# Your approach on creating drones(music for dialogs/atmopshere)



## impressions (Dec 11, 2012)

I'm asking this especially about people who write before they get the picture, like in reality shows where the deadline is extremely tight-the editing is done through the music, and the composer has to make a bank of different emotions background drones, for the editor to work with.

maybe there's a thread about it?
the development of creating this has to maintain the same emotion and yet still develop to not tire the ear.

also i'm wondering what libraries are good for creating such tracks, like those used in CSI, miami vice etc..

i figured most of those drones last about a minute, but the director asked for 2 minutes...
so that's what i've done-
https://www.box.com/s/t2l6fl7tl6yhl7kg5br5


----------



## Greg (Dec 11, 2012)

Heavyocity "Evolve"
8dio Rhythmic aura
Omnisphere
ect

All those nail "cop drama" music quite well


----------



## JJP (Dec 11, 2012)

This device will work with most synths.

http://www.possecrewensemble.com/as606/


----------



## impressions (Dec 12, 2012)

damn i don't have any of these libraries and they're quite costy.
i use alot of the drones in SD2 but are difficult to use..and my synths are just cubase locals+some freebies..
the drum kits used in these are also something that needs a special library?
acoustic drum kits doesn't cut it, they are much more subtle and electronic.



JJP @ Tue Dec 11 said:


> This device will work with most synths.
> 
> http://www.possecrewensemble.com/as606/



nice, but i think it's a bit more trickier than that. if things were that simple i would be much less stressed in these times...
takes me hours to create a 2 minute drone that maintain the ambient well without it sounding too boring.


----------



## Markus S (Dec 12, 2012)

Well, I think a drone is more like one note evolving (mostly rather deep note). I wouldn't qualify your music example as a drone at all. 

You can use pads and textures from Omnisphere to create drones, program the sound parameters with automation to make a longer evolved sound. Or combine different drones and pads. Omnisphere has named these categories, so if you haven't an electronic background (like myself), you can still find your way out.

There are plug ins like "time freezer" that allow you to create your own drones with your recording. It's nice, but not sure if it was worth the money for me.

If you look into "Abelton Live" there it really starts rocking. Create anything, any sound, as long as you need it. But its long to produce and you have to get into filter programming, loops, playback programming and all that. So if you are in a rush, Omnisphere is the right deal - well beyond "worth the money".


----------



## impressions (Dec 12, 2012)

so what do film composers define "emotional background music used for dialogs/atmosphere/kick off-climax points"?

usually these have the theme of the film in variation to match the emotion of the scene, but they are also very "chordlike" or more harmonic, so that it won't take over the dialogs themselves(lead but not through the music-not felt by the viewer)


----------



## Markus S (Dec 12, 2012)

impressions @ Wed Dec 12 said:


> so what do film composers define "emotional background music used for dialogs/atmosphere/kick off-climax points"?



Could be anything. :D Seriously, it's very vague.. maybe you should do a spotting session, or talk more to find out his/her ideas about the music. I wouldn't say it's necessarily a drone or electronic music.


----------



## Hal (Dec 12, 2012)

JJP @ Tue Dec 11 said:


> This device will work with most synths.
> 
> http://www.possecrewensemble.com/as606/




Loooool okk u can definitely afford this am just afraid of the shipping cost


----------



## impressions (Dec 12, 2012)

Markus S @ Wed Dec 12 said:


> impressions @ Wed Dec 12 said:
> 
> 
> > so what do film composers define "emotional background music used for dialogs/atmosphere/kick off-climax points"?
> ...



directors in my country calls them "carpets"... :shock: , they mean those drone pads. but a more sophisticated version is usually required in films.
I guess I'll have to scratch these myself..thanks for the feedback markus.


----------



## Ned Bouhalassa (Dec 12, 2012)

You said that you have Cubase - doesn't Cubase already come with a bunch of synths and FX? If you don't want or can't spend the money to get Omni, Padshop, Alchemy, Reaktor, and you don't have Kontakt, you can already do a lot with what you already have around the house/studio. 

