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Berklee College of Music
Nostalgia:
From Visual Inspiration to Final Composition
Submitted in Partial fulfillment of the Degree of
Master of Music in Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games
Supervisor: Alfons Conde
by Jing Zhang
Valencia Campus, Spain
July 2018
Table of Contents
Abstract
iii
Acknowledgements
iv
1. Preparation before Composition
1
1.1. Video or Script
1
1.2. Searching for Visual Media Material
2
2. Composition Process
3
2.1. Choosing the Video
3
2.2. Inspiration
4
2.3. Theme and Variations
6
3. Preparation for the Recording
9
3.1. ProTools Session: Making the Recording Session Efficient
9
3.2. Score and Parts: Making Sight-Reading Easier
10
3.3. Conducting: Experience from Budapest Recording
11
4. Post Production: Mixing and Experience from the Pac-Man Project
13
5. Suggestions for Future Recording
14
6. Conclusion
16
Appendix: Inspiration from a Traditional Chinese Farewell Song
18
Bibliography
19
ii
Abstract
This thesis described the methods of finding a video, the composing process, recording
preparation, post-production and suggestions for future recordings of the recording session at
London AIR Studios. I used a time-lapse video called “ERRONKARI - Pyrenean Paradise” from
Vimeo and did a rescore. The original music was composed by Vanessa Garde. In the thesis, I
explained how I tried to find a video and why I choose this video, and what are some inspirations
of my composition. I came up with a flute melody as theme one and the piece was developed
based on two main themes. Then I prepared Pro Tools session, score and parts and conducting
for the recording session. After the recording, I mixed the recording with the help of experiences
gained from a previous mixing project for the Pac-Man anniversary animated short. After the
recording, I realized what can be improved in my composition to make the orchestra sounds
better, and I proposed some suggestions for future recordings. I hope this thesis will help future
students to get a clear idea of the process of final recording and be well prepared for it.
Keywords: film scoring, compositional process, studio recording, session preparation, mixing
iii
Acknowledgements
I am so grateful to our Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games program director,
Lucio Godoy, for accepting me to Berklee College of Music. Without him I won’t have the
opportunity to be here and have an amazing journey at Berklee, and I won’t be standing on the
podium of AIR Studios this June. Thank all the amazing musicians and engineers who
participated in my recording throughout this year. Thank Vanessa Garde, Alfons Conde, Pablo
Schuller, Sergio Lacima, Eduardo Tarilonte and Vicente Gimeno for teaching and helping me.
Specially, thank everyone who helped me solving my visa problem.
Special thanks to Vanessa and Sergio for producing my London recording session. Thank
Alfons for the talks that enlightens me to be a braver composer, and thank him for helping me
with my composition and orchestration even when he is not feeling well. Thank Pablo for
devoting his time on preparing for every recording session we had this year and helping us a lot
with our mix. Thank Lucio for always being kind to me and encouraging me when I am down.
It was so lucky for me to meet all my fellow musicians and colleagues here this year. Thank
you for sharing all the wonderful memories with me for the whole year. It has been one of the
best years in my life. I do wish we could meet each other again, and I wish the best for every one
of you a wonderful future.
Most importantly I want to thank my parents for giving me financial and spiritual support,
and for trusting me on studying music. Without them I won’t be able to go anywhere and I won’t
have the chance to study music at all. They gave me everything and they made my dream come
true.
iv
1. Preparation before Composition
1.1. Video or Script
Preparing for AIR Studios recording has been a long process for me. After all these I think
one thing we could have decided earlier is either to use a video or script. Both of them have pros
and cons. If you choose to score for a video, you have to plan ahead either to find an original
video which the director allows you to write music for or to rescore, or use an already exist video
clip for inspiration and do a rescore, but you won’t have the right to post it on your website or
demo reel later. Composing music for a video should be the best choice because it is what our
major is aiming for, but for London recording there are a lot of limitations.
First of all, it takes time to find an ideal original video. I have found some ways to look for
videos and I will explain more in 1.2.
Secondly, the length of London recording should be no more than 3 minutes, so the length
of the video and the amount of music it needs is better to be around 2 to 3 minutes. It is fine to
sequence more music with sample libraries if the video is longer than 3 minutes and if it needs
more music, but the difference between a live recording with amazing session players in London
AIR studio and MIDI sequencing is big. It will be difficult to blend them well in the same video.
I would recommend choosing a video that is 2 to 3 minutes long, or it only needs 2-3 minutes of
music.
Lastly, the instrumentation choice has always been a problem of the videos I found. It is
either the director wants electronic music, or the 51-piece orchestra is too big for their movie.
For such a great recording opportunity, I think it is wise to use the full orchestra and write
whatever we like. According to my experience, it is difficult to find a short video with a nice arc
of story line, and it fits massive orchestral music.
1
Also, taking into consideration that the director might ask for more revisions. It is better to
make them clear of your composition and preparation timeline in May, and make them clear that
their video should be as final as possible so you don’t have to make big changes of your music
after the recording is done.
1.2. Searching for Visual Media Material
I have taken notes of all the methods and platforms I used for finding a video.
The one I used most is Vimeo. On Vimeo, I checked a lot of “Staff Pick” videos and sent
the message to directors directly through Vimeo. Some of them might want a rescore of their
video, and some of them might have a new video and they are looking for composer. But sending
message on Vimeo is not that efficient in my case. A more professional way of contacting them
is by visiting their website and sending them project request.
Another method I spent a lot of time trying is contacting video game studios. I searched
online several different lists of video game companies, and checked each of their website. I tried
to contact them, explaining the recording project I have from Berklee, and asking if they have a
short video like a trailer that I can try to write music for or rescore. By using this method, I
received no video from any video game studio, but I received several replies saying that they
have archived my resume and they might contact me when they have a position open for
composers. My suggestion is, try to contact the video game studios from your own country first.
Even if you got nothing from them finally, you are networking with them.
Also, it was great to contact film academy. I contacted a friend of mine who is studying at
Beijing Film Academy and another friend of mine who is studying Script Writing at Columbia
University. I didn’t find a video suitable for London recording, but I had a chance to score for a
2
30-minutes short film. The director is going to apply for film festivals with this short film. He
played the film with my first draft of music to his colleagues, and one other director from his
class already contacted me for doing music for her next short film. This is a very efficient way
and I think the possibility of finding a good video for London is big. It is also a very good
networking with aspiring directors in your own country.
There are also some other ways I didn’t try that much but they might work for you too. For
example, there is IMDB Pro account on Berklee library computers. You may try looking for
contacts from there. I also searched on Instagram some tags related to film school and film music
production, there I found and followed some young directors too.
2. Composition Process
2.1. Choosing the Video
For me, I prefer composing for a video. But because of so many limitations from the video I
got from directors, I decided to start with using a time-lapse video I really loved for inspiration,
and then develop my music more in the last section without syncing to the video that much.
I started with the video from Vimeo called Everest – A Time Lapse Film – II1. My first two
versions were trying different sync points, tempos and markers. But because this video has too
many shot cuts and they happen too fast and steady, I found it difficult to do a rescore and to
make it different from the original soundtrack.
