A Bit on the ABYDOS: Incursion OST (Including the Instruments Used)

Composing was pretty much the last step of the movie in my workflow, although that was more of a guideline than a rule. While I can see a couple things that I could have done differently, I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out--and, perhaps more vitally of all, if I waited for the soundtrack to be perfect I wouldn't actually ever get the movie released.  Anyway, given my blog's early emphasis on project-making resources, I decided to showcase what I used to make the soundtrack for ABYDOS: Incursion! Below is everything I used to compose it; all of them are free in some form (although some carry a couple caveats), because my approach to whether I should grab software really hasn't changed in the last eight or nine years of this blog.

Composing software/DAW used: LMMS (free and open source)

Instruments used (NOTE: The below license descriptions only apply to making music with the downloads, not modifying/redistributing the files themselves. Also, while I've looked around, I may have missed a couple details, so feel free to double check the "no known strings" part--pun welcome but not intended--if you want):

  • BBC Symphonic Orchestra, by Spitfire Audio ("Discover" version, $50 or free if you fill in a form and wait a couple weeks, VST; no known strings attached) - The last pack on the list that I downloaded, I mainly used this for strings (bass or otherwise) and brass, in tandem with Virtual Playing Orchestra.
  • DSK Music, by Victor (freeware, VST; no strings attached) - to be specific, DSK The Grand, DSK Strings and DSK ChoirZ; mostly used on the first few tracks due to technical issues that were resolved later. I've found ChoirZ is particularly useful for a more synth-y choir feel.
  • Equinox Grand Pianos, by Shan (free, soundfont; "personal use"--which apparently translates to CC-BY-NC/non-commercial, so I've exported the tracks with SGM 2.01 for any future use) - The original Equinox site is dead, but the download's available elsewhere.
  • NST Choir a.k.a. NST Vocal, by bigcat instruments (freeware, VST; no known strings) - While this took a bit of tinkering, I was able to get a pretty realistic-sounding choir out of it with the instruments in the image below this list.
  • SGM 2.01, by Shan (free, soundfont; CC-BY/attribution-required) - As with Equinox, the SGM site is dead; most of this was used for an ethereal choir, a couple strings, a piano and a number of synth sounds, but it took up other roles in a track or two.  Kind of a swiss army knife as far as soundfonts go.
  • Virtual Playing Orchestra, (freeware, SFZ; no strings attached) - Used with the Sforzando plugin; as with the BBC Symphonic Orchestra, this was used for strings and brass. 

 

Finally, I'm glad to announce that the OST will be getting an official social media release in a future post! Composing for a full project definitely stretched me, but I can really see the joy in it--and the flexibility of moving past stock music. I'm glad to have tried it out! 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seven Quick Takes Friday

Image
So, it's been over a month since my last post and I haven't done a thing.  This is partially because I was: a. in New Jersey with my grandparents and cousin in early early July. b. packing up for summer camp in later early July. c. earning merit badges in summer camp for a week in mid-July. d. this is late July.  And next week I'm going on a family vacation. On to the other excuses for non blogging what's been happening: 1. Of course, there are all the minor details like my birthday , earning a learner's permit , signing college applications, etc. 2. Back with computer animation, I am happy ecstatic to announce that someone has downloaded my TARDIS model !  Somewhere, someone is using it for their own projects!!! 3. Speaking of downloads, I have downloaded and am coloring a Tardis interior from the same website.  To tell the truth, I actually like it that downloads all start out colored gray; it gives the person working with it something to do.  O
Read more

Finally--a Physical Mattework!

Here it is!  Using the same technique used in Star Wars* (although a bit shakier and with less axes) I've done an actual green screening/mattework using my brother's birthday present! It looks a bit cheesy, but I'd say a lot of the trouble is that the lighting was a bit wrong.  As well, an iPhone, despite recording at Super HD (aka 2.1 Megapixels=not actually that high), isn't quite at the professional level of video cameras.  Either way, the problem was that if I'd try to take away certain shades of green, parts of Oob's Ninjacopter would also disappear.  *Star Wars: instead of moving toy ships on Popsicle sticks like everyone else, Lucasfilm had the cameras moving while the detailed ships stayed still in front of a blue screen. 
Read more

I've Uploded a 3D Model!

Image
I've uploaded my Tardis model to 3dcadbrowser.com , a website used to upload--and download--3D models.  Apparently, there are multiple different 3D model upload/download sites, such as Turbosquid , where I got several Dalek models which I was too slothlike/ lazy amateur and inexperienced to make on my own. Here's my Tardis: http://www.3dcadbrowser.com/download.aspx?3dmodel=62766 Please note that as I'd slept through my high school transdimentional engineering class, I have yet to make it bigger on the inside. I hope to upload more of these later on!
Read more