# Top film/tv composers - what libraries are they using?



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Composers we all know and admire - what actual virtual instruments and sample libraries are they using in their projects?

Sometimes it can be helpful to know how the composers we are inspired from, get their sound. Post if you know, or persuasively can argue, what library is used.

Names we could talk about (just taken from my playlists/ add more at your convenience:

Hans Zimmer
Michael Giacchino
Rachel Portman
Thomas Newman
Alan Silvestri
Brian Tyler
Anne Dudley
Dario Marianelli
George Fenton
Howard Shore
Danny Elfman
James Horner
James Newton Howard
Deborah Lurie
Newton Faulkner
Patrick Doyle
Ramin Djawadi
Laura Rossi
Thomas Bergersen
Tristan Prettyman
Ect. Ect

New projects, older projects. Please post, we need to know!! 

Of course these composers use a lot of real orchestrations due to the budgets of their projects, but the thread is about identifying the vi’s and samples, when they use them.

Let’s celebrate the shows, films and sounds we love, and connect the dots!


----------



## Aceituna (Oct 14, 2020)

Watching......


----------



## Haakond (Oct 14, 2020)

I know John Powell uses Berlin Brass, Cinebrass, Hollywoodwinds and Cinematic Studio Strings


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Haakond said:


> I know John Powell uses Berlin Brass, Cinebrass, Hollywoodwinds and Cinematic Studio Strings



Good call, do you know which ones he used for particular projects?


----------



## barteredbride (Oct 14, 2020)

I saw Junkie XL using CSS in a video about how he composed the Mad Max score


----------



## Tice (Oct 14, 2020)

Are we talking about their mock-ups or their final products?


----------



## prodigalson (Oct 14, 2020)

barteredbride said:


> I saw Junkie XL using CSS in a video about how he composed the Mad Max score



Cinematic Strings 2, not CSS


----------



## Aceituna (Oct 14, 2020)

Haakond said:


> I know John Powell uses Berlin Brass, Cinebrass, Hollywoodwinds and Cinematic Studio Strings


Hollywoodwinds.......


----------



## Mark Kouznetsov (Oct 14, 2020)

Many of them use custom made libraries. A lot are using Spitfire Symphonic Strings (can't name them all, but just recently I've seen Trevor Morris and Junkie XL use it). Most of them will have all of the libraries you can think of. Weather they are using them all is a whole another topic


----------



## barteredbride (Oct 14, 2020)

prodigalson said:


> Cinematic Strings 2, not CSS



Yes, I stand corrected!


----------



## Haakond (Oct 14, 2020)

GtrString said:


> Good call, do you know which ones he used for particular projects?


I think he uses it when composing, and then he records a real orchestra for the final product. He sometimes has a comparison on this Facebook-page, where he switches between mockup and final version


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Right, as sketching and inspirational tools. Good stuff!


----------



## Bighill (Oct 14, 2020)

Tice said:


> Are we talking about their mock-ups or their final products?


I don´t think any of those people use artificial strings in their final products. I know I wouldn´t, and I am far from that level in the hierarchy....


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Tice said:


> Are we talking about their mock-ups or their final products?



Mock-ups is valid.


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Aceituna said:


> Hollywoodwinds.......



I have thought about getting that a number of times. Now there is a reason to..


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Mark_Kouznetsov said:


> Many of them use custom made libraries. A lot are using Spitfire Symphonic Strings (can't name them all, but just recently I've seen Trevor Morris and Junkie XL use it). Most of them will have all of the libraries you can think of. Weather they are using them all is a whole another topic



Yes, probably true. Still, in a lot of hybrid stuff, there must be vi’s and samples involved in the final work. Sometimes real recordings does not sound better, just different.

And it would be fun to make connections between specific shows/ films and libraries. Sometimes we hear something, and we start looking for THAT sound, conscious or unconscious!

For example, Spectrasonics list a number of specific productions where their instruments have been used. https://www.spectrasonics.net/company/filmtv.php

Im certain we can connect some dots with orchestral libraries too. But this thread can contain softsynths as well.


----------



## jonathanwright (Oct 14, 2020)

I remember seeing a while back that Junkie XL uses Junkie XL Brass by Junkie XL.


