Get with the programmers
What does it take to create Hollywood-ready virtual instruments? EastWest’s founder explains…
Hollywood Choirs is an epic 59GB cinematic choir instrument. What are the recording, editing and programming processes like for such a huge project?
DR “We’d need a lot of time to detail this! The project took a year, including planning, recording, and post production. It was the third time we’d sampled a choir, so we had a lot of experience from the other productions; the main difference being we had a lot more time to get what we needed to make this an even better product than the previous release, Symphonic Choirs, which was still first in the market when we decided to do Hollywood Choirs. We’re very happy with the result. It’s getting great reviews and has been nominated for awards.”
The WordBuilder 2 feature in Hollywood Choirs allows the user to type in words and have the choir sing them. How exactly did you develop such an advanced feature? How has it been refined from previous versions?
DR “We were contacted by Nuno Fonseca in the mid-2000s about a MIDI application idea he had to go with a sampled choir that would enable sung words. We teamed up, added our ideas, recorded what was needed to work with the WordBuilder software and the rest is history. The idea was very simple at the beginning, but we refined it over the next two productions. It’s powerful, especially if you take the time to learn it.” How do you ensure the user can create a natural, dynamic choir sound that’s as realistic as a real-life choir? DR “Mostly it’s a result of refining the recording process, having really great singers, having adequate time to sample things, (particularly this time, as we included true legato), and constantly improving WordBuilder. ”
What hurdles did you face when you were developing Hollywood Choirs?
DR “The project actually went smoothly from start to finish. Nick Phoenix and I have been doing this for a long time, and that experience really counts when you have massive productions with so many people involved in them.”
How does your subscription service (ComposerCloud) work alongside the traditional purchase model?
DR “Customers can buy all of our products, or subscribe to ComposerCloud and get access to them all, for a monthly or yearly fee. ComposerCloud has been great for us, especially our composer community. Instead of spending thousands on individual libraries, they can get everything with a click of a button. With ComposerCloud in mind, it’s important for us to release new, innovative libraries all year round.” What’s next for EastWest? DR “SPACES II is our latest release, and we have some more vocal libraries in production following Hollywood Choirs and Voices of the Empire that will be released this year. It’s the year of the vocals!” URL www.soundsonline.com
“I have been doing this for a long time, and that experience really counts when you have massive productions”