Is Taylor Swift Being Greedy?
Mark Williamson of Spotify talks to Rory Cellan-Jones about losing Taylor Swift from the service, royalties and YouTube’s new paid music service.
Listen the clip from the BBC World Service programme Tech Tent here:
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INTERSTELLAR – drowning in sound
I watched INTERSTELLAR last night. The soundtrack was (as you would expect from a Christopher Nolan film) electrifying.
Music was composed by Nolan’s composer of choice Hans Zimmer.
As I watched I realised that the predominant instruments were strings and what sounded like the biggest church organ in the world!. I wasn’t far wrong it seems.
“Over the course of the film, the core five-note melody (the soundtrack is released on November 17th, but for a taste listen to Trailer #3) is expressed in different ways. The score is an ensemble effort combining 34 strings, 24 woodwinds, four pianos, and 60 choir singers, all of which get their time to sound off. But the starring, and most meaningful voice, is the 1926 four-manual Harrison & Harrison organ, currently housed at the 12th-century Temple Church in London and played in the movie by its director of music, Roger Sayer”(i)
What also became apparent is that on many occasions the audio track was so loud that at times when actors were speaking you could not hear clearly what they were saying. As I watched, my sound editor’s head said to myself “this must be deliberate, Nolan must WANT US to be straining to hear what they’re saying, to make the scene tense, threatening or downright overwhelming. I certainly thought at times that the cinema sound system was going to blow. I was being affected physiologically, my heart-rate was increasing. At other times however, quieter times, The main dialogue was relatively low in level – almost hard to hear what people were saying. This huge dynamic range (only available in cinemas) made me wonder how it will sound on DVD/streaming etc. You cant really watch a Nolan film anywhere other than the cinema it seems to me.
Afterwards some research into the sound led me to an article on this very subject, which confirms much of what I thought and far more.
https://soundcloud.com/zimmer-fans/hans-zimmer-our-destiny-lies
Here’s more from the article:-
Hans Zimmer’s score drowns out dialogue and has already broken an Imax theater, but there’s thematic significance in all that noise
“As Zimmer recently told the Film Music Society, the organ was chosen for its significance to science: From the 17th century to the time of the telephone exchange, the pipe organ was known as the most complex man-made device ever invented. Its physical appearance reminded him of space ship afterburners. And the airiness of the sound slipping through pipes replicates the experience of suited astronauts, where every breath is precious (a usual preoccupation with sci-fi movies that is taken very literally in Zimmer’s music, which also features the exhalations of his human choir).
Zimmer’s score—which alternates between a 19th-century Romanticism and 20th-century Minimalism—of course has an element of spirituality to it. But the organ does more than just recall churches. From the movie’s earliest moments, it performs some very necessary narrative legwork for the overburdened screenplay. When it kicks in as Cooper chases down an Indian surveillance drone, a light touch on the organ keys, paired with rousing strings, creates a whirling, ethereal sound that channels Cooper’s interior life. The giddy tone it sets demonstrates that Cooper is a risk-taker and adventurer, which solves the screenplay’s early problem of establishing emotional motive for Cooper to leave his children.
As organs are wont to do, this one resonates. And there are moments when the decibels at which it does can only be described as an action-movie crutch. The organ gets a noticeably more heavy-handed touch as the plot becomes ever-more preposterous. It blasts when the elder Professor Brand, played by Michael Caine, hands over the keys to the spaceship—and his life’s work—to a farmer (Cooper) who presumably hasn’t piloted anything except a plow in a while. It booms when Ann Hathaway’s younger Dr. Brand shakes hands with “Them,” heavily foreshadowing events to come. Some of these moments necessitate the extra spiritualistic oomph, but it’s often the case that when the plot turns implausible, Nolan and Zimmer ramp up the organ.”(i)
(i)http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/why-interstellars-organ-needs-to-be-so-loud/382619/
Cutting X-Factor – on AVID with multiple soundtracks
X FACTOR 2014
VT Editors, often have to wrestle with a huge amount of sound information. Especially on shows that have discreet microphones all over the place – such as the X Factor.
Editor Janci Kovic recently did this screengrab of his final timeline for a Bootcamp Episode of X Factor. This was bootcamp the episode after auditions.
Having the ability to cut off words, change the order of what judges are saying and soloing the backstage reactions at the same time was very helpful to get the story done.
Audio was recorded and captured on STEINBERG’S Nuendo Live
THE AUDIO TRACKS SHOWN INCLUDE:
Jury 4ch’s, crowd 2ch’s, singers port, mic and his instrument 3ch’s, band 12ch’s, backstage with moderator 3ch’s, stage mix 2ch’s, music 6ch’s, sfx 4ch’s, vo and other ports.
