'OVERWORLD' fantasy(orchestra/choir/piano). [Archive]

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dean valentine

02-06-2007, 10:41 AM

Hi all,
I joined the forum recently but never posted in this thread,this a recent composition titled 'OVERWORLD'.
it's a fantasy based composition featuring orchestra /choir /piano.

http://deanvalentine.com/mp3/OVERWORLD.mp3

Dean.

nikolas

02-06-2007, 11:04 AM

Dean,

It really sounds very...magical indeed :D

All instruments EW, I reckon? The solo strings actually sound rather nice, although I've never really liked them... :-/

Quick question: Is there a story behind the music? Is it just some music that spring in mind? Because it is amazingly beautiful, really it is...

No feedback from me whatsoever... Everything is as it is supposed to be! And actually if you want to know, there are other people who've heard Overworld and they think it's great (and worry for their entry actually :D :D :D)...

Nikolas

D.Montesinos

02-06-2007, 11:36 AM

Very Good Music!!,

And realy GREAT Mix....

Congrats!!.

D.M

Shantar

02-06-2007, 01:20 PM

Very nice. I like the mood of this piece. Good use of dynamics too. What libraries used? Love the piano-sound! Sends chills down my spine...:)

Chris

dean valentine

02-07-2007, 01:23 PM

Hey Nikolas,how are you?
thanks very much,everything is EW.
This composition is based around a friends short story,about a flight through the frozen Overworld.I knew the sound and fell that I wanted to create,for once no brass at all (well,about 4 notes.)and based everything around the piano.
I also just finished some compositions,one titled 'Oisin' ,for a live action series based on celtic legends/folklore called 'The Real Fianna' I'll send you an mp3, makes a nice change to scoring 52 part animation series,
I'd also love to score more games,hint,hint if anyones interested check out www.deanvalentine.com (http://www.deanvalentine.com) for more info.(soon to be updated with more projects and compositions from 2006/07)

ps:What did you think of Gorechki tracks and hows the new mix?
Dean

Dean,

It really sounds very...magical indeed :D

All instruments EW, I reckon? The solo strings actually sound rather nice, although I've never really liked them... :-/

Quick question: Is there a story behind the music? Is it just some music that spring in mind? Because it is amazingly beautiful, really it is...

No feedback from me whatsoever... Everything is as it is supposed to be! And actually if you want to know, there are other people who've heard Overworld and they think it's great (and worry for their entry actually :D :D :D)...

Nikolas

jsp2

02-07-2007, 05:00 PM

Wow, Gorgeous work!

... on every level.

I really enjoyed this!

~Jeff

dean valentine

02-07-2007, 06:45 PM

Very Good Music!!,

And realy GREAT Mix....

Congrats!!.

D.M

Hey D.M.,
Thanks very much for listening and responding.

Dean.

ddarwin7

02-07-2007, 10:09 PM

Dean, this is some wonderful work. I really like the mood you set with this piece. There is that darker, edgy, yet calming element to it. Very well done. I think I've listened to the piece numerous times now and enjoyed it every single time. The sound is also teriffic, I see that you have platinum. I only have Gold. The strings sound incredible.

How do you do those intense runs. Are those phrases, or can you actually play that with platinum. The build up and climax of the strings are simply stunning. I wish I could do that. Also is the piano, the silver piano.

I will be looking forward to more of you music. Very inspiring. Thanks

xaerial

02-08-2007, 04:14 AM

fantastic work :) )(~

nikolas

02-08-2007, 04:35 AM

Hey Nikolas,how are you?
thanks very much,everything is EW.
This composition is based around a friends short story,about a flight through the frozen Overworld.I knew the sound and fell that I wanted to create,for once no brass at all (well,about 4 notes.)and based everything around the piano.
I also just finished some compositions,one titled 'Oisin' ,for a live action series based on celtic legends/folklore called 'The Real Fianna' I'll send you an mp3, makes a nice change to scoring 52 part animation series,
I'd also love to score more games,hint,hint if anyones interested check out www.deanvalentine.com (http://www.deanvalentine.com) for more info.(soon to be updated with more projects and compositions from 2006/07)

ps:What did you think of Gorechki tracks and hows the new mix?
Dean
Hey Dean,

All is well! Thanks for the info of the short story! Looking forward to listening to Oisin!

guys visit his site: He has some great tracks in there :D

Gorechki was very nice and the new mix is complete (the best I could do, you can listen to it in my site. I find it's the best thing I could do considering I lost hte project files :()

Take care :)

dean valentine

02-08-2007, 12:56 PM

Very nice. I like the mood of this piece. Good use of dynamics too. What libraries used? Love the piano-sound! Sends chills down my spine...:)

Chris

Hi Chris,
Cheers,thanks for responding.I like to play with dynamics as much as possible and I'm very happy with the way this composition turned out,I'd love to see some images,maybe a fantasy based game.(still hinting)

I used EW/QL Symphonic Orchestra Platinum Pro XP and EW/QL Symphonic Choirs,The Steinway b piano is part of the EW library and its excellent.

