weeklyFILM MUSIC

FILM MUSIC RADIO: Daniel Schweiger interviews composer Marco Beltrami SCORING NEWS: “The X-Files 2” (Mark Snow), “Bolt” (John Powell) and more

CD REVIEW: Daniel Schweiger reviews Movie Score Media

THE CHART DOCTOR: “Notating Without Thinking, Or ...” by Ron Hess

MUSIC TECHNOLOGY: “RME Fireface 800 and the KRK VXT8s” by Peter Alexander

ISSUE 52 • FEBRUARY 26, 2008 • A Global Media Online Publication • www.fi lmmusicweekly.com

Dario Marianelli

AMP Announces New Officers

n Composer Dario Marianelli won the Oscar for original score for his score for the feature film Atonement and Glen Hansard

and Marketa Irglova won best orig-inal song for “Falling Slowly” from the film Once at the 80th Academy Awards Sunday evening in Los An-geles.

Italian-born Marianelli, whose recent films include The Brave One and Pride & Prejudice, a film

that resulted in his first Academy Award nomination in 2005.

“I’m very lucky because I was part of a fantastic group of peo-ple that made a fantastic film,” said Marianelli in his acceptance speech.

Glen Hansard, in his accep-

tance speech, recalled how “Once” was made in three weeks with two camcorders and $100,000. His songwriting partner Marketa Irglo-va said, “This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all independent musicians and artists who spend so much of their time struggling.”

Dario Marianelli, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova Win Music Oscars

Report: Downloads Will Surpass CD Sales in 2012

n The Association of Music Pro-ducers (AMP) has announced new officers for its National Board. Lyle Greenfield of Bang Music will serve a two-year term as President. Ray Foote of Big Foote Music is first VP, and Liz Myers of Trivers/Myers Music is second VP. Jan Horowitz of Da-vid Horowitz Music Associates is Secretary.

Also elected to the Board were: Craig Hazen of Zen Music; Larry Pecorella of Comma Music (who is also president of the Mid-west Chapter); Jon Slott of Juni-per; Andy Snavley of Bendy Mu-sic; and Roger Wojahn of Wojahn Bros. Music. Greenfield succeeds Tiffany Senft of tonefarmer, who is immediate Past President of

the Board. The National Board is comprised of members from each AMP Chapter – New York, Mid-west, and Los Angeles, as well as an “at-large” member (this term, Slott from Juniper in Dallas).

“Since the National Board was formed last year, it has taken on many tasks, including exploring performing rights is-sues and compensation models,” said Greenfield, who served on the 2007 National Board and is a Past President of the New York Chapter. “As AMP celebrates its 10th anniversary, our intention is to turn up the volume—from celebrating the work of our mem-ber companies to increasing our presence and respect at the heart of the production process.” (continued pg.3)

n Half of all music sold in the US will be digital in 2011 and sales of digitally downloaded music will surpass physical CD sales in 2012, according to a new report by Forrester Research, Inc. Digi-tal music sales will grow at a com-pound annual growth rate of 23 percent over the next five years, reaching $4.8 billion in revenue by 2012, but will fail to make up for the continuing steady decline in CD sales. In 2012, CD sales will be reduced to just $3.8 billion.

“This is the end of the music industry as we know it,” said For-rester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst James L. McQuivey. “Media executives ea-ger to stay afloat in this receding tide must clear the path of dis-

covery and purchase, but only hardware and software providers can ultimately make listening to music as easy as turning on the radio.”

The Forrester report is based in part on a survey of more than 5,000 consumers in the US and Canada. Among the drivers of Forrester’s five-year forecast for music sales:

* MP3 player adoption. The average MP3 player is only 57 percent full, suggesting that the devices are underutilized, while more of the devices are being bought by households with more than one MP3 player. Moving for-ward, a majority of MP3 players will be sold to households that al-ready have one.

2� ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008 weeklyFILM MUSIC

Publisher: Mark Northam Editor: Mikael Carlsson

VP Finance and Operations: Rebecca Lee Art Director: Joshua Young

Advertising Manager: Steve SchatzbergCopy Editor: Lisa Rawson

Technology Editor: Peter Alexander Soundtrack Editor: Daniel Schweiger

Customer Service Manager: Robyn Young Website Design: Rakesh Rai

Accounting: Tina Chiang Legal Advisor: Patricia Johnson, Esq.

Film Music Weekly is published weekly by Global Media Online, Inc.Executive and Editorial Office: 23360 Velencia Blvd. Suite E-12, Valencia, CA 91355. Tel: 310-209-8263 Fax: 310-388-1367, email: info@filmmusicweekly.com. We are not responsible for unsolicited material. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. The opinions of contributing writers and editors to this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Media Online, Inc. or any of our divisions, management or staff.

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weeklyFILM MUSIC This Week on

FMRFILM MUSIC RADIO

ON THE SCORE

MARCO BELTRAMI

Film music journalist Daniel Schweiger interviews

composer MARCO BELTRAMI,

who turns his musical vision to terror again with

THE EYE.

. LISTEN NOW

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ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008� 3weeklyFILM MUSIC

INDUSTRY NEWSReport: Downloads Will Surpass CD Sales in 2012 (continued. from pg 1)

* DRM-free music. With the four big mu-sic labels now committed to eliminating digital rights management (DRM), DRM-free music will extend beyond pioneer Amazon.com to Apple iTunes and the other major online music sites.

* Social networks. DRM-free music enables every profile page on MySpace.com or Facebook to immediately become a music store where friends sell friends their favorite tracks.

Forrester believes digital downloads are the logistical mass market for the future, sat-isfying all the needs that people have when it comes to music — easy to find, easy to buy, and easy to listen to, regardless of the device. On the other hand, subscription music services will show modest growth, reaching just $459

million in revenue in 2012 according to For-rester’s projections, while experiments in ad-supported downloads will be silenced by the powerful combination of DRM-free music and on-demand music streaming on sites like im-eem.com.

“The industry has to redefine what its product is,” said McQuivey. “Music executives have spent years tracking CD sales. But the artist is the product — not just the source of it. New forms of revenue will come from unex-pected sources. For example, the industry has failed to capitalize on the growing popularity of video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. In a market where musicians are happy to sell a million copies of a CD, a video game market where titles can sell five million copies

is enough to motivate even the most depressed music executive.”

Initiatives currently before the 2008 AMP National Board include the introduction of new business tools to streamline workflow, and for-ward-looking discussions with the musicians’ union involving contract models for new media. Additionally, AMP will host a multi-city event this spring to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

The National Board was formed last year to work with the regional chapters in setting the agenda for the organization, and to support those chapters in their own programs and ini-tiatives.

For more information on Forrester Research, visit http://www.forrester.com

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Garry SchymanBioShock

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4� ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008 weeklyFILM MUSIC

THIS WEEK’S MAJOR SCORING ASSIGNMENTS

Mark Snow: The X-Files 2

Composer Mark Snow has confirmed to�Upcoming�Film�Scores that he has signed on to score The X-Files 2,�the�sequel�to�the�1998�feature�film�that�fol-

lowed�the�phenomenally�successful�sci-fi�TV�series.�The�film�is�directed�by�X-Files creator�Chris�Carter,�who�has�worked�extensively�with�Mark�Snow�not�only�on�X-Files,�but�also�on�TV�series�Millennium,�Harsh Realm and The Lone Gunmen. Sixty-one-year�old�Snow,�who�probably�is�the�most�prolific�composer�in�television�music,�has�received�six�Emmy�nomi-nations for his X-Files�music.�His�latest�feature�film�score,�which�came�out�last�year,�was�a�completely�different�type�of�project:�a�collaboration�with�French�vete-ran�director�Alain�Resnais�on�his�romantic�drama Private Fears in Public Places. It resulted�in�a�César�Award�nomination�for�the composer. The X-Files 2�is�scheduled�to�premiere�on�July�28,�distributed�by�20th�Century�Fox.�

