# Chase in the skies - Cinematic Studio Series composition (CSS, CSB, CSW and Cineperc)



## Andres Sarmiento (Apr 1, 2022)

Hi everyone! First time posting here, I wanted to show you a project I'm working on using only the cinematic studio series libraries + Cineperc, and hopefully have some feedback regarding the quality of the sound, the composition or whatever comes to your mind.

I'm also using the Project Colossal template for this, which is a really interesting tool I found in this forum if you want to check that out. Thank you in advance!
EDIT: This is now the finished version of this composition.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Apr 1, 2022)

It sounds great  I wish the percussion was toned down though, both in volume and in how much of it that is used in the piece. A lot of it is unnecessary, I feel. I’d love to hear a version with only sparse percussion used


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## mybadmemory (Apr 1, 2022)

Lovely!


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## RSK (Apr 1, 2022)

Very well done!


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## Andres Sarmiento (Apr 1, 2022)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> It sounds great  I wish the percussion was toned down though, both in volume and in how much of it that is used in the piece. A lot of it is unnecessary, I feel. I’d love to hear a version with only sparse percussion used


Yeah I can agree that is a bit too much in terms of volume, and was thinking about balancing the arrangement with a longer development with less percussion. I wanted a huge percussion section for this introduction, so the next parts of this will have less of it for sure : )


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## Trash Panda (Apr 1, 2022)

I think the opening movement could use more going on in the bass registers, but pretty cool piece overall. 👍🏻


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## Vladimir Bulaev (Apr 2, 2022)

Awesome!


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## NathanTiemeyer (Apr 9, 2022)

Andres Sarmiento said:


> Hi everyone! First time posting here, I wanted to show you a project I'm working on using only the cinematic studio series libraries + Cineperc, and hopefully have some feedback regarding the quality of the sound, the composition or whatever comes to your mind.
> 
> I'm also using the Project Colossal template for this, which is a really interesting tool I found in this forum if you want to check that out. Thank you in advance!



Great work!


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## paularthur (Apr 29, 2022)

Andres Sarmiento said:


> Hi everyone! First time posting here, I wanted to show you a project I'm working on using only the cinematic studio series libraries + Cineperc, and hopefully have some feedback regarding the quality of the sound, the composition or whatever comes to your mind.
> 
> I'm also using the Project Colossal template for this, which is a really interesting tool I found in this forum if you want to check that out. Thank you in advance!



I love the snares in this (i know, random).


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## Andres Sarmiento (Apr 29, 2022)

Here is an updated finished version, in case anyone wants to check that out!


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## Gingerbread (Apr 29, 2022)

That is very impressive! Well done!


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## markleake (Apr 29, 2022)

Fantastic stuff! Far beyond my ability.

I'm always curious about people's process for writing and orchestrating. Would you be willing to share a bit about the process you followed to create this? I'd be very keen to hear about this, as it's the thing I struggle most with.

Also, I have two small bits of feedback... I wonder if the higher registers of some of the instruments are not being used as much as they could be? The woodwinds, harp, & some of the other melodics seem a bit underused for this adventurous style. And on second listen, sometimes the brass stabs and string/percussion patterns sound a bit too regular -- I wonder if some alternative rhythms to mix it up a bit would help with that.


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## CT (Apr 29, 2022)

I think this sounds great. Particularly the brass does not have the usual claustrophobic sound I associate with CSB. Fun writing too!


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## Andres Sarmiento (Apr 29, 2022)

Hey thank you so much! I don't really remember the whole process since this thing took a very long time, but if you want me to share any particular thought about composition, harmony, etc., just send me a message and I'll be glad to help!

And yeah, as this is my first composition in this style I didn't took that many risks with the highest registers of the instruments most of the time; that's something I've been struggling with, but I'll find how to incorporate that on my next piece for sure. As for the repetition of the patterns, I didn't notice that at all (which doesn't mean it's there!). Anyways I'm on the polishing stage for this track, so I will definitely give these things a second thought. Thanks for taking the time to post this feedback!


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## Saxer (Apr 29, 2022)

Sounds great!


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## Andres Sarmiento (Apr 29, 2022)

Michaelt said:


> I think this sounds great. Particularly the brass does not have the usual claustrophobic sound I associate with CSB. Fun writing too!


Wow that's a huge thing, as I don't find my brass writing/mixing as impressive as some other composers out there. Really appreciate it, thank you so much!