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

jonathanwright said:


> I remember seeing a while back that Junkie XL uses Junkie XL Brass by Junkie XL.



Does Hans Zimmer then similarly use HZ Strings?


----------



## Mike Marino (Oct 14, 2020)

Trevor Morris recently started a YouTube channel and has videos that bring you through his template, bussing, stems, etc. Definitely worth checking out.


----------



## Tice (Oct 14, 2020)

I don't think it's so much about having his private sample collection as it might be about capturing a performance unique to what it's intended for. No matter how big your collection, it'll never be bespoke to a project that hasn't happened yet. And it's performance was portraying something very specific to whatever project in the past it did originate from.


----------



## JonS (Oct 14, 2020)

prodigalson said:


> Cinematic Strings 2, not CSS


CSS is Cinematic Studio Strings.


----------



## bryla (Oct 14, 2020)

JonS said:


> CSS is Cinematic Studio Strings 2.


Nope.
Cinematic Strings
Cinematic Strings 2
Cinematic Studio Strings

The latter is CSS that everyone it talking about. CS2 is a legacy product still sold on their website. CS is not available anymore.


----------



## musophrenic (Oct 14, 2020)

GtrString said:


> Does Hans Zimmer then similarly use HZ Strings?



He mentioned he did on Dunkirk (before they were released to the world about 8 or 9 months later). Don't know if he uses them now, but I don't see why he wouldn't, cause you couldn't just get 300 players in a hall every day (I imagine it'd get very expensive very quickly).


----------



## prodigalson (Oct 14, 2020)

JonS said:


> CSS is Cinematic Studio Strings 2.



https://cinematicstudioseries.com/cs2/

I admit their website makes this confusing because now they're marketing CS2 under the Cinematic Studio Series banner but CS2 existed years before CSS was a twinkle in Alex Wallbank's eye.

"Originally released in 2012, CS2 was our first major strings sample library, and paved the way for our more advanced “Cinematic Studio Series” orchestral range."

Cinematic Strings 2 is a totally different library with symphonic section sizes and recorded in a large concert hall. 

Cinematic Studio Strings has less players and is recorded at Trackdown Studios. 

There is no Cinematic Studio Strings 2


----------



## JonS (Oct 14, 2020)

prodigalson said:


> https://cinematicstudioseries.com/cs2/
> 
> I admit their website makes this confusing because now they're marketing CS2 under the Cinematic Studio Series banner but CS2 existed years before CSS was a twinkle in Alex Wallbank's eye.
> 
> ...


Lack of sleep....


----------



## Ashermusic (Oct 14, 2020)

JonS said:


> Cinematic Studio Strings aka Cinematic Strings 2 are one and the same product and when people talk about this product they use the acronym CSS. I was covering all bases.



No. CS 2 and CSS are two different libraries that sound quite different.


----------



## prodigalson (Oct 14, 2020)

JonS said:


> Cinematic Studio Strings aka Cinematic Strings 2 are one and the same product and when people talk about this product they use the acronym CSS. I was covering all bases.



This is categorically incorrect. Yes, when people talk about Cinematic Studio Strings they use the acronym CSS because those are the first letters from each word. But when people talk about Cinematic Strings 2 they use the acronym CS2 because those are the first letters from each word with the appropriate "2".... In other words, CSS is not CS2, they are not "one and the same". 

https://cinematicstudioseries.com/cs2/

https://cinematicstudioseries.com/strings/

a 10 second glance at the above websites will clearly show that these are separate and very different products.


----------



## JonS (Oct 14, 2020)

prodigalson said:


> This is categorically incorrect. Yes, when people talk about Cinematic Studio Strings they use the acronym CSS because those are the first letters from each word. But when people talk about Cinematic Strings 2 they use the acronym CS2 because those are the first letters from each word with the appropriate "2".... In other words, CSS is not CS2, they are not "one and the same".
> 
> https://cinematicstudioseries.com/cs2/
> 
> ...


I stand corrected!! Funnily, I own both products but I assumed when people were talking about CS2 they actually meant CSS. Well done.


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Good posts so far. I'd like to get more information from you all on what sample libraries published composers are using for their projects. Thats the core value for the thread.

I really like Michael Giacchino's work at the moment, like the Ratatouille and Zootropolis scores, and Patrick Doyle's score for Nanny McPhee. Im a big fan of scores for animation films.