IMO, the key is to modulate your source material over time. You can use a typical synth sound from one of Cubase's synths or start with something more interesting, if you're comfortable with a microphone: look/listen around you for continuous sounds, like running water, electrical hum/buzz, continuous car traffic, rolling objects, vacuum cleaner, bowing a guitar, radio static, anything that is sustained really. Then modulate, modulate, modulate. Put your recording through a filter, then record yourself slowly playing with the cutoff, or animate it using an LFO or Cubase automation. Add some tempo-synced delay and long reverb. Or instead of a simple filter, use a vocoder, to add chord-like properties to your source.


----------



## Ed (Dec 12, 2012)

Drones are easy! So many options, easiest thing to do is just pitch down any sustained sound  Then just do that many times, use synths etc, and layer.


----------



## Greg (Dec 12, 2012)

impressions @ Wed Dec 12 said:


> so what do film composers define "emotional background music used for dialogs/atmosphere/kick off-climax points"?
> 
> usually these have the theme of the film in variation to match the emotion of the scene, but they are also very "chordlike" or more harmonic, so that it won't take over the dialogs themselves(lead but not through the music-not felt by the viewer)



"Underscore"


----------



## impressions (Dec 13, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Wed Dec 12 said:


> You said that you have Cubase - doesn't Cubase already come with a bunch of synths and FX? If you don't want or can't spend the money to get Omni, Padshop, Alchemy, Reaktor, and you don't have Kontakt, you can already do a lot with what you already have around the house/studio.
> 
> IMO, the key is to modulate your source material over time. You can use a typical synth sound from one of Cubase's synths or start with something more interesting, if you're comfortable with a microphone: look/listen around you for continuous sounds, like running water, electrical hum/buzz, continuous car traffic, rolling objects, vacuum cleaner, bowing a guitar, radio static, anything that is sustained really. Then modulate, modulate, modulate. Put your recording through a filter, then record yourself slowly playing with the cutoff, or animate it using an LFO or Cubase automation. Add some tempo-synced delay and long reverb. Or instead of a simple filter, use a vocoder, to add chord-like properties to your source.



i think i got it...
https://www.box.com/s/x1oijeaxdxtbxfmuz42h

I'm still not sure about structure with creating these-there's usually some climax and then a drop, but going to where? if you've reached a certain point you have to go on a different route. the problem is you still have to maintain the same emotion?


----------



## marclawsonmusic (Dec 13, 2012)

JJP @ Wed Dec 12 said:


> This device will work with most synths.
> 
> http://www.possecrewensemble.com/as606/



Brilliant! =o


----------



## Ned Bouhalassa (Dec 13, 2012)

No need to swear to share your enthusiasm.


----------



## marclawsonmusic (Dec 13, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Thu Dec 13 said:


> No need to swear to share your enthusiasm.



OK. Keep it PG, then?


----------



## Ned Bouhalassa (Dec 13, 2012)

Just save that kind of intensity for when it's really worth it, if you can, otherwise we'll be slinging crap all day given all the incredible news that is posted here. :wink:


----------



## marclawsonmusic (Dec 13, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Thu Dec 13 said:


> Your edit is perfect, thanks.



I never edited the post. Someone else must have done that. 

But I fixed it now. Sorry for the trouble.


----------



## Ned Bouhalassa (Dec 13, 2012)

No, sorry for the confusion, but I saw your post again as a <guest>, and it showed up as f%%king. :lol: It's all good now. :shock: 8)


----------



## robteehan (Dec 13, 2012)

I picked up Forest Kingdom in a Best Service 2-for-1 sale a while back, and I have to say that it's full of really nice, creepy, organic pads that serve this function well.
many cases you have faders for the various elements so you can "evolve" them manually if you need to drone for a long time.


