# A live cue video - using Albion



## Synesthesia (May 8, 2012)

Hi all,

I've made a video showing my approach to making orchestral samples sound real in a mockup/cue writing scenario..

Its a live composition and I didn't allow myself the luxury of writing it before hand! So bear that in mind!

But if its of interest, and I've limited myself to using patches from Albion, here is the video:



Its about 50 minutes, sorry if I ramble on a bit. Hope its of use to someone here, or of interest!

It is in HD, but you need to change that on the cog, it loads at 740 default I think.

Cheers!

Paul


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## LeighJC (May 8, 2012)

Hello Paul, may i say thank you very much for taking the time to do such a great video!!!! i'm i huge fan of Spitfire everything! Really was a great watch i hope you find the time to do another video at some point. I'm more than positive the rest of the VI gang will think the same 

Kind Regards 

Leigh


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## DynamicK (May 9, 2012)

Thanks for posting...very informative for anyone like me who still doesn't have Albion. It is still on my shopping list though


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## Kralc (May 9, 2012)

Those woodwind longs at the beginning sound awesome, I've got to use them more. thanks for the inspiration. :D


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## jgarciaserra (May 9, 2012)

Very interesting Paul!

How are you loading Albion in Kontakt? I can see only one patch loaded in each kontakt.

Thanks!


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## Aer Gui Ta (May 9, 2012)

Great insight into one of your composing techniques and how to get the most out of Albion, promotes the product well too; more of the same will do you no harm.


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## TheUnfinished (May 9, 2012)

Great video, very interesting and inspiring.

Is there anything lovelier than those low strings in Albion? No, thought not.

Look forward to more videos Paul.


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## EwigWanderer (May 9, 2012)

Thanks Paul!

...and it is nice to see at Spitfires site that Albion is "Albion 1"... 8)


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## Synesthesia (May 9, 2012)

Hi everyone - thanks so much for the positive comments! Its a bit daunting doing something like this, with composing being such a solitary job, doing these videos is a bit like taking all your clothes off in public... :D

I will do another one soon, but just to answer the couple of questions so far:

jgarciaserra - yes I am loading one patch into each instance of Kontakt in Logic. To be honest, I usually use Plogue Bidule as a host, and keep logic to mostly midi, so that just seemed the clearest way to be able to show what I was doing. It does have the advantage if you use freeze tracks as well, that you can keep system resources light.

and Rami - eagle-eyed spot there!! Well done! We have some exciting news coming soon!

Also - I'll put a separate post up later today about this - but v3 of Albion is finished now, we just have to double check everything this week, then send to NI for encoding. I'll do a quick screenflow showing the new Brass and some of the new features later today.

Thanks again everyone!

Paul


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## paulcole (May 11, 2012)

Thanks Paul. Good to watch and learn.


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## Synesthesia (May 11, 2012)

Thanks Paul!


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## SPOTS (May 12, 2012)

Does anyone know what are the ensembles sizes in Albion?
I have been checking Spitfire's website and the Albion user manual without success.
I would like to know how many instruments are featured in the different patches (how many V1/V2/Va and Celli; how many strings in Strings Low and VCCB, etc.).


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## paulcole (May 12, 2012)

I don't know the sizes of the ensembles. I must admit I don't think about that too much either. I just go for the sound when using Albion.

What would be good for me would be another couple of videos from Paul. Hah I don't think it will happen but I would like to see one in the same vein on mixing and one on mastering. Using Albion and other Spitfire libraries.


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## SPOTS (May 13, 2012)

Besides my question re the ensemble sizes in Albion, I am also curious about Paul's template as I see he is running one instance of Kontakt per patch (ie 33 instances total). Any particular reason for this?


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## paulcole (May 13, 2012)

Logic.


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## SPOTS (May 13, 2012)

??
I don't get the asset of having 33 instances of Kontakt running vs just a few with multitimbrality.


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## paulcole (May 13, 2012)

In Logic, there is a problem with setting things up multi-timbraly because in certain circumstances it allows only one core of a Mac to be used, thus overloading the ram very quickly. Using Kontakt as an instance per voice doesn't do that in Logic and spreads it out over the cores. It's a flaw in Logic. I tried it and started a thread in DAW about this very problem.


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## SPOTS (May 13, 2012)

Indeed, I am aware of this flaw in Logic, but I am very doubtful about the benefit of running 33 instances of Kontakt vs a handful. I can't tell though... I never tried running as many instances of Kontakt.


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## Steve Steele (May 13, 2012)

SPOTS @ Sat May 12 said:


> Does anyone know what are the ensembles sizes in Albion?
> I have been checking Spitfire's website and the Albion user manual without success.
> I would like to know how many instruments are featured in the different patches (how many V1/V2/Va and Celli; how many strings in Strings Low and VCCB, etc.).



This should help. If not let me know and I'll go through them for you as I have Albion.

