Latest posts for the topic "Would you want to make your own music for your movies?"

Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

DavidB — GMT

Would you want to try to create your own, copyright free music to go with your videos? how about if there were tools available that quickly allowed you to mix your own tracks according to your own style and preferences? For instance: go onto www.ejay.com and check out their current survey regards music videos!

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

revdoug — GMT

I think that a multi-track mixer would be great! If the audio capabilities of Moviestorm could accept widely available plug-ins such as VST, well, that would just be gravy! I currently use Adobe Audition 1.5. I rarely use all the tools in that program. Commonly though, I adjust levels, panning and use noise reduction. I often use envelopes to control level and panning over time. I believe that a digital clapper board would be essential for keeping the video and audio in sync. The clapper board could be an item in the inventory that could be used by any puppet. I would like to see the clapper board even if advanced audio is never incorporated into Moviestorm. I would also suggest a change in time units from the current version using decimal portions of seconds to one that uses hh:mm:ss:frames. just my 0.02 revdoug

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

lucindamc123 — GMT

Ialready do some of it as I write a little music myself. I currently use Band in a Box which costs about $140.00, but if there were a less expensive or even free or included with the package product that does the same kind of thing, it would be fantastic.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

Overman — GMT

I confess I'd be concerned about the can of worms which could be opened by Moviestorm expanding in this direction. There are lots of very low cost / free options out there for whipping up music tracks, and a growing base of Creative Commons music by indie artists who are approachable and open to having their work exposed in this way. As such, I mostly see the downside of venturing into this territory, namely the likely lessened focus on attending to Moviestorm's "primary" needs: flicker-free shadows, more robust lighting, keyframable props (and everything), more character animations, more characters (or user control of character customization, prepping mod workshop (and the content store) for general release and use. These are things which do not currently have other viable solutions, whereas music does. If this new feature set can be added without reducing the manpower/resources devoted to getting Moviestorm's directing and cinematography related issues up to top notch, then yay! If not, then I have a hard time getting enthused.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

kkffoo — GMT

I had one of the Magix music video creators and I found it somewhat difficult to get something out of it that sounded reasonable, but that is pretty old technology now, and I had a limited number of samples to play around with. If we could attract some composers to the site, and have their output available, in the same way that mods will be available, that would be interesting. How easy? What kind of quality would the output be? Does it all have to be hip hop trance garage house dance music?

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

forgeuk — GMT

No offence intended, but I think Moviestorm should stick to what it does best, animation, and leave the Music side to dedicated music software. I Use Propellerhead Reason, its an infinitly sized virtual recording studio kitted out with as many synthesizers, samplers, drum machines and effects units as you want, and all wired up with virtual wires (that actually giggle around!). You do need a REAL USB/MIDI keyboard though!

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

nayehi — GMT

Right now, there are a lot of software capabilities to handle music, and it's pretty easy to integrate those outputs with Moviestorm (for those interested in an affordable music tool, you might want to check out Music Maestro). I'd rather that Moviestorm continue to focus on what it does best--the characters and animations.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

Drty — GMT

i gave this idea back in the day when this was still closed beta.as i make my own music and will be using this program for my music videos that would be a excellent feature for me and i am sure all the other folks here........but alas people said you should focus on the movie itself and leave outside audio editors to do that but i highly disagree. i also asked for vst implementations as someone said there is a open source free one on sourceforge.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

tree — GMT

Yes, That would make a good feature. Modular features that can be entered ( turned on/off) At the moment Effects and music have to be "spoken" by a few characters and they don't sing too well together sometimes (many characters singing at once. eg. character for effects, music and a singer character ) when it comes to rendering. A clear vocal multi-track character display (Hi-resolution menus) with a feature to add background/foreground effects/music mixer (like in eJay style) would be great.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

zuijlen — GMT

Let this be my first post, then. I am a music composer interested in animation, so I already make my own music :-P . Timing in film music is critical so you need fairly sophisticated editing possibilities to create an effective music track. For my last project I used Sonar (which is a sequencer like Cubase or Logic), which allows you to load your video and then tweak your music. I've just downloaded Moviestorm, so I haven't any experience with it yet, but most other animation packages allow you to import a sound file with dialog and/or music, which would be mainly useful for synching purposes. To include usuable music generation within MS would be a challenge and maybe there ar more pressing needs in other areas.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

lucindamc123 — GMT

zuijlen wrote:

