shieroz

Thoughts on Gratitude & the 4th of July

Today we celebrate independence day here in the United States. To all who celebrate America’s birthday, happy Independence Day! For me the day is filled with gratitude, hope and boundless possibilities.

I was born and raised in Israel. I spent most of my formative years there. Upon graduating from elementary school, my parents transferred me to the American International School, where I was surrounded by students from all over the world. It was an real eye-opener being exposed to kids who grew up in different countries, different cultures, different values.

When I was 16 I was offered the opportunity to move to the US and finish my high-school education at a boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. Trepidation and hesitation were overwhelmed by opportunity and excitement (and probably some teenage-angst wanting to get away from one’s parents), and off I went to Bolles High School.

Spending two years living in a dorm, half way around the world from home, without family, and initially without any friends was daunting, difficult, exciting, scary, interesting, uncomfortable, fascinating, but most of all illuminating. My parents gave me the precious gift of experiencing life from a different perspective. I didn’t just get a taste of other cultures through international students, I became an international student at Bolles. I got to live and experience life in another country, with a different culture than I was used to.

Following my graduation I moved back to Israel to serve in the military, as is expected of all healthy young Israelis. It was only near the end of my tour of duty that I decided to commit myself to becoming a professional musician. Upon my discharge I enrolled at Rimon School of Jazz & Contemporary Music in Israel, and two years later I was back in the US, this time in Boston attending Berklee College of Music with the help of a partial scholarship.

Once again, I was surrounded by students from all over the world, sharing their culture, heritage, values, and music. I remember witnessing history in Yugoslavia through the eyes of a fellow student who’s family was back home during this very tumultuous time over there. I remember being beguiled by the music of the Andes, something I was unfamiliar with before, and through the music learning about the culture and history of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru & Venezuela, as well as the ancient Aztec & Incan civilizations.

At Berklee I got my first in-depth glimpse at the world of film-music. I had never even heard of music editing until taking the requisite Music Editing 101 class. After just a couple of classes I was hooked. And when elected to take the Advanced Music Editing class, I was lucky enough to be in the last class that still taught us how to cut mag, as well as ProTools (version 3.2 back then). The ability to do both lead to some of my earliest gigs, helping established music editors transition from mag to ProTools.

Following my graduation with a degree in film-scoring, I moved to Los Angeles, where I have enjoyed a career in the film & TV industries over the past 18 years. My career as provided so many incredible opportunities and experiences. I get to work with the most amazing players in the world here in Los Angeles, on some of the best scoring stages in the world – The Eastwood Scoring Stage at WB, The Newman Scoring Stage at FOX & The Barbara Streisand Scoring Stage at Sony. Thanks to my work I have gone to London to record at what is arguably the most famous studio in the world – Abby Road Studios, I’ve also worked in Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Dallas, Toronto, Italy & China. Thanks to the magic of technology, I’ve worked with musicians in Berlin, Macedonia, Prague, Bratislava, and Georgia.

Thanks to my job I’ve worked with some incredible composers including Danny Elfman, John Ottman, Heitor Pereira, Marc Mancina, Ed Shearmur, Teddy Shapiro, & John Swihart, to name a few. I’ve worked with Linkin Park, Marcus Miller, Adrian Lee (of Mike & the Mechanics), The Lyris Quartet and Tracie Ullman. I’ve worked for directors including Errol Morris, Guillermo Del Toro, Tim Burton, Joe Johnston, Davis Guggenheim, and Sam Raimi. I’ve met legendary Beatles producer George Martin. I’ve met Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Isaac Hayes, John Williams, Thomas Newman, Randy Newman and countless other musicians, composers, recording & mixing engineers, music editors and artists I’ve long admired.

I’ve worked on nearly 100 films in every genre and countless TV shows. I could never have had these opportunities had I not had the advantages and experiences I was afforded growing up. I could never have had this career anywhere else in the world or in any other industry. I get to be part of the magic of Hollywood, which still excites me! Whenever I drive around Hollywood and see the iconic sign, I still can’t take my eyes off it, and have to pinch myself to make sure this isn’t a dream.

Somehow I also managed to meet the woman of my dreams, who shares my life and puts up with the crazy demands of my profession. We have to amazing children who teach me what love really means every single day. And I couldn’t have done any of this without the unwavering support of my family – my parents and siblings.

Nearly 3 years ago, I became an American citizen. And that is why on July 4th, I think about all that I have, and all the amazing opportunities and experiences I’ve had as well as the unlimited possibilities ahead of me. Because I am so very thankful to my adopted country for making it possible for my dreams to come true. Happy birthday America, and thank you!

James Horner: What His Music Means To Me

I didn’t really get interested in film-music until relatively late. I was studying music in Israel, thinking I’d be a singer/songwriter. The only problem with that plan was that I’m not a very good singer, a mediocre songwriter at best, and have terrible stage-fright. Plan B was to become the Quincy Jones of Israel, I would produce other artists. Then I took my first orchestration class and I just knew that is the medium I want to work in. So court composer for the archduke of Bavaria or something along those lines was the logical next step, except I was a couple of centuries too late. So how else would I get to work with orchestras? Film Music!

