An Interview with BILL BROWN - July 2002

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hethy

674

#1 05-5-8 17:59 …

An Interview with BILL BROWN - July 2002

Gary Garritan presents the Fourth in a series of GOS "Meet the Artist" Interviews featuring:

BILL BROWN

We are honored to present Bill Brown as our featured guest in this edition of the GOS "Meet the Artist" Interviews. Bill Brown\'s innovative and powerful orchestral scores for Oliver Stone\'s film \'Any Given Sunday\', \'Ali\', directed by Michael Mann, director James Seale\'s \'Scorcher\', Deran Sarafian\'s \'Trapped\', Tom Clancy\'s \'Rainbow Six\' series (Redstorm Entertainment) and the PC title \"The Sum of All Fears\" based on the Clancy book and film have gained special recognition in the industry. Bill is Director of Music for the award winning music and sound design team at Soundelux Design Music Group, Hollywood California, and has worked with top directors and producers including Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, Oliver Stone, Clive Barker, Tom Clancy, Gus Van Sant and more. Visit Bill Brown\'s website at: http://billbrownmusic.com/

Below are questions provided by members of the Northern Sounds forum and Bill\'s responses. Bill has graciously provided some special demos in mp3 and real audio format which appear in the body of this interview.

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Member: dwdonehoo

What do you do for inspiration before tackling a project? Do you do some listening or reading? 

Bill Brown:

I find out how much the gig pays and write accordingly! : ) No, no, no – just kidding. I rarely find myself listening to other scores to get into a project unless the producer/ director has some ideas they want to communicate through temp music. It’s great to have that clear communication even though it can be daunting to hear Williams, Goldsmith, Newman, Silvestri, etc. etc. in a temp and then hear – “like this, but better…” But it’s something I love to do, and I’m honored to be in the position where directors and producers feel I can actually outdo their temps – which I’ve been hearing a lot lately, as a matter of fact, I’ve heard those exact words on the last four projects I scored! Anyway, all boasting aside, my process is different for every project start. I’ll tell you this, I like to get involved as early as possible so as I’m working on other projects I can begin to think about how I might approach a new project – thematically, technically – what live instruments might be involved, who might be the best player to create that sound, or what new musical design / sampling might serve the project. The more time I have to dedicate to this, the more chance there is of interesting new options unfolding. There are so many elements that can make up a score, and sometimes it becomes about finding a limited number of instruments to work with that serve the emotion of the project. With The Sum of all Fears game, my initial intention was to create a sparse, emotional score and leave the military stuff for the other games. That shifted a bit as we were working on it – I found the game needed more adrenaline in it, more oomph, as it were – so I adjusted my concept a bit and continued. There are new Action cues and suspense cues that I wrote for the PS2, GameCube and X-Box versions, as well as a special extra features section with an isolated score! How cool is that? Check it out if you get a chance – it’s going to be a lot of fun. A lot of my music for games leans towards that big orchestral sound… I’m looking forward to some upcoming projects this year that will go in a new direction for me, stepping away from that sound a bit – even though that is one of the main reasons I am writing music in the first place! I truly love scoring for orchestra… regardless of the medium I’m writing for.

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 Member: A_Sapp

Do you peck at the piano to come up with these melodies such as the rainbow six theme, or do you have a little tree that grows them? BWA HA HA HA. 


Bill Brown:

To take your “BWA HA HA” and run with it, I would say my ‘tree that grows them’ is surrender. The music just flows through me basically. It works better for me when I don’t over think it too much. It just comes from the heart. I read Gabriel Yared refer to it as his music being inhabited by a spirit or an angel – I thought that was nice.

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 Member: dwdonehoo

When writing, do you very often reach a dead-end and throw out material then either re-edit or start over? Do you have a backlog of unused music? And do you keep a list of orchestral devices or do you just remember combinations naturally? I don’t know about you, but for me, the hardest part of a project is getting started. Do you ever suffer writers block, and if/when you do, how do you escape its clutches? 


Bill Brown:

That’s interesting because I rarely throw stuff out now. I do run through iterations sometimes, as I’m sure a lot of us do as commercial composers. There have been times where I’ve written demos for projects that were never used, some of which you can hear on my site’s VAULT page. These for the most part cannot be used for other projects because they contain the thematic material used in the remainder of the final score. I have found that sometimes an unfinished cue from one project can inspire a beginning on another, it just depends. If the cue was wonderful, but just didn’t work for one project, it sometimes fits elsewhere. That is just the nature of composing – I find that sometimes it just flows out of me and - that’s great! Whether or not that will work for a specific purpose is another story. Experience answers that.