Then I tried to write something without a video. I was thinking of writing a script. My
original plan was to write something like a letter to my mother, but I found it hard to decide sync
1
“Everest – A Time Lapse Film – II,” created and posted by Elia Saikaly, March 24, 2018, Vimeo
video, 2:35, https://vimeo.com/261660348.
3
points. In my version 3, I used some ideas from the first 2 versions and developed them a little,
but I still feel like having a video will inspire me more and I will be much faster on the
composition process.
The idea of using a time-lapse video came from Vanessa’s class. She showed us the music
she composed for a time-lapse video ERRONKARI – Pyrenean Paradise2. Both the video and
music were amazing and I found there are so many possibilities in music for a time-lapse video.
In most of the time-lapse videos, they have a similar problem: lack of shape. After searching for
tons of time-lapse videos online, I finally decided to use this video. I started at around 00:33 of
the video and ended at 03:33, because it is 3 minutes long, and there is a perfect arc and form in
this section, it helps me to decide the ups and downs in my music. Also, the transitions and shot
cuts in this video are more random and smooth, each scene lasts longer so it allows the music to
breath and grow while I can still achieve to sync most of the shot changes. It doesn’t get
mechanical, repetitive or boring. I can picture the scenes with emotional music and scenes with
music providing motion. I decided to use this time-lapse video and finally started on 17th of May.
After the first “spotting session”, I am almost done with the arrangement of the piece and I have
a clear idea of the shape of this piece. Finally, after all the changes and revisions, the last version
ends up at version 7.2.2.
2.2. Inspiration
I always try not to search for scores before I write something, because I am always afraid of
writing similar themes or motifs without recognizing that I was inspired by some others’ work I
2
“ERRONKARI – Pyrenean Paradise,” created and posted by Iñaki Tejerina, June 11, 2017,
Vimeo video, 4:47, https://vimeo.com/221153118.
4
listened to. I prefer to listen to random soundtracks from my favorite movies and composers, and
once I found something special and interesting, I will check the score to see how did the
composer do that. Then I will take short simple notes of it on a notebook. For example, I really
like A Window to the Past3, and I love the solo recorder in the beginning. So, I was taking notes
of “using solo woodwind instrument for theme”. I like the pace of changes on harmony, mood,
tempo and style in The Downed Dragon4, so I wrote down notes like “dark to bright, fast and
unexpected changes”. These are just two recent examples. I had a lot of small details I loved
from film music, video game soundtrack and classical music, and I have a few pages of notes
from listening to them. When I have to compose, the notes I have taken can be a reminder for me
to try and apply those techniques or color I liked in my own piece. The beginning of my London
piece Nostalgia is a flute solo, and that was inspired by A Window to the Past. Inspired by The
Downed Dragon, I was also trying to have big different sections in my London piece. It would
be interesting to hear how the orchestra would present different styles in a short 3-minute cue.
Finally, because of the structure and style of the video I choose, I smoothed the transition
between distinct sections and made my cue less sectional. But you may still notice the trace.
Among all my favorite composers, Joe Hisaishi influenced me the most. I love the
Depatures5 so much and I was so determined to include a beautiful cello solo in my London
recording. I did have a cello solo in my first few versions, but in my final version I changed it to
viola section for the safety of recording, because I was not sure if it is possible to have an extra
3
John Williams, “A Window to the Past,” track 7 on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban/Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2004, Spotify.
4
John Powell, “The Downed Dragon,” track 3 on How to Train Your Dragon (Music from the
Motion Picture), 2010, Spotify.
5
“Depatures – Joe Hisaishi,” performed by London Symphony Orchestra and Joe Hisaishi,
posted by Zaibi Med, April 22, 2012, YouTube video, 8:30, https://youtu.be/48eiXcYzvY4.
5
microphone for solo strings in AIR Studios. If not, then one cello against the entire orchestra is
demanding. Actually, they do have two spare microphones for solo instruments. One was for
violin, and one was set between woodwinds and horns section. I think it was a regret that
because we didn’t know about it, none of us actually used any of those spare microphones. It is
securer to check with professors or engineers before the recording if you want to record a solo
instrument and I am sure the engineers in the AIR Studios will take care of it.
2.3. Theme and Variations
I started Nostalgia with the theme played by flute. I was loading and testing the flute MIDI
track, and playing around on the keyboard. I remember I was in lab B05, looking through the
window to the clear aquamarine water pools under Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, and all of a
sudden I came up with this melody. I liked it so much so I wrote it down and since then I haven’t
changed any note in it. But for a long while I was doubting if I heard this melody somewhere
else before or I came up with it on my own. I also asked some of my colleagues to take a listen to
see if they recognize the melody.
Score Analysis 1. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme I, flute part, mm. 1-6.
The first 6 measures of Nostalgia were only the theme with a simple harmony: with a D
pedal. I kept it growing and expanding orchestrally with the fade in and fade out of different
instruments, trying to create an echo effect on the D pedal.
Then, I harmonized the melody. And modulated it to C minor from rehearsal letter B.
6
Score Analysis 2. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme I with harmony
Score Analysis 3. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme I modulation, rehearsal B
The other theme was actually used more often in the whole piece. It was first introduced by
horns and brass unison from measure 29. But it doesn’t develop and it was interrupted by the
modulation from rehearsal B soon. I used all the horns, trumpets and tenor trombones to get a
rich section sound.
Score Analysis 4. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme II, horns, trumpets and tenor trombones, mm.29-32.
The second time the theme II shows up was from measure 57 to measure 70. It started with
woodwinds section unison, and ended with woodwinds, horns and brass harmonized but in tutti.
And the third time it was from measure 81 to measure 87, in a new key a whole step lower, with
variation.
7
Score Analysis 5. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme II, horns, trumpets and tenor trombones, mm. 81-82.
Score Analysis 6. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme II, horns, trumpets and tenor trombones, mm. 83-87.
My composition was mainly based on two themes, with variations and counter melodies.
This is what I usually do in my composition: having a lot of different lines going on at the same
time. It might work in mockup, but not for a live orchestra recording. I found simple doublings
work way better than complex orchestration if the orchestration was not nicely done. Like what
Alfons taught us in orchestration class, in a live orchestra recording, the “weight” of each
section, how many musicians were playing, the dynamics, the range of instruments, they should
all be taken into consideration in order to create a well-balanced sound and to make every
melody line clear. In Nostalgia, I tried to use simpler doublings or doublings plus simple
harmonization while the melody is being played. The recording sounds pretty close to what I
imagined, but there are still some unbalanced sections because of my inexperience of the weight
of sections while doing the orchestration.
8
3. Preparation for the Recording
3.1. Pro Tools Session: Making the Recording Session Efficient
As we all know, every second is expensive in a live recording session. Especially a
recording session with 51-piece orchestra in AIR studios. Since we had only 18 minutes to
record our 3-minute piece, it is extremely important to make sure our Pro Tools session is clear
for the engineer and ready to go. Most of us got 4 perfect full takes in 18 minutes.
Before London recording, we had a lot of recording experiences at school and remote
recording sessions with Budapest Art Orchestra. It won’t be a problem for us to prepare the Pro
Tools session at the end of this year. I want to mention again here as many details as I can think
of to avoid any problem in Pro Tools session. You may use it as a checklist for proofreading
your session.