John�Powell: Bolt

Walt�Disney�Pictures�confirmed to Upco-ming�Film�Scores�that�John�Powell,�one of the most pro-lific�Hollywood�A-list�composers,�has�been�signed to score the

studio’s�new�animated�film�Bolt.�Directed�by�Chris�Williams,�who�wrote�the�stories�for�Disney’s�animated�features�Mulan and The Emperor’s New Groove,�Bolt tells�the�story�about�a�dog�who�has�lived�his�life�on�the�set�of�a�TV�show�and�believes�that�he�has�true�superpowers.�Featuring�the�voices�of�John�Travolta,�Woody�Har-relson,�Bruce�Greenwood�and�Thomas�Haden�Church,�the�film�is�scheduled�to�hit�cinemas�on�November�26.�John�Powell,�who�is�repped�by�Kraft-Engel�Manage-ment,�is�busy�as�always:�among�his�other�upcoming�films�are�the�Will�Smith�action�comedy�Hancock,�the�drama�Stop Loss,�and�another�animated�film,�Horton Hears a Who.�The�two�last-mentioned�will�be�relea-sed�on�CD�by�Varèse�Sarabande.�Opening�worldwide�this�weekend�is�Jumper,�also�scored�by�John�Powell,�with�a�score�album�coming�out�on�Lakeshore�Records.

THE SCOREBOARD LATEST ADDITIONS:Bruno Coulais: MR�73.Michael A. Levine:�Columbus�Day.Daniele Luppi:�Hell�Ride.Nathaniel Mechaly:�Dorothy�Mills.Angelo Milli:�Paraiso�Travel.John Powell: Bolt.Mark Snow:�The�X-Files�2.David Torn: The Wackness.Shigeru Umebayashi: Absurdistan.

COMPLETE LIST:Panu Aaltio:�The�Home�of�Dark�But-terflies.Tree Adams:�Emilio.Andreas Alfredsson / Christian Sandquist: Possession.Eric Allaman:�Witless�Protection�•�Race.John Altman:�The�Master�Builder�•�Shoot on Sight.Armand Amar: La�jeune�fille�et�les�loups.Marco D’Ambrosio:�Say�Hello�to�Stan�Talmadge.David Arnold: How�to�Loose�Friends�and�Alienate�People�•�Quantum�of�Solace�•�The�Chronicles�of�Narnia:�The�Voyage�of�the�Dawn�Treader.Chris P. Bacon: Space Chimps.Angelo Badalamenti: The Edge of Love •�Secrets�of�Love.Klaus Badelt:�Killshot�•�Starship�Troop-ers:�Marauder�•�The�Scorpion�King:�Rise�of�the�Akkadian�•�Fire�Bay�•�Dragon�Hunt-ers�•�Heaven�and�Earth.Lesley Barber:�Death�in�Love.Nathan Barr:�Tortured�•�Shutter.Steve Bartek:�The�Art�of�Travel.Tyler Bates:�The�Haunted�World�of�El�Su-perbeasto�•�Day�of�the�Dead�•�Doomsday�•�Watchmen�•�The�Day�the�Earth�Stood�Still.Jeff Beal: Where�God�Left�His�Shoes�•�Salomaybe?�•�The�Deal.Christophe Beck:�Drillbit�Taylor.Marco Beltrami:�In�the�Electric�Mist�with�Confederate�Dead.Jean-Michael Bernard:�Be�Kind�Rewind�•�Cash.Charles Bernstein: The Cursed.Doug Besterman: Exit Speed.Terence Blanchard: Miracle�at�St.�Anna.Scott Bomar:�Maggie�Lynn.Simon Boswell:�Bathory�•�My�Zinc�Bed.Jason Brandt: Something’s Wrong in Kansas.David Buckley: Town�Creek�•�The�Forbid-den�Kingdom.Kenneth Burgomaster:�Garfield’s�Fun�Fest�•�Hero�Wanted.Mickey Bullock:�Sportkill�•�Orville.Carter Burwell:�In�Bruges.Edmund Butt:�The�Waiting�Room.Niall Byrne:�How�About�You.Peter Calandra: The Sickness.Paul Cantelon:�The�Other�Boleyn�Girl.Jeff Cardoni:�You�and�I�(Finding�tATu).

Patrick Cassidy: L’aviatore.Nigel Clarke & Michael Csányi-Wills: The�Grind.George S. Clinton: Harold�&�Kumar�Escape�from�Guantanamo�Bay.Chandra Cogburn:�Fiesta�Grand�•�Orgies�and�the�Meaning�of�Life�•�The�Bard:�The�Story�of�Robert�Burns.Juan J. Colomer:�Dark�Honeymoon.Normand Corbeil:�Ma�fille,�mon�ange�•�Boot�Camp�•�Emotional�Arithmetic.Bruno Coulais:�MR�73�•�Les�Femmes�de�l’ombre�•�Coraline.Burkhard Dallwitz: The Interrogation of Harry�Wind�•�Chainsaw.Jeff Danna:�Lakeview�Terrace�(co-composer)�•�The�Imaginarium�of�Doctor�Parnassus�(co-composer).Mychael Danna:�Lakeview�Terrace�(co-composer)�•�The�Imaginarium�of�Doctor�Parnassus�(co-composer).Carl Davis: The�Understudy.Marcello De Francisci:�The�Butcher.Wolfram de Marco:�The�Lost�Tribe.Jessica de Rooij:�Tunnel�Rats�•�Far�Cry�•�Alone�in�the�Dark�II.John Debney: Big�Stan�•�Bachelor�No.�2�•�Starship�Dave�•�Swing�Vote�•�Old�Dogs�•�Sin�City�2.Tim DeLaughter: The�Assassination�of�a�High�School�President.Erik Desiderio:�He’s�Such�a�Girl�•�Sons�of�Liberty.Alexandre Desplat: Largo Winch.Ramin Djawadi:�Fly�Me�to�the�Moon�•�The�List�•�Iron�Man.Pino Donaggio:�Colpe�d’occhio.James Michael Dooley:�Bachelor�Party�2�•�The�Little�Mermaid:�Ariel’s�Beginning�•�Impy’s�Island�2.Patrick Doyle:�Nim’s�Island�•�Igor.Christopher Drake:�Batman�-�Gotham�Knight�(co-composer).Ludek Drizhal:�Life�Goes�On�•�Synapse�•�The�Next�Race:�The�Remote�Viewings�•�The Sno Cone Stand Inc.Anne Dudley:�Black�Water�Transit.Randy Edelman:�The�Mummy:�Tomb�of�the�Dragon�Emperor.Jonathan Edwards:�The�Golden�Boys.Steve Edwards:�The�Neighbor�•�The�Intervention�•�Sharks�in�Venice.Cliff Eidelman: He’s Just Not That Into You.Danny Elfman:�Wanted�•�Hellboy�2:�The�Golden�Army.Stephen Endelman:�Redbelt.Paul Englishby: Miss Pettigrew Lives for�a�Day.Tom Erba: Chinaman’s Chance.Ilan Eshkeri:�The�Disappeared.Evan Evans:�The�Mercy�Man�•�You’re�Nobody�‘Til�Somebody�Kills�You�•�The�Poker�Club�•�Jack�Rio.Nima Fakhara:�Lost�Dream.Guy Farley:�Knife�Edge�•�The�Brøken�•�Dylan.Chad Fischer:�The�Babysitters.Robert Folk:�Kung�Pow:�Tongue�of�Fury�•�

Magdalene�•�Vivaldi.Jason Frederick:�Good�Chemistry�•�Bears.John Frizzell: Henry�Poole�Is�Here.Michael Giacchino:�Speed�Racer�•�Star�Trek.Vincent Gillioz:�The�Appearance�of�Things�•�Portal�•�Last�Breath.Scott Glasgow:�Toxic�•�The�Gene�Gen-eration�•�Lo�•�The�Bridge�to�Nowhere.Philip Glass: Les animaux amoreux.Erik Godal:�The�Gift�•�Ready�Or�Not�•�Irreversi.Jonathan Goldsmith: Tenderness.Christopher Gordon:�Mao’s�Last�Dancer�•�Daybreakers.Jeff Grace:�Trigger�Man�•�I�Sell�the�Dead�•�Liberty�Kid.John Graham:�Long�Flat�Balls�II.Harry Gregson-Williams:�Jolene�•�The�Chronicles�of�Narnia:�Prince�Caspian�•�G-Force�•�Wolverine.Rupert Gregson-Williams:�You�Don’t�Mess�With�the�Zohan�•�Made�of�Honor�•�Bedtime�Stories.Andrew Gross:�Forfeit�•�National�Lam-poon’s�Bag�Boy�•�Diamond�Dog�Caper�•�The Speed of Thought.Larry Groupé:�Love�Lies�Bleeding�•�The�Hungry�Woman�•�Straw�Dogs.Andrea Guerra: The�Accidental�Husband�•�Parlami�d’amore.Robert Gulya: Atom�Nine�Adventures�•�Themoleris�•�9�and�a�Half�Date.Steven Gutheinz: Rothenburg.Todd Haberman:�Killer�Movie.Richard Hartley:�Diamond�Dead.Paul Hartwig:�Holiday�Beach�•�Tyran-nosaurus�Azteca.Richard Harvey: Eichmann.Paul Haslinger: Prom�Night�•�Make�It�Happen�•�While�She�Was�Out.Paul Heard:�Clubbed.Alex Heffes:�My�Enemy’s�Enemy�•�State�of�Play.Reinhold Heil:�Blackout�(co-composer)�•�The�International�(co-composer).Christian Henson: Zomerhitte�•�A�Bunch�of�Amateurs.Eric Hester:�The�Utopian�Society�•�Lost�Mission�•�Frail.Tom Hiel:�A�Plumm�Summer.David Hirschfelder: Shake Hands With the�Devil.Ben Holbrook:�Kiss�the�Bride.Trevor Horn:�Kids�in�America.James Horner:�The�Boy�in�Striped�Pyja-mas�•�Avatar.Richard Horowitz:�Kandisha�•�The�Whisperers.James Newton Howard: The Happening •�The�Dark�Knight�(co-composer)�•�Defi-ance�•�Confessions�of�a�Shopaholic.Terry Huud:�Plaguers.Søren Hyldgaard:�Red.Alberto Iglesias:�The�Argentine�•�Guer-rilla.Mark Isham:�Pride�and�Glory�•�The�Express.

SCORING NEWS by MIKAEL CARLSSONmcarlsson@filmmusicweekly.com

ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008� 5weeklyFILM MUSIC

Corey Allen Jackson:�Idiots�and�Angels.James Jandrisch:�American�Venus.Adrian Johnston:�Sparkle�•�Brideshead�Revisited.Bobby Johnston:�American�Fork�•�Stuck�•�Hotel�California�•�Happiness�Runs.Evan Jolly:�Tonight�Is�Cancelled.Tim Jones:�Cryptid.David Julyan: Eden Lake.George Kallis: Antigravity.Tuomas Kantelinen:�Arn�-�Riket�vid�vägens�slut.Yagmur Kaplan:�The�Elder�Son�•�The�Lodge�•�Broken�Windows.Laura Karpman:�Out�at�the�Wedding.Kenji Kawai:�L�–�Change�the�World�•�Orochi�•�The�Sky�Crawlers.Rolfe Kent:�The�Lucky�Ones.Wojciech Kilar: Black�Sun.Mark Kilian:�Before�the�Rains.David Kitay:�Shanghai�Kiss�•�Blonde�Ambition.Johnny Klimek:�Blackout�(co-composer)�•�The�International�(co-composer).Harald Kloser: 10,000�BC.Abel Korzeniowski: Terms.Penka Kouneva:�Midnight�Movie�•�The�Gold�and�the�Beautiful.Ivan Koutikov:�Wanted�Undead�Or�Alive�•�Living�Hell.Robert J. Kral:�Batman�-�Gotham�Knight�(co-composer).Aryavarta Kumar:�The�Rapture�•�Greater�Threat.Nathan Larson:�August�•�Choke.Jim Latham:�Greetings�from�the�Shore�•�Swishbucklers�•�Parental�Guidance�Suggested.Craig Leon: Maestro.Geoff Levin:�Triloquist�•�The�Rat�Thing�•�Agenda�•�The�Fallen.James S. Levine:�Otis.Michael A. Levine:�Columbus�Day.Krishna Levy:�Le�nouveau�protocole.Gary Lionelli:�Oswald’s�Ghost.Jason & Nolan Livesay:�Bounty�•�Limbo�Lounge�•�Little�Iron�Men.Andrew Lockington:�Step�•�Journey�3-D�•�One�Week.Henning Lohner:�Kleiner�Dodo�•�Love�Comes�Lately.Helen Jane Long:�Surveillance.Erik Lundborg:�Absolute�Trust.Daniele Luppi:�Hell�Ride.Deborah Lurie:�Spring�Breakdown.Vivek Maddala:�They�Turned�Our�Desert�Into�Fire.Nuno Malo:�Mr.�Hobb’s�House.Mark Mancina:�Sheepish�•�Camille�•�Without�a�Badge�•�Like�Dandelion�Dust.Aram Mandossian:�The�Last�Resort.Harry Manfredini:�Black�Friday�•�iMur-ders�•�Impulse�•�Anna�Nicole�•�Dead�and�Gone.David Mansfield:�Then�She�Found�Me�•�The�Guitar.Kevin Manthei:�Batman�-�Gotham�Knight�(co-composer).Dario Marianelli:�Far�North�•�Hippie�Hip-