For me it starts with the music, not the composer nor the technicalities of the tools. But once I like the music, then I get interested in the composers and tools used.


----------



## Johnny (Oct 14, 2020)

Bighill said:


> I don´t think any of those people use artificial strings in their final products. I know I wouldn´t, and I am far from that level in the hierarchy....


Surprisingly, if you come across any of the top tier composer's tutorials, masterclasses or even walkthru videos on their mixing process, they almost exclusively all use VI's to some degree in their final mix. Even _Alan Meyerson_ talks about this in his master class about mixing tracks for HZ and others. Usually VI's are embedded at the lower level in the final mix, just as an additional augmentation/layering effect, to either tighten the illusion of the live players, or even thicken and beef up the live orchestra recordings with the additional weight and body. Somewhere online I recall a post on Hans Zimmer's Pirate mixes where the live instruments had been reduced, to enable you to hear the actual sample content within the mix- very cool!


----------



## prodigalson (Oct 14, 2020)

here's a slightly older video where Danny Elfman talks about that.


----------



## Bighill (Oct 14, 2020)

Johnny said:


> Surprisingly, if you come across any of the top tier composer's tutorials, masterclasses or even walkthru videos on their mixing process, they almost exclusively all use VI's to some degree in their final mix. Even _Alan Meyerson_ talks about this in his master class about mixing tracks for HZ and others. Usually VI's are embedded at the lower level in the final mix, just as an additional augmentation/layering effect, to either tighten the illusion of the live players, or even thicken and beef up the live orchestra recordings with the additional weight and body. Somewhere online I recall a post on Hans Zimmer's Pirate mixes where the live instruments had been reduced, to enable you to hear the actual sample content within the mix- very cool!


Use of samples to fill out, augument or even to change stuff post recording is not uncommon. But I don´t think I have heard any top-level stuff relying on fake orchestra alone. (Exept for one two cues in "The thin red line", where they had to add some stuff after the recording.)


----------



## Tice (Oct 14, 2020)

I think that Alice mock-up did lose it's muchness...  jk.


----------



## Johnny (Oct 14, 2020)

Bighill said:


> Use of samples to fill out, augument or even to change stuff post recording is not uncommon. But I don´t think I have heard any top-level stuff relying on fake orchestra alone. (Exept for one two cues in "The thin red line", where they had to add some stuff after the recording.)


Yes, sample are not driving the composition, but merely used as a layering effect.


----------



## shponglefan (Oct 14, 2020)

Hans Zimmer used Zebra2 in the Dark Knight scores.


----------



## mybadmemory (Oct 14, 2020)

I would guess they have them all. Plus their own custom libraries. And use a mix of everything for their mock-ups. And then a mix of a real orchestra plus some bits from the mocks left in place for the final tracks. 

Most probably the same things that are discussed here every day. Spitfire. Berlin. Cinesamples. CSS. The lot! :D


----------



## GtrString (Oct 14, 2020)

Sure everybody may have (access to) everything. But this is why it is crucial to connect all of the dots, connect the library-composer and show/score. Thats the value proposition.


----------



## gsilbers (Oct 14, 2020)

wel.. pulsesetter-sounds libraries of course 

Even though we know some of our stuff has been used in big films...

the reality is that they have every fucking thing out there. from big to small. 
ive seen some of these guys templates and what they have and its pretty much what you see in junkie xl..
like 3000 track of every fucking thing possible. attached to like 20 servers and going to protools
on very fuking expensive rigs. 
so no sweat for them to have 3000 tracks of just pads libraries


----------



## Mike Fox (Oct 14, 2020)

I know Elfman uses VSL, but it's only for mockups (obviously).


----------



## Mike Fox (Oct 14, 2020)

JonS said:


> Cinematic Studio Strings aka Cinematic Strings 2 are one and the same product and when people talk about this product they use the acronym CSS. I was covering all bases.


wrong

EDIT: Nevermind. I see people already reamed you for this. My bad!


----------



## Mike Fox (Oct 14, 2020)

Bighill said:


> I don´t think any of those people use artificial strings in their final products. I know I wouldn´t, and I am far from that level in the hierarchy....


But they do use hybrid perc libs. I know Elfman used SD2 on Terminator.