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hethy

674

#2 05-5-8 18:00 …

Member: Kobb

What does your gigastudio setup look like? Do you run multiple machines for different instrument groups? Could you explain the thinking that went into laying out and organizing your current MIDI setup? 


Bill Brown:

Right now I have one GigaStudio system that I use for many things. I’m still using the other samplers (listed on my site) for my basic orchestral sounds as well. I’m hoping to put together another system this year so I can dedicate a machine to orchestral stuff and have another machine for all the misc. sounds. My current MIDI setup is designed around the idea that I do a lot of MIDI and audio pre-mixing in my sequencer (Logic) and then mixing directly to my hard drive, without ever touching an external mixing board or recorder. It’s much faster for me that way. I also like having the samplers come up in Logic through TDM, so I don’t have to worry about analog paths or interfaces. My synths all get into Logic via my Digi 888/24 I/O and four 882/20’s, or through an ADAT bridge feeding directly to the TDM busses.

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 Member: dwdonehoo

A rundown of the software you use would be nice. Which are your main tools? - What hardware are you using with GigaStudio? In particular, what sound card are you using? Do you use a midi control surface for expression? Just what the heck is that funny box on the upper left of your keyboard? 


Bill Brown:

I’m mostly using Logic, Pro Tools, GigaStudio, Peak, and Sound Jam (now I-tunes) for mp3 ripping, etc. I use the Aardvark 20/20+ as my interface for GigaStudio and I still have a Mackie HUI for automation moves. I’m looking into the Emagic answer for automation for Logic now. That funny box you asked about is called the KAOSS PAD – it’s made by KORG – very cool little DJ device for effects processing.

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 Member: Kobb

Do you record live orchestra tracks along with your MIDI tracks? If so, what are some of the technical issues that you have to deal with when syncing the live musicians to the MIDI tracks and what solutions have you arrived at to assure a smooth session? 


Bill Brown:

Yes, live orchestra is something I’m doing more and more now along with the MIDI tracks. Technically, I collaborate with my orchestrator to make the performance part smooth. That’s a big step in the right direction – clean parts and score really helps the performance. We either bring a Pro Tools session with us with clicks pre-recorded, or Logic in a notebook computer. Logic can chase the master recording device and deliver clicks in the background with no problems. Also, having a contractor who knows the right players for your session is key. The most important thing to do if you have the opportunity to record live? Really enjoy it!!

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 Member: Paul Houseman

Which one do you prefer? An electronic score or a live orchestra score? 


Bill Brown:

Yes. ; ) Really, I enjoy hearing organic elements in music. Synths can do some pretty amazing organic textures, sometimes that is exactly what a project needs. I find that the live performance element really serves the emotional aspect of scoring, even if it just a single instrument, it can really expand the impact of a cue. Sometimes the punchy, edgy stuff that only synths can do serve the project, sometimes not.

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 Member: Kobb

How has sampling, sequencing and other music technology affected your composition and arranging techniques? 


Bill Brown:

For the most part I would say the technology has served me well in growing as a composer. It is great to be able to translate and manifest ideas by using the technology – it’s also nice to use synths for what they do best, electronic music! (That can mean a lot of things – but you get the idea…)

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 Member: dwdonehoo

What choir libraries do you use? For that matter, what are your favorite libraries? To what extent are you using your own custom libraries? 


Bill Brown:

I’m using the same libraries you’ll hear most composers using these days, some of which include:

For choir stuff - ILIO/Spectrasonics Symphony of Voices

The Garritan Orchestral Strings Library (thanks for the new aggressive short bows and the Virtual MaestroTools for the Logic Audio environment Gary!)

I just started using Gary Garritan’s string library on “The Sum of all Fears” and included another new cue here as an example of the incredible realism his library contributed to the burning-fast string lines in this sample-based score:

Mp3s: “Sum of All Fears” action strings using GOS short bows:

http://billbrownmusic.com/ZZZsound/SOAF_action_strings.mp3
http://billbrownmusic.com/ZZZsound/SOAF_action_strings.rm

<A HREF=\"http://billbrownmusic.com/help.htm#copyright\" TARGET =
Copyright 2002</A> Bill Brown - All rights reserved.

I also still use a lot of the Roland samples for orchestral stuff as well, as well as the Siedlaczek library for some brass and woodwind fx and Spectrasonics Distorted Reality 1 and 2, Bizarre Guitar, and basically anything Eric Persing decides to release at any point…

I’m also using my own samples for many things now as well, I have recorded some orchestra effects that I’ve been using over the years – any time I have the opportunity, I’ll bring in players for a session. One of my favs is the Ullean pipes instrument I originally built for Sample Cell and have since converted over to my GigaStudio system, it’s really convincing because of the different ways we sampled glissandos and vibrato for each note. You might hear some big percussion effects, like snares that sound real, or brass effects that sound real – and that’s because they are! We’ve had fun recording some different orchestral textures as well. Every new organic recording helps the overall sonic palette and realism when I’m working “out of the box” as it were…

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hethy

674

#3 05-5-8 18:00 …

Member: Steve F

What aspects of working with a sampler-based orchestra do you find most challenging in order to achieve greater realism? 


Bill Brown:

I still hear textures that I know are not possible with samplers all the time – that’s challenging when I don’t have an orchestra in the budget – to know that I have to somehow settle for something less than what I envision, but life seems to move on anyway… There are textures and colors that can still only be produced by a live orchestra in a nice room, in each section of the orchestra. I would start to list them, but then I realize they are infinite. Samplers are limited – pretty amazing in what they can recreate, but still limited in comparison to the real thing. My guess is they will always be limited in comparison, and will continue to evolve and expand in new ways – creating new options not possible on a scoring stage, but possible in a virtual system. There have already been some great advances with real-time musical sound design and shaping like with the JP-9000 – who knows where that technology will go? It’s an adventure!

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 Member: Phattlippz

Bill--all of your music sounds very \"organic\" (for lack of a better term) to me. I find myself wondering how much of it is sampler-derived and how much is live. Your hand percussion for example (aside from loops) sounds like it was played live in several of your cues. Is that true? 


Bill Brown:

Many of my scores use live percussion, I’ve even played Djembe, cymbals, Conga, etc. on several tracks myself (One example you can hear on my site being “Volcano Rescue” from “Scorcher”). I’ve also been lucky enough to work with some great percussionists both in Seattle and here in LA.

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 Member: Damon

Hello Bill, First I\'d just like to say your music sounds great on your website! My main question is regarding midi mockups for movies that are budgeted for a real orchestra. Since you have major deadlines, how \"perfect\" do you try and make your mockups sound? Do you spend alot of time tweaking for realism (ex: getting string legato to sound as real as possible, etc.) or do you spend more time just mostly on composition realizing that the orchestra is going to just be doing the score anyway. 


Bill Brown:

Thanks for the kind words! Interesting question… I try and make sure that my mock-up gets my point across, so whatever it takes to do that I’ll do. Sometimes that might mean hiring live players, sometimes it means taking the time to really make sure a melody or atmosphere is coming out with conviction. Whatever it takes to do that I’ll do.

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 Member: zquarles

I am very interested in your final mixes. They all have that \"Bill Brown\" feel to them...what sort of template do you use when you mix? Do you always EQ certain instruments a specific way? Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview! 


Bill Brown:

My sequencer is set up similarly for each mix. I basically have reverbs and EQ’s set up generically for each sampler – and if something needs extra attention, I’ll split it out onto it’s own tracks and EQ it from there. I’ve found most of my sound is created by the room that the sounds I’m using were recorded in and the generic halls I add to the final mixes to get the whole thing to gel together in a similar space – which has always been a priority for me. Great reverbs can make a big difference in the final mix. I highly recommend the Lexicon and TC reverbs for orchestral stuff. (I use the Lexicon 960 whenever possible – especially in 5.1 scenarios). Boy, this stuff is dry, any questions about my hobbies here? Did you guys know I swing dance? : ) anyway…

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 Member: Phattlippz

Hi Bill. Thanks so much for giving us the chance to ask questions! I\'m VERY curious about the part of the process where you\'re mixing down your various samplers to the multitrack. Do you do this in one pass or multiple? Your music is very dynamic- do you ever worry about recording a track at too low of a volume (especially relevant when it comes to analog signals coming from the hardware samplers)? What multitrack do you mix your samplers to? Do you mix down each track separately or do you submix sections? Do you automate volume/panning in your MIDI tracks (pre-mixdown) or after mixdown, or both? Thanks again--great work my friend! 


Bill Brown:

I record my tracks right into my sequencer, and most of the gear is coming in digitally. The samplers will have whatever noise floor they have (I’ve had issues with my Kurzweil samplers in this regard…) I’ll record stems for some projects and deliver final mixes for others, depending on their delivery needs and requirements. I also like to automate as much as is possible in the sequencer ahead of time so I can concentrate on the gestalt of the music during the final mix, that’s how I’ve always worked.