Scroll down the article a bit and you will see..

http://soniccontrol.tv/2012/02/22/albion-a-professional-orchestration-review/

(the instruments below are divided into two ensemble sections - hi and low)

Orchestra Size
The following setup came from Spitfire’s Paul Thomson.

Violins 1 = 11
Violins 2 = 9
Violas = 7
Cellos = 6
Basses = 4

French Horns = 4
Trumpets = 3
Tenor Trombones = 2
Bass Trombone = 1
Tuba = 1

Flutes = 2 (one doubling piccolo)
Oboe = 1
Clarinet = 1
Bassoons = 2
Bass Clarinet = 1
Contrabassoon = 1


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## Steve Steele (May 13, 2012)

I downloaded Plogue Bidule (as mentioned above) and I have no idea what to do with it. MIDI and Rewire, (things like that are not my strong suits, sorry). Like, how does it help Logic? I use Digital Performer, and Logic sometimes, so I'm very curious.

Any practical explanation of a usage would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance...


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## SPOTS (May 14, 2012)

Thanks a lot Nightwatch. Very useful info. I have Albion but didn't find these info in the user manual (would be a good addition for the next revision).

In the article there's one thing that I don't quite understand:
"Because of the ensemble size, in the low Strings, you can write open three-part harmony with bass-cello-cello. You can also do two cello parts to one bass part."

I don't get what the author is meaning here. Given none of the instruments come in solo, having a 3 part harmony would fatten the section to 18 Celli and 12 Basses, or did I miss something?


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## Steve Steele (May 14, 2012)

Paul, care to help us? 

I think he means to use the ALB VCCB Octave Longs, because the bass range goes below he cello range, and the cello range goes higher than the bass range (at least that's the way to seems to be mapped) the layering seems to split halfway through on the G. Take a listen. Do you hear cellos coming in on the 2nd G (an octave below the highest note of the sample)? That's what I here and maybe that's what's happening, which could make sense as that's the highest string on the bass, and the 3rd string on the cello.

But that's just a guess as I found the Albion manual lacking in certain key areas too (but very helpful in others!

Play an open chord (say, C the lowest C, the G below middle C and an E above middle C) and see if you don't hear bass-cello-cello. Looking at your quote there I'm not sue why it says the same thing twice. Maybe it was a typo?.

Maybe he meant to say..

"Because of the ensemble size, in the low Strings, you can write open three-part harmony with bass-cello-cello. You can also do two bass parts to one cello part." 

Or I could be completely confused. Ha.


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## Synesthesia (May 14, 2012)

Hi chaps!

OK - hopefully I won't miss anyone's questions - remind me if I do.

So - I'm not sure what Peter means but I think he is saying its not too dense or 'thick' sounding so you can do chords down that end of the strings.

The Celli come in on their lowest C, but we recorded in such a way that its not a walloping entry - they gradually get louder over those few notes. Then the Basses gradually drop out as they go up the scale.

In terms of Kontakt and Logic etc..

Logic seems to work best with more instances of K. Although I actually use it in my big template (about 700 tracks) with as little as possible apart from Midi - hence my use of Plogue Bidule.

I used the Konakts in Logic for the demo so that I could quickly show the viewer what I was referring to.. 

I'm going to make a quick video about Plogue running in the background and pop that onto youtube.

Thanks for watching!

Paul :D


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## Steve Steele (May 14, 2012)

Synesthesia @ Mon May 14 said:


> I'm going to make a quick video about Plogue running in the background and pop that onto youtube.
> 
> Paul :D



Paul. That's a GREAT idea. Thanks you. I'll be keeping an eye out. I use both Digital Performer and Logic and I'm not sure how DP manages my 8 cores, especially in terms of Kontakt instances, but I would definitely like to get the best possible workflow under my belt. I just downloaded Plogue an I have Albion so thank you very very much for doing this!!

700 tracks??!! Wow. I though my 120 or so was a high number.But I could see that with all instruments, solo instruments, auxiliary instruments and inputs, midi tracks for CCs, keyswitching, etc.. Yeah, I could see how it could add up.


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## Synesthesia (May 14, 2012)

OK here you go - hope this helps?!

[youtube]

All the best!

Paul :D[/youtube]


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## christianhowes (May 17, 2012)

Very cool insight. It's always invaluable to get an inside look inside the creative process of another composer. Thanks for sharing!


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## Steve Steele (May 17, 2012)

Synesthesia @ Mon May 14 said:


> OK here you go - hope this helps?!
> 
> All the best!
> 
> Paul :D[/youtube]



Thank you, thank you, thank you!


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## vicontrolu (May 20, 2012)

But where does the first line come from (the wws)? Is tjis something you already had in mind or just some improvisaton on this minor scale? Do you know beforehand the chords and kind of emotions that will hold this 2 voice melody or u just find it out later when you add the bass,etc?


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## Synesthesia (May 20, 2012)

HI Vicontrolu,

I just improvised the opening line. When I then add other parts I'm just trying to react emotionally and translate that as I go.

Sometimes this works out well, sometimes I prefer writing to score paper first! 

Thanks,

Paul


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