Thanks again,
Dean.

dean valentine

02-09-2007, 06:11 AM

Wow, Gorgeous work!

... on every level.

I really enjoyed this!

~Jeff

Thanks very much Jeff.
Dean

Dean, this is some wonderful work. I really like the mood you set with this piece. There is that darker, edgy, yet calming element to it. Very well done. I think I've listened to the piece numerous times now and enjoyed it every single time. The sound is also teriffic, I see that you have platinum. I only have Gold. The strings sound incredible.

How do you do those intense runs. Are those phrases, or can you actually play that with platinum. The build up and climax of the strings are simply stunning. I wish I could do that. Also is the piano, the silver piano.

I will be looking forward to more of you music. Very inspiring. Thanks

Hey ddarwin7,
some wonderful comments and compliments,thank you.

The combination of 3 mic positions in Platinum give real sonic depth and 24bit samples makes for a clearer mix re large orchestral compositions.

Re the string runs and swells there are no phrases in Platinum,I use a combination of the violin/viola/celli thrills and tremelos combined with piccolo runs/ harp gliss/mellow glock then work on the velocity,attack,trails and reverb untill it sounds right.
I'm delighted you found it inspiring,re more music if you check out the Game audio section here,theres a big orchestral action cue titled 'Darkmatters Retribution' also theres an orchestral western theme titled 'Cotton on the Wind'.

Dean.

Audun_Jemtland

02-09-2007, 09:30 AM

dean valentine

02-09-2007, 12:08 PM

Hey Dean!

If I'm not already a fan, I will be hehe.
You create amazingly beautiful music.

Was it hard to make the string part around 01:11? What is that?

I'm not very skilled to manipulate samples but would it be hard to make music with EWQLSO Gold xp? How do one make realistic orchestra with that? are there any performance tool?

I have QL Voices of the acopolypse...do you recomend the one you used?

Thanks Dean. Your not only a great composer, but your music is also a source of influence and great learning

Hi,
Thank you very much.
The string part at 1:11 is mainly violin,viola trems and thrills with piccolo flutes and harp gliss etc and a lot of time adjusting the velocity of each note.

I have heard incredible compositions using EWQLSO Gold XP,(I use EW platinum Pro XP which is very similar),there are no performance tools with gold XP you have to listen,listen,listen and practice,practice,practice with the sample library.

However the Kontakt sample player that runs the EWQLSO also uses 'scripts' (scripts are like midi plug-ins that manipulate the midi data.)they help you to perform string runs and swells more realistically by applying legatto or staccato automatically,there are many types of 'scripts' you can use with Kontakt player,(I have'nt used scripts yet but I've heard that the are very helpful.)
also EW have their own brand new sample player called 'PLAY',I dont know much about it,check ~~~~~~~~~~~~.

I highly recommend EWQL Symphonic Choirs(combined with Wordbuilder software) you can type in words and phrases and have the choir sing them back it takes alot of work but its incredible and ultra realistic if used properly.
First you need to learn how to use the software,which can be frustrating and time consuming,then practice composing everyday which is even harder, but great fun.

Goodluck,
Dean.

Audun_Jemtland

02-09-2007, 01:02 PM

dean valentine

02-10-2007, 09:29 AM

fantastic work :) )(~

Thanks Xaeriel!

Hey Dean,

All is well! Thanks for the info of the short story! Looking forward to listening to Oisin!

guys visit his site: He has some great tracks in there :D

Gorechki was very nice and the new mix is complete (the best I could do, you can listen to it in my site. I find it's the best thing I could do considering I lost hte project files :()

Take care :)

hey Nikolas,
I'll check your composition out at your site,Nikolas has some great work there folks.

Dean.

Nick Harvey

02-10-2007, 10:26 AM

Wow. That is absolutely bleedin' gorgeous! :)

Nick

bond6007

02-10-2007, 01:11 PM

Hey Dean,

I am listening to your music in complete awe. Overworld is sweepingly mystical and majestic, Darkmatter's Retribution knocked my socks off!

How long have you been composing? And how long does it take you to compose these tracks? How much time editing, mixing etc. these tracks to perfection after the composition itself is done?