Let this be my first post, then. I am a music composer interested in animation, so I already make my own music :-P . Timing in film music is critical so you need fairly sophisticated editing possibilities to create an effective music track. For my last project I used Sonar (which is a sequencer like Cubase or Logic), which allows you to load your video and then tweak your music. I've just downloaded Moviestorm, so I haven't any experience with it yet, but most other animation packages allow you to import a sound file with dialog and/or music, which would be mainly useful for synching purposes. To include usuable music generation within MS would be a challenge and maybe there ar more pressing needs in other areas.

I am going to check out SONAR. I just started writing my own music. I used to make up these little tunes but never did anything with them. Anyway this sounds like a great program.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

zuijlen — GMT

lucindamc123 wrote:

I am going to check out SONAR. I just started writing my own music. I used to make up these little tunes but never did anything with them. Anyway this sounds like a great program.

To clarify, Sonar allows you to record MIDI data, which is then used to control a synthesizer or sampler. These used to be external (I still have some of those), but with the more powerful PCs of today it is feasible to have synthesizers and samplers as software. Sonar comes with some of those included. Synthesizers are good for "electronic" sounds and samplers can get you realistic sounding orchestral sounds. Sonar also allows you to record audio and import sound files, for example your dialog files. What is nice about modern sequencers is that you can have a large number of tracks, allowing to keep your instruments separate. This makes it easy to adjust the volume of one of your instruments for example, if that turns out to work better with your picture. Of course, initially, you would probably want to keep it simple... :roll: I use Sonar, but there are other sequencers. Some people like Cubase and for the Mac there is Logic.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

cleanyoungbob — GMT

I'm also a Sonar user, but if you're new to audio sequencing I would suggest you go for either Logic or ProTools, as these are the industry standards. The former is the much easier to use and cheaper, and though its now a mac only program some earlier versions existed for PC. That said, I've heard the most recent versions of Sonar are getting quite nifty themselves, so just have a look around before you dive into anything.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

zuijlen — GMT

I used to use Logic when it was still an Atari program and I really liked it. The PC implementations weren't very good; that is one of the reasons I moved to Cakewalk (now Sonar). On a PC I would not recommend Logic, as it is no longer in development. As with all software, it's a matter of taste. I would recommend for anyone to download trials and see what speaks to you. I know ProTools is considered the industry standard in some areas, but if you do your own movies from start to finish, I think that's less relevant.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

I have always used FL Studio. It does everything the other studios do, and it's cheaper. It also has a video plugin to synch the music to the video. It's all I have ever needed. Even if Moviestorm went this way I would rather use the programs I have to make and mix the music.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

Bezzer — GMT

I also use FL studio...excellent piece of music creation software at a reasonable price. I agree with most of the others here...MS have already given us lots of great props, animations, costumes and set materials to make music videos and more of these will always be welcomed, but as for the music itself... I think there's a ton of other genres/tools/issues that require MS's magic touch and that sticking to this path would be the right option. Maybe at a later date though.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

vetrofuse — GMT

forgeuk wrote:

You do need a REAL USB/MIDI keyboard though!

on the contrary... you do not NEED a keyboard it just makes some aspects of the program quicker/easier... however you can manually draw in notes and melodies using just your mouse... i have made MANY tunes using just a mouse and qwerty keyboard... I do agree tho that reason is a fantastic program and is almost limitless with the exception of recording vocals and VST support. -Vetch-