All your audio files (stems, click, mockup, mix-minus track) should begin at exactly the
same time. In case the version of your Pro Tools session file doesn’t work in their studio, the
engineer can always create a new session and drag all the audio files to the session very fast.
Also, it is always better to have all your audio files at the same length. If you have one or two
shorter audio file, the engineer might think it was a mistake in printing the file or if it is
incomplete.
Import the tempo map from the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you used, and check the
name of markers you have with the rehearsal letters you have on your score. Because sometimes
the markers you import from DAW might be your naming of sync points. Mark the music in
(MX IN) in your session and numbers of pre-clicks in your session and on score. Print your click
at around -14dB with classic MPC click sound, without accent click. Always double check your
click: play your printed audio click together with the click track created in Pro Tools that is
9
matching the tempo map, and check it together with your other stems, see if it works. If there is a
big tempo change in your cue, for example from rehearsal letter A, create playlist for the click
print, mark it as “click_A”, print it from rehearsal A until the end of your cue. Then copy the first
two bars and move them before A as the pre-clicks of that new tempo. Always include in the
comment how many different click prints you have in your click playlist. One thing we learned
from the AIR Studios session was that they would also prepare an audio click in their recording
template. They put a click (audio clip) on every beat of an audio track, and on that audio track
they choose “ticks” instead of “samples”. So, when they import their template to our Pro Tools
session, they can have an extra click track that matches our tempo map for safety. All the audio
clips will follow the tempo map and sit on every beat, because it is measured by ticks.
Other than the most important elements of the Pro Tools session (tempo map, audio files
and click), remember to check: if the comments are clear for each track; if all the inputs are off
and automation read are off; if unused files are deleted; if all the audio files in the session are
also in the audio files folder and if they are named correctly; if there is a big counter on the top
right corner and so on.
3.2. Score and Parts: Making Sight-Reading Easier
Preparing the score and parts for the London recording was not that different from preparing
for other recordings. The only difference was finally we had a chance to print our score and parts
on a special type of paper, which is very nice for musicians to read. But it was not mandatory.
Because of the hardness of that special paper, if you have three pages on one of your part, it can
still fit on the music stand in AIR Studios. But it is always securer to fit your music in two pages
or leave enough time for page turn. It is always better to include on the top left corner of score
10
and parts how many pre-clicks are there in your session. Even if you tell that during the
recording, musicians might still ask to make sure if they don’t see it on their parts. All the details
are just for an efficient use of time in the short recording session. According to the musicians’
feedback after session, they prefer to have bar numbers on the first bar of every system instead of
on every bar. Bar number on every bar is too much information, and sometimes it is clashing
with dynamics or notes with ledger lines. Other important things to check are transposition and
time signatures. Be very careful if you have instrument switch in one part. For example, when
you have piccolo switching to flute, check if the notation is in the right octave. If you have oboe
switching to English horn, check if the oboe part is in concert and English horn part is
transposed. I found this mistake twice in parts when proofreading others’ parts. Another typical
mistake is because of that some of us are using templates, and some templates don’t have time
signature settings on the parts. Because of my visa problem, I didn’t have enough time around
school with my fellows, so I had to proofread all my score and parts by myself. But I would
suggest that, always have your score and parts proofread by as many people as you can find. A
clear and well notated part is so important if you want your recording session to be efficient.
Always go through every part, imaging you are the musician, to see if the part is playable and if
you can sight read that part. Be strict to details like slurs for strings part (changing of bow
direction), slurs for woodwinds, horns and brass instruments (breath), sharps, flats, enharmonic
spellings and beaming of notes. A good notation psychologically makes difficult lines much
easier to play.
3.3. Conducting: Experience from Budapest Recording
11
I am always too shy to stand and speak in front of the public. But I found I enjoy standing
on the podium and talking to the orchestra while having a recording session. I think this special
confidence comes from all the recording sessions throughout this year at Berklee, and also, no
one knows my music better than myself. Because we never had experience conducting in front of
more than 10 musicians during the year, I would recommend going to Budapest for the final
recording of the second semester instead of doing a remote session from Berklee, if time and
money permit. It was a wonderful experience for me. I was nervous during the first take I had in
Budapest, and then I was relaxed and I really enjoyed the rest of my recording time. In London, I
was nervous only for a few seconds in the beginning, and then I enjoyed it so much and felt it
went by so fast.
Conducting recording sessions is different from conducting a live concert. Musicians have
the click in their headphones, and they have to sight read the parts, they can read the meter
changes on their parts, so they won’t be looking at the conductor that often, especially during the
first takes. It is unnecessary to conduct the beat too much. It is actually distracting if the
conducting is a little behind or ahead of the click. But I found it helps to give the orchestra
certain important cues during the first takes. Of course, they can count the multi-measure rests,
but a clear cue from the conductor in their peripheral sight will help them to start playing without
hesitation.
Except for giving cues, the most important job for recording session conductor is to convey
the emotion and shape of the piece to musicians. Especially when the composers are conducting
their own pieces, it is their responsibility to guide the orchestra to a better understanding of the
composition. The conducting should show the phrase and breath of the music, instead of the
mechanical beat counting.
12
4. Post Production: Mixing and Experience from Pac-Man Project
Before going to London, we had a collaboration with Primer Frame animation school on
scoring for an anniversary animated short Lifetime6 for Pac-Man, the classic video game from
Bandai Namco Entertainment. The soundtracks were recorded in Budapest with Budapest Art
Orchestra on two different dates. We had to mix nine different cues we recorded and one song at
the end. We had to make the transitions smooth and to make all the cues sounding like they were
recorded from the same recording session. We had six different composers. We had the same
lineup for recording but we are still different on the way we orchestrate and the instruments we
used. We were also using different sample libraries as stems, so it becomes difficult for us to mix
with the orchestra. We did draft mixes ourselves and Pablo helped us to improve and master. It
was a very precious experience mixing with Pablo. Just by watching him working on our mix,
there are so many tricks we can learned from it.
Keep the mix simple. The recording room in Budapest has some strong frequencies standing
out at around 350Hz and 600Hz. It needs a lot of help with equalizer (EQ). But if the room
already sounds flat, especially for the AIR Studios, there is no much to do on EQ except for
cleaning the low end. Sometimes for film score, using iZotope RX6 to clean the noise is
necessary. But it is always better to keep it as natural as possible. Both EQ and RX6 might
decrease the quality of the recording and create other problems like phasing issues. Decca tree
microphones, together with our choices of one or two of the other room microphones such as
gallery, ambient and ribbon microphones, are 70% of the final mix. Now I always start mixing
with Decca and adjust the balance a bit with spot microphones. Similar techniques apply to
6
“PAC-MAN X PrimerFrame presents: Lifetime: A PAC-MAN Story,” created by Primer Frame,
posted by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe, May 22, 2018, YouTube Video, 10:24,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHIkofs97jk.
