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