|
|
 |
|
September 14, 2005 |
A PRIMEDIA Property |
|
|
 |
Table Of Contents
 Video Games Prove Lucrative for SFX
Libraries
Ilio: Quality Samples From Top
Designers
Cinema Commercial Mix
Recording Reality
Search Millimeter's
Library
What's New
Video Games Prove Lucrative
for
SFX Libraries
As games have become more sophisticated through the
years, their audio requirements have changed tremendously. It wasn't
that long ago that the soundtrack of most games was dominated by the
most rudimentary sound effects imaginable and cheap-sounding electronic
keyboards for music. Now there are bona fide stars and celebrities
occasionally lending their voices to characters, orchestral scores
being
recorded in major studios, popular songs littering soundtracks, and
sound designers devising their own original effects—a slightly
scaled-down version of what happens on a regular Hollywood film.
Budgets
for major games now commonly go into the low millions, but the payoff
is
worth it—the most successful titles, such as Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas, Madden NFL, Mafia, Halo 2,
Battlefield Vietnam, and The Sims, make many more
millions
for their creators. And even though the trend, increasingly, is for
game
makers to do original sound design and foley, SFX and sample libraries
are widely used up and down the industry.
The other day, I called Fred Jones, facilities director at Electronic Arts
(EA) in Redwood City, Calif., to find out whether that company was
commonly using libraries in its games. EA is one of the leading game
companies in the world, with development studios in the San Francisco
Bay Area; Los Angeles; Orlando, Fla.; Austin, Texas; Montreal;
Vancouver, British Columbia; London; and Tokyo. When I visited its
headquarters during the making of its popular Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King game in the fall of 2003, I learned that
most
of the effects for that game had come from audio stems from the actual
Lord of the Rings films provided to the game designers by the
crew that had worked on Peter Jackson's epic films. Still, there was
some foley done at EA, and some minor contributions from libraries.
That
game, though, is the exception, not the rule. more>>
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
The Sony Pictures Sound Effects(tm) Series delivers over 1,200
professionally recorded sound effects in five extensive volumes
offering
a wide range of essential sound effects and audio design. From the
vaults of Sony Pictures Entertainment, use this incredible collection
to
give your next production a true Hollywood sound.
www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=916
|
Inside Info
Ilio: Quality Samples From Top
Designers
Last month, we profiled the Vienna Symphonic
Library
and noted that a top American distributor for that fine product is the
Los Angeles-based Ilio
Entertainment, which has been a significant clearing house for
sample libraries for just more than a decade.
"I started the company with my wife back in 1994," says Ilio boss Mark
Hiskey. "I was a composer-musician working on a project for a
children's
video game and I needed some string sounds and a friend of mine had a Synclavier, which
had a really great string sound. I was wishing I had that for my Sample
Cell, which was my axe of choice at the time, but the only way to get
it
was through my friend, and that made me wonder if other people might
want the Synclavier library for their samplers as well. So I approached
the Synclavier company and they liked the idea, because at the time
they
were reeling from the collapse of NED [New England Digital], so they
licensed me their sound library and I used that to create the
Synclavier
Sample Library for Akai, Roland, and Sample Cell samplers, and that's
how Ilio got started." more>>
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
When overnight shipping can't get it there in
time,
choose Q-Disc from CSS Music to download entire royalty-free CD
Volumes. From Download to Your CD-R in 30 minutes. No expensive
overnight shipping or sales tax. Single track downloads also
available.
For more information call 800-468-6874 or visit www.cssmusic.com
|
Case Study
 Cinema Commercial Mix
By David John Farinella
Cinema commercials are not only controversial, but they also
present
new challenges to audio professionals. Extra Mile, a new
campaign
for Hyundai's Sonata, includes three 30-second television spots and a
60-second theatrical commercial. For each spot, mixer Peter Rincon of
POP Sound, Santa Monica, Calif., blended music, sound design, and
voiceover tracks. According to Rincon, creating the 5.1 mix for the
60-second theatrical spot was the most complex part Extra Mile's
audio
work. For instance, a narrator's track that would typically be placed
in
the center speaker was instead spread across the left and right
channels. It created a phantom center and gave [the narrator] that
omnipresent feel, Rincon says. I also dialed him slightly, not to any
weird degree, back in the room a little bit. It certainly wasn't
quadraphonic, nor was it like a guy talking from the back of the
room—it just set sort of a feeling. more>>
 Recording Reality
By Gary Eskow
Once upon a time, an evening's television drama might have centered
around a cast of Shakespearean actors performing a classic play. These
days, though, producer Mark Burnett, whose ability to conceive and
churn
out reality shows of all descriptions seems inexhaustible, rules the
roost. Take Burnett's latest offering on CBS: Rockstar: INXS.
The
show features a collection of 15 rock singers competing for an
opportunity to replace Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997, as lead
singer for the rock group INXS. more>>
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
JACKSON HOLE WILDLIFE FILM
FESTIVAL, SEPTEMBER 19-24!
Set within one of the most spectacular natural settings in North
America, the eighth Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival convenes in
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming this September. Showcasing the
industry's latest technology and celebrating the world's finest natural
history films in a remarkable week of in-depth seminars, special
screenings, and hands-on workshops with over 650 industry leaders.
www.jhfestival.org
|
Music Library & Sound Effects Database
Search Millimeter's
Library
Millimeter's Music/SFX Libraries can help you
find the music and sound effects companies you're looking for. Click here to begin your search!
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
Visit Our Online Classifieds
Today
Looking for a job? Have some equipment to sell or something you want to
buy? Check out the latest postings for production and postproduction on
Millimeter's online classifieds. Click here to see what's available. When you're ready to
place an ad in either the Classified or Marketplace section of
Millimeter, please give our new Classified & Marketplace Sales
Associate Philip Boyok a call at (800) 544-5530. Email him at pboyok@primediabusiness.com
or mmclass@primediabusiness.com.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
A B O U T T H I S N E W S L E T T
E R
|
|
To get this newsletter in a different format (Text,
AOL or HTML),
or to change your e-mail address, please visit your profile page to change your delivery
preferences.
For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact
our
Customer Service Department at:
US Toll Free: (866) 505-7173
International: (402) 505-7173
or custserv@newsletter.primediabusiness.com
Primedia Business Magazines & Media
9800 Metcalf Avenue
Overland Park, KS 66212
Copyright 2005, PRIMEDIA. All rights reserved. This article is
protected
by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may
not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated,
transmitted,
displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any
medium
without the prior written permission of Primedia Business Magazines &
Media Inc.
|
|
|