13
almost all different sessions, unless a different style of the mix is desired. For example,
Depatures by Joe Hisaishi7, was mixed with more spot microphones than room microphones,
and it was recorded in a room smaller than AIR Studios. It is also important to take notes of the
orchestra sitting position and microphone placement of the recording session. Only by changing
the panning and volume assignment in the Pro Tools session of my London recording, the sound
changed dramatically. This year, the engineer from AIR Studios uploaded a Pro Tools session
file with all the panning and volume settings for us. We just had to import the session data from
that file, and it was already a really good starting point of our final mix.
Before the summer semester, we had an assignment of building a mixing template. It was
important and really useful. I started to import the session data from that template to my Pro
Tools sessions ever since we made it, and I have been changing and improving the inserts
gradually to make that template more and more suitable for film music.
5. Suggestions for Future Recording
First I would say that the length of the cue doesn’t matter that much. If you have a full 3minute cue, you wrote more music but you will get less takes. If you write around 2 minutes, you
might get about 5 full takes. Try to focus more on the structure of your cue instead of trying to
extend your cue to 3 minutes.
For orchestration, I learned a lot from both the Budapest recording and the London
recording. Usually, woodwinds section is easily buried by horns, brass and even strings when
those sections are playing together. In Nostalgia, I had flute solo in the beginning and before the
7
“Depatures – Joe Hisaishi,” performed by London Symphony Orchestra and Joe Hisaishi,
posted by Zaibi Med, April 22, 2012, YouTube video, 8:30, https://youtu.be/48eiXcYzvY4.
14
last section. It works very well. But I also have some melody lines played in octaves by
woodwinds section, while the entire orchestra and my percussion stems are playing at the same
time. The melody line was almost buried. It would be better to double the woodwinds melody
line with one more section. For example: it stands out well when the melody is doubled by violin
section; it makes the brass or horn sounds airier when the melody is doubled by them in octaves;
doubling bassoon and cello around and above middle C sounds very nice; doubling oboe and
horn cuts through the orchestra very well and it creates a unique sound, and so on.
Brass and horns can overwhelm the rest sections of orchestra in a lineup we had for London
recording. Be careful when assigning the dynamics to brass and horns. In Nostalgia, I always
give brass and horns dynamics that are lower than the rest of orchestra. Unless when they are
taking the melody, they got the same dynamics as the most sections of orchestra.
Cello section sounds rich and idiomatic while it is or it is almost the only section playing
below middle C. But it doesn’t sound that distinct if it is playing below middle C against the
brass and horns. Cello section sounds distinct and “shining” while it is playing above middle C.
It cuts through the orchestra better when it doesn’t have to fight against the brass and horns.
According to my experience, first violins section always stands out or even aggressive.
Sometimes it is better to give it slightly softer dynamic than the rest of strings section when it is
not playing the leading melody but playing as accompaniment.
A good composition and orchestration is absolutely the key of a good sounding recording
from AIR Studios. The room was almost perfect, and the musicians are amazing. If the cue is
well orchestrated, the recording would naturally sound amazing without touching anything other
than panning and volume in ProTools.
15
6. Conclusion
My experience preparing for London recording was not smooth, but finally the recording
turned out amazing. Since the beginning of this project, we have been working on our own in the
whole process of preparing for a recording session and get the final mix. It is lucky that
throughout this year, we never had to worry about contacting musicians, booking the studio or
preparing the recording setup. But, except for that, we have been playing multiple roles in this
project: composer, composer agent, orchestrator, arranger, mockup programmer, librarian,
copyist, conductor, producer, video editor, mixing engineer and so on. By doing so, we get to
know everyone’s job in a real-world film score recording session. By knowing this, we are more
experienced and prepared for future collaboration with people specialized in one or some of
these fields. This year has been so intense. It was like a rehearsal for what we will be doing in the
rest of our lives.
This year at Berklee Valencia has been the busiest year but at the same time one of the best
years in my life. Scoring for film, television and video games program has given me
opportunities to stand on the podium, conduct and have my composition played by amazing
musicians. It was also incredible that we had the chance to stand on the podium in AIR Studios
at the beginning of our career. That was absolutely an unforgettable magic moment. But the
experience of studying in SFTV program was not only about knowing and getting ready for
working as a film composer in the industry. For me, it’s also more about meeting all the amazing
aspiring composers and musicians from different parts of the world and becoming lifelong
friends with them. It’s more about learning together with them and also learning from them.
They are amazing composers.
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It has been a wonderful year and the London recording was the summit of it. This year just
went by too fast. We were always occupied and we have been working so hard at music, but we
enjoyed doing it and we can’t stop doing it. Now it is approaching the end, I am sad but I am also
hopeful for that I’m sure everyone of us will have a wonderful future.
Nostalgia, a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal
associations. I think the title of my piece is the best conclusion of my feelings towards this
memorable year at Berklee College of Music, Valencia.
17
Appendix: Inspiration from a Traditional Chinese Farewell Song
The song was adapted from a 19th century work Dreaming of Home and Mother by John P. Ordway.
When his work was introduced into Japan, musician Kyuukei Inudou translated it into the Japanese
version, ("Loneliness on a Journey"). During 1905 and 1910, when Li Shutong (Chinese Artist) was
studying abroad in Japan, he heard this song by chance, and was moved by its melody. Accordingly,
when Li returned to China, he wrote Songbie in 1915 based on Ordway's original work.8
This song is well-known in China, and it is usually played or sung on farewell occasions, typically
graduation ceremonies. The mood and lyrics of this song present the exact emotion I was trying to express
through my piece.
Farewell (Chinese: :
Lyrics by Li Shutong
Translation by Jing Zhang
Beyond the distant pavilion, along the ancient
trail, fragrant green grass stretching to meet the
sky afar.
Evening breeze sways weeping willows, the
melancholic melody from an old flute lingering
still, the sunset shines over mountains and hills.
=C ;8C23.9
"B%0)C?
+C6C-
7*<'C
Sòng Bié)
To the ends of the sky and corners of the earth,
Friends have gone their separate ways.
If only we had a bottle of thick wine to celebrate
the last moment of joy of our rare reunion;
Then my dream after our parting wouldn't be so
sad tonight.
A5
&
>(
$C$ 4
,@!'1C# /
To ask my friend, "When will we meet again?”
Please don't hesitate to drop by when you are
here again.
Rarely in this life is the joy of reunion. When we
are apart, always remember the happiness we
had together.
8
Wikipedia, “Songbie (song)”, accessed May 9, 2018,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbie_(song).
18
Bibliography
“Alexandre Desplat – The Angel,” composed by Alexandre Desplat, posted by mad21a1,
February 16, 2011, YouTube video, 2:21, https://youtu.be/18f2uEjiDoc.
Alexandre Desplat, “Lily’s Theme,” track 1 on Harry Potter – The Deathly Hallows Part II,
2011, Spotify.
Alexandre Desplat, “Courtyard Apocalypse,” track 15 on Harry Potter – The Deathly Hallows
Part II, 2011, Spotify.
“Depatures – Joe Hisaishi,” performed by London Symphony Orchestra and Joe Hisaishi, posted
by Zaibi Med, April 22, 2012, YouTube video, 8:30, https://youtu.be/48eiXcYzvY4.
“ERRONKARI – Pyrenean Paradise,” created and posted by Iñaki Tejerina, June 11, 2017,
Vimeo video, 4:47, https://vimeo.com/221153118.
