# Something new and a bit different



## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

Recently finished the "follow-up" to Danish 3D post-pro company Ghost's 2003 showreel - so now it's (you guessed right) their 2004 showreel This time the assignment was somewhat different. It still began as a "try doing a soundalike but feel free to go where you feel" assignment, however this time the showreel would be edited after the music is done, not the other way around. The reference was David Arnold's "Body Double" from a James Bond movie (dont know which). I had some reservations because this is not really the style that I usually do - a lot of percussion and an electric bass etc. Still I think it turned out nicely. Oh well, enough - here it is if you want to take a listen:

http://www.simonravn.com/media/Ghost-Showreel-2004.mp3


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## DonnieChristian (Sep 26, 2004)

Simon,

Very cool! I love the perc. ostinato. My only complaint would be the rim knock sound. It just sounds very dead and has no life like the high end has been rolled off. The brass sounds very good!


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

Hey Donnie and welcome Thanks. I'm sure the percussion could have been done better but it's just not my favourite territory.


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## Frederick Russ (Sep 26, 2004)

Hey Simon - your mixes always seem to sound mastered. The brass sounds fabulous, and the strings smooth. SAM on the brass, or perhaps Prague lib anywhere? 

Great piece.


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

Thanks. Violins are mostly Prague stuff layered with VSL, Cellos the same. Horns are Sonic Implants, trombones Sonic Implants and SAM, trumpets are Prague.


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## Frederick Russ (Sep 26, 2004)

That Prague stuff is going to have a cult following if you keep this up (like the vintage Les Paul guitar no one wants to sell). Sounds fabulous. Are you dropping eq frequencies anywhere to smooth things out - perhaps Pultec Pro (UAD)? Thanks for sharing the stuff of how you're blending libraries - brass particularly. The Prague trumps sound really cool.


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

The Prague stuff is really cool. Looking forward to really getting it all into my template I have a setup where I record the different sections onto around 14-20 audio tracks. This one uses 20 because of the added percussion (snare, BD, triangle, hihat). Then I record VSL strings in one go, Prague violins in one go, SI+other violins+violas, SI+other cellos+basses, trumpets, horns, trombones, VSL woodwinds, other woodwinds, QLSO strings, QLSO woodwinds, QLSO percussion, other percussion etc. I EQ each of those tracks seperately - pretty much with a "locked" setup now, with a few tweaks sometimes to cater for different mixes. I use UAD-1 Cambridge EQ on each track, then I have about 8 buses setup with Waves IR-1 for adding reverb and thats about it.


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## Frederick Russ (Sep 26, 2004)

Thanks - the cambridge stuff is really great - I think I'm going back to UAD because it certainly seemed to free CPU space enough to allow you to do the waves IR thing across 8 busses! And the Prague stuff - jealousy exudes from every pore! lol


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## CJ (Sep 26, 2004)

another cool comp from Simon  love the mix!


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## Hans Adamson (Sep 26, 2004)

Incredibly polished and three-dimensional mix from Simon. My only complaint is what Donnie said about the "rim knock". It sounds very "lo-fi".


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## Edgen (Sep 26, 2004)

Simon, Its definitely got its "Bond" style in there! I guess you can't go wrong with the triangle hits? Mystery/suspense. Now that someone mentioned the rim shot it does stick out in my ear, but I don't think its that bad. I would just adjust the volume or pan it elsewhere. Love the String cue! Very haunting at times.

/j


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## DonnieChristian (Sep 26, 2004)

What is the Prague stuff?


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Sep 26, 2004)

A number of midi-mockup friends, including Simon, have created their own "Hans Zimmer-like personal library that will not be commercially available" kind of library 

Excellent cue, Simon! 

Interesting mixed approach to tracking and bouncing. I guess your setup still gives you access to all instrument types when you work in midi? Or do you have to switch Giga templates and bounce to audio when you need specific (special) instruments?


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## Frederick Russ (Sep 26, 2004)

Its a library with a cult following because its not available to the public :shock: Heh - it seems that a few of the midi mockup artists here put together an exclusive library for their symphonic mockups. I'm particularly impressed with the Prague Trumpets and the String patches - just wish I had them.

Edit - like Mike Tyson, Peter beats me to the punch - again lol.


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

Peter, I use one of the GS machines to load the "odd stuff", in this cue it was just a hi-hat patch. Then I use a machine running VStack (QLSO + stormdrum) for the stormdrum patches used here - they are in my standard template. Then I ran two instances of Stylus and one Trilogy, and the QLSO percussion locally i Logic for the orchestral percussion, snare, bassdrum and bass. Then bounced each of those separately to use them in audio tracks.


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

I always used Logic. At least since I jumped from Cubase VST which is quite a while ago


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## choc0thrax (Sep 26, 2004)

You've never used SX2?


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## Frederick Russ (Sep 26, 2004)

Logic rules!

Chocothrax - check it out:

http://www.sanctusangelis.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150

:D


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 26, 2004)

Yes I used SX2 for one cue.


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## Craig Sharmat (Sep 26, 2004)

as expected...solid work. Nice seeing you again 8-)


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## Patrick de Caumette (Sep 27, 2004)

Smooth strings, definetly on target for a spy cue.
I agree with comments above about the drum track.
Since you own the UAD, here's a recommendation:
make an audio duplicate for your drum track, insert a stereo fairchild in the duplicate track and look for a preset with drastic compression.
Insert Cambridge after the Fairchild and take out a whole bunch of lows & mids of that track. Mix both tracks to taste.
That should give you a more expensive, produced sound for your drums and I bet the rim sounds way better after that.
Is this a Stylus loop?
If so, I am surprised since Stylus has loops that sound great out of the box...


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## Dr.Quest (Sep 27, 2004)

Very nice piece. Love the strings and flute. The harp has a cool Spanish feel that puts me in mind of the sound track for the movie Siesta (Marcus Miller with Miles Davis).
Well done!
J


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 28, 2004)

Patrick, no loops. The groove control stuff.


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