It was 1994, I was 22 years old and that’s when I began my affair with film music. I started paying attention to music in films like never before. A year later I was at Berklee College of Music studying film scoring. I remember spending hours listening to film scores and staring my soundtrack collection. I started with scores that seemed to stick with me subconsciously from years past.

The first score I obsessed over was The Land Before Time. I remember watching the film on VHS tape when I was in high-school over and over. I’m a huge fan of animation and something about that film just resonated with me, I now know that James Horner’s score had a lot to do with it.

The magic of the strings, the harp, the choir, the oboe and the french horns, oh those majestic french horns. Starting with a gentle solo, and then the sweeping  melody, which I suspect includes tuben. So majestic! Then at 3:46 such charm and lightness and sweetness and joy and so seamless. Finally at around 6:00 we get the quintessential theme, on which the song form the movie is based. This is one of those famously long Horner cues and it is sheer musical perfection.

The Whipping from Glory is another perfect cue. Glory is another one of my favorite scores. I know it inside and out. I studied it extensively while at Berklee College of Music, I once transcribed the entire end credits, by hand.

It never ceases to amaze me how much Horner’s music does by doing so little. The perfect amount of tension, build, and heart. Another cue, which is sheer perfection. Denzel Washington’s performance, especially in this scene is incredible, and I’m sure Horner’s score, which perfectly compliments the performance, elevating it, never competing or overshadowing it, is at least partly responsible for Washington earning his first Oscar for that role.

I think my next favorite Horner score, and probably my favorite film cue of all is A Father’s Legacy from The Man Without a Face.

This music brings me to tears. The depth of emotion just reaches into the depth of my being and stir up emotions like nothing else can. The beautify and simplicity of the themes is overwhelming – for my taste this is Horner at his best.

His range was astonishing – whether writing action, suspense, drama, romance or comedy his music was always effective, thoughtful and uniquely his own. He’s one of those special composers that have a very distinct sounds, a fingerprint that is immediately recognizable.

I could go on for a very long time sharing my love and admiration of Horner’s music. I hear his music as the soundtrack of my life. In my humble opinion, The Rocketeer is the best super-hero score ever written. An American Tail & its sequel An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Cocoon, A Beautiful Mind, Bicentennial Man, Braveheart, Clear & Present Danger, Ransom, Enemy At The Gates, Field of Dreams, Gorky Park, Iris, Jumanji, Legends of the Fall, The New World, Willow, *batteries not included, these all rank amongst my favorite scores.

His music influenced me greatly. Along with a few other greats, like Jerry Goldsmith & Elmer Bernstein, it inspired me to pursue a career in film music. His music fills me with awe. It inspires me to treat every scene with care, whether composing or music editing, he was a master of never overdoing it or under doing it, and I aspire to do the same. His loss fills me with sadness.

I had always wanted the opportunity to work with him. He & Jerry Goldsmith are my two favorite composers and I never had the chance to meet either of them. I didn’t know him, but I feel like I lost a dear friend. I am saddened to the core. My thoughts are with his family & friends, I cannot imagine the depth of their sorrow.

He lost his life pursuing another of his passions – flying. So I will end this post with another incredible cue from The Rocketeer. This cue perfectly embodies the excitement, joy, magic & freedom of soaring high above the ground.

 

Effective Time & Cost Management When Recording Live Musicians

Recording a score is a high-pressure situation. Whether you’re recording yourself, just one or two musicians at your home studio, or a 100-piece orchestra on a scoring stage, time management is key. Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks to keep things moving along and record quickly and efficiently.

It all starts with preparation:

1. Cluster similar cues together

First, go thorough the score and identify cues that are similar in style or are thematically related. Often you will find that there are certain cues that require one size orchestra or group, while other cues don’t require as many players. This will allow you to split up your sessions into different size groups, so you don’t need to hire as many players for as many sessions, which will save you money.

Next, prioritize the cues that require your larger group, then cues that would benefit from a larger group but could work well with a smaller group, and finally the cues that work with your smallest group and sort them accordingly. Now sort your cues by orchestra size, then thematically, and you’re basically done.

If you have time to record your small cues with the big group, great. If not, no big deal, you’ll get them just as well with the next size down group. Sometimes you can have 3 or 4 different orchestra sizes, just prioritize accordingly and only plan to get what you must with each group. If you’re ahead of schedule, you can always pull a cue from a smaller group to the larger group session.

2. Start with a good warm-up cue

I don’t recommend starting with very difficult or long cues. For each session, pick a cue within that session’s cues that isn’t particularly difficult or easy, yet interesting to play, preferably between 1-2 minutes long. That’s a great warm-up cue. It lets the players get a feel for what’s to come without having to struggle right away. It lets them settle into the session and get comfortable. And if it features a theme that will come back later, even better.

