decimal point“ it brings up the Memory Locations window where you can view all of your markers in a column list. By pressing Command + numeric #5 it brings up the window for the counter options on your markers. You can select to view Bars/Beats, Min/Sec, or Samples. There is a sub-counter as well that lets you view a secondary view with any of those previous 3 options. There is a comments section for typing notes, and a sort by time option that sorts the markers in the list by time. Automation is a fantastic but slippery slope when it comes to mixing. It should really be one of the last things you do with mixing to avoid many issues the main being that it could result in a huge waste of time. Automation is a really cool way to change/manipulate/affect every single available parameter on the inserts/sends, and dynamics and effects plug-ins. Say we have a delay on a track and we want it in one part of a project but not in another. First, in the mix window, you have to click on the processor you want to automate. There’s an AUTO button at the top of the window. Clicking that brings up a list of all of the parameters on one side. If you have multiple inserts and sends, they will appear in the middle and you can select which one you want to enable. Select the parameter you want to automate and click add. This way is good for learning the names of the parameters on the plug-ins you are automating. Once you get to know the names, there is a quicker way to get these parameters enabled. Holding down all three of the modifier keys (control+option+command) and clicking directly on the little green light (dim when automation disabled) by the parameter enables it for automation. Also, control click shows a menu where you can choose “plug in automation enable”. In the edit window, go to where the flashing fader is on the track you want to affect. Click on the bar that ProTools defaults as WAVEFORM. There will be options for volume, pan, mute, and any of the things you enabled. A fader is static, and doesn’t move by itself in a mix. If we want a part turned down every time play a song, automate the volume of the track. Be in smart tool mode to manipulate automation. When you press control, the pencil tool allows you to draw lines and different shapes that are user definable. There’s a drop down menu by the pencil tool that lets you choose from freehand, triangle, square, or random shapes. Parabolic and s-curve are two shapes that I believe only ProTools HD will let you do. By using automation, you can change countless parameters, and it can create some really cool effects without having to use to many tracks. The downside is once you write automation, you are stuck with it until you manually delete it from the automation section. This can make things really complicated, and you want to be sure you are committed to the effect. Press and hold command and you can click to draw in nodes. Drag the node up and down for the effect that you want. Set up a drum track with an EQ in the insert, and follow those steps. Boost the gain on one of the 7 bands and make sure the Q is more of a notch shape. Automate the frequency parameter up and down in Hz on that same band. The resulting effect is a frequency sweep. This is a cool swishing effect that sweeps through, while gaining the frequency range you selected in a linear fashion up and down the frequency spectrum. Very cool!! In drum machine plug-ins, you can automate the envelope of a sound. Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. These are cool ways for drums to add odd, and rather awesome effects to mixes. Any patch from any synthesizer can be assigned to take place on certain ranges of the keyboard, and wherever you want them to. For this purpose I will talk about Xpand2 in Pro Tools LE. In the mix window of this synthesizer, there are 4 slots called A, B, C, and D. In each of these slots you can have patch of your choice loaded. Each slot can store up to 500 parts or presets in its bank. Each slot has an individual mix, MIDI, arpeggiator, modulation, and effects settings. You can load any four parts in to create a patch. A patch is a multi-layered, complex synth. It is possible to save the combinations you create as patches, and they will be stored in the presets menu. What is cool about this is you can load the patches on the same instrument plug-in on a different Pro Tools system. When assigning parameters to MIDI controllers and the MOD wheel, control-click and select “Learn MIDI CC”. Turning the MODulation wheel that is next to the pitch shift wheel on the controller will manipulate the parameter you have selected to learn MIDI CC. To un-learn the control, control-click again and select the “forget” option. You can use the MOD wheel for the fader, the panoramic potentiometer, FX1, FX2, and the Master volume on the insert. There are smart knobs on the top row that functions for all 4 slots at once (globally), or you can choose individual slots and edit their own smart knob parameters to really blend sounds together. Both FX columns at the bottom have equal options, each containing 3 different categories of effects. There are a handful of reverbs, delays, and modulation effects with choruses, phasers, and flangers. Each slot can have 2 effects at the same time, or just one. Enabling the Learn MIDI CC will put these effects to the MOD wheel for manual use. What is cool is you can record the MOD wheel. This is basically live automation, and you are now using the MOD wheel as its own instrument! For modulation of the slot itself, click on MOD on the right, and you can now change wave types, and where the range of the slot is on the controller. By using the HI/LO function, you can set the slots to being and end on certain keys, or overlap on certain keys. In the arpeggiator, you need to power it on for it to work. You can edit the rate/mode of it by different note values: 8th,, 8th triplets, 16th, 16th triplets just to name a few. The Latch mode endlessly loops the notes that you press until other keys are pressed.