“Everest – A Time Lapse Film – II,” created and posted by Elia Saikaly, March 24, 2018,
Vimeo video, 2:35, https://vimeo.com/261660348.
“Like Petal, Like Flame - The Moon Embracing the Sun OST,” posted by Julie ann Lampitoc,
Februry 16, 2012. YouTube video, 4:05, https://youtu.be/E6TtDMGvS6c.
John Powell, “The Downed Dragon,” track 3 on How to Train Your Dragon (Music from the
Motion Picture), 2010, Spotify.
John Williams, “A Window to the Past,” track 7 on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban/Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2004, Spotify.
“PAC-MAN X PrimerFrame presents: Lifetime: A PAC-MAN Story,” created by Primer Frame,
posted by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe, May 22, 2018, YouTube Video,
10:24, https://youtu.be/IHIkofs97jk.
19
Nostalgia:
From Visual Inspiration to Final Composition
Submitted in Partial fulfillment of the Degree of
Master of Music in Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games
Supervisor: Alfons Conde
by Jing Zhang
Valencia Campus, Spain
July 2018
Table of Contents
Abstract
iii
Acknowledgements
iv
1. Preparation before Composition
1
1.1. Video or Script
1
1.2. Searching for Visual Media Material
2
2. Composition Process
3
2.1. Choosing the Video
3
2.2. Inspiration
4
2.3. Theme and Variations
6
3. Preparation for the Recording
9
3.1. ProTools Session: Making the Recording Session Efficient
9
3.2. Score and Parts: Making Sight-Reading Easier
10
3.3. Conducting: Experience from Budapest Recording
11
4. Post Production: Mixing and Experience from the Pac-Man Project
13
5. Suggestions for Future Recording
14
6. Conclusion
16
Appendix: Inspiration from a Traditional Chinese Farewell Song
18
Bibliography
19
ii
Abstract
This thesis described the methods of finding a video, the composing process, recording
preparation, post-production and suggestions for future recordings of the recording session at
London AIR Studios. I used a time-lapse video called “ERRONKARI - Pyrenean Paradise” from
Vimeo and did a rescore. The original music was composed by Vanessa Garde. In the thesis, I
explained how I tried to find a video and why I choose this video, and what are some inspirations
of my composition. I came up with a flute melody as theme one and the piece was developed
based on two main themes. Then I prepared Pro Tools session, score and parts and conducting
for the recording session. After the recording, I mixed the recording with the help of experiences
gained from a previous mixing project for the Pac-Man anniversary animated short. After the
recording, I realized what can be improved in my composition to make the orchestra sounds
better, and I proposed some suggestions for future recordings. I hope this thesis will help future
students to get a clear idea of the process of final recording and be well prepared for it.
Keywords: film scoring, compositional process, studio recording, session preparation, mixing
iii
Acknowledgements
I am so grateful to our Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games program director,
Lucio Godoy, for accepting me to Berklee College of Music. Without him I won’t have the
opportunity to be here and have an amazing journey at Berklee, and I won’t be standing on the
podium of AIR Studios this June. Thank all the amazing musicians and engineers who
participated in my recording throughout this year. Thank Vanessa Garde, Alfons Conde, Pablo
Schuller, Sergio Lacima, Eduardo Tarilonte and Vicente Gimeno for teaching and helping me.
Specially, thank everyone who helped me solving my visa problem.
Special thanks to Vanessa and Sergio for producing my London recording session. Thank
Alfons for the talks that enlightens me to be a braver composer, and thank him for helping me
with my composition and orchestration even when he is not feeling well. Thank Pablo for
devoting his time on preparing for every recording session we had this year and helping us a lot
with our mix. Thank Lucio for always being kind to me and encouraging me when I am down.
It was so lucky for me to meet all my fellow musicians and colleagues here this year. Thank
you for sharing all the wonderful memories with me for the whole year. It has been one of the
best years in my life. I do wish we could meet each other again, and I wish the best for every one
of you a wonderful future.
Most importantly I want to thank my parents for giving me financial and spiritual support,
and for trusting me on studying music. Without them I won’t be able to go anywhere and I won’t
have the chance to study music at all. They gave me everything and they made my dream come
true.
iv
1. Preparation before Composition
1.1. Video or Script
Preparing for AIR Studios recording has been a long process for me. After all these I think
one thing we could have decided earlier is either to use a video or script. Both of them have pros
and cons. If you choose to score for a video, you have to plan ahead either to find an original
video which the director allows you to write music for or to rescore, or use an already exist video
clip for inspiration and do a rescore, but you won’t have the right to post it on your website or
demo reel later. Composing music for a video should be the best choice because it is what our
major is aiming for, but for London recording there are a lot of limitations.
First of all, it takes time to find an ideal original video. I have found some ways to look for
videos and I will explain more in 1.2.
Secondly, the length of London recording should be no more than 3 minutes, so the length
of the video and the amount of music it needs is better to be around 2 to 3 minutes. It is fine to
sequence more music with sample libraries if the video is longer than 3 minutes and if it needs
more music, but the difference between a live recording with amazing session players in London
AIR studio and MIDI sequencing is big. It will be difficult to blend them well in the same video.
I would recommend choosing a video that is 2 to 3 minutes long, or it only needs 2-3 minutes of
music.
Lastly, the instrumentation choice has always been a problem of the videos I found. It is
either the director wants electronic music, or the 51-piece orchestra is too big for their movie.
For such a great recording opportunity, I think it is wise to use the full orchestra and write
whatever we like. According to my experience, it is difficult to find a short video with a nice arc
of story line, and it fits massive orchestral music.
1
Also, taking into consideration that the director might ask for more revisions. It is better to
make them clear of your composition and preparation timeline in May, and make them clear that
their video should be as final as possible so you don’t have to make big changes of your music
after the recording is done.
1.2. Searching for Visual Media Material
I have taken notes of all the methods and platforms I used for finding a video.
The one I used most is Vimeo. On Vimeo, I checked a lot of “Staff Pick” videos and sent
the message to directors directly through Vimeo. Some of them might want a rescore of their
video, and some of them might have a new video and they are looking for composer. But sending
message on Vimeo is not that efficient in my case. A more professional way of contacting them
is by visiting their website and sending them project request.
Another method I spent a lot of time trying is contacting video game studios. I searched
online several different lists of video game companies, and checked each of their website. I tried
to contact them, explaining the recording project I have from Berklee, and asking if they have a
short video like a trailer that I can try to write music for or rescore. By using this method, I
received no video from any video game studio, but I received several replies saying that they
have archived my resume and they might contact me when they have a position open for
composers. My suggestion is, try to contact the video game studios from your own country first.
Even if you got nothing from them finally, you are networking with them.
Also, it was great to contact film academy. I contacted a friend of mine who is studying at
Beijing Film Academy and another friend of mine who is studying Script Writing at Columbia
University. I didn’t find a video suitable for London recording, but I had a chance to score for a
2
30-minutes short film. The director is going to apply for film festivals with this short film. He
played the film with my first draft of music to his colleagues, and one other director from his
class already contacted me for doing music for her next short film. This is a very efficient way
and I think the possibility of finding a good video for London is big. It is also a very good
networking with aspiring directors in your own country.
