"Samples Vs. Live" - "Aint Nothing Like The Real Thing Baby"
Recently, I was hired to compose the music for a great animated short called "On The Same Page"
With a tight budget and impending deadline, the production team opted
to do a midi/sample rendering of the score. For 3 very long
days, I finessed orchestral sample libraires and produced the
final rendering of the score for the team. The film has since
done very well earning various impressive awards For my
part, I felt that this particular score was really special and although
the film makers were delighted with the computer rendered music, I
really wanted a live recording.
So, during my last recording session with the New York
Composers Collective, I took out the score and parts and spent some
time with my friends from the Budapest Film Orchestra recording the live orchestra version of the music.
After the sessions, a few colleagues of mine asked if they
could listen and compare the original sample/computer version to the
live orchestra version. Although all the notes are the same and
the orchestration is basically an exact duplicate of the
sample/computer version, my colleagues commented with some degree of
astonishment how much more depth of expression was in the live
version.
I suppose the modern ear is so used to hearing good sample
libraries utilized on so many forms of media that public perception of
the sound of a live orchestra is perhaps often overlooked or maybe,
sadly, slowly fading from memory.
So it is with great hope that I can help remind your ear of the
glorious sound of the live orchestra that I present below both the
original sample/computer version and the live 70 piece orchestra
version. If you have a good pair of headphones or some decent
external speakers, you will really get a feel for the difference between computer samples (below left) and the luxurious
sound of the live orchestra (below right).
If you like what you hear, check out my portfolio page for more music and drop me a line on my contact page.