Over the last weekend, we had to choose a video of our choice to do a score on. We also had to make a 6-week production schedule of a projected plan. Over this last week, I got a big start on my project doing most of my work with the MIDI and audio tracks using Logic Pro 8. I am very pleased with the extensive library of synths and all kinds of instrument and effects plugins. I am going with a video that is a CGI adventure in space, floating away from planet earth. It is the intro scene from the movie Contact. The instrumentation will be drums, a harp, a string section, and a guitar. I want to make these instruments sound like they’re floating in space, and I want to have different instruments represent different planets and themes that are happening in the video. Adding the right amount of the right type of reverb will help define the spatial atmosphere. I came up with many great ideas this week for my video. As planets are going by the screen and floating away, I want them to have a huge rumbling sound. To get this effect I knew that either a pre-recorded sound effect or a lot of reverb would do the trick. I decided to create my own sound effect with a lot of reverb. I was messing with a kick drum with a reverb on it. I set the reverb to have an infinite length. I turned the input of the dry kick signal all the way down, and fed the reverb with a 100% wet signal. The resulting sound was an explosion with the attack of the kick, followed by a tail and sustain of very low sub bass frequencies. This sound was going to be perfect for the sound of the planets going by, as I can automate the bass sound to swell up and down in volume as the planets are closer and fade down when they drift away. I recorded this sound of the MIDI kick and its reverb to an audio track, and that was my sample. I finished the “rumbling” automation for the whole video that is 2:45 in length. A few meteor showers fly by and I wanted to capture a sound effect for those too, so I played around with some synthesizers in Logic Pro 8. I found a cool air swell patch that was just what the video needed. I played around with a few chords on the harp patch I was going use, and decided to base the music for my movie around the C SUS4 chord. To me this suspension chord creates a sense of tension and release, and is always very close to a solid resolution, keeping the emotion moving and interesting for this particular video. I recorded a phrase in 11/4 for the harp, on the keyboard. I then programmed a drum beat to that, using a standard drum kit, with a kick/snare/crash/hi-hat/ride/toms. In order to make the kit sound like it was in space and not in a studio or quiet room, I bussed the output of the midi tracks to a single aux track as drum mix. Then I created a send from that channel to additional aux track to be used for effects processing on the drum kit. I introduce the music as a fade in representing planet earth, and as Earth floats off in the distance, I automated the volume parameter with a downward slope, and gradually increased the wet mix setting on the reverb, and it gave a really cool effect. There is a part in the video that looks like space is being engulfed by flames, and I wanted to find a huge, fiery sound. I decided to take a rain patch from a synth in Protools, and created a swell, pushing more notes down as the fire got thicker. It sounded too much like rain, so I added a reverb and a distortion plug-in to it to make it sound like a raging firestorm. What I like to call little blue ice stars fly by at one point. In this part of the video, I want everything to be silent, more resembling a space atmosphere. I was looking for a wind-swishing type sound, and used the same air-space sound that I used to introduce the film. A very short guitar riff that has a space reverb as well really fills things out. I set up auxiliary tracks for every instrument so they could have a separate channel for all of the effects and automation. The strings fill out a nice layer and they are characteristic of floating in the clouds. I added a really high-pitched choir patch for a “wonder-invoking” effect, and kept it really low in the mix. All in all I have a total of 27 tracks being used for this score.