Orchestral Post Production (VST sound libraries)

[Paul Cating]

So I'm having some trouble. I've got some pretty high end libraries and my mixes are getting pretty good, but when I go to the sites of the library creators and listen to the demos they're just so much more "expressive" and "live." And I'm wondering how they're achieving that. Are they rendering the midi tracks to audio and piping them through a channel strip to give it that edge? Is what I'm producing as good as it's gonna get without buying analogue equipment? Should I be looking into getting "better" plugins? Or am I just not as proficient with my tools as I'd like to be and should be? To me when I compare my track to theirs it feels like there's a "fog" over my track, and theirs has this clear brilliance. It's hard to describe but I'm sure you'll hear it. Any help on the matter would be great, especially if you have some good production tips on how to better utilize and mix sound libraries.

Here's an example of my latest work, and I'll post a demo from the library company using some of the same libraries for comparison.

From me
https://soundcloud.com/paul-cating/forgotten

From Embertone
https://soundcloud.com/embertone/alexdavis-claritythroughrage


Cheers!

 

[Btyre2013]

I honestly think you need to work on your orchestration skills, it's not bad but could do with some major improvements in the arrangement, it's partly the mix as well, but nearly all fog or mud comes from the arrangement.

 

[Tiko]

+1. You just need to work on your composing, orchestration & playing skills. Make music non-stop. You'll learn every day.

Don't worry, with hard work you will get there!

 

[rob aylestone]

When you play, do you ever have your left hand free? All the people I meet who are excellent have their systems set up so their left hand controls expression and modulation or something else, plus they are keyswitching like mad, often almost note for note. I still can't quite master this. My samplers let me do it, but the week link is me! I've looked at the midi files they produce and they are peppered with volume, mod, expression, and other controllers that I'm not even quite sure what they do. They also seem to be able to hit the sample switch points where one tone changes to a more strident one without a change in volume, I always go from too quiet to too loud making the switch obvious. I guess it is just practice and skill. I bought a big band sampler package and the demos are amazing, yet I can't yet get close, despite being a wind player.

 

[bmwerx]

Hey Paul.,
You've got a lot of great melodies happening. Not hard to describe at all. You did that fine. That's actually the first step to achieving your goal in becoming a great composer, engineer and producer for film and video music. And today, you really need to wear each of those hats and a few more as well. Keep asking questions, going on these forums and challenging yourself is what all the greatest of the great have done. Don't be impatient.

Lots have to do with composition skills. Lots have to do with your engineering skills. My best advice to you at this point is to relax and take it easy. Lean back and listen carefully to those you really admire and respect in the business you're challenging. Make difficult decisions about your music compared to those who are successful in the industry. Learn by listening and comparing your music to those who have succeeded. You probably have all the necessary tools to compete already. My advice would be to exercise patients and take only one step at a time.

I like to make sure I don't walk over any details in my MIDI articulations. Most of the competitive DAW's offer more than enough tools to qualify MIDI samples as "real", recorded instruments. Cubase, ProTools, Logic, Reason, and ten other DAW's give us all the tools necessary to compete in the markets. It ain't about the money and material resources anymore. You have them at your fingertips. The playing field is level in that respect. There's no need to render MIDI tracks to audio anymore. they did that years ago to reserve CPU performance because of limited RAM and or, limited MIDI tracks and general processor limitations of DAWs 5, 8 or 10 years ago when only industry professional could afford those resources and tools. As of the past few years, these DAW companies have all competed for our business and have thus provided to us, through R&D the ability to produce the kinds of dynamics and quality productions only the most successful in the industry could afford.

So, you have the necessary tools from what songs you posted here I can assure. Now that you have the necessary tools like a good DAW, VST's and plugins, what else is missing from the scenario preventing your music from being as competitive, dynamic and illustrious as the pro's in the industry?

My answer would be experience and the ability to confront the tough questions. Like, am I any good at this or not. Is there something else I'd rather be doing? Or, maybe I don't think all the time and practice I have to invest in this is worth it and I'd rather be at the river fishing... Or, maybe like a lot of us here, the carrot isn't big enough to compete in the business anymore. But that's the topic of a whole other thread.

https://soundcloud.com/trakhause100/serenade-1

Good luck mate.

 

[MrUserNameIV]

I honestly think you need to work on your orchestration skills, it's not bad but could do with some major improvements in the arrangement, it's partly the mix as well, but nearly all fog or mud comes from the arrangement.

^^^ Yes, what he said. If you think about how an orchestra is "mixed", it's by the way the music is written, since it's traditionally a live form of music. If someone is recording a live orchestra, to the best of my limited knowledge, they're mostly just trying to capture fairly clearly what's being played rather than changing the sound after the fact, so even if you're using samples, maybe try approaching it that way. Change the tonality by changing the arrangement.