THE VIDEO was recorded on QUADRUS
Stevie’s Wonder Men
You may not have heard of Malcolm Cecil or Robert Margouleff but you’ll certainly be familiar with their work. These two electronic music boffins helped transform Little Stevie Wonder in to one of the greatest song writers in pop music. They produced and engineered four albums that are widely regarded as “Stevie’s classic period.” Four albums that featured his most enduring songs such as Living For the City, Superstition, Higher Ground and You Are the Sunshine of My Life. Stevie was at the height of his creative powers but Margouleff and Cecil were his sonic architects, steering him away from the bubble gum pop sound of Motown.
Central to Margouleff and Cecil’s production style was their creation, TONTO. The Original New Timbral Orchestra was a huge, room-sized super-synthesiser developed with the express purpose of making this new, intimidating technology work together as a giant electronic ensemble. Margouleff and Cecil manipulated its futuristic controls, while Stevie played its keyboards. The results turned out to be timeless. Their pioneering electronic developments in sound and production proved hugely influential to black popular music in the 1970s.
As well as Stevie Wonder, Margouleff and Cecil have worked with a whole host of big name artists such as The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, George Harrison and Devo. So why have you never heard of them? Broadcaster and fan Stuart Maconie investigates their story and argues we should be celebrating these forgotten men of pop instead of consigning them to Rock ‘n’ Roll’s backroom staff.
Contributors include Robert Margouleff, Malcolm Cecil, Pete Townshend, Michael Sembello, Steve Hillage and music historian Mark Sinker.
Listen to the BBC Radio 4 program here:
Animation/Audio Festival Screenings in the USA and UK
Blog post by RW.
Animation student Daniel Escobar’s Luma St. with music and sound by 2014 Audio Production Graduate Nathan Lewis has been selected for Festimation – an International Animation & New Media Arts Festival, which is on this month in Montana, USA. Festimation is an event for screening and showcasing ‘up-and-coming independent, narrative, documentary and experimental animated films.’ Luma St. is summed up as a short that “revolves around the idea of people missing the beauty in everyday life.” LSFM Senior Lecturer Sultan Efe: It’s great to see that the organisers used snapshots from Luma St. as part of their poster for the festival. Daniel has sent the film to several animation competitions and festivals and I am sure we will be hearing good news in the next 12 months.”
Luma St. will be screened at Lincoln Shorts film festival along with a hugely diverse, eclectic and entertaining mix of locally-made short films at Lincoln Drill Hall on 18th October at 7pm. Admission’s £5 and you can book tickets online.
Also, Audio Production alumna Danielle Crooks created the soundtrack for animation project, Lullaby, which was led by Lucy Clay and Amy Fairclough. Lullaby was nominated in the Student Competition at Animasyros 7.0 International Animation Festival this month.
Sultan said: We have yet to hear results of both competitions but so far it has been great to see our student films have had exposure in China, Greece, UK and US.
Watch Luma St here.
Guest Lecture – Danny Roberts (A&R Decca Records)
This week’s guest lecture for level 2 and 3 Music Production students was by Danny Roberts – A&R at Decca Records.
Danny did a brilliant job of unravelling the mysterious world of A&R and gave the students a great insight into the role of A&R in these challenging times for the recorded music industry.
Decca sits within the structure of Universal Music Group – one of the ‘big three’ major labels and Danny explained his day-to-day duties, including liaison with managers, agents, lawyers, producers and publishers. He travels a lot and he stressed the importance of networking, communication skills, and making decisions – sometimes risky ones. Studying statistics, nurturing and developing artists, and keeping up morale, also feature heavily in his role. Surprisingly, going to gigs was not particularly high on the list.
The stakes and budgets are high in the world of the major labels and I could sense that Danny’s job comes with a lot of pressure. He looks like he can handle it though 🙂 and he gave us a fascinating talk, which particularly highlighted to me how many roles there are in the music industries, and how many people are involved to support the career of a successful artist.
BBC MUSIC launches with ‘God Only Knows’ remix
BBC launches new MUSIC site with God Only Knows,
a star-studded film
featuring ‘The Impossible Orchestra’
I heard about this on the way in to work this morning – but I didn’t know what the event was going to be until sitting down with the family at 8pm. It reminded me of the great ‘Perfect Day’ BBC promotional film. I have gathered these comments from various sources available online. The song was broadcast simultaneously on Tuesday 7th October 2014 on BBC One, Two, Three, Four and Radio 1, 2, 4, 6 and 5 Live.
The track, which will also be released in aid of Children in Need, features 27 artists across all musical genres. They include Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Chris Martin, Sam Smith, Brian May, Jamie Cullum and Nicola Benedetti.