There are also some other ways I didn’t try that much but they might work for you too. For
example, there is IMDB Pro account on Berklee library computers. You may try looking for
contacts from there. I also searched on Instagram some tags related to film school and film music
production, there I found and followed some young directors too.
2. Composition Process
2.1. Choosing the Video
For me, I prefer composing for a video. But because of so many limitations from the video I
got from directors, I decided to start with using a time-lapse video I really loved for inspiration,
and then develop my music more in the last section without syncing to the video that much.
I started with the video from Vimeo called Everest – A Time Lapse Film – II1. My first two
versions were trying different sync points, tempos and markers. But because this video has too
many shot cuts and they happen too fast and steady, I found it difficult to do a rescore and to
make it different from the original soundtrack.
Then I tried to write something without a video. I was thinking of writing a script. My
original plan was to write something like a letter to my mother, but I found it hard to decide sync
1
“Everest – A Time Lapse Film – II,” created and posted by Elia Saikaly, March 24, 2018, Vimeo
video, 2:35, https://vimeo.com/261660348.
3
points. In my version 3, I used some ideas from the first 2 versions and developed them a little,
but I still feel like having a video will inspire me more and I will be much faster on the
composition process.
The idea of using a time-lapse video came from Vanessa’s class. She showed us the music
she composed for a time-lapse video ERRONKARI – Pyrenean Paradise2. Both the video and
music were amazing and I found there are so many possibilities in music for a time-lapse video.
In most of the time-lapse videos, they have a similar problem: lack of shape. After searching for
tons of time-lapse videos online, I finally decided to use this video. I started at around 00:33 of
the video and ended at 03:33, because it is 3 minutes long, and there is a perfect arc and form in
this section, it helps me to decide the ups and downs in my music. Also, the transitions and shot
cuts in this video are more random and smooth, each scene lasts longer so it allows the music to
breath and grow while I can still achieve to sync most of the shot changes. It doesn’t get
mechanical, repetitive or boring. I can picture the scenes with emotional music and scenes with
music providing motion. I decided to use this time-lapse video and finally started on 17th of May.
After the first “spotting session”, I am almost done with the arrangement of the piece and I have
a clear idea of the shape of this piece. Finally, after all the changes and revisions, the last version
ends up at version 7.2.2.
2.2. Inspiration
I always try not to search for scores before I write something, because I am always afraid of
writing similar themes or motifs without recognizing that I was inspired by some others’ work I
2
“ERRONKARI – Pyrenean Paradise,” created and posted by Iñaki Tejerina, June 11, 2017,
Vimeo video, 4:47, https://vimeo.com/221153118.
4
listened to. I prefer to listen to random soundtracks from my favorite movies and composers, and
once I found something special and interesting, I will check the score to see how did the
composer do that. Then I will take short simple notes of it on a notebook. For example, I really
like A Window to the Past3, and I love the solo recorder in the beginning. So, I was taking notes
of “using solo woodwind instrument for theme”. I like the pace of changes on harmony, mood,
tempo and style in The Downed Dragon4, so I wrote down notes like “dark to bright, fast and
unexpected changes”. These are just two recent examples. I had a lot of small details I loved
from film music, video game soundtrack and classical music, and I have a few pages of notes
from listening to them. When I have to compose, the notes I have taken can be a reminder for me
to try and apply those techniques or color I liked in my own piece. The beginning of my London
piece Nostalgia is a flute solo, and that was inspired by A Window to the Past. Inspired by The
Downed Dragon, I was also trying to have big different sections in my London piece. It would
be interesting to hear how the orchestra would present different styles in a short 3-minute cue.
Finally, because of the structure and style of the video I choose, I smoothed the transition
between distinct sections and made my cue less sectional. But you may still notice the trace.
Among all my favorite composers, Joe Hisaishi influenced me the most. I love the
Depatures5 so much and I was so determined to include a beautiful cello solo in my London
recording. I did have a cello solo in my first few versions, but in my final version I changed it to
viola section for the safety of recording, because I was not sure if it is possible to have an extra
3
John Williams, “A Window to the Past,” track 7 on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban/Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2004, Spotify.
4
John Powell, “The Downed Dragon,” track 3 on How to Train Your Dragon (Music from the
Motion Picture), 2010, Spotify.
5
“Depatures – Joe Hisaishi,” performed by London Symphony Orchestra and Joe Hisaishi,
posted by Zaibi Med, April 22, 2012, YouTube video, 8:30, https://youtu.be/48eiXcYzvY4.
5
microphone for solo strings in AIR Studios. If not, then one cello against the entire orchestra is
demanding. Actually, they do have two spare microphones for solo instruments. One was for
violin, and one was set between woodwinds and horns section. I think it was a regret that
because we didn’t know about it, none of us actually used any of those spare microphones. It is
securer to check with professors or engineers before the recording if you want to record a solo
instrument and I am sure the engineers in the AIR Studios will take care of it.
2.3. Theme and Variations
I started Nostalgia with the theme played by flute. I was loading and testing the flute MIDI
track, and playing around on the keyboard. I remember I was in lab B05, looking through the
window to the clear aquamarine water pools under Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, and all of a
sudden I came up with this melody. I liked it so much so I wrote it down and since then I haven’t
changed any note in it. But for a long while I was doubting if I heard this melody somewhere
else before or I came up with it on my own. I also asked some of my colleagues to take a listen to
see if they recognize the melody.
Score Analysis 1. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme I, flute part, mm. 1-6.
The first 6 measures of Nostalgia were only the theme with a simple harmony: with a D
pedal. I kept it growing and expanding orchestrally with the fade in and fade out of different
instruments, trying to create an echo effect on the D pedal.
Then, I harmonized the melody. And modulated it to C minor from rehearsal letter B.
6
Score Analysis 2. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme I with harmony
Score Analysis 3. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme I modulation, rehearsal B
The other theme was actually used more often in the whole piece. It was first introduced by
horns and brass unison from measure 29. But it doesn’t develop and it was interrupted by the
modulation from rehearsal B soon. I used all the horns, trumpets and tenor trombones to get a
rich section sound.
Score Analysis 4. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme II, horns, trumpets and tenor trombones, mm.29-32.
The second time the theme II shows up was from measure 57 to measure 70. It started with
woodwinds section unison, and ended with woodwinds, horns and brass harmonized but in tutti.
And the third time it was from measure 81 to measure 87, in a new key a whole step lower, with
variation.
7
Score Analysis 5. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme II, horns, trumpets and tenor trombones, mm. 81-82.
Score Analysis 6. Jing Zhang, Nostalgia, theme II, horns, trumpets and tenor trombones, mm. 83-87.
My composition was mainly based on two themes, with variations and counter melodies.
This is what I usually do in my composition: having a lot of different lines going on at the same
time. It might work in mockup, but not for a live orchestra recording. I found simple doublings
work way better than complex orchestration if the orchestration was not nicely done. Like what
Alfons taught us in orchestration class, in a live orchestra recording, the “weight” of each
section, how many musicians were playing, the dynamics, the range of instruments, they should
all be taken into consideration in order to create a well-balanced sound and to make every
melody line clear. In Nostalgia, I tried to use simpler doublings or doublings plus simple
harmonization while the melody is being played. The recording sounds pretty close to what I
imagined, but there are still some unbalanced sections because of my inexperience of the weight
of sections while doing the orchestration.
