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How much signal processing goes into soundtrack releases?

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Author	Topic: How much signal processing goes into soundtrack releases?

TimT Oscar® Winner	We all know that hearing someone like Briney Spears live in a recording session, is much differnt from hearing her perform the same song on her latest CD release. There is alot of signal processing that goes on such as EQ'ing, reverb, compression and pitch shifting to enchance and color the sound which makes the CD recording sound way different than it did live in the studio. But how is it with soundtrack release? When we listen to something like Enemy at the Gates, is this how it sounded live, or is it the way an artistic recording engineer wanted it to sound, or thinks it should sound? A record producer/recording egineer of mainly Pop, Hiphop, R&B music, told me that that regarding classical music, that the recording engineers hardly do anything compared to things he's do in HipHop and R&B. Because they are naturalist. They want everything to sound natural so they hardly mess with the recording. If Britney Spears did a live recording that was totally dry then she and her music would sound like totally crud. Oh wait, she does sound like crud! NP- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Michael Kamen) [Message edited by TimT on 03-18-2001]
posted 03-18-2001 11:42 AM PT (US)

Swashbuckler Oscar® Winner	This is actually an interesting topic, and the truth is that it depends greatly on the style of the score itself. Acoustically performed orchestral scores tend to have a drier sound than classical music recordings because they are miked closer. This makes it a little easier get a clean mix for the film. However, some film scores, such as those of Jerry Goldsmith, have electronics in them. Depending on how they were recorded, they will be put into the mix differently. On Basil Poledouris' RoboCop they were recorded live along with the orchestra, the logistics of which were very difficult (that's why Poledouris, who produced the score, did not conduct it). Howard Shore, in addition to using electronics to embellish his scores (sometimes using a collection of processed sounds playing randomly), has also been known to alter the sound of the orchestral recording as well, such as in Crash. In addition to all these variations, there is another factor to film scores... the film mix itself. Sometimes the music will be sped up or slowed down to accomodate the action, and sometimes it will be mixed slightly differently than on the album in order to emphasize certain instruments.
posted 03-18-2001 02:37 PM PT (US)

Marian Schedenig Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Swashbuckler: Acoustically performed orchestral scores tend to have a drier sound than classical music recordings because they are miked closer. This makes it a little easier get a clean mix for the film. Though many of the best-sounding scores, like Starship Troopers, are miked like "classical" music. I prefer it that way, especially since I have my new system. And generally, why should you want to alter the sound of a real orchestra without a specific reason (I don't know the Shore score Swash mentioned, but I'm sure Shore had his reasons)? It would be easier to play Zimmer and use synths instead of the orchestra right from the start.
posted 03-18-2001 05:53 PM PT (US)

JJH Oscar® Winner	Mr T wrote: quote: A record producer/recording egineer of mainly Pop, Hiphop, R&B music, told me that that regarding classical music, that the recording engineers hardly do anything compared to things he's do in HipHop and R&B. Because they are naturalist. They want everything to sound natural so they hardly mess with the recording. and there you have it. A summation of the single greatest invention of western civilzation, the symphony orchestra. It's not all fake glitz and glam like a certain poop star. Orchestral music: Rough, tough, and in the buff! NP -- Voices of Light, Richard Einhorn
posted 03-18-2001 06:00 PM PT (US)

JJH Oscar® Winner	oops. I'm sure I meant "pop star." or was that "pop tart"?
posted 03-18-2001 06:38 PM PT (US)

Jeron Oscar® Winner	Mmmmmmmm... Pop Tarts...
posted 03-19-2001 12:14 AM PT (US)

Camillu Oscar® Winner	I'm just sure you didn't mean 'pop art'.
posted 03-19-2001 12:48 AM PT (US)

Nicolai P. Zwar Oscar® Winner	There is no universal "truth" to how an orchestra should be recorded, and there are many ways the work actually gets done. Generally, for "classical" recordings, the best sound engineers in the world today use three microphones (and perhaps a few "supporter" microphones if there are soloists). The idea is to get a sound that is as natural as possible and to get the technic out of the way of the music as much as can be. The choices a conductor makes during the performance are the ones supposed to be audible, not the ones of any "artistic" sound engineers (for a while in the 1970s it was in vogue to record even classical music with plenty of more mics, but today many of these recordings sound artificially flat and awkward). Having said that, this is just a "general" rule of thumb though. To achieve certain musical effects or to mix in (or even record in real time) electronic instruments for example may require a different recording approach... it all depends.
posted 03-20-2001 06:00 AM PT (US)

Marian Schedenig Oscar® Winner	I still wonder why Williams recent Shawn Murphy-mixed albums sound so bad, when Murphy (or whoever is mainly responsibe for the clarity and naturality of the sound on a score CD) made so great sounding albums like Hook and Casper. NP: Batman (Danny Elfman)
posted 03-20-2001 07:29 AM PT (US)

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