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## Henu (Apr 30, 2022)

Michaelt said:


> the usual claustrophobic sound


You sir just described my problem with CSB with one sentence, haha! And you're also absolutely right, this lacks that badness more than usual. @Andres Sarmiento , did you use m/s EQ for the brass?


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## Andres Sarmiento (Apr 30, 2022)

Henu said:


> You sir just described my problem with CSB with one sentence, haha! And you're also absolutely right, this lacks that badness more than usual. @Andres Sarmiento , did you use m/s EQ for the brass?


Well I've got mid side on the master bus, removing all of the sides below 80Hz to avoid too much stereo rumble on the low end. Other than than, the sound of CSB is really different in the Project Colossal template thanks to the eq moves made by its creator Rico Derks. Maybe that's worth checking out if you want more details on that : )


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## Sunny Schramm (Apr 30, 2022)

love the "air" and the transparency of the mix - lets me wanna save up even more for rico´s project colossal


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## dbudimir (Apr 30, 2022)

Sounds wonderful!!!


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## ricoderks (May 3, 2022)

Andres Sarmiento said:


> Hi everyone! First time posting here, I wanted to show you a project I'm working on using only the cinematic studio series libraries + Cineperc, and hopefully have some feedback regarding the quality of the sound, the composition or whatever comes to your mind.
> 
> I'm also using the Project Colossal template for this, which is a really interesting tool I found in this forum if you want to check that out. Thank you in advance!
> EDIT: This is now the finished version of this composition.



Really well done man. Im a sucker for percussion. So i quite like the energy in the first half. It reminds me of scores from Silvestri and Elfman combined somehow. Great stuff!


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## Akora (May 3, 2022)

Could you explain your process in making a piece like this? Do you sketch the entire track out on piano and then orchestrate it after, or do you orchestrate from the start and just make it up as you go? Love the feel and tempo of the track, would love to be able to write like that!


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## Andres Sarmiento (May 3, 2022)

Akora said:


> Could you explain your process in making a piece like this? Do you sketch the entire track out on piano and then orchestrate it after, or do you orchestrate from the start and just make it up as you go? Love the feel and tempo of the track, would love to be able to write like that!


Hey sure! The first thing was making sure my instruments were sounding great even before starting the composition itself. I imported several references into my DAW and tuned my instruments to sound close to them, adjusting the reverb, the positioning and having at least the core orchestra already loaded, with all its articulation maps there.

After that I kept those references in a folder (they were like 10 or so, to avoid unconsciously borrowing too much from one of them!), to keep my ears close to them in terms of balance and "realism" while composing. I used some live concert classical pieces, some videogame music and some John Williams soundtracks of course : p.
As for the composition process, this took like 2 months because I composed bit by bit without a previous general sketch.
To be honest if I had done any sketching this would have gone faster, but for the most part the process was playing a piano part with all the important elements (melody, textures, bass and harmony essentially), assigning each one of those functions to different instruments, and trying to orchestrate this on the go. Maybe it's not ideal, but I learnt enough from this exercise to make my future compositions more streamlined and efficient : )
I hope this helps in any way, and if you have more questions just let me know!


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## weeeeve (May 3, 2022)

Dang...absolutely fantastic! Love every note, sound, and rhythm! I'm a trumpet player, and was very impressed by the sound of the brass. (and everything else, actually.) Great great job!

Steven


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## Andres Sarmiento (May 4, 2022)

weeeeve said:


> Dang...absolutely fantastic! Love every note, sound, and rhythm! I'm a trumpet player, and was very impressed by the sound of the brass. (and everything else, actually.) Great great job!
> 
> Steven


Hey thank you so much Steven!


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## Andres Sarmiento (May 4, 2022)

One last update on this composition: after some requests I decided to share the MIDI files and a complete orchestral score of this, you can find them here (no ads or anything like that, it's just a free notion page):
https://andreshernandezsarmiento.notion.site/Andr-s-Hern-ndez-Sarmiento-Composer-99294968549e4b949033db5a23921a87
Hope it's useful for any of you!


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## Gingerbread (May 4, 2022)

Andres Sarmiento said:


> One last update on this composition: after some requests I decided to share the MIDI files and a complete orchestral score of this, you can find them here (no ads or anything like that, it's just a free notion page):
> https://andreshernandezsarmiento.notion.site/Andr-s-Hern-ndez-Sarmiento-Composer-99294968549e4b949033db5a23921a87
> Hope it's useful for any of you!


Hey, that's very generous of you! It's a really wonderful composition, I'm going to have fun studying it!


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