----------



## marclawsonmusic (Dec 13, 2012)

impressions @ Wed Dec 12 said:


> so what do film composers define "emotional background music used for dialogs/atmosphere/kick off-climax points"?
> 
> usually these have the theme of the film in variation to match the emotion of the scene, but they are also very "chordlike" or more harmonic, so that it won't take over the dialogs themselves(lead but not through the music-not felt by the viewer)



Truthfully, what you are describing here is "film scoring".

You mentioned drones earlier, but those are just one technique to achieve an emotional effect.

Typically, a drone is a texture based on a single tone - often the tonic of what ever chord / key you are playing in. I think the concept of a "drone" actually comes from bagpipes (or other instruments like that) where a root tone is played as the "drone" (low note) and the melody (or other notes) play off that and create the feeling of minor / major / etc.

So if you have a low drone of C, then an Eb in the melody would give things a minor feel... A note like a Gb or F# (tritone) would give things a very tense feel - the same with a Db (minor 2nd interval).

In this context, the drone serves a purpose of capturing the listener's ear as a reference point, where your other tones depart from that "root" tone (it is called that for a reason) and create a sense of dread / resolve / tension / etc.

So, I am not sure if your question is about creating "drones" (which is a topic in and of itself), or "film scoring" which means you apply all your musical knowledge to create a mood to accompany a scene.

Does that make sense?
Marc


----------



## Dan Mott (Dec 13, 2012)

Use Alchemy if you have

1. Take a flute sound, or brass (something with nice air to it)

2. record any ONE note you like (C3 preferably) for a bar or 2

3. Import it into Alchemy

4. Loop the sample so It's continues

5. Fiddle around with the granular parameters 

6. Play across the keys and use filters and LFOs, ect to make it move.

You'll get an interesting drone sound.

Try time stretching in Alchemy too, as well as layering that same sample and pitch it up or layer another airy sound on top of it.


You can do this with any sound. Bells are great too, anything with are a nice movement in the tail is good. It's fun and they are your sounds.


Finally, chuck it in a nice verb like EOS or Shimmer


----------



## impressions (Dec 14, 2012)

I think it's very interesting what you guys have to say, on the the technical side.
but I was actually hoping to open a discussion on the less technical side-more on how would you develop it composition-wise. 

What Marc offered was a very raw version and simplistic, which obviously won't work on the more complex emotions. also which is usually what's required on dramas, and also does not talk about developing.

to top that-you can just throw 3 chords on different rhythmic variations and with different pads/beats and that could work-you can, if you knew what you were doing. but you could also go and lose the right emotion for the cue, because of the many options you have.

so let's ask this-
Have you encountered a situation where you could go on several ways but none of them is the right one to maintain the correct emotion for the cue? what did you do the overcome this?
i found sometime that i could just change key, or just maintain variety on the cue and then go back to what the original mood was. but i think it's the easy way out.

maybe the problem is lack of harmonic freedom, i can create a mood that last 30 seconds-1 min and then i'm usually at loss on how to continue without it sounding different.

suggestions?


----------



## doctornine (Dec 14, 2012)

From my experience there's two kind of drones :

Library style, which can be very very basic, one note modulated kind of thing. Though of late this has become a little more sophisticated. The basic structure of there thing is either start loud, go quiet, get loud end. Or : start quiet, get loud, go quiet, fade out end.

Trailer style drones are anything but, simple - often very complex sound design that builds to a clearly defined climax.

Your initial track you posted, ditch the percussion, or if you must keep it, make it more ambient in texture... think massive reverb, filters, lo fi bit crushing, just anything to mask the percussive side of it.

To be honest I'd say what you've got there is more of a tension bed than a drone as such.
Thats just my 10 cents though


----------



## impressions (Dec 14, 2012)

tension beds! that sounds like what i was meaning. forget drones. i was referring to that.
by that term-it can be any tension-like sad, thoughtful, active..etc?


----------



## doctornine (Dec 14, 2012)

Absolutely - the trick then is to capture the emotion you're trying to underscore.


----------