8
3. Preparation for the Recording
3.1. Pro Tools Session: Making the Recording Session Efficient
As we all know, every second is expensive in a live recording session. Especially a
recording session with 51-piece orchestra in AIR studios. Since we had only 18 minutes to
record our 3-minute piece, it is extremely important to make sure our Pro Tools session is clear
for the engineer and ready to go. Most of us got 4 perfect full takes in 18 minutes.
Before London recording, we had a lot of recording experiences at school and remote
recording sessions with Budapest Art Orchestra. It won’t be a problem for us to prepare the Pro
Tools session at the end of this year. I want to mention again here as many details as I can think
of to avoid any problem in Pro Tools session. You may use it as a checklist for proofreading
your session.
All your audio files (stems, click, mockup, mix-minus track) should begin at exactly the
same time. In case the version of your Pro Tools session file doesn’t work in their studio, the
engineer can always create a new session and drag all the audio files to the session very fast.
Also, it is always better to have all your audio files at the same length. If you have one or two
shorter audio file, the engineer might think it was a mistake in printing the file or if it is
incomplete.
Import the tempo map from the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you used, and check the
name of markers you have with the rehearsal letters you have on your score. Because sometimes
the markers you import from DAW might be your naming of sync points. Mark the music in
(MX IN) in your session and numbers of pre-clicks in your session and on score. Print your click
at around -14dB with classic MPC click sound, without accent click. Always double check your
click: play your printed audio click together with the click track created in Pro Tools that is
9
matching the tempo map, and check it together with your other stems, see if it works. If there is a
big tempo change in your cue, for example from rehearsal letter A, create playlist for the click
print, mark it as “click_A”, print it from rehearsal A until the end of your cue. Then copy the first
two bars and move them before A as the pre-clicks of that new tempo. Always include in the
comment how many different click prints you have in your click playlist. One thing we learned
from the AIR Studios session was that they would also prepare an audio click in their recording
template. They put a click (audio clip) on every beat of an audio track, and on that audio track
they choose “ticks” instead of “samples”. So, when they import their template to our Pro Tools
session, they can have an extra click track that matches our tempo map for safety. All the audio
clips will follow the tempo map and sit on every beat, because it is measured by ticks.
Other than the most important elements of the Pro Tools session (tempo map, audio files
and click), remember to check: if the comments are clear for each track; if all the inputs are off
and automation read are off; if unused files are deleted; if all the audio files in the session are
also in the audio files folder and if they are named correctly; if there is a big counter on the top
right corner and so on.
3.2. Score and Parts: Making Sight-Reading Easier
Preparing the score and parts for the London recording was not that different from preparing
for other recordings. The only difference was finally we had a chance to print our score and parts
on a special type of paper, which is very nice for musicians to read. But it was not mandatory.
Because of the hardness of that special paper, if you have three pages on one of your part, it can
still fit on the music stand in AIR Studios. But it is always securer to fit your music in two pages
or leave enough time for page turn. It is always better to include on the top left corner of score
10
and parts how many pre-clicks are there in your session. Even if you tell that during the
recording, musicians might still ask to make sure if they don’t see it on their parts. All the details
are just for an efficient use of time in the short recording session. According to the musicians’
feedback after session, they prefer to have bar numbers on the first bar of every system instead of
on every bar. Bar number on every bar is too much information, and sometimes it is clashing
with dynamics or notes with ledger lines. Other important things to check are transposition and
time signatures. Be very careful if you have instrument switch in one part. For example, when
you have piccolo switching to flute, check if the notation is in the right octave. If you have oboe
switching to English horn, check if the oboe part is in concert and English horn part is
transposed. I found this mistake twice in parts when proofreading others’ parts. Another typical
mistake is because of that some of us are using templates, and some templates don’t have time
signature settings on the parts. Because of my visa problem, I didn’t have enough time around
school with my fellows, so I had to proofread all my score and parts by myself. But I would
suggest that, always have your score and parts proofread by as many people as you can find. A
clear and well notated part is so important if you want your recording session to be efficient.
Always go through every part, imaging you are the musician, to see if the part is playable and if
you can sight read that part. Be strict to details like slurs for strings part (changing of bow
direction), slurs for woodwinds, horns and brass instruments (breath), sharps, flats, enharmonic
spellings and beaming of notes. A good notation psychologically makes difficult lines much
easier to play.
3.3. Conducting: Experience from Budapest Recording
11
I am always too shy to stand and speak in front of the public. But I found I enjoy standing
on the podium and talking to the orchestra while having a recording session. I think this special
confidence comes from all the recording sessions throughout this year at Berklee, and also, no
one knows my music better than myself. Because we never had experience conducting in front of
more than 10 musicians during the year, I would recommend going to Budapest for the final
recording of the second semester instead of doing a remote session from Berklee, if time and
money permit. It was a wonderful experience for me. I was nervous during the first take I had in
Budapest, and then I was relaxed and I really enjoyed the rest of my recording time. In London, I
was nervous only for a few seconds in the beginning, and then I enjoyed it so much and felt it
went by so fast.
Conducting recording sessions is different from conducting a live concert. Musicians have
the click in their headphones, and they have to sight read the parts, they can read the meter
changes on their parts, so they won’t be looking at the conductor that often, especially during the
first takes. It is unnecessary to conduct the beat too much. It is actually distracting if the
conducting is a little behind or ahead of the click. But I found it helps to give the orchestra
certain important cues during the first takes. Of course, they can count the multi-measure rests,
but a clear cue from the conductor in their peripheral sight will help them to start playing without
hesitation.
Except for giving cues, the most important job for recording session conductor is to convey
the emotion and shape of the piece to musicians. Especially when the composers are conducting
their own pieces, it is their responsibility to guide the orchestra to a better understanding of the
composition. The conducting should show the phrase and breath of the music, instead of the
mechanical beat counting.
12
4. Post Production: Mixing and Experience from Pac-Man Project
Before going to London, we had a collaboration with Primer Frame animation school on
scoring for an anniversary animated short Lifetime6 for Pac-Man, the classic video game from
Bandai Namco Entertainment. The soundtracks were recorded in Budapest with Budapest Art
Orchestra on two different dates. We had to mix nine different cues we recorded and one song at
the end. We had to make the transitions smooth and to make all the cues sounding like they were
recorded from the same recording session. We had six different composers. We had the same
lineup for recording but we are still different on the way we orchestrate and the instruments we
used. We were also using different sample libraries as stems, so it becomes difficult for us to mix
with the orchestra. We did draft mixes ourselves and Pablo helped us to improve and master. It
was a very precious experience mixing with Pablo. Just by watching him working on our mix,
there are so many tricks we can learned from it.
