Movie soundtracks - are they orchestral or electronic?

[nopiano]

I recently heard on a friends system the Gladiator OST. In common with many other such films, there are hugely dramatic dynamics, and explosive bass effects, all very exciting on anything with a Subwoofer.

But is it 'real' music, with maybe a large section on double-bass or orchestral drum, or is that very deep effect something electronic?

A similar thought occured to me when I watched Inception at home. I realise that mountains blowing up and lifts crashing to the ground might be electronic sound effects, but is the music heavily treated as well?

 

[Clare Newsome]

It will vary greatly, depending on the composer, director and sound engineers involved!

I'd advise watching the extras on some of your DVDs/Blu-rays - many have interesting documentaries re how the music was recorded/the sound was mixed.

You've only got to enjoy the pre-digital age movies to appreciate the sheer power and scale - and conversely the quiet atmospherics - a well-conducted orchestra could create in tandem with a superb film. Think Bernard Herrmann's scores for Hitchcock, Ennio Morricone for Sergio Leone....

 

[dannycanham]

I recently heard on a friends system the Gladiator OST. In common with many other such films, there are hugely dramatic dynamics, and explosive bass effects, all very exciting on anything with a Subwoofer.

But is it 'real' music, with maybe a large section on double-bass or orchestral drum, or is that very deep effect something electronic?

A similar thought occured to me when I watched Inception at home. I realise that mountains blowing up and lifts crashing to the ground might be electronic sound effects, but is the music heavily treated as well?

Wiki Hans Zimmer. He is the composer for those two who has also done the music for many films. It sounds like he varies the instruments he uses.

 

[nopiano]

Thank you both.

@ Clare, I hadn't thought about the extras, and as many of our discs come from lovefilm, so we tend to return them after seeing the main feature. Will look out for that though. I love Herrmann's soundtracks, and I agree that they often have those extremes - high register and quiet, or deep and loud. Even away from movies, something like Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances has some pretty hefty dynamics.

@ dannycanham, great tip re Zimmer - thanks. I found an interview where he said about Inception, "It’s a very electronic score. There is orchestra, but the electronics share an equal spotlight, and I also have Johnny Marr playing guitar. Besides Johnny and the orchestra, everything else stays virtual throughout the mix.” which pretty much answers it!

Overall, I guess this makes me a bit wary of using OSTs to assess equpment, unless I'm very familar with it, and probably explains why it appeals to those trying to impress!

 

[Paul.]

I watched Inception tonight, and had a quick look at the extras. Interestingly, Zimmer mentioned writing synth sections, and then scoring the orchestral bits to mimic the synths. This is backwards to most peoples approaches, but works very well!

 

[nopiano]

Thanks, Paul. I suppose that's a composer's privilege, and maybe not so different from writing at the piano and orchestrating later?

 

[hubiedubie]

Hans Zimmer, (who wrote the Gladiator and Inception soundtracks) uses a combination of real orchestra, synthesizers and software instruments and effects to produce his scores.

He has a purpose built (ie you can't buy it anywhere) orchestral sample library to do computer mockups of his cues to get an idea of what they would sound like. He will use these share ideas with the director / production team. They are then recorded by a real orchestra.

He also mixes this with hardware/software synthesizers and FX. So there would be an element of sound design in his work as opposed to pure melodic composition.

Interestingly the soundtrack to Inception is wholly inspired by Edith Piaf's 'Je ne Regrette Rien'.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jul/29/inception-soundtrack-edith-piaf

Lower budget film scores will be produced entirely on computer regardless of whether they are intended to be 'real' instruments or not. The sample libraries that purport to emulate real orchestras and instruments are incredibly realistic nowadays and it is becoming increasingly difficult for an audience to tell which is a real or virtual instrument.