----------



## RogiervG (Oct 14, 2020)

shponglefan said:


> Hans Zimmer used Zebra2 in the Dark Knight scores.


actually not zebra2, but the dark zebra product (which was originally not available for public, and created to suit his needs)


----------



## barteredbride (Oct 14, 2020)

GtrString said:


> Does Hans Zimmer then similarly use HZ Strings?


No I don't think so ! He said the other day on here the only library he uses outside his own custom libraries, is the Ólafur Arnalds stuff from Spitfire.


----------



## Nils Neumann (Oct 14, 2020)

barteredbride said:


> No I don't think so ! He said the other day on here the only library he uses outside his own custom libraries, is the Ólafur Arnalds stuff from Spitfire.


He used it on Dunkirk, if I remember correctly


----------



## Hendrixon (Oct 14, 2020)

I'm not on that list, which is weird, anyway I prefer to do mock ups live then final mix with samples.
Helps me avoid that "you also sound like hans zimmer" remark.


----------



## AdamKmusic (Oct 14, 2020)

I'm not sure what Desplat uses but whatever he's using on this doesn't sound too great! I'd judge from this that he's definitely writing more for orchestra than a perfect mockup


----------



## JonS (Oct 14, 2020)

AdamKmusic said:


> I'm not sure what Desplat uses but whatever he's using on this doesn't sound too great! I'd judge from this that he's definitely writing more for orchestra than a perfect mockup



I completely disagree with him, though I like his film scores. Give me a large orchestra and I don't need electronic anything. I don't want to hear Beethoven and synths.


----------



## JonS (Oct 14, 2020)

Ashermusic said:


> No. CS 2 and CSS are two different libraries that sound quite different.


You are absolutely correct, Jay. My brain blanked for a moment. I actually enjoy using both CS2 and CSS, no clue why I said that this morning...


----------



## JonS (Oct 14, 2020)

Mike Fox said:


> wrong
> 
> EDIT: Nevermind. I see people already reamed you for this. My bad!


Yes, Mike, you are 100% correct. No clue why I said that this morning when I own and use both CSS and CS2. Whoops...


----------



## RSK (Oct 14, 2020)

Trevor Morris uses mostly Spitfire, though he also has Cinesamples and a good chunk of 8Dio. He breaks down the whole thing on his YouTube channel.


----------



## RSK (Oct 14, 2020)

As for not using libraries in the final product, I imagine that is almost universally true in movies with decent budgets, but very much less so in TV. Not just because of budget, but because time is a huge factor as well.


----------



## ptram (Oct 14, 2020)

AdamKmusic said:


> I'm not sure what Desplat uses but whatever he's using on this doesn't sound too great!



Isn't it all real orchestra and analog synth?

Paolo


----------



## lastmessiah (Oct 14, 2020)

Focusing on this stuff is missing the big picture. These are all just tools. Even if you had the exact same libraries as your favorite composer, whatever you did with them would end up sounding different. Someone with creativity and talent could make something spectacular with the stock libraries in Cubase or Logic or whatever, while another guy with all the latest Spitfire swank is churning out plodding and generic movie muzak.


----------



## Ashermusic (Oct 14, 2020)

lastmessiah said:


> Focusing on this stuff is missing the big picture. These are all just tools. Even if you had the exact same libraries as your favorite composer, whatever you did with them would end up sounding different. Someone with creativity and talent could make something spectacular with the stock libraries in Cubase or Logic or whatever, while another guy with all the latest Spitfire swank is churning out plodding and generic movie muzak.




Exactly. Give John Powell an EMU Proteus Orchestral Plus and nothing else and he will make good music with it.


----------



## KEM (Oct 14, 2020)

But what does Ludwig Göransson use??


----------



## paularthur (Oct 14, 2020)

Besides the usual Cinebrass, Cinematic Strings & Spitfire Symphonic... I often hear 8Dio Epic Percussion & some Strezov Choirs.


----------



## purple (Oct 14, 2020)

A lot of them have custom bespoke libraries although I think those have gone more out of fashion as the mass-market ones have gotten good.