Keep the mix simple. The recording room in Budapest has some strong frequencies standing
out at around 350Hz and 600Hz. It needs a lot of help with equalizer (EQ). But if the room
already sounds flat, especially for the AIR Studios, there is no much to do on EQ except for
cleaning the low end. Sometimes for film score, using iZotope RX6 to clean the noise is
necessary. But it is always better to keep it as natural as possible. Both EQ and RX6 might
decrease the quality of the recording and create other problems like phasing issues. Decca tree
microphones, together with our choices of one or two of the other room microphones such as
gallery, ambient and ribbon microphones, are 70% of the final mix. Now I always start mixing
with Decca and adjust the balance a bit with spot microphones. Similar techniques apply to
6
“PAC-MAN X PrimerFrame presents: Lifetime: A PAC-MAN Story,” created by Primer Frame,
posted by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe, May 22, 2018, YouTube Video, 10:24,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHIkofs97jk.
13
almost all different sessions, unless a different style of the mix is desired. For example,
Depatures by Joe Hisaishi7, was mixed with more spot microphones than room microphones,
and it was recorded in a room smaller than AIR Studios. It is also important to take notes of the
orchestra sitting position and microphone placement of the recording session. Only by changing
the panning and volume assignment in the Pro Tools session of my London recording, the sound
changed dramatically. This year, the engineer from AIR Studios uploaded a Pro Tools session
file with all the panning and volume settings for us. We just had to import the session data from
that file, and it was already a really good starting point of our final mix.
Before the summer semester, we had an assignment of building a mixing template. It was
important and really useful. I started to import the session data from that template to my Pro
Tools sessions ever since we made it, and I have been changing and improving the inserts
gradually to make that template more and more suitable for film music.
5. Suggestions for Future Recording
First I would say that the length of the cue doesn’t matter that much. If you have a full 3minute cue, you wrote more music but you will get less takes. If you write around 2 minutes, you
might get about 5 full takes. Try to focus more on the structure of your cue instead of trying to
extend your cue to 3 minutes.
For orchestration, I learned a lot from both the Budapest recording and the London
recording. Usually, woodwinds section is easily buried by horns, brass and even strings when
those sections are playing together. In Nostalgia, I had flute solo in the beginning and before the
7
“Depatures – Joe Hisaishi,” performed by London Symphony Orchestra and Joe Hisaishi,
posted by Zaibi Med, April 22, 2012, YouTube video, 8:30, https://youtu.be/48eiXcYzvY4.
14
last section. It works very well. But I also have some melody lines played in octaves by
woodwinds section, while the entire orchestra and my percussion stems are playing at the same
time. The melody line was almost buried. It would be better to double the woodwinds melody
line with one more section. For example: it stands out well when the melody is doubled by violin
section; it makes the brass or horn sounds airier when the melody is doubled by them in octaves;
doubling bassoon and cello around and above middle C sounds very nice; doubling oboe and
horn cuts through the orchestra very well and it creates a unique sound, and so on.
Brass and horns can overwhelm the rest sections of orchestra in a lineup we had for London
recording. Be careful when assigning the dynamics to brass and horns. In Nostalgia, I always
give brass and horns dynamics that are lower than the rest of orchestra. Unless when they are
taking the melody, they got the same dynamics as the most sections of orchestra.
Cello section sounds rich and idiomatic while it is or it is almost the only section playing
below middle C. But it doesn’t sound that distinct if it is playing below middle C against the
brass and horns. Cello section sounds distinct and “shining” while it is playing above middle C.
It cuts through the orchestra better when it doesn’t have to fight against the brass and horns.
According to my experience, first violins section always stands out or even aggressive.
Sometimes it is better to give it slightly softer dynamic than the rest of strings section when it is
not playing the leading melody but playing as accompaniment.
A good composition and orchestration is absolutely the key of a good sounding recording
from AIR Studios. The room was almost perfect, and the musicians are amazing. If the cue is
well orchestrated, the recording would naturally sound amazing without touching anything other
than panning and volume in ProTools.
15
6. Conclusion
My experience preparing for London recording was not smooth, but finally the recording
turned out amazing. Since the beginning of this project, we have been working on our own in the
whole process of preparing for a recording session and get the final mix. It is lucky that
throughout this year, we never had to worry about contacting musicians, booking the studio or
preparing the recording setup. But, except for that, we have been playing multiple roles in this
project: composer, composer agent, orchestrator, arranger, mockup programmer, librarian,
copyist, conductor, producer, video editor, mixing engineer and so on. By doing so, we get to
know everyone’s job in a real-world film score recording session. By knowing this, we are more
experienced and prepared for future collaboration with people specialized in one or some of
these fields. This year has been so intense. It was like a rehearsal for what we will be doing in the
rest of our lives.
This year at Berklee Valencia has been the busiest year but at the same time one of the best
years in my life. Scoring for film, television and video games program has given me
opportunities to stand on the podium, conduct and have my composition played by amazing
musicians. It was also incredible that we had the chance to stand on the podium in AIR Studios
at the beginning of our career. That was absolutely an unforgettable magic moment. But the
experience of studying in SFTV program was not only about knowing and getting ready for
working as a film composer in the industry. For me, it’s also more about meeting all the amazing
aspiring composers and musicians from different parts of the world and becoming lifelong
friends with them. It’s more about learning together with them and also learning from them.
They are amazing composers.
16
It has been a wonderful year and the London recording was the summit of it. This year just
went by too fast. We were always occupied and we have been working so hard at music, but we
enjoyed doing it and we can’t stop doing it. Now it is approaching the end, I am sad but I am also
hopeful for that I’m sure everyone of us will have a wonderful future.
Nostalgia, a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal
associations. I think the title of my piece is the best conclusion of my feelings towards this
memorable year at Berklee College of Music, Valencia.
17
Appendix: Inspiration from a Traditional Chinese Farewell Song
The song was adapted from a 19th century work Dreaming of Home and Mother by John P. Ordway.
When his work was introduced into Japan, musician Kyuukei Inudou translated it into the Japanese
version, ("Loneliness on a Journey"). During 1905 and 1910, when Li Shutong (Chinese Artist) was
studying abroad in Japan, he heard this song by chance, and was moved by its melody. Accordingly,
when Li returned to China, he wrote Songbie in 1915 based on Ordway's original work.8
This song is well-known in China, and it is usually played or sung on farewell occasions, typically
graduation ceremonies. The mood and lyrics of this song present the exact emotion I was trying to express
through my piece.
Farewell (Chinese: :
Lyrics by Li Shutong
Translation by Jing Zhang
Beyond the distant pavilion, along the ancient
trail, fragrant green grass stretching to meet the
sky afar.
Evening breeze sways weeping willows, the
melancholic melody from an old flute lingering
still, the sunset shines over mountains and hills.
=C ;8C23.9
"B%0)C?
+C6C-
7*<'C
Sòng Bié)
To the ends of the sky and corners of the earth,
Friends have gone their separate ways.
If only we had a bottle of thick wine to celebrate
the last moment of joy of our rare reunion;
Then my dream after our parting wouldn't be so
sad tonight.
A5
&
>(
$C$ 4
,@!'1C# /
To ask my friend, "When will we meet again?”
Please don't hesitate to drop by when you are
here again.
Rarely in this life is the joy of reunion. When we
are apart, always remember the happiness we
had together.
8
Wikipedia, “Songbie (song)”, accessed May 9, 2018,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbie_(song).
18
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19
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