# No Longer in Vogue: The Last Epic Action Cue



## stevenson-again (Dec 2, 2010)

this is relatively topical since guy was posting about action cues and i had just finished writing one. but it is also topical since it now appears that the big epic cue is considered out of vogue, particularly with choir - which is a shame since requiem (which i used on this) is really good in them.

this last hurrah was smashed together over the weekend and features a couple of live players - though no overdubbing - recorded on monday. i so love writing the big numbers but i had to scale this cue back quite a way for the version that ended up in the film. i'm getting the feeling that big epic numbers are considered a bit old fashioned. i really didn't think this was but there you are.

so i shall with regret lay requiem aside, and my tutti horns will speak with softer tones, my drums will be muted or gently played. until of course, that goes out of fashion too and i can greet them as old friends.

i post this in the hope that my fellow composers will salute the sun as it sets over the epic action cue.

http://idisk.mac.com/rohan.stevenson/Public/webdemos/InfiltratetheCitadel.mp3 (Infiltrating the Citadel)


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## JBacal (Dec 2, 2010)

Sounds great! Can you share what the live elements are?

Best,
Jay


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## hbuus (Dec 2, 2010)

Damn, this is impressive.
What else can one say.
I like how the choir is buried into the mix instead of sticking out like it does in so many other pieces I've heard recently here.

- This must be one of the best pieces I have ever heard here on VI Control.
Good work, stevenson-again.

Best,
Henrik


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## bluejay (Dec 2, 2010)

Absolutely excellent work and a fantastic mix as well. Love it!


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## David Story (Dec 2, 2010)

Wonderful, evocative music that improves the story. It's called timeless, not old. Super mix. The changes in texture are especially convincing. 
Feels virtuosic, rare in sample strings.

What is that synth around :30, it blends well with orchestral sounds.

Thanks Rohan.


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## Blackster (Dec 2, 2010)

I also really enjoyed this piece - great writing, very atmospheric! Thumps up !! =o


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## stevenson-again (Dec 2, 2010)

thanks awfully guys. the synth is a mixture of JV1080 (i still love it) some circle bells, and bowed piano.

the bit i really like is the bit around 4:30 with string run up to the climactic moment. it worked really well to picture but i dunno - it just feels convincing as mockups go to me.

i should also 'fess that if it feels like it has lost a little musical focus towards the end its because it does - they are ripped from my own cues that were used as temps. they worked to picture, i knew the powers that be really liked those bits and i didn't want to fight them on it. plus i only had 2 days to get 7 and a half minutes of pretty hard working music done... :-p


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## David Story (Dec 2, 2010)

Ha, I'm looking at my unused 1080 and even 5080, thinking maybe they're worth a listen.

Yes, 4:30 is a perfect example of that virtuosic sound. There's something thrilling about an exceptional live performance, and you get that at several points. Also 6:36


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## JonFairhurst (Dec 2, 2010)

Sounds great! What orchestral lib(s) and reverb did you use?


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## Mr Greg G (Dec 2, 2010)

Hey stevenson-again, this is an awesome piece you're presenting to us! Great work man! Like Henrik said, it's one of the best tracks I've heard on VI! :D


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## MichaelJM (Dec 2, 2010)

Fantastic! Really enjoyed the ups and downs of this.

Honestly, I'm pretty stunned by the realism. Having the live brass is wonderful, and I think adds to that. Great mix indeed. I'm curious to know the libraries and reverb as well.


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## Mr. Anxiety (Dec 2, 2010)

That's what i'm talkin' about....... Bravo!

Mr A


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## synthetic (Dec 2, 2010)

Very nice. Doesn't sound dated to me at all, I could see this in a Narnia or Harry Potter film.


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## cc64 (Dec 2, 2010)

2 Days for this Rohan, what a slacker you are /\~O 

Fantastic writing and production, comme d'habitude.

You're hi string ostinati sound good what are they? The lo strings sound great too...

Claude


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## Guy Bacos (Dec 2, 2010)

Rohan, you really present some awesome action cues on this forum. Wow!