----------



## MSutherlandComp (Oct 14, 2020)

Sounds with a lot of character baked in tend to make it into final mixes (from what I understand). 
i.e. Heavyocity and 8DIO epic/processed perc, stuff that would take more effort and/or time than the composer/team has on-hand to reproduce in a meaningful way - especially one-shots that have "that sound". Very tired, so I hope this is making sense.


----------



## jaketanner (Oct 14, 2020)

barteredbride said:


> I saw Junkie XL using CSS in a video about how he composed the Mad Max score


Pretty sure that may have been CS2...could be wrong though, but he definitely uses CS2.


----------



## jaketanner (Oct 14, 2020)

RSK said:


> As for not using libraries in the final product, I imagine that is almost universally true in movies with decent budgets, but very much less so in TV. Not just because of budget, but because time is a huge factor as well.


Trevor made it pretty clear that it's mostly all virtual for his shows...Pandora...all virtual for sure. Now Agents of Shield (when it was on), Bear McCreary used a live orchestra...much bigger budget I'd imagine.


----------



## Hendrixon (Oct 15, 2020)

1. Junkie likes CS2.
2. Junkie uses samples to fix parts in recorded mix.
3. Junkie uses JXL Brass.
4. It my sound that Tom and I are friends, but were not, I just watch his youtube vids


----------



## Loïc D (Oct 15, 2020)

But their best kept secret librairy is Lali Drums. And N of course.


----------



## Secret Soundworks (Oct 15, 2020)

Iirc JXL uses the original Cinematic Strings, not CS2. He also mentioned in one of his videos that he completely resampled CS1.


----------



## IFM (Oct 15, 2020)

Loïc D said:


> But their best kept secret librairy is Lali Drums. And N of course.


Hey now the 1st rule of owning N is to never talk about owning N.


----------



## Hendrixon (Oct 15, 2020)

Secret Soundworks said:


> Iirc JXL uses the original Cinematic Strings, not CS2. He also mentioned in one of his videos that he completely resampled CS1.



Interesting.
remember in which vid?



RSK said:


> As for not using libraries in the final product, I imagine that is almost universally true in movies with decent budgets, but very much less so in TV. Not just because of budget, but because time is a huge factor as well.



Apart from the time constraints or budgets, I think the biggest factor for samples in TV is the medium.
What's the point investing big $ in live music recordings if it will be reproduced thru a $3 chip amp that drives a down firing 2x8 speaker even in top of the line TV sets?
Movie music is first played in a cinema thru powerful multi channel system with subs and horns, then at home usually thru a home cinema setup. good luck using libs with three dynamic layers here


----------



## jaketanner (Oct 15, 2020)

Hendrixon said:


> What's the point investing big $ in live music recordings if it will be reproduced thru a $3 chip amp that drives a down firing 2x8 speaker even in top of the line TV sets?


Many people have soundbars...I think very few actually use the TV speakers nowadays.


----------



## JonS (Oct 15, 2020)

jaketanner said:


> Many people have soundbars...I think very few actually use the TV speakers nowadays.


I still only use tv speakers.


----------



## andrzejmakal (Oct 15, 2020)

Me too


----------



## Nils Neumann (Oct 15, 2020)

RSK said:


> As for not using libraries in the final product, I imagine that is almost universally true in movies with decent budgets, but very much less so in TV. Not just because of budget, but because time is a huge factor as well.



I think there is almost no score released with no samples in it.


----------



## jaketanner (Oct 15, 2020)

JonS said:


> I still only use tv speakers.


If you get the chance to use a good soundbar do it. Makes a difference. Most TV music is well recorded and mixed regardless if live or not.


----------



## Hendrixon (Oct 15, 2020)

Jake, maybe in your close circle of friends its like that?
Out of say 50 ppl I can think off right now, close circle of regular ppl, day jobs, kids (family, coworkers, non musician or audiophile friends) I know of 3 that have home cinema systems (2 pretty cheap and one OKish) and not even one with a soundbar in the living room.
One of them has a 75 inch TV and she listens to classical music streamed thru it 

I do have audiophile friends with home cinema systems that are beyond sanity (Krells and Mark Levinsons? pfff those drive the surrounds. for fronts? its all tube amps and horns). the number of those ppl compared to general population is really minuscule.

* And no I'm not filthy rich that those are some of my friends. years ago I used to build tube gear for my self, word spread and that's how we connected. the fact that I'm also a musician/studio guy? that means I'm an authority on sound for them lol


----------



## jaketanner (Oct 15, 2020)

Hendrixon said:


> Jake, maybe in your close circle of friends its like that?
> Out of say 50 ppl I can think off right now, close circle of regular ppl, day jobs, kids (family, coworkers, non musician or audiophile friends) I know of 3 that have home cinema systems (2 pretty cheap and one OKish) and not even one with a soundbar in the living room.
> One of them has a 75 inch TV and she listens to classical music streamed thru it
> 
> ...


The TVs I have, medium price range all have shitty speakers. For me even a cheap soundbar sounds better. But I think the choice of a live recording isn’t because of the speakers. TVs always had subpar speakers. The choice is most likely as mentioned: budget and time. Sometimes it’s a feel thing too...if the director wants a certain vibe, sometimes samples can’t cut it. Although I am not sure that time plays as big a part as does budget.


----------



## evilantal (Oct 16, 2020)

JRod.Simons said:


> I'm surprised no one posted a picture of John Powell's template yet. This photo is from 2019 and came from his Facebook page.
> 
> ...
> 
> I actually don't know what he uses for choirs.



He uses Strezov choirs , I think (Wotan, Freya, Arva, Rhodope)


----------



## sinkd (Oct 16, 2020)

GtrString said:


> I have thought about getting that a number of times. Now there is a reason to..


Do we know whether we're talking about the EW library, or Cinesamples?


----------



## Secret Soundworks (Oct 16, 2020)

Hendrixon said:


> Interesting.
> remember in which vid?



Here is the video with the timestamp included: 

He did mention that he resampled CS1 but not sure if thats in the same video or another one


----------



## GtrString (Oct 16, 2020)

sinkd said:


> Do we know whether we're talking about the EW library, or Cinesamples?



Good call, I was thinking about the Cinesamples. Could it be the EW?


----------



## Hendrixon (Oct 16, 2020)

Secret Soundworks said:


> Here is the video with the timestamp included:
> 
> He did mention that he resampled CS1 but not sure if thats in the same video or another one




Yea that's the video I remembered and the exact moment  
Its not clear here that he meant specifically CS1 over CS2, as many look at CSS as the update to CS#... even in this thread.

But looking in the tracks names, he writes them as "CS V____" so it could be CS1 after all.
One thing is clear, its CS# and not CSS.


----------



## Henrik B. Jensen (Oct 16, 2020)

GtrString said:


> Good call, I was thinking about the Cinesamples. Could it be the EW?


The patch names...they match the content of Cinesamples‘ HWW, I think.


----------



## PaulieDC (Oct 16, 2020)

Ashermusic said:


> Exactly. Give John Powell an EMU Proteus Orchestral Plus and nothing else and he will make good music with it.


I bought that when they integrated it into their MPS+ keyboard in '92, and the ads touted a 4MB orchestral expansion giving you a whopping 8MB total of samples. I wrote one piece in Master Tracks Pro 5 (which still runs on my Mac SE/30!), using strings, piano and winds as a birthday gift for my wife in '93, then packed it away and didn't touch MIDI again until 2016 (which is why I call myself a noob). And I did sell it in 2017 for top dollar because it was MINT. But anyway, it looks and sounds cute today but in context to 27 years ago, that keyboard and the racks were a pretty amazing thing back then. When we all heard the built-in demos for the Proteus and the Orchestral Expansion, it was like hearing Eruption for the first time in '78. Jaws dropped. Same effect in '77 when Darth Vader's Star Destroyer appeared on the screen in the theater and it kept getting bigger and bigger and... then toss in that soundtrack and game over, you were totally sucked in to the SW vortex.

Wow, got off track _there_... Anyway, a buddy of mine back then claimed that John Williams came in to the LA music store he was working at and bought 6 rack mount versions of the Proteus system and JW used that for the soundtrack to Home Alone. I have absolutely zero idea if that info is true, all we know is he wrote the soundtrack. And yes, what JW used in 1990 is pretty much irrelevant to the OP I realize!


----------



## Mike Fox (Oct 16, 2020)

MSutherlandComp said:


> Sounds with a lot of character baked in tend to make it into final mixes (from what I understand).
> i.e. Heavyocity and 8DIO epic/processed perc, stuff that would take more effort and/or time than the composer/team has on-hand to reproduce in a meaningful way - especially one-shots that have "that sound". Very tired, so I hope this is making sense.


Makes perfect sense, and yes, this is definitely true. Reason being, these sounds are so specific and effective, and they can't be easily replicated under tight deadlines.


----------



## BezO (Oct 16, 2020)

RSK said:


> As for not using libraries in the final product, I imagine that is almost universally true in movies with decent budgets, but very much less so in TV. Not just because of budget, but because time is a huge factor as well.


This is where I hoped the discussion was going. Who used what libs for tv scores, lower budget independent movies, etc.


----------



## Gauss (Oct 16, 2020)

Check out Jason Graves YouTube Channel. You've got everything there: How he uses Cubase, VEPro, a very detailed overview of his template (section by section), plugins and effects, some tips from the industry and a little insight in creating some of his soundtracks. Plus you can listen to the soundtrack from the Swamp Thing TV series.


----------



## RSK (Oct 26, 2020)

Brian Tyler seems to have literally everything. EW, Spiftire, Cinesamples, 8Dio, VSL.......


----------



## jaketanner (Oct 26, 2020)

Gauss said:


> Check out Jason Graves YouTube Channel. You've got everything there: How he uses Cubase, VEPro, a very detailed overview of his template (section by section), plugins and effects, some tips from the industry and a little insight in creating some of his soundtracks. Plus you can listen to the soundtrack from the Swamp Thing TV series.


I thought Brian worked on the score...seems he only did the main Theme? Or do they both score Swamp Thing?


----------



## RSK (Nov 2, 2020)

Haakond said:


> I know John Powell uses Berlin Brass, Cinebrass, Hollywoodwinds and Cinematic Studio Strings


He also uses Spitfire Symphonic Strings and Woodwinds. Not the brass for some reason.


----------



## RSK (Nov 2, 2020)

Mike Marino said:


> Trevor Morris recently started a YouTube channel and has videos that bring you through his template, bussing, stems, etc. Definitely worth checking out.


The episode where he talks about how he setup his stems in Cubase is pure gold.


----------



## JonS (Nov 2, 2020)

Secret Soundworks said:


> Here is the video with the timestamp included:
> 
> He did mention that he resampled CS1 but not sure if thats in the same video or another one



When Tom said he uses the old Cinematic Strings he may be referring to CS2 and simply NOT CSS, I am not sure. Yes, he could be referring to CS1 but most people these days consider CS2 the old Cinematic Strings. I personally think both CSS and CS2 sound good and are very useable separately or together.


----------



## ka00 (Nov 2, 2020)

I get the impulse to be curious about this. But i think it’s like asking what word processor Stephen King uses to write his novels. Interesting to know but not really helpful.

If I had to choose between knowing what libraries they use in their mock-ups vs knowing which composers they listened to when growing up, for example, I think I’d rather know that.

Again, not knocking this as it’s a valid question but I don’t think it’s as instructive as we might assume.


----------



## JonS (Nov 2, 2020)

BezO said:


> This is where I hoped the discussion was going. Who used what libs for tv scores, lower budget independent movies, etc.


That’s not true. Libraries are used along with live orchestra all the time for film including big budget movies.

Studios will only hire so many musicians even in large orchestras, so many composers supplement the live orchestra recordings with sample libraries especially for percussion, pizzicato, beefing up cellos and basses, and even beefing up staccato string parts.


----------



## GNP (Nov 2, 2020)

GtrString said:


> Does Hans Zimmer then similarly use HZ Strings?



Lol. HZ has his own entire collection of private samples. He has no need to use off the shelf...
By sheer luck I managed to get some of them!


----------



## Hendrixon (Nov 2, 2020)

GNP said:


> Lol. HZ has his own entire collection of private samples. He has no need to use off the shelf...
> By sheer luck I managed to get some of them!



Check with an ascii filter if the files you got don't have a "spitfire" string in them somewhere...


----------



## GNP (Nov 2, 2020)

Hendrixon said:


> Check with an ascii filter if the files you got don't have a "spitfire" string in them somewhere...



Got these way before spitefire came on the scene.


----------



## BezO (Nov 2, 2020)

JonS said:


> That’s not true. Libraries are used along with live orchestra all the time for film including big budget movies.
> 
> Studios will only hire so many musicians even in large orchestras, so many composers supplement the live orchestra recordings with sample libraries especially for percussion, pizzicato, beefing up cellos and basses, and even beefing up staccato string parts.


I didn't say they weren't.

To clarify, I'm personally not interested in what folks used to supplement live recordings unless they can clearly be heard. I'm interested in what libs were used exclusively for a production. Or maybe productions where what I hear is primarily a lib, supplemented a bit by live recordings.


----------



## DimensionsTomorrow (Feb 26, 2021)

I’m not sure if this was posted anywhere, but it lists some of the instruments and effects used to score Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit:









How do you score chess? Carlos Rafael Rivera on scoring The Queen’s Gambit with NI pianos | Native Instruments Blog


The Queen's Gambit composer Carlos Rafael Rivera explains how NOIRE and ALICIA'S KEYS became the sound of the Netflix hit.




blog.native-instruments.com





Noire/Alicia’s Keys combo
Action Strings
Spitfire (unnamed)
Kinetic Metal
Una Cordia
Logic’s Space Designer (mid-range cut from 200Hz to 1kHz)


----------



## ALittleNightMusic (Feb 26, 2021)

DimensionsTomorrow said:


> I’m not sure if this was posted anywhere, but it lists some of the instruments and effects used to score Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



In an interview with him I attended, he used SSO and then a couple other Spitfire libraries for some unique sounds. He also recorded real soloists.

Edit: Spitfire OA Chamber Waves, Kepler Orchestra, British Drama Toolkit

This was just for the mock-up though. They ended up recording a real orchestra in Prague I believe. However he said that due to COVID that was looking unlikely for some time and he was ready to go forward with the SSO mock-ups.


----------



## DimensionsTomorrow (Feb 26, 2021)

ALittleNightMusic said:


> In an interview with him I attended, he used SSO and then a couple other Spitfire libraries for some unique sounds. He also recorded real soloists.
> 
> This was just for the mock-up though. They ended up recording a real orchestra in Prague I believe. However he said that due to COVID that was looking unlikely for some time and he was ready to go forward with the SSO mock-ups.


Interesting. Perhaps that’s what he was referring to when he mentioned this:

“As the pandemic became more serious we were actually worried that we wouldn’t be able to have any live recording sessions. So we had to bring the quality of the mock ups from 75% to 95% in a very short time.”


----------



## Peter Satera (Feb 26, 2021)

Alternative version of Powells.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Feb 26, 2021)

I interviewed Patrick Doyle for the publicity notes on Kenneth Branagh's ALL IS TRUE and wrote about it on this forum.






My Conversation with Patrick Doyle


In real life, I make my living writing movie press materials, essays that are given out to journalists and get posted on websites. Recently I was hired to write notes on an upcoming Kenneth Branagh film called “All is True,” which is about the last three years in the life of Shakespeare (played...




vi-control.net





He said he was friends with the Spitfire guys and he used their strings (I don't remember which ) to mock up the score. He also used The Grandeur for the piano parts.


----------



## Peter Satera (Feb 27, 2021)

Hendrixon said:


> Interesting.
> remember in which vid?


I remember that studio time gave me the impression it was CS2, but I'm pretty sure it was said in the OT JXL brass preorder video, that it was the original cinematic strings. I'll have to rewatch it to confirm.


----------



## Peter Satera (Feb 27, 2021)

GNP said:


> Got these way before spitefire came on the scene.


I'd love to hear em in isolation, especially in comparison to what we got in HZ strings and Striiiings!


----------



## Jish (Feb 27, 2021)

Peter Satera said:


> I'd love to hear em in isolation, especially in comparison to what we got in HZ strings and Striiiings!


_If _memory serves from what I can recall (perhaps GNP can confirm) those samples were indeed 'floating' around well prior to anything Spitfire commercially released. It would be interesting to know just who was authorized to sell them/what arrangement Zimmer had with anyone involved to see light of day.

I never heard them either, and also am not even really certain if they were actually ever confirmed to be from his personal stash, though it would be very interesting to know outside of Hans just how many of these guys have their own private ensemble/section's recorded, not really so much solos, ect.


----------

