# Long time no post...



## Simon Ravn (Oct 21, 2005)

But here's something I did for a showreel recently. It is pretty similar to one I did a year ago for another company. This one had my own music from that showreel as temp music Which was originally based on some David Arnold Bond cue.


http://www.simonravn.com/media/Zikadias-Showreel2005.mp3 (http://www.simonravn.com/media/Zikadias ... el2005.mp3)


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## Evan Gamble (Oct 21, 2005)

always great to here another piece from you Simon, and great to hear some of PP in a different genre than ive heard before. 

Most excellent piece! 8)


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## Marsdy (Oct 21, 2005)

You've totally nailed the David Arnold Bond vibe. David Arnold nailed the John Barry thing of course! 

Fantastic cue as always.


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## Christian Marcussen (Oct 21, 2005)

Indeed... very nice stuff Simon.


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## Niah (Oct 21, 2005)

What Folmann said.


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## Simon Ravn (Oct 21, 2005)

Thanks

Well there are harp glisses (and other harp stuff). Not meant to be heard, just meant to add... it's orchestration :D ... dunno about the beat. Beats don't really interest me - it works and that's good enough for me...


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## Frederick Russ (Oct 21, 2005)

Very nice Simon - cool composition and arrangement. Mockup sounds superb - well done!


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## Aaron Sapp (Oct 21, 2005)

Some sexy stuff there Simon.  Hope to hear more!


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## Alex W (Oct 22, 2005)

not a bad cue there dude nice work...



Simon Ravn said:


> ...Beats don't really interest me...



SMITE HIM!!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 22, 2005)

Aaron's right: that's a sexy piece of organized sound.


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## Niah (Oct 22, 2005)

Alex W said:


> not a bad cue there dude nice work...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yea, I've noticed from your other pieces 

I mean, they work really well and are effective and you captured the style well with the programming it's just that in terms of sound they are not very stylistic, they're sort of dead. Sorry I don't know exactly how to put it into words. In seems to me, and by listening to some David Arnold's and John Powell's scores, that you play a little more with reverb, delay, cuts and filters.

Only a suggestion, keep posting !


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## Ed (Oct 22, 2005)

Simon this is great! I think I still like the first version you did last year better, but its a hard choice. Love those strings and brass! Makes me want to check out those Bond scores.

Ed


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## Simon Ravn (Oct 23, 2005)

Niah, This beat is just a "background beat". Changing the cutoff with filters, adding delays etc. would not be appropriate. In a more action/dramatic cue with breaks and a lot of changes in pace and tension, it would be appropriate to play around with that sort of stuff but not here.

Thanks for your comments everybody.


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## Alex W (Oct 23, 2005)

Simon Ravn said:


> Niah, This beat is just a "background beat". Changing the cutoff with filters, adding delays etc. would not be appropriate. In a more action/dramatic cue with breaks and a lot of changes in pace and tension, it would be appropriate to play around with that sort of stuff but not here.



I disagree...

:wink:


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## Hardy Heern (Oct 23, 2005)

Simon, this is beautifully written and produced. It could only do you a lot of good if heard by a potential customer. :D 

Beautifully polished and classy in the genre. What libraries were used?

Frank


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## José Herring (Oct 23, 2005)

I don't think there's anything wrong with natural beats at all. I think your piece sounds very nice Simon. If I were to change anything I would just put the snare just a little further down so that it's not overpowering the rest of the orchestral sounds. And also because it sounds a little midi like which I've learned from experience is the kiss of death.

Jose


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## Simon Ravn (Oct 23, 2005)

Folmann, I wasn't expecting you to agree  

Well... Stylus RMX is wonderful. Press play on tape  Anyway, I didn't feel any need to change anything along the way, but yes, some subtle changes might have been nice. Must admit I haven't gone very deep into RMX yet. I only recently discovered that I could drag'n'drop MIDI data to the sequencer :lol:


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## Simon Ravn (Oct 23, 2005)

Hardy Heern said:


> Simon, this is beautifully written and produced. It could only do you a lot of good if heard by a potential customer. :D
> 
> Beautifully polished and classy in the genre. What libraries were used?
> 
> Frank


Thanks.

Library breakdown:

Violins, violas and cellos are custom, except for a couple of VSL patches layered on top.
Harp is EWQLSO
Woodwinds are custom + Sonic Implants + VSL
Horns are Sonic Implants + VSL + custom
Trombones + trumpets + tuba custom
Percussion is True Strike + a little StormDrum and Stylus RMX.
Bass is Trilogy.


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## Hardy Heern (Oct 23, 2005)

Thanks for sharing that Simon,

Unfortunately the libraries are only just part of it.........all I need now is the talent! :? :D 
Frank


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## choc0thrax (Oct 23, 2005)

Sweet sig Hardy!


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Oct 23, 2005)

Great sound, balance, timbral sensitivity... the usual for you, Simon. The choice of beat sucks, though, IMHO. It's much too laid back. At the very least, the hat should be double the tempo. There's a lot of intensity in the music, in the mood of the piece, that is not reflected at all in the drum part. In this context, this groove sounds like a fancy click track. I say drop it or change it.


