Not
every sampling company is fortunate to have a producer who spent two
years of his life working on one of the most successful movie franchise
in history. Tim Starnes' presence at the composition, recording and
mixing phases of the score give him the unique understanding needed to
faithfully emulate the percussion beds used in “The Lord of the Rings.”
This library is now available to you - exclusively from the folks at
cinesamples.
CS: What makes Drums of War different from most other percussion libraries?
TS: “Many orchestral percussion libraries contain instruments that
are often used cinematically, but they include many instruments that are
not. Many libraries sample instruments in the most typical setting.
They represent the most average sound of those instruments. In large
cinematic scenes, the percussion is often treated, altered, and recorded
atypically. Based on my experience recording music for films including
"The Lord of the Rings", I was able to replicate the treatment,
alteration, and recording of many instruments.”
CS: What was your intention regarding the scope and stylings of the library?
TS: “Our intention was to capture a specific type of percussion
typical in the cinematic experience. We wanted to focus our energies on a
very specific sound rather than trying to offer a huge variety and we
believe our product is better for having done so. This makes it easier
for composers because our library is quite clear and specific. Though it
is very specific in focus, it offers a variety of textures that are all
very useful to any composer and on any project.
Many action scenes often employ large ethnic percussion such as the
Japanese Taiko. We intended to stay away from anything overtly ethnic in
the library. Hollywood music tends to refer to anything that is not
based in European orchestral tradition as ethnic. So, you might say that
our library is based on European orchestral tradition.
As we began to plan, I knew which orchestral (and not so typically
orchestral) instruments we would need for recording. Some of them, we
had altered before recording and others we treated during the recording
session.”
CS: Can you describe the actual recording process?
TS: “One of the most important considerations of the sound was the
room. I knew I wanted a cinematic sound. So, I chose one of the best
sounding halls in New York that is often used in film music recording.
This is a large hall, which provided a flattering decay to percussion
instruments. However, I also wanted to include shorter, earlier
reflections to add more depth to the sound. I also wanted to mimic some
characteristics of the relative percussion placement in a room that had
worked so well on other films. So, I was very specific about instrument
placement and about pre-treating the acoustical environment.
The next most important consideration was microphone choice and
placement. The microphones were among the best in sonic reproduction
(and among the best money can buy), but moreover, in combination with
fantastic pre-amplifiers, the sound we captured was natural and
pristine. My microphone placement decision was based on two things: 1,
the desire to capture the sound from distinctly differing perspectives,
and 2, the placement (and the results thereof) that I’ve use
successfully on other feature films . This allowed me to shape the sound
in the mix to suit cinematic applications - our primary goal. I limited
my number of perspectives because too many can cause problems in phase
correlation.
In the mix, I went through a great deal of experimentation to find
the ultimate combination of microphone choice, level, and panning. I
used very little DSP in the mix. The sounds in the DOW library are
primarily the result of the greatest of instruments, musicians,
microphones, pre-amps, and acoustics. We recorded everything at a 96kHz
sampling rate and a bit depth of 24. The “live” layering of the ensemble
patches is something which cannot be accurately reproduced in post and
really gives that slightly flammed attack which is so desirable in a
track.
The sound is so natural that it allows the composer the flexibility to use DOW in any mix with little or no further treatment.”
--
“As a Synth programmer working on Avatar, Drums of War were the
first percussion sounds I would grab for that incredible impact that the
score deserved. The massive scope and width of these drums were a
perfect choice for this groundbreaking blockbuster film. Cinesamples has
an Oscar winning hit with this amazing product.”
- Aaron Martin
Synth Programmer for James Horne
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