# Template or No Template - that is the Question



## Nicholas (Apr 6, 2020)

Hi!

I want to enter a film scoring contest. The movie sequence is 10 minutes long, deadline is June 30, so there‘s plenty of time (even more so since I have to stay at home anyways).

Here‘s the thing: Tbh, I‘ve never scored a film before. I did some orchestral compositions, some orchestral elements in my own music and some very short Soundlogos. I know my way around the orchestra and the libraries I own, which are:

Spitfire Albion ONE, LCO Strings, Studio Strings / Brass / Woodwinds, HZ Perc, HZ Piano, Orchestral Swarms.
Cinematic Studio Strings
NI Komplete Ultimate

I work on one computer, a baseline iMac Pro.

The question is: Would it make sense to invest the next one or two weeks in creating a template, or should I just jump right in and look where things are going? I don‘t use VEP, so I‘d most likely have to freeze every instrument and turn it on if I need them, depending on how much horsepower the template would need. I could set up a basic mixing structure with every instrument in its place I guess.

Should I create expression maps? Does it makes sense to use those if I don‘t have a template?

Thanks so much in advance,

Nicholas


(ps... for me this is a long-awaited new chapter. I always resisted, but I figured that now might be the ideal time to enter the world of film scoring for good).


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## Jeast (Apr 6, 2020)

Just dive in and start. Finally you mix the project. Save as template


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## dzilizzi (Apr 6, 2020)

For what might be a one time thing? I wouldn't waste the time. When you start doing a lot of these, templates can save you time. But they also get really large really fast, which means you have to go so much stuff to find what you want to use unless you use them all the time and know what you are looking for. 

I've made templates and then end up not using them.


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## cqd (Apr 6, 2020)

The recent addition of folders to pro tools has answered this question for me..
I open a project..load the sketching folder..get the idea together, think to myself..hmmm..maybe CSS for the strings..caspian for the brass..big percussion so HZ perc..load up the folders..BAMM..

All loaded up and routed..
It's pretty awesome..


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## Nicholas (Apr 6, 2020)

thanks for all the answers so far!



dzilizzi said:


> For what might be a one time thing? I wouldn't waste the time.



I hope it‘s not. I want to do more of these and also maybe do some commissioned work on local productions in the near future.


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## Uiroo (Apr 6, 2020)

I'd set up everything you have to set up anyway, so all the tracks, routing, trackcolors, groups. 
And save that as a template. Doesn't take much time. 
And yes I'd absolutely do expression maps, at least for the stuff you use a lot. 
But it's a lot of work.


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