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 Member: Phattlippz

Another question from me: do you use a master wordclock generator like the Aardsync II? I\'ve heard rumors that it actually improves the overall sound quality in a DAW-based multitrack--although I\'ve also heard that this mainly relates to live sources coming from the analog domain. If you do use one, do you find that it makes a difference in a MIDI-based (sampler) environment? 


Bill Brown:

I’ve heard the Aardsync II is the best. We have a house sync generator that I reference, and everyone here at DMG references at the same time so we can play sessions between rooms if need be. Word clock generators are also important when using digital sampler or synth outputs. I also have the Universal Slave Driver in my room for control or slaving from DA-88 machines, etc. etc.

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 Member: dwdonehoo

Also, when you are mastering a song, do you use a lot of compression? What compressors do you use? Do you add reverb when mastering? 


Bill Brown:

I’ve just recently started using more limiting on my mixes. I use maxim, L1+ and TC Maximizer (plug-ins, respectively). Not a tremendous amount of compression though, unless it’s a big scary rockin’ mix like the Quake III Arena credits! ; ) Then it’s L1+ (it goes to 11)

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hethy

674

#4 05-5-8 18:01 …

Member: Brett Rosenberg

Thanks for your time Bill, I have a rather specific question. On your website you have a short piece called \'Earthquake Escape\',can you tell me where the drum/percussion sounds are from and how you process them? 


Bill Brown:

Some of that stuff is from my own percussion samples which I always program or play in myself, and some is Groove Control stuff from Ilio/Spectrasonics that I’ve purchased over the past few years. I really love the flexibility those libraries give me in being able to create a fairly unique sound from a public library by re-editing and changing the original loops and by being able to chase tempos and hit points around like mad! (see the Ilio/Spectrasonics site for more info on that…) On this one cue in Scorcher called “End Fight Sequence” (I know, fascinating cue title… thanks) the loops I was using were originally in 4/4 and I re-arranged them to put them in an odd-meter to set off the urgency and suspense of the scene. I’ve added that cue as well for your listening to the site just for this article. : )

Mp3s: “End Flight Sequence” rearranging Groove Control and percussion loops:

http://billbrownmusic.com/ZZZsound/SC_End_Fight_Sequence.mp3
http://billbrownmusic.com/ZZZsound/SC_End_Fight_Sequence.rm

<A HREF=\"http://billbrownmusic.com/help.htm#copyright\" TARGET =
Copyright 2002</A> Bill Brown - All rights reserved.

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 Member: Paul Houseman

When you did \"The Sum of all Fears\", were you aware that Goldsmith would score the movie? Did his style affect your composing on that title? (I see some Goldsmith influence on the demo piece). Was it frustrating that \"USF Vanguard\" was never released? I see you’ve put a huge amount of work on that (awesome) score... 


Bill Brown:

I actually wasn’t aware that Goldsmith would be scoring the film until after I completed the score for the game. It’s coincidental that the music I wrote used for the trailer from the original demo had a very similar sound stylistically to Goldsmith. My instincts must be similar to the filmmakers! In regard to Vanguard, it actually never bothered me much that the game never made it out. I was glad to have the opportunity to write a big, epic sci-fi score. It was part of the evolution of my writing at the time and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to do it!

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 Member: dwdonehoo

With \"Trapped\" (some of your very best work), you used a large number of live musicians. Which other songs/projects did you use a similar number (or say more than three) performers? In the “Intro Movie – Castle Wolfenstein” cue, please tell me that is live brass playing? If not, how the HELL did you do that? What libraries did you use? As a matter of fact, when you are doing virtual orchestrations, what brass libraries do you use? And those flute runs? Live, right? That duduk in “Undying Immortal Soul”; would that be from Rare Instruments? I think “Trapped” is some of your most inspired and sensitive work. In “Main Titles”, there are some very nice violin slides. If these were not live players, how did you achieve this? While we are on the subject of Brass, in the “Ghost Recon” main cue you have some amazing brats: they come from the left and I hear a strong
reflection on the right. How did you do THAT? 


Bill Brown:

Thanks, and yes, most of the stuff you’re referring to was live. The flute runs you mentioned are also from live sessions. I don’t remember that Duduk sample being from Rare Instruments actually – I found that on a sampler I have for one of my E5000s. I used 14 violin players for “Trapped” – that is what you’re hearing in the Main Titles – it is also one of my favorites for sure. In Ghost, some of those brass effects come from Quantum Leap, Symphonic Adventures and Roland libraries, as well as some live stuff that I recorded in an earlier session.

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 Member: Damon

Basically, I want to know how picky directors and producers are when they hear midi mockups. Do they actually point out and say things like \"Well, I dont think that the strings sound very legato. They don’t connect fluidly. Work on it some more. Also, the horns should sound like they should be coming from the back of the hall, they sound to upfront now.\" Are they that intelligent about listening to mockups and do they drive you crazy at times. 


Bill Brown:

I’ve never heard that sort of feedback from directors or producers. They hire me because I generally know more about those details than they care to – otherwise, they would be writing the music, which some directors actually do!

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 Member: A_Sapp

How\'d you get your foot in the door in the music biz? 


Bill Brown:

I try to keep in mind that doing something as good as I can in that moment is always more than enough. Putting myself out there for people to see (and hear) has always helped. Taking chances helps. Some hard work helps, some great friends and family make everything worthwhile, and being ready in the right place at the right time – which I really have no control over anyway – well, I just continue to be me, have fun and know I am always doing the best I can.

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 Member: dwdonehoo

Also, can you tell us about your relationship with DMG? Do you work exclusively under their banner, and they take care of business? Are you a \'hired gun\' or are you like a contractor who takes the lions share of the deals after expenses? 


Bill Brown:

I work exclusively for Soundelux DMG and they take care of the business end of things. I’m working as an employee and bring in a lot of work myself – handing off the business and project management aspects to the team here so I can concentrate on the creative and relationship aspects of the work.

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 Member: dwdonehoo

What is your main musical instrument? I am guessing guitar, but really, what? 


Bill Brown:

GigaStudio! : ) Piano has always been my principal instrument. I just recorded the Main Theme for the upcoming game Rainbow Six: Raven Shield and played the flamenco guitar parts at the end of the cue myself – I’ve been practicing for weeks!

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 Member: Paul Houseman

Hi Bill, I’ve been a huge fan since \"Rainbow Six\". -Are there any types of game/film genres you simply wouldn’t know how to score? 


Bill Brown:

I haven’t run across one yet, I’ll be sure to let you know if I do… ~: )

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 Member: Marty

After years of writing music with a deadline for money, do you think you\'d be able to still write if the day ever came that no company wanted to use your music (hence no deadline and no money)? Do you ever writemusic for yourself or family/friends for the fun of it...not expecting any material gain in return? 


Bill Brown:

I have written songs and music for music’s sake all of my life. It comes in waves, sometimes I’m very content just writing for films and games, sometimes I feel drawn to write a song or even perform live. Life is abundant and I’m open to anything and everything good that can happen in it.

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 Member: Phattlippz

Also--how important do you feel your education (Berklee etc.) was to your ability to write the music you\'re writing now? 


Bill Brown:

It was a crucial part of my maturing as a person and a composer. I learned so much about being in the world and so much about music as well. (Where do I start? Maybe the next interview…)

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hethy

674

#5 05-5-8 18:01 …

Member: A_Sapp

I\'m a senior high schooler this year, and I\'ve longed to attend Berklee in Boston myself. I\'ve been wanting to go to that school for several years now. What advice could you give to an aspiring film composer who wants to go to this school like myself?


Bill Brown:

I would have taken more time during school (if it were possible financially) to become involved with film music related organizations on an intern level, or any level possible to get my feet wet in the business before entering into the real world - where I had to get a job eventually! There are a lot of incredible opportunities to nurture relationships at Berklee that will serve you very well in the future. It really is all about relationships. Be true to your vision, be true to yourself, follow your dream, follow your heart and have fun – the rest will come.

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 Member: Paul Houseman

This question will probably be asked several times, but will you be scoring more movies than games in the future? 


Bill Brown:

Some key intentions I have for my life are to score the films I wish to score, and work with people I enjoy working with. I am also enjoying the process of scoring games very much… Scoring games has been a totally unexpected gift for me, and right now I am very excited to be able to be a part of such incredible projects, both in film and in gaming.

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 Member: dwdonehoo

And Last and most important, what does “Oh-spear-oh-sparrow” mean? (Hint: Undying ) 


Bill Brown:

It’s actually in Latin, so the spelling is a bit different. Roughly translated it means, “have a nice day”.

: )

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玉米崽崽

1044

#6 05-5-9 04:18 …

大哥·～好歹来点翻译吧～～郁闷～～

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悲情城市

480

#7 05-7-20 17:19 …

bill brown电影配乐大师。

除了我们熟知的星河舰队，猪猡记公园等电影配乐外，天堂系列游戏的配乐也是他搞得。天堂2的游戏配乐很棒。大家可以找来听听。

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