Can I also ask what samples you use to get the horror track string upward runs in the Darkmatter tracks?

Sorry for all the questions. You are one of the most amazing composers I've ever heard. Good luck on your way to the top.

talisman

02-10-2007, 08:59 PM

This is a little redundant, but this is the best simulation I have ever heard. Nice harmonic colors, very descriptive writing which lends itself very nicely to the program for which it is written. Awesome job!

John

dean valentine

02-12-2007, 05:03 AM

Tanks Dean!
I must say I love your "cotton on the wind" song.Seems like EWQLSO seems to "fit" some songs better than others.... so in the western song the brass plays nice when played hard but otherwise it is kind of dull don't you agree?in comparison to say.. SAM brass.... EWQLSO has it's weaknesess and strenghts.

How long did you spend composing overworld? what about cotton..

Is quantum coming out with play engine AND a "new" orchestra.
Anyone know?

Hey Audun,
thanks for listening to Cotton on the Wind,its one of my favorites,after Overworld.
I think Sambrass would sound great on this track too and also compliments the EWQLSO library.The brass does have its weaknesess which is why I got SamBrass but IMO Platinum Pro XP is still one of the best libraries around.

For me the composition is the quickest part but getting the most realistic performance and mix takes forever,'Overworld' took about 2-3 days altogether,'Cotton on the Wind' took longer because of the big brass section,getting the brass to sound the way I wanted was a bit of a nightmare,Sambrass would have been perfect for this.

Aswell as 'PLAY' they are also bringing out about six new sample libraries but no Orchestra.Truestrike 2 from SamProject is next on my list.

Dean.

dean valentine

02-12-2007, 06:47 AM

Wow. That is absolutely bleedin' gorgeous! :)
Nick

Hi Nick,
I love this response,cheers!!
I meant to say that I listened all the versions of your composition and thought they were great and suited the subject you described,like a glove. Perfect Mix,compression and size for TV land,big orchestral cues always seem out of place on most TV programmes these tracks definitely have the balance just right.

Dean

Dean

Hey Dean,

I am listening to your music in complete awe. Overworld is sweepingly mystical and majestic, Darkmatter's Retribution knocked my socks off!

How long have you been composing? And how long does it take you to compose these tracks? How much time editing, mixing etc. these tracks to perfection after the composition itself is done?

Can I also ask what samples you use to get the horror track string upward runs in the Darkmatter tracks?

Sorry for all the questions. You are one of the most amazing composers I've ever heard. Good luck on your way to the top.

Hi bond6007,
Thanks for the great compliments.Darkmatters Retribution was great fun to write,thats being used in small indie game.

I'm completely self-taught and started off in bands at 17 but my orchestral compositions really started about 6 or 7 years ago when I turned professional(unfortuneatly most of my compostions for TV & Film were written before I purchased EWQLSO).
In March last year I switched to Mac G5 and PLatinum Pro XP and began really concentrating on orchestral composition.

It can take a few days to finish a track completely,but with a deadline it changes,I recently had to compose/mix 5 orchestral tracks in a 2 days,for an animation series about 30-40 cues a week.
James Newton Howard(KingKong)said his average is about 2 mins composition per day when scoring a feature.

If you have really great sample libraries and get the performance and dynamics right Before audio mixdown then you spend alot less time mixing also I never compress Orchestral compositions,orchestras are all about space and scale and compression just produces the opposite effect.

The string runs in 'Darkmatters Retribution' were all acheived in Platinum Pro XP by layering Violin/Viol/celli trems and Violin scratching effect to give it some bite,I play them where they sound best running up the board in semitones and adjust the release trails and reverbs with maybe a distant trumpet swell or crescendo,piccolo run underneath.

Thanks again,
Dean

dean valentine

02-13-2007, 09:07 AM

MDesigner

02-13-2007, 02:14 PM

dean valentine

02-15-2007, 05:02 AM

Wow, consider me impressed!! I especially like 3:17 through 3:50. Reminds me of Thomas Newman's work. I bet this took a lot of MIDI tweaking, Dean.. samples don't usually sound this good right after recording a track :)
Nice work

Hi Sam,
Thanks for the listen and response,high praise indeed.
I've actually checked out your site and music before,very impressive.

I was aware of the Newman feel in that section too,I normally avoid the T.Newman sound like the plague,its copied by too many composers,aswell as H.Zimmer and D.Elfman.
There was a lot of tweaking re the velocity and release trails,reverbs.EW Platinum Pro XP is an incredible library but I recently added SamBrass to beef up the brass section (which is incredible).

Thanks again,
Dean.