pie�Shake�•�The�Soloist.Anthony Marinelli:�Grizzly�Park.Gary Marlowe:�Los�Pereyra�•�Das�echo�der�Schuld.Phil Marshall: Live.John McCarthy:�The�Stone�Angel.Don McGlashan:�Dean�Spanley.Joel McNeely:�The�Tinkerbell�Movie.Nathaniel Mechaly:�Taken�•�Dorothy�Mills.Matt Messina: The Least of These.Guy Michelmore:�Doctor�Strange�•�Bono,�Bob,�Brian�and�Me.Randy Miller:�Last�Time�Forever�•�Shang-hai�Red�•�Second�Chance�Season.Robert Miller:�The�Key�Man�•�Trumbo�•�On�the�Hook�•�Wherever�You�Are.Angelo Milli:�Máncora�•�Paraiso�Travel.Sheldon Mirowitz:�Renewal�•�Operation�Filmmaker.Richard G. Mitchell: Almost�Heaven.Charlie Mole:�Fade�to�Black�•�I�Really�Hate�My�Job�•�St.�Trinian’s.John Morgan:�The�Opposite�Day�(co-composer).Paul Leonard-Morgan: Popcorn.Trevor Morris:�Matching�Blue�•�Krews.Mark Mothersbaugh:�Quid�Pro�Quo�•�Cloudy�with�a�Chance�of�Meatballs.Hélène Muddiman: Skin.Sean Murray:�The�Lost�•�Clean�Break.Peter Nashel: Carriers.Javier Navarrete:�Mirrors�•�Inkheart�•�Fireflies�in�the�Garden.Blake Neely:�Elvis�and�Anabelle�•�The�Great�Buck�Howard�•�Surfer�Dude.Roger Neill:�Take�•�Scar.Joey Newman:�Safe�Harbour.Randy Newman:�Leatherheads�•�The�Frog�Princess.Thomas Newman:�Nothing�Is�Private�•�Wall-E�•�Revolutionary�Road.David James Nielsen:�Reclaiming�the�Blade.Stefan Nilsson: Heaven’s Heart.Marinho Nobre:�Left�for�Dead.Adam Nordén:�Everybody’s�Dancing�•�Wolf�•�De�Gales�hus.Julian Nott: Heavy�Petting.Paul Oakenfold: Victims.Dean Ogden:�Oranges�•�Knuckle�Drag-gers�•�A�Perfect�Season�•�The�Sensei.John Ottman:�Valkyrie.John Paesano:�Shamrock�Boy.Heitor Pereira:�The�Canyon�•�Running�the�Sahara�•�South�of�the�Border.Mark Petrie:�The�Road�to�Empire�•�Valley�of�Angels�•�Farmhouse.Barrington Pheloung: Incendiary.Leigh Phillips:�War�Made�Easy�•�Still�Life.Martin Phipps: Grow�Your�Own.Nicholas Pike:�It’s�Alive�•�Parasomnia.Nicola Piovani:�Odette�Toulemonde.Douglas Pipes:�Trick�r’�Treat�•�City�of�Ember.Conrad Pope:�In�My�Sleep.Steve Porcaro:�The�Wizard�of�Gore�•�Cougar�Club.

John Powell:�Horton�Hears�a�Who�•�Hancock�•�Stop�Loss�•�Bolt.Michael Price:�Sugarhouse�Lane�•�Agent�Crush�•�Wild�Girl.Trevor Rabin:�Get�Smart.Didier Lean Rachou: An�American�in�China.Brian Ralston:�Graduation�•�9/Tenths.Jasper Randall: The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.Joe Renzetti:�39�•�Universal�Signs.Graeme Revell:�Pineapple�Express�•�Days�of�Wrath�•�The�Ruins�•�Street�Kings.Graham Reynolds:�I’ll�Come�Running.Zacarías M. de la Riva: The Last of the Just�•�The�Anarchist’s�Wife�•�Carmo.Carmen Rizzo:�The�Power�of�the�Game.David Robbins:�War,�Inc.�•�The�Dot�Man.Matt Robertson:�The�Forest.Douglas Romayne:�In�Zer0:�Fragile�Wings.Philippe Rombi: Bienvenue�chez�les�Ch’tis.Brett Rosenberg: The Skeptic.William Ross: Our�Lady�of�Victory.Laura Rossi: The Cottage.David Glen Russell: Contamination.Hitoshi Sakamoto:�Romeo�x�Juliet.H. Scott Salinas:�Strictly�Sexual�•�What�We�Did�on�Our�Holidays.Anton Sanko:�Life�in�Flight.Gustavo Santaolalla: I Come With the Rain�•�On�the�Road.Brian Satterwhite:�Cowboy�Smoke�•�Maidenhead.Mark Sayfritz:�Sake�•�The�Shepherd.Brad Sayles:�The�Bracelet�of�Bordeaux.Dominik Scherrer: Good�Morning�Heartache.Misha Segal:�Lost�at�War�•�Shabat�Shalom�Maradona.Marc Shaiman: Slammer.Theodore Shapiro:�The�Mysteries�of�Pittsburgh�•�The�Girl�in�the�Park�•�Semi-Pro�•�Tropic�Thunder�•�Nowhereland�•�Marley�&�Me.George Shaw:�Victim�•�Sailfish.Edward Shearmur:�Passengers�•�Bill�•�College�Road�Trip�•�Righteous�Kill.Ryan Shore:�Numb�•�Jack�Brooks�–�Mon-ster�Slayer�•�Shadows.Vince Sievers: The Source.Carlo Siliotto:�La�Misma�Luna�•�The�Ramen�Girl.Alan Silvestri:�G.I.�Joe�•�A�Christmas�Carol.Emilie Simon:�Survivre�avec�les�loups.Marcus Sjöwall:�Dreamkiller.Cezary Skubiszewski:�Death�Defying�Acts�•�Disgrace.Damion Smith: Stompin.Mark Snow:�The�X-Files�2.Jason Solowsky:�L.A�Takedown�•�Straw-berries�For�The�Homeless�•�Tamales�And�Gumbo�•�The�Sweep�•�Exodus?Maarten Spruijt:�The�Seven�of�Daran�-�Battle�of�Pareo�Rock.Marc Streitenfeld:�Body�of�Lies.William T. Stromberg:�TV�Virus�•�Army�

of�the�Dead�•�The�Opposite�Day�(co-composer).Johan Söderqvist:�Walk�the�Talk�•�Let�the�Right�One�In�•�The�Invisible.Joby Talbot: Son�of�Rambow.Frédéric Talgorn:�Hexe�Lilli.Mark Thomas:�Tales�of�the�Riverbank.tomandandy: The�Koi�Keeper.John van Tongeren:�War�Games�2�-�The�Dead�Code.Pinar Toprak: Blue�World�•�Dark�Castle�•�Serbian�Scars�•�Say�It�In�Russian�•�Ocean�of�Pearls.David Torn: The Wackness.Jeff Toyne:�Within�•�Late�in�the�Game.Michael Tremante:�If�I�Didn’t�Care.Ernest Troost: Crashing.Tom Tykwer:�The�International�(co-composer).Brian Tyler: The Heaven Project.Shigeru Umebayashi:�A�Simple�Love�Story�•�Absurdistan.Cris Velasco:�Prep�School.Fernando Velázquez: Shiver.Reinhardt Wagner:�Faubourg�36.Michael Wandmacher:�Train�•�Never�Back�Down.Stephen Warbeck:�Flawless�•�The�Box�Collector.Matthias Weber:�Silent�Rhythm.Craig Wedren:�Little�Big�Men.Richard Wells:�The�Mutant�Chronicles.Cody Westheimer:�Benny�Bliss�and�the�Disciples�of�Greatness�•�Hysteria.Alan Williams:�For�the�Love�of�a�Dog�•�Act�Your�Age�•�Snow�Princess�•�He�Love�Her,�She�Loves�Him�Not�•�The�Velveteen�Rabbit.David Williams: The Conjuring.John Williams: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom�of�the�Crystal�Skull�•�Lincoln.Patrick Williams: Mikey�and�Dolores.Tim Williams:�The�Passage�•�Star�Crossed.Austin Wintory:�Captain�Abu�Raed�•�Mr.�Sadman�•�Grace.Debbie Wiseman:�Amusement�•�The�Hide.Chris Wood: Zombies�Ate�My�Prom�Date.Lyle Workman: Forgetting�Sarah�Mar-shall.Alex Wurman:�Five�Dollars�a�Day�•�The�Promotion.Gabriel Yared:�Manolete�•�The�No.�1�Ladies�Detective�Agency�•�Adam�Resur-rected.Christopher Young:�Sleepwalking�•�A�Tale�of�Two�Sisters.Geoff Zanelli:�Delgo�•�Outlander�•�Ghost�Town.Marcelo Zarvos: What�Just�Happened?Aaron Zigman:�Lake�City�•�Meet�the�Browns�•�Flash�of�Genius�•�Blue�Powder.Hans Zimmer:�Frost/Nixon�•�Casi�Divas�•�Kung�Fu�Panda�•�The�Dark�Knight�(co-composer).Atli Örvarsson:�Vantage�Point�•�Babylon�A.D.

Film Music Weekly’s “The Scoreboard” only lists scoring assignments that have been confirmed to us by official sources. The list is limited to feature film scoring assignments. New additions are highlighted in red print.

6� ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008 weeklyFILM MUSIC

NEW TECHNOLOGY | NEW HARDWARE | NEW SOFTWARE | NEW BUSINESS SK ILLS | NEW BUSINESS MODELS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16Breaking into Film Composing in the Changing Face of HollywoodInstructor: Film & TV Music Agent Linda KordekThis new all-day exclusive course describes, in detail, how composers and songwriters can use the same techniques longtime agents use to open doors, get music listened to, and get paying work in film and television music. Learn what has traditionally worked and what to expect in the changing world of “convergence” and strikes. The course will cover areas including identifying prospects, approaching decision makers/net-working skills, the submission process and your demo package - what to send, what not to send, the negotia-tion process, the financial aspects, closing the deal and working in the new paradigm.

SATURDAY, MARCH 1The Working Film & TV ComposerInstructor: Film & TV Composer Shawn ClementThis course will benefit composers who are working or studying to work in the film, television or videogame music industry, and provides in-depth, hands-on knowledge about how to successfully work as a composer including detailed looks at the art, craft, technology and business issues critical to a successful career working as a film, television or videogame composer today. From streamlining your studio to making new business contacts, getting work and building a career, this course covers what composers need to know.

SATURDAY, MARCH 8Understanding and Maximizing your ASCAP