3. Get the hard & long cues out of the way

Now that your players are warmed up but still fresh, let’s get to work. Next up should be some of the more challenging cues, as well as some of the longer cues that’ll take a while to get through. The players are fresh, they’re comfortable, they’re playing well together, this is a great time to get into the hard stuff. And by clustering similar cues together, the next hard cue won’t be quite so hard. The players will immediately recognize the similarities and automatically make adjustments based on the notes they got playing the previous cue.

4. Rehearse tricky sections

Typically you should let the orchestra read through the entire cue at least once if possible, so they can get familiar with it on their first take. If you have a section that is particularly difficult or requires a delicate balance, especially if it’s within a long cue, sometimes it’s better to skip the first read and jump straight to those sections and rehearse them first. Then go back and play down the entire cue.

Other times you may not realize a section is problematic until the read-through. When that happens, make sure to take some time to rehearse just the bars that need extra attention. If it’s a fast action sequence with lots of prelays, consider rehearsing on the stick at a slightly slower tempo before trying again with the click and prelays.

If it’s a solo, or just a single player (i.e. guitar or piano only) let the player take a moment or two to figure it out. Make sure they feel safe as they sort it out, and that you are there if they need you, but give them the space to just do their thing. As a good friend of mine once told me while trying to nail a tricky guitar part, “sometimes you just have to suck a little before it gets good.” If your player feel safe with you, they wont’ be afraid to give it all they got to get that truly incredible performance.

5. Start a new long cue before a break

If you’re a few minutes away from a session break, try to get a read through of your next big cue before the break. This will give you time to listen to the cue and make notes while the orchestra is on their break, and you’ll be ready to give them your notes when they are back. If it’s a particularly long cue, it also gives them a break from working on the same piece for too long, and when they return from their break they will be refreshed and ready to tackle it anew.

6. Review cues on your breaks

When the musicians take a break, you have a golden opportunity to listen to previous takes, review cues and make sure you’re happy with what you have. It’s fun to listen to the music again without the clock ticking and the pressure of having to keep moving, and therefore you will listen differently. If you like what you hear, you’ll have the peace of mind that what you thought was a good take really is. On the flip side, it’ll alert you to any problems and go-backs if something isn’t right, affording you the chance to re-record it.

7. Take a minute to yourself

Try to take a minute or two to yourself on the breaks when you’re not working. Just like the musicians who are playing your score, you, too, need to recharge. I like to step outside into the fresh air, even if only for 30 seconds and then step back into the studio. I find that taking a short moment to check out helps me recharge my batteries and keep better focus.

8. Be flexible

Lots of things can go wrong when scoring a film. From technical issues, to re-writes to re-orchestration, it’s not always possible to go in the order you had planned. If you hit a snag, rather than wasting precious time trying to sort it out while the clock is ticking, pull the cue and go to the next one. Your team can figure out the problem while you move on. If you don’t have a team, you can figure out the problem during the next break. In some cases, you may need to pull a cue that requires significant work and bring it back the following day (if possible).

9. Know the local recording rules

Make sure you know the rules wherever you are recording. For example, if you’re recording under AFM contract there are provisions regarding overdubs and how often musicians get breaks, etc. London’s musicians union has different rules, which are different still than recording in Macedonia or Berlin or Prague or Bratislava. Find out what you can and can’t do before hand and adjust your sessions and recording order accordingly. For example, AFM rules prohibit overdubbing a cue within the same session (technically it’s allowed, just very expensive). However, you can overdub cues at different sessions. So if you want to do a string overdub on a particular cue, schedule the main pass for your morning session, and the overdub for the afternoon or next day session. In London it’s typical to take a 15-minute break every 1.5 hours rather than 10 minute breaks every hour, which is the standard in the US. Plan and pace yourself accordingly.

10. Trust your team

When scoring with a large orchestra, you will likely have a team working with you. Your team will likely include all or some of the following – an orchestrator, a music editor, your recording engineer and assistant, and someone to run prelays and video. They are all there to help you. They are all listening along, each with a different emphasis. Your orchestrator is focused on the orchestra sounding as s/he intended – the balance, and overall performance. The engineer is listening primarily to the sound quality and fidelity as well as overall balance. The engineer’s assistant is making sure technically everything is on track, that cues aren’t being recorded to loud or too soft. Your music editor is focusing on how tight the sync is to picture, while your ProTools operator might be focusing on how tight everything is against the prelays. Trust them if they raise an issue or concern, and if time affords, do another take if a concern is raised.

If it’s a small budget project and you’re doing it all yourself, trust yourself. You may not be the world’s greatest engineer with the greatest gear as you record that single cello in your home studio, but that’s OK. Focus on the music, focus on what you’re hearing, keep track of your time and you’ll be fine.

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or add a comment.