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

on the contrary... you do not NEED a keyboard

Well it is not required. But tell me, do you play a musical instrument ? I have a Yamaha P140 Piano, very good quality. Also I have a good quality Evolution MK-416C Midi keyboard. There is no way on this planet I can create good quality music on my Midi keyboard. I can however on my Yamaha. Music is not about pressing keys on and off. It is about creating an emotional mood. You can only do that by learning to play an instrument. Sorry, but using the computers keyboard might make music. But it will be emotionless compared to using either a weighted quality midi keyboard, or a decent piano with a Midi interface.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

vetrofuse — GMT

i do occasionally play piano/organ... i also do own a midi keyboard which is touch sensitive.. however for a lot of genres these days it still doesnt matter too much, ukgarage/2step/rap/rnb/grime/hip-hop etc can all be made JUST as good on mouse and regular keyboard... no it cant make symphonies like u can on a hardware keyboard but u can lay out your melodies/chords and adjust velocity as required. -Vetch-

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

If you do play the Piano then you know what I mean. A touch sensitive Midi is simply no comparison to a fully weighted hammer action piano. Even my Yamaha P140 is no comparison to a Real Piano. I learnt to play on a real piano. When I use my Yam or my Midi, I have to compromise emotion for quality. I do however try to use the Yam as much as possible. The Midi is collecting dust.

ukgarage/2step/rap/rnb/grime/hip-hop etc

Ah now, I suppose it depends on whether you define this as music, or simply noise. :mrgreen: you don't even need a keyboard to make that kind of noise, an on off switch will suffice.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

vetrofuse — GMT

i understand where your coming from and yes i do notice the difference even tho i dont own a piano... i never got to advanced at pplaying but i do realise the difference in expression from weighted keys.... but as i said many genres do not require it... and whether u consider those genres as music or noise they are popular and make tv so many people consider them music... but to be a little open and wide to the whole thing... isnt all music just a compilation of noises? -Vetch-

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

isnt all music just a compilation of noises?

Music is not a compilation of noises, music transcends sounds, it is a compilation of sounds that invoke an emotional reaction. That is the important point here. Music is the expression of emotion using sound. Sound without emotion is noise. The more emotion a piece invokes, the better the music. It therefore goes without saying, the best way of putting the emotion you feel into the music, is to use the equipment designed to do exactly that. These are called instruments. To score a piece of music to a film is extremely hard. You have to echo the emotion you want the audience to feel. It is no good playing a happy melody when someone is dying for example. Then you need to echo the timbre of the clip, and the tempo. Listen to this, this is me playing the Audi advert on my Yamaha. Could you recreate the emotion and the subtle tempo changes in this piece without playing it on a Piano ? http://blackaceproduction.com/Downloads/Music/Audi.mp3 It is possible to create tunes with the PC keyboard. A Rolf Harris Stylophone could do that. But does it make the listener feel an emotion, not in me. And how could I have possibly made this without a really good keyboard giving a full range of emotion. http://blackaceproduction.com/Downloads/Music/Duduk.mp3 Sony have already tried and failed dismally at what Moviestorm is proposing here. They released Cinescore. It uses pre recorded sample sets to score your film. It is absolutely useless to anyone but those who want background noise to their home videos. If you want to have music in your film, and you want it to be good, you have to learn how to compose and play properly. I wish there were, but there are simply no short cuts.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

kkffoo — GMT

So you don't like electronically generated music BA, fair enough. You can only make music with instruments? Well, that depends on how you experience things I guess. It seems like something of a rigid stance to me.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

So you don't like electronically generated music BA

Correct, I absolutely detest it. :mrgreen: Soulless, Emotionless drivel only to be listened to after taking enormous quantities of mind bending substances. :twisted: Only then could it be considered bearable. But that is of course, my personal opinion. :roll:

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

Woops, Double post.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

I suppose its what you define as Electronically Generated Music ? If its a synth, played by hand. Then I would not consider that Electronically Generated Music. After all you could not possibly say a Moog has no emotion when played correctly. Although the sound is Electronic, the interface is a very good weighted keyboard, so the musician can add as much emotion as he wants. If its something like a trance track, where a sequencer continuously repeats the same monotonous tune, and someone adds beep notes to it, then yes I would consider that Electronically Generated Music. My point is, you cannot possibly create the emotion in the music you want unless you can control all the qualities of the notes. That can only be done by either playing the instrument itself, or by having a very good midi instrument. You could also ask why nearly all Films use in some form a full orchestra. If Electronically Generated music is so popular and so good. Then why is it not used more ? Most Musicians play some form of instrument. Even bands like "Gorillaz", are actually very good at playing real instruments. Daman Alburn is a classically trained pianist. And whether you like it or not, nearly all musicians at some stage of their career, book part of an orchestra to play on one of their pieces. If you want to learn to compose, start at the best place, learn the orchestra and the classics. That is real music. Yes bands like Status Quo got through their whole career playing a single Em chord. Pink Floyd normally only ever played anything in the key of C and always used the same chord sequence. 90% of popular music has the same elements of Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Middle 8, Chorus Chorus. 90% of popular music uses one of 5 defined chord sequences. Many so called pop tunes are nothing more than copies from the classics anyway. See the comedy clip below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM You might like it :) :)

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

kkffoo — GMT

I think you can add the human factor, the emotion with editing, even from a sequence of mechanical noises. the editor then becomes the instrument. Lots of electronic music isn't worth listening to (heck lots of music isn't worth listening too) but researching music for sound tracks has really opened my ears to all sorts of electronica..there are good remixers as there are good anything else..and as in so many fields, the talent of the creator can transcend the medium. The way emotion is transmitted is incredibly subtle, I don't believe electronics gets in the way of that. I like classics too, and folk, and all sorts of strange stuff I never though I would. Making movies is, for me, about expanding my ideas :)

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

KKffoo Well I have to agree there. At the end of the day, if it is good, go for it. It may not appeal to the likes of myself, but then again it just might. After a long drawn out exercise spanning many years of teaching myself how to compose, and learning how to play correctly. I can see an enormous change in both the style and the quality of the music I produce. I would never go back to doing it on a computer keyboard or using samplers.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

Rik_Vargard — GMT

I also like to make my music myself for my movies, some of you might know... :P As for the software, well I use Modplug Tracker, yeah... a tracker, a good old tracker ... for those who already lived back then! :mrgreen:

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

There are some very good composers who will work for virtually nothing. Kia Hartwig is one. He says he loves the machinima genre, he offered to score Faith Hope and Charity for less that £1,500. In the end we scored it ourselves, but we did use some of Kai's work which is royalty free and excellent I must say. All he asks is that you credit him in your film. http://www.hartwigmedia.com/

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

AngriBuddhist — GMT

BA, I agree that music is sound that elicits some sort of emotional response, however, the problem with your declaration that one type of sound isn't music is that it assumes that what moves you is what should move the rest of us. You may be correct about your assertations about "90% of popular music", but are you aware that each genre or type of music (even electronic) has a non-mainstream side? Or that 90% of music in general is somewhat repetitive?

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

BA — GMT

is that it assumes that what moves you is what should move the rest of us.

I said it was a personal opinion :)

Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

Jason3 — GMT

Personally I'd rather do music in a dedicated program. But if MS wants to improve its audio capabilities, then something that lets us modify voices as they're recorded would be great (e.g. making them sound older or younger, or changing their sex).

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

Robear — GMT

If you want to modify voices try MorphVOX Free or Pro. You can also do a wide range of voice modification with Audacity. Use the 1.3.6 beta version. Personally, I think MovieStorm should concentrate on only the video side of movie-making. There is already a selection of well advanced audio editors and recording software available to use and spending the development time to offer a proprietary and rudimentary audio editor to compliment MovieStorm is a waste of time and talent. MovieStorm is great software... but it's not there yet. Don't take your eye off the ball, guys.

Re:Would you want to make your own music for your movies?

thefr00n — GMT

For my 2c, I'm going to echo some sentiments. I do a lot of work in the audio industry (mostly remixes and scoring). A production-ready multitrack composer and editor would be a huge amount of work to implement, and it just doesn't seem like that's what MovieStorm is for. IMHO it would be a lot of energy poured into the wrong area. It'd be like dedicating the entire team to deciding the colour of the new car when the engine is still a prototype. Anyway, considering the very exciting new functionality I've seen dangled in front of me in the Modding forum, I truly hope that the MovieStorm team keeps on trucking on the core app rather than a superfluous composing module. ... oh, and a (perhaps for-pay) sub-app for building custom anims ... (I have big dreams) ...