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## stevenson-again (Dec 3, 2010)

thanks for the kind words again.

the libs (sorry i forgot to mention) are LASS, sam Brass, epic toms, DoW, and spitfire percussion. i didn't even bother to do my usual doubling of the LASS strings with symphobia - there really wasn't time. oh and requiem of course. i had the trumpet and westgate horn in the orginal mockup which is muted out. they were great and some ways better than my live players, but its the attacks and the nice accented notes the live players really bring to the party. there is also a smidge of voices of the apocalypse which still has that amazing high tenor belting it out sound nailed.

and finally a bit of daniella, a friend of mine who is a stunning mezzo, and who recorded some cues for me years ago. i nicked some long notes from that session, tuned them and turned them into one of the most useful instruments i have in my library. i am in fact nursing a hangover after being out with her and some other friends last night - we had gone to see a mutual friend conduct the ECO and we did the obligatory partying whenever he is in town.

he has pretty interesting friends. during the concert i got talking to the lady next to me (whose name escapes me) who is an opera director, who used to date stanley myers when hans zimmer assisted him. they had a recording studio in fulham 'hear no evil' which i have recorded at many times myself. i had no idea zimmer owned or recorded there and my jaw kept trying to fall off my face. they eventually sold the studio to the current owner steve parr, who is a fantastic engineer and just a joy to work with.

but hans recorded score for some of his first big movies there. they kept that quiet - i really had no idea.


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## stevenson-again (Dec 3, 2010)

oh the reverb is just the large hall on my konnekt 48 interface. Fabrik R. i really like the reverb on that unit. i also pipe some sends off to my old lexicon for some small church before it gets to the Fabrik. i find that has a really excellent spatialization or early reflections type of effect.


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## George Caplan (Dec 3, 2010)

it sounds very good. its a kind of mixture of cliche film music and classical. great.


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## spikescott (Dec 3, 2010)

Lovely work. Good seperation too - all too easy to get things mushy with a full orchestra going for it.

On the Hans Zimmer thing, I remember an article in one of the pro mags years ago that was early in his film career. It was basically Hans championing the Euphoniox that he'd had installed, and I think that was at Hear No Evil... (The article was a verrrrry long time ago!) He'd got an identical Euphonix set up in LA too, so could duplicate sessions seamlessly in each location. Didn't he have something to do with Swanyard too? - Or am I just imagining that?

Did you know one of his early TV gigs was the pretty cheesey theme tune to the UK 80's morning game show "Going for Gold" ?!?! - Just shows, we all have to start somewhere :wink: - Although that would have been a pretty good earner in royalties all the sameas it was aired daily and ran for years!


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## stevenson-again (Dec 3, 2010)

there is a gorgeous euphonix desk at hear no evil. it may very well be the same one.


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## JohnG (Dec 3, 2010)

still can't hear the darn thing -- stupid ISP #%&@


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## stevenson-again (Dec 3, 2010)

john, it's probably your browser. try copying the link and oasting it into quicktime. just control clicki the link to copy it and in quicktime go apple-U and paste the link into the field. then it should playback fine.


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## JohnG (Dec 3, 2010)

genius!


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## rayinstirling (Dec 3, 2010)

I can't imagine watching a Citadel beinò     à­]     à¶¯     à¶â     à·Ç     à¸     àÁ’     àÁÔ     àÐ	     àÒÄ     àÓ     àÜä     àÜó


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## Lex (Dec 4, 2010)

Sounds great!

Which movie is it? Would love to hear/see this in context?

aLex


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## Harzmusic (Dec 4, 2010)

Wow, that was great! Amazing sound, composition and arrangement. Simply great work!



> the libs (sorry i forgot to mention) are LASS, sam Brass, epic toms, DoW, and spitfire percussion.


No woodwinds in there?


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## stevenson-again (Dec 4, 2010)

there is a little woodwind in there. me on clarinet, some runs from symphobia. some stuff i recorded in prague (a rip or 2). i would nomrally include a lot more but the cue was written in such a hurry and was already busy enough.

some of the high ostinatos are doubled with high woodwind. my wind libs are pretty old school - mostly seidlecek advanced orchestra, an Eb clarinet a mate recorded for me (samples that is).

the cue is from 'merlin' and was temped with mostly my stuff from previous eps which i know they have cut into this cue and put back in. i knew they really liked those bits and so i tried to make the material of the new cue relate as much as possible in case they did that, but in my opinion it works best on a run to have something closer to a consistent piece of music instead of chopping in your favourite bits from past cues.

it goes out tonight so we'll see what the damage is. it has been at times a really frustrating run working the way these producers do. no way to create a really great score or show. i sometimes can't fathom the bizarreness of the decisions they make.


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## jbuskes (Dec 4, 2010)

Wow, awesome piece! I love the sudden bursts of the orchestra! It feels epic without going overboard, great job on the orchestration and mix!


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## tumeninote (Dec 4, 2010)

This work is very impressive! Also mix sounds great.


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## Tanuj Tiku (Dec 4, 2010)

Rohan, 

Thats really really good! Very mature writing and well executed!



Best,

Tanuj.


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## stevenson-again (Dec 6, 2010)

thanks for the kind words guys!


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## Tmon (Dec 6, 2010)

This is incredible! Listened to it 3 times now. o-[][]-o 

-T


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## paoling (Dec 14, 2010)

Rohan, you did a wonderful job!


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