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## Simon Ravn (Oct 24, 2005)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> Great sound, balance, timbral sensitivity... the usual for you, Simon. The choice of beat sucks, though, IMHO. It's much too laid back. At the very least, the hat should be double the tempo. There's a lot of intensity in the music, in the mood of the piece, that is not reflected at all in the drum part. In this context, this groove sounds like a fancy click track. I say drop it or change it.



Well, sorry, but the client loves it and a similar beat was used for the reference track, so this is how it stays :wink:


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## Ed (Oct 24, 2005)

Simon, dont listen to these fools.  I liked the beat, and in the other Ghost Showreel one too. Its simple, but theres nothing wrong with that!


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## AndreasWaldetoft (Oct 24, 2005)

Very nice Simon. The beat fit the track, so I wouldnt change it.


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## Craig Sharmat (Oct 24, 2005)

Enjoyed the track, nice work Simon. As always the sequencing is clean and precise and hits the mark. Because of being a jazzer I might have liked to have heard a little more use of orchestral jazz harmonies, to take the piece to even another level, but it is very nice as is.


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## ComposerDude (Oct 24, 2005)

I first heard the cue on a laptop where the difference between the ambient orchestra and the beat was really pronounced...and so I listened again on better speakers, and there's still an audible foreground/background split. The orchestra, as usual, was very good. Could there have been more processing added to the beat to "glue" it into the orchestral mix?

-Peter


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## Simon Ravn (Oct 24, 2005)

ComposerDude said:


> I first heard the cue on a laptop where the difference between the ambient orchestra and the beat was really pronounced...and so I listened again on better speakers, and there's still an audible foreground/background split. The orchestra, as usual, was very good. Could there have been more processing added to the beat to "glue" it into the orchestral mix?
> 
> -Peter



Well I actually didn't try to add any reverb at all to the beat or the bass, just kept it 100% dry. Also since it is not a very acoustic beat, I would normally not want reverb on it. It is not supposed to sound like the beat and the bass is being played back in the hall along with the orchestra.


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## ComposerDude (Oct 24, 2005)

Ok, cool. Just wondering, because the ambience is very rich on the orchestra, and the beats stand out much closer to the listener -- the sonic image is like a fermata symbol, with the orchestra as the semicircle and the beat source as the dot in the middle. It's an interesting effect.


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## Thonex (Oct 24, 2005)

I've been absent from this site due to deadlines, but I'm back and want to catch up on all the great cues... but when I click on Simon's link, I get:

www.simonravn.com cannot be found.

Has the link changed?

Thanks,

T


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## Rodney Glenn (Oct 24, 2005)

Very nice indeed.

The tempo would depend on whats going on visually and I don't see a problem with this more "laid back" pace. I for one appreciate it not going at a rabbit-humping pace.

I can see this working very well as a background piece for some sort of presentation or something like that. It's powerful, but instead of stealing too much attention from the thing being presented, it rather adds a feeling of power to the subject. I might be way off here, but I like to do amateurish observations and pretend like I actually know something.  

As far as the beat is concerned, I think it fits the context well too. Again, it of course depends on the feel you're after, but IMO think this "simpler" beat brings out the orchestra which is a great thing when it sounds this good.

Regarding the dryness of the beat and bass, I think that was a wise choice as well. Again, it brings out the orchestra and the separation makes for clarity and it's easier to hear what's going on with the different elements. For me, more complex does not necessarily mean better. Simon keeps it simple here and I think it works.

That said, I think all others who commented have their valid points, but then again I think it depends on what context it's in and what feel you're after. I just happen to really dig this "as is". 8) 

I see this as an orchestral-electronica thing rather than an electronica-orchestral one, if you know what I mean. Dunno if that makes sense at all, but it's just my 2 cents.

Anyways, kudos on a great sounding piece. :D 

R


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## Rodney Glenn (Oct 24, 2005)

Thonex said:


> I've been absent from this site due to deadlines, but I'm back and want to catch up on all the great cues... but when I click on Simon's link, I get:
> 
> www.simonravn.com cannot be found.
> 
> ...



Thonex, the link works just fine for me. Perhaps it's just been down temporarily?

R


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## Thonex (Oct 24, 2005)

Rodney_G said:


> Thonex said:
> 
> 
> > I've been absent from this site due to deadlines, but I'm back and want to catch up on all the great cues... but when I click on Simon's link, I get:
> ...



hmmm... it's weird... I click on the link and I get an *instant* message "www.simonravn.com cannot be found. Please check the name and try again." :cry: 

Weird.

T


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## choc0thrax (Oct 24, 2005)

Link works for me.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Oct 24, 2005)

It's because you're using Nuendo, Thonex.

:shock:


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## Thonex (Oct 24, 2005)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> It's because you're using Nuendo, Thonex.
> 
> :shock:



Well... Nuendo is the best browser :lol: 

T


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