Wiardgroup

> > The reason I asked why you would use a Buchla is that I know and
> > know of several people who do what you do---NONE of them use analog
> > except for window dressing to impress clients.  Time is money. Who
> > has the time to diddle with patches and record monophonically when
> > you can push a button and play with all ten fingers?

As a film composer like Chris, I can honestly say that I really don't
give a crap how anybody else does this job.  

Years ago, I saw the trend in the music industry - everybody had a
garage sale in December, selling off this year's instruments so that
we had money buy the new gear at NAMM in January;  then race was on to
be the first to use the stuff on projects.

Is this the pattern of the modern day virtuoso?  I think not.

On my last project (Kingdom Hopsital), I produced over 5 hours of
music in 3 months.  I used the Wiard on each and every episode.  Do
most of my peers do this?  No.  Does this indicate that someone is in
error?

I suppose that if I were to play trumpet on my scores (the way that
Mark Isham does), it would be hours and hours of wasted time on my
part.  Why?  Because I don't play the trumpet!

All film composers use computers to record their music, so, when
virtual synthesizers came around, it was logical for them to buy them.
 Most of the film community are not synthesists, in the classic sense.
 They have a qualified interest in synthesis.  So, when products come
out with vast libraries of "pro-quality" loops, etc., it is a
convenience to what already is a tedious task for them.  But not for
me.  I love this stuff, and my peer group remark at the sound of my
music (in other words, it has made a difference).

It is not wasted of time, because, like any good player, I PRACTICE. 
I play these instruments all the time.  When I am not scoring a
picture, I am modifying the studio, sending modules back for repair -
I love this stuff the way that others love there guitars.

What Chris is doing is simple - what you don't use, you loose.  If you
intend to be any good at this electronic music thing, you have got to
use every day - not just as something that you do in your spare time.

As you succeed at film scoring, you have less and less spare time, so
I have no intention of spending the majority of my life with
Spectrasonic libraries when I can spend it with likes of Grant and Paul.

No contest.


Gary

If it's the difference between loving what I do or getting on the same
treadmill, wasting away years of my life becoming an expert of
libraries that 


> OK, fair enough.
> *A lot* of the soundtrack work I hear sounds depressingly generic.
> There are a couple of sample CD's by Spectrasonics, 'Distorted
Reality' and
> 'Distorted Reality 2'. I own both, try and use them sparingly.
> I hear those samples/patches EVERYDAY on tv and film scores. Often the
> composer has written an entire cue with two DR patches!
> I'm never going to be a great Hollywood composer.....I don't want to
be, but
> I yearn for the 60's and 70's when film music was truly contemporary,
> Bernard Herrman, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Quincy Jones, Herbie
> Hancock.....even John Carpenter.
> Over the last few years I've been hired for mainstream TV shows, but
I've
> argued with directors over the heavy rock guitar they want every
time there
> is an action sequence, or the request for a bit of saxophone during
the love
> scene, the comedy music just to nudge the audience into realising
they're
> supposed to laugh. I guess I realised I wasn't cut out for 'prime time'.
> Instead I've carved out a little niche with young documentary film
makers. I
> use my knowledge of dance music, my years in rock music, my training in
> classical music and my collection of analogue synths, to try and
realise the
> music they are looking for. It's a lot more time consuming than
switching on
> a few midi modules, but a lot more satisfying and at the end of the day,
> good for business.
> CW