The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Production Diary 14

Here's an excellent look behind the scenes of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Production Diary 14.

This installment of the production diary takes a look at the music and musicians behind the production of the larger-than-life soundtrack that sets the mood for the whole realm in the story.



I have just watched the film, it is awesome. Can't wait for the next one!

Enrolled myself into Thinkspace

I've very recently enrolled myself with ThinkSpace Online. So now I'm officially a music student! :)

I signed up for Cinematic Orchestration and Music for the Media.

ThinkSpace Online is an online learning organisation that offers quite a few courses for music composing students of different levels and backgrounds. The trainers and mentors are all working composers and that is what makes it so practical.

There are some sample material that lets prospective students experience how the course is structured and what to expect once he/she is enrolled into the curriculum.

After I requested an sample of the course material, ThinkSpace staff Dan Stearn had some correspondeance with me via email. I love the fact that he tries to find out about my background, and what I actually need in my musical journey as a composer, and suggested relevant courses that would value add what I already have.

Dan is very honest and supportive. I originally wanted to enroll only in Music for the Media, but Dan suggested Cinematic Orchestration too, since he finds that it would bring my orchestral arrangement to the next level.

Having signed up with them on the courses, I can say that I really appreciate their course resources on the topics of study.

For Music for the Media, They have audio and video interviews with working composers, who talk about their jobs, what it is they deal with day-in and day-out. Students are also exposed to hearing from clients, what they require from composers and what kinds of composers and attitudes they like.

For Cinematic Orchestration, it caters to orchestral writing for live players and how to create realistic orchestrations even for sample libraries. A huge part of the course material explores the difference between the two, approaches (live players versus writing with samples), so students are aware of how to handle the job at hand depending on whether it is live players performing the composition or whether the idea is going to be orchestrated in a midi-mockup. There are numerous interviews with composers talking about writing for each part of the orchestra, what they can easily achieve, and what is impractical for the musicians.

All in all the courses are loaded with information and I would say well worth the money.

I would definitely recommend any aspiring composers of all levels to consider ThinkSpace Online.

Free Shaker Virtual Instrument from Samplephonics

Samplephonics presents the community of electronic musicians and music producers with a FREE sampled shaker virtual instrument.

This free shaker percussion loops and samples is part of a bigger sample pack from Samplephonics called, 'Electroacoustic Shaker Percussion', which is going for only £9.70.

This free sample download comes with 10 free samples, all in 24-bit audio resolution.
Check it out and download it Here!

Do check it out, with all their other available products as well!

Outside Factory

Listen on SoundCloud.com

This track is a continuation of my other track posted earlier on Factory Carnival. Compared to the somewhat subdued mood at the carnival, this track would be the marching band, maybe a procession of teddy bears.

This is one of the few times, if not the first, that I am emulating the style of military band. The instruments are quite minimalistic and skeletal. Not all instruments present in a band have been used.

In addition to this, I took some artistic license and sneaked in some instruments that definitely do not belong in a marching band, such as a timpani as well as an accordion. if you listen carefully you will find them in the mix.

The addition of these instruments are for consistency with the Factory Carnival, and also to have that link of a carnival, on top of the marching band kind of feel.

I hope you like it.

My Heart Yearns

Listen on SoundCloud.com

A quiet piece that looks inside and contained. it is the feeling that swells up inside when you long for something, but then you keep it in until the aching fades away.

Took me about 4 hours to compose, record and mix.

Sleigh Bells from Sonokinetic

Sonokinetic has come up with an amazingly detailed sampled virtual instrument of sleigh bells, just in time for the holiday season!

This super spec-ed out instrument contains not one but six different configuration of sleigh bells, with 1, 6, 13, 17, 21 and 25-bell configurations. If that were not enough, the guys at Sonokinetic did not just record one-hit samples for the library: they recorded tempo sync-ed performance loops of each of the bells. Now it is a composer's Christmas dream come true!

The best part of the story: it is free!

So head on over to get the complimentary instrument, check out more information about this superb instrument, listen to the demos and find out how excellent sounding their other products are, if you haven't heard of them before.

Sonokinetic was on the most recent issue of ScoreCast, sharing their company's creative vision and philosophy behind their products. Check it out here.



Note, Sleigh Bells is for the full version of Kontakt 4.2.4 and Kontakt 5 only. Please check your version of Kontakt before installing.

On This Hill

Listen on SoundCloud.com

Here's a new track from me. This is a theme I'm proposing for one of a local filmmaker, on one of his projects about the military.

It is kind of a serious and somber sounding track, with a sound of something like an anthem to it.

Sequencing/programming this track took about 3 to 4 hours. However, I started setting up the template and began constructing a draft for this since the night before. That took about an hour.

On the second night, I deleted all the recordings and started off from scratch, keeping the main theme relatively similar, but improved on the arrangement a little bit.

I think there is room to expand on this idea, arrangement wise. Here's hoping the filmmaker likes it. :)

As with my tracks these days, mixing and sequencing is done in Sonar X3 Producer running on my i7 laptop running Windows 8.