God Only Knows has reached almost mythical status in the pop canon. Written and produced by Brian Wilson with lyricist Tony Asher and younger brother Carl Wilson on vocals, it was released in 1966 as part of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album. It reached Number 2 in the UK and Number 39 in the US Charts. It has become one of the most lauded tracks of all time. Rolling Stone placed it at 25 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and in 2006, Pitchfork magazine crowned God Only Knows as the best song of the 1960s.
BBC Music will encompass TV and radio programming, digital services and schemes to support emerging talent including the introduction of classical music to UK primary schools. The song’s original writer, Brian Wilson, also features on the track, along with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The collective group of musicians has been named the Impossible Orchestra. Bob Shennan, director of BBC Music, said: “This ‘impossible’ orchestra is a celebration of all the talent, diversity and musical passion found every single day throughout the BBC.”
Watch the ‘making of’ here
The line by line breakdown of singers is as follows:
BBC Concert Orchestra
Martin James Bartlett – celeste
Pharrell Williams – I may not always love you
Emeli Sandé – But as long as there are stars above you
Elton John – You never need to doubt it
Lorde – I’ll make you so sure about it
Chris Martin – God only knows what I’d be without you
Brian Wilson – If you should ever leave me
Florence Welch – Well life would still go on believe me
Kylie Minogue – The world could show nothing to me
Stevie Wonder – So what good would living do me
Eliza Carthy – God only knows what I’d be without you
Nicola Benedetti – violin
Jools Holland – piano
Brian May – electric guitar
Jake Bugg – lalalala
Katie Derham – violin
Tees Valley Youth Choir – God only knows
Alison Balsom – piccolo trumpet
One Direction – God only knows what I’d be without you
Jaz Dhami – God only knows what I’d be without you
Paloma Faith – God only knows what I’d be without you
Chrissie Hynde – God only knows
Jamie Cullum – God only knows what I’d be without you
Baaba Maal – God only knows
Danielle de Niese – God only knows what I’d be without you
Dave Grohl – God only knows
Sam Smith – God only knows what I’d be without you
Brian Wilson – God only knows what I’d be without you
read:
THE TELEGRAPH: the Future of Music on BBC
THE GUARDIAN: BBC MUSIC LAUNCH
Sources: BBC Media Centre, BBC YOUTUBE Channel, BBC NEWS WEBSITE
(accessed 7th October 2014)
In Search Of The Ideal Music Venue
Trevor Cox Professor of Acoustics from Salford University goes in search of the best venues for different types of music. Trevor is fascinated by the effect that the acoustics have on the enjoyment of different types of live music. He visits various music venues and tries out their acoustics by playing his saxophone. He talks to musicians, sound engineers and experts in acoustics about the venues and the effect that their design has on the audience’s enjoyment of music. He asks whether the size and shape of venues has had an effect on the way music is composed. And he travels to Finland to meet Professor Tappio Lokki who can replicate the sound of famous concert halls in his laboratory.
With contributions from acousticians Adrian James, Rob Harris and Niels Adelman-Larsen, sound engineer Derrick Zieba, and musicians Jessica Cottis and Trish Clowes.
Listen to the BBC Radio 4 programme here:
Music & Video Games
Games Designer Paul Bennun explores the growing popularity and ambition of music composed for video games.
Video games now have the resources to match that of the big Hollywood orchestral film scores. But it’s not just commercially that video game soundtracks are taken seriously. Composers are becoming more interested in it artistically and BAFTA and the Ivor Novellos have recently recognised the form with their own award categories.
Bennun traces the development of this new genre and finds out how it is changing the way music is made and consumed. Has it now left behind bleeps and bloops and arrived at the brink of artistic respectability?
Producer: Russell Finch
Listen to The BBC Radio 4 programme here:
Lincoln Soundscape
Blog post by Alex O’Brien – Level 3 Audio Production.
For one of my final year projects I created a soundscape of Lincoln, which was showcased in The Little Red Gallery in the Bailgate. The concept behind this soundscape was to construct a sonic interpretation of 24 hours in Lincoln.
The piece is made up of 3 sections, Cathedral, Town and Evenings. Each section presents the listener with a different part of Lincoln. The recording process was very enjoyable but incredibly time consuming. For the Evening recordings I would often find myself sat in the cold recording traffic and such for hours on end or I would be in the Cathedral for hours at a time, listening closely for interesting sounds as they echoed around the Cathedral walls. I wanted to make sure I had every recording I needed to piece this 25 minute project together so I could layer these sounds up and paint an audio picture of Lincoln.
Having my piece showcased in a gallery was fantastic. Seeing people walk around the space, listening to my piece made me feel as if I had really accomplished something. But also working for a client was a great experience and it has definitely given me confidence in knowing that I can go out and get my work showcased.
Overall, the project process was a great learning curve and I’d love to do another sometime soon.
Listen to Alex’s Soundscape here: