# Jurassic Park Mockup



## K. Johnston (Nov 21, 2020)

This has been in the works for a while. I originally started creating this as a competition entry, but it changed into a much more detailed mockup effort. Jurassic Park's soundtrack was the first movie score that caught my attention as a child and I really wanted to do it proper justice. 

This mockup is comprised of full arrangements of Opening Titles, Journey to the Island, and Theme from Jurassic Park. It also features short arrangements of Incident at Isla Nublar, and Welcome to Jurassic Park. The rest is stitched together with original works that utilize melodies from various points throughout the film along with a few sound design elements for fun.

I have learned so much during the creation of this mockup. I usually do something like this after a large haul of VI libraries to learn how to best use them. Spared no expense. I got so much out of it, and it was just awesome to get into a legendary composer's head for a while. 

Enjoy!


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## patrick76 (Nov 21, 2020)

Very cool! I have to ask since you mentioned it, can you share anything that you gleaned while you were in Williams' head for a while ?


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## G.Poncelet (Nov 21, 2020)

I like it a lot ! Very well done, great work.
I have the obvious question : what libraries did you use here ? I think I hear some Infinite stuff, but I'd like to know what strings were used here, I especially like the fast little runs, e.g. at 00:53, I really like the "blur" effect, sound very natural to me.
Oh, and, what an amazing score !


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## K. Johnston (Nov 21, 2020)

patrick76 said:


> Very cool! I have to ask since you mentioned it, can you share anything that you gleaned while you were in Williams' head for a while ?



A few things. First is the use of tutti or unison lines to create powerful melodies without increasing dynamics and even in some cases, pulling back on dynamics. This results in a broader, more robust tone and the loudness is increased through quantities of voices not increased dynamics on a per-instrument basis. Secondly, his crazy usage of two-note triplets and how bad round robins and legato scripts are at being able to handle these well. Also picked up a lot about writing for two harps. When and how to use glissandi. Also, piano parts are included in more parts of his scores than is immediately apparent and somewhat buried in the mix or barely audible in some cases but it makes a profound difference. Celesta galore. Already knew that but I am reminded of that each time I would track more celesta.

Some of these may already be apparent to some experienced composers but they were not to me.


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## Henu (Nov 21, 2020)

Holy shit this sounds good! The strings and WW especially. The trumpet is a bit unforgiving, but not superbad by any standards nevertheless. 

Absolutely brilliant work, and an extra mention for the very nice touch with the sound FX too!


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## sndmarks (Nov 21, 2020)

Really great sounding mockup. Great work!


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## NeonMediaKJT (Nov 21, 2020)

Always loved those Trumpet glisses from the original cue at 1:11, really like how you've recreated them.


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## K. Johnston (Nov 21, 2020)

G.Poncelet said:


> I like it a lot ! Very well done, great work.
> I have the obvious question : what libraries did you use here ? I think I hear some Infinite stuff, but I'd like to know what strings were used here, I especially like the fast little runs, e.g. at 00:53, I really like the "blur" effect, sound very natural to me.
> Oh, and, what an amazing score !



Thank you!

I used Hollywood Strings Diamond with close, tree, and vintage hall mics. Layered with SCS and Joshua Bell Violin which becomes exposed at lower dynamics. You picked up on Infinite Woodwinds which I used for all WW parts. CSB layered with Sample Modeling trumpets, bones, and horns. Percussion was a mix of Hollywood Percussion, EWSO Percussion, and HZ Percussion (timpani). Choir was Voxos 2. The rest included Sonica's Shakuhachi, some of my own Omnisphere patches, and Heavyocity Natural Forces for nature sounds.


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## davidson (Nov 21, 2020)




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## David Han (Nov 21, 2020)

Awesome work! Super realistic. Really nice job on the percussions and misc.(harps etc)! I think those are what's really selling this mockup. Was this transcribed by ear or did you look at the score?


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## K. Johnston (Nov 21, 2020)

David Han said:


> Awesome work! Super realistic. Really nice job on the percussions and misc.(harps etc)! I think those are what's really selling this mockup. Was this transcribed by ear or did you look at the score?



Thanks for the kind words!

This was done by looking at numerous score analyses and a lot of careful listening sessions. This got me about 75% there. The rest was after auditioning the soundtrack over and over and writing a lot of notes. I think I even made a few corrections to some of the analyses. The truly fun part was connecting the different themes together.


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## K. Johnston (Nov 21, 2020)

Stephen Limbaugh said:


> All of the notes are there and the pacing is nice. However due to sample library limitations or oversight, a low percentage of the articulations are rendered as indicated in the score, especially in the brass/strings.



VI libraries are limited but I feel fortunate that this is not a big deal to me. I used to try tirelessly to match articulations to the scores but I find that I capture more of the feeling and spirit of a piece if I stop worrying about it so much. I have a rather old recreation of the Star Wars Opening Fanfare that still impresses me today. I used zero legato patches for strings and woodwinds.

With that said, I know I am probably overlooking many things without intention.


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## South Thames (Nov 21, 2020)

K. Johnston said:


> Thanks for the kind words!
> 
> This was done by looking at numerous score analyses and a lot of careful listening sessions. This got me about 75% there. The rest was after auditioning the soundtrack over and over and writing a lot of notes. I think I even made a few corrections to some of the analyses. The truly fun part was connecting the different themes together.



If you're saying you did this without a score on hand, then hats off to you -- that's a hell of a lot of notes to transcribe. And as you've noted, the way Williams has his later albums mixed often seems to blur the edges of his orchestration so it's not always clear what was playing. The actual score is doing the rounds online and I don't think is that difficult to get hold of.

As a side note, I think the introduction to the island fanfare, with lilting chords and rolling trumpets gently imitating the helicopter's motion, is a truly great piece of anticipation building by Williams -- it's a pity he didn't incorporate it in the concert suite.


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## G.Poncelet (Nov 22, 2020)

K. Johnston said:


> Thank you!
> 
> I used Hollywood Strings Diamond with close, tree, and vintage hall mics. Layered with SCS and Joshua Bell Violin which becomes exposed at lower dynamics. You picked up on Infinite Woodwinds which I used for all WW parts. CSB layered with Sample Modeling trumpets, bones, and horns. Percussion was a mix of Hollywood Percussion, EWSO Percussion, and HZ Percussion (timpani). Choir was Voxos 2. The rest included Sonica's Shakuhachi, some of my own Omnisphere patches, and Heavyocity Natural Forces for nature sounds.


Interesting thanks a lot for these detailled explanations !
I'm hoping a sale on SCS now


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Nov 22, 2020)

Ok, who sits down and writes 10 minutes of Jurassic Park-music! That's nuts! 

Listening right now, it's very enjoyable. Thanks for posting!

EDIT:
I love listening to this! It's fun with the sound FX, they fit well. Very well done!!
The piece is nicely varied, it never gets boring to listen to.


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## K. Johnston (Nov 22, 2020)

South Thames said:


> If you're saying you did this without a score on hand, then hats off to you -- that's a hell of a lot of notes to transcribe. And as you've noted, the way Williams has his later albums mixed often seems to blur the edges of his orchestration so it's not always clear what was playing. The actual score is doing the rounds online and I don't think is that difficult to get hold of.
> 
> As a side note, I think the introduction to the island fanfare, with lilting chords and rolling trumpets gently imitating the helicopter's motion, is a truly great piece of anticipation building by Williams -- it's a pity he didn't incorporate it in the concert suite.



I don’t want to misrepresent myself. The score analyses were in the form of a few written scores. I was able to find enough information to cover 75% or so of the main themes. However I did not take them as gospel because they disagreed with each other or did not represent what I heard in the official soundtrack. I made those charts bleed ink. I transcribed the remaining 25% or so from ear. I tracked each part in sloppily on keys and edited. That still amounts to transcribing by ear for about 2-3 minutes of music.


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## K. Johnston (Nov 22, 2020)

Stephen Limbaugh said:


> @K. Johnston Ahh yes, the balance of having fun, finishing, and being a tweaking perfectionist!
> 
> One small change on the trumpet part in_ Journey to the Island_ would be on the 3rd line Bb before the F, and the 3rd space C before the G. Is there a tenuto or or portato option for those notes? It's a quick change that would help a lot. Sometimes a tenuto or portato option gives a not-too-sharp transient, a full clear sound, and not too short.



I may give it a shot here in a few weeks. Thank you!


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## K. Johnston (Nov 22, 2020)

Stephen Limbaugh said:


> Also, where is your Star Wars? No legato?! Would like to hear.





Have mercy. The first note is really aggressive. I also use staccatos in places I should not have. This was done 50% by ear too and quite long ago in my development. Based on the results, it has reminded me to not spring so fast for the latest and greatest libraries year over year.


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## K. Johnston (Nov 22, 2020)

Stephen Limbaugh said:


> Those are not glissandos -- slurred triplets in thirds.



Ha! If we are getting technical, by my notes, the time sig is 12/8 and those are just eighth notes. Lol


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