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Synths are killing film and TV music

edited December 2013 in General App Discussion

Synthesisers are killing film and TV music, say British composers.

Interesting article:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/15/electronicmusic-television

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Comments

  • Read it. Don't agree though. There's been awesome TV music lately. Breaking Bad had some of the all time best! To name just one.

  • hmmm...I agree but I don't think it's synths.

    I'm afraid it's lazy producers or even lazy composers...lately, a lot of movies have been using very similar if not identical scores for suspense background music. You'll hear it in many movies such as the Batman and Harry Potter series but quite a few others as well, and it's being copied by many TV series of course. It's a low and very repetitive, insistent string section chord progression (and yes, probably synthetic but that's not my real point), most often used during dark scenes.

    Real creativity is still, and will always be, very rare. Don't blame the tools.

  • I agree with mmp....the fact that you could buy a few stock tracks for a few hundred, doesn't help...also there is the cost..$50,000 to $80,000 per session..OK They are going to play it right, but usually they require 2 practise sessions....I'm not knocking orchestras , thats a fair price based on around $50 per hour per performer...plus it's extremly difficult to simulate a realistic orchestra as we all well know..however I could buy all the EAST/WEST plugins, Omnispere, Andomeda, Kronos, JP80, a couple of iPad Airs plus all the apps and still have change to buy a really good recording set up and I've got it all forever..A lot of movies and TV are low budget..I've never heard of an Orchestra cutting their rate by 75% just because the director wants a real Orchestra...and I also think that if your gonna use synths and electronics for your score dont try and make it sound like an orchestra, most of the time it will just sound tacky...one thing I will say, a long time ago in the 80's I was engineering a session in a studio in liverpool and the band had hired a string quartet...they had the score and the music and their ability to play was unquestionable..we had a few technical difficulties because the studio had just had an SSL desk fitted, and the software was a bit delicate..anyway we were about halfway through the string thing and they stopped and started packing up because it was 5.30 and would have to cone back the next day, at another days rate..for like 2 minutes if recording....the band did manage to sort it, but it cost them another couple of hours at time and a half....

  • A bit meta:
    @thesoundtestroom: Doug, can you please stop using '...' instead of just '.'? It makes your posts really hard to read. Also please use breaks more often. If you hit enter twice in edit mode that creates another paragraph.

  • @Sebastian said:

    A bit meta:
    @thesoundtestroom: Doug, can you please stop using '...' instead of just '.'? It makes your posts really hard to read. Also please use breaks more often. If you hit enter twice in edit mode that creates another paragraph.

    Yes, Seb you are right, reading my posts back to myself annoys me.

    I shall make the effort in future :-)

  • edited March 2014

    .

  • I have to say that I'm afraid I disagree, essentially due to composition. Yes, Jaw's score grabbed you and made the film but how many others can you name? I could recognize Indy, Star Wars, Chariots/Blade Runner, but 90%+ are totally forgetable: it's no surprise that outside of musicals soundtracks don't sell. I remeber the main Harry Potter theme but the lazy chords that @mmp mentioned? No idea. And the guys who are moaning seem to be orchestral staltwarts: modern audiences want modern music I'm afraid.

  • edited March 2014

    .

  • encenc
    edited December 2013

    What would bladerunner be without vangelis's music and atmospheres? The chase scene from midnight express without morroders sequencer driven bass line ?
    Tbh, I don't actually know (or care) what is real or synthetic these days. The score from the last superman movie ... Orchestra or synthetic ?

    And remember, HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC !!!!

  • I thought about ANOTHER thing: uninspiring, boring "orchestral" soundtracks instead of awesome electronic or synth-rock

    That's about video games mostly

  • I said everything:

  • Anyone remember ....

    23 May 1982, The UK Musicians Union moved a resolution to ban synthesizers & drum machines fearing that they would put musicians out of work

  • edited December 2013

    Yeah I remember, I was a member then.

  • 23 May 1982, The UK Musicians Union moved a resolution to ban synthesizers & drum machines fearing that they would put musicians out of work

    And composers no more needed performers huh?)

  • Will budgets drive soundtracks away from synths to iOS devices next then?

  • Someone in the discussion below the Guardian article says that they weren't allowed to join the musician's union around that time - because they played keyboards and synths.

  • edited December 2013
  • edited December 2013

    I really don't think synths are the problem. When something inspired comes along like Breaking Bad or even the video game The Last of Us the music is usually equally inspired. If a lot of TV and movie music sucks I wouldn't be surprised because maybe 10% of what gets churned out is worth watching.

    Oh, and I totally forgot to mention John Carpenter's Halloween. And there is also Beyond the Black Rainbow, which isn't a great movie in my opinion, but the music and visuals are pretty enjoyable.

  • @sebastian- you're really on a roll today.

  • edited December 2013

    Headline:

    "Synthesisers are killing film and TV music, say British composers."

    Reality:

    "Synthesisers are killing our stodgy, self-aggrandizing interpretation of film and TV music, say old, bitter British composers."

  • or even the video game music

    I have listened to more then 500 game osts and audio rips, so i really know following thing:

    Game industry, being more fresh and young, has more interesting and experimental soundtracks*

    *But "orchestral scores" based on sample libraries are usually noooot gooood. Or wannable "dubstep" alike vibes

    P.S. "The Last Of Us" has really good music, featuring both electronic instruments and acoustic (especially guitar melodies)

  • @smeeeth said:

    @sebastian- you're really on a roll today.

    Thank you. Internally we only communicate via Gifs and Image links. Language is vastly overrated.

  • There was a good discussion about this on synthtopia, and the general consensus was:

    1. he's actually referring to samplers and romplers, not synths.
    2. he's one man who's opinion is of little consequence anyhow

    My own personal take is that most films/tv are garbage anyway, whether the music sucks or not. Perhaps he should watch these shows instead of listen to them, and he'll realize that it's shitty producers who don't want to shell out money for things like original music, original scripts, good actors, or proper screen/script-writing...

    The problem is not the musicians, the problem is the entertainment industry as a whole, as usual.

  • @richardyot said:

    Someone in the discussion below the Guardian article says that they weren't allowed to join the musician's union around that time - because they played keyboards and synths.

    Thats rubbish, whoever said that is wrong, the manager of the band I was in at the time made us all join, and although I was the drummer, we relied heavily on synths and keyboards as did almost every band then.

    Seriously think about it 1982, if the MU had there way who would have been in the charts.

  • edited December 2013

    @thesoundtestroom said:

    Seriously think about it 1982, if the MU had there way who would have been in the charts.

    And the world could have been spared Frankie Goes to Hollywood... AND Culture Club!

  • Frankie were ace (I lived in Liverpool at the time)

  • @Ian said:

    Frankie were ace (I lived in Liverpool at the time)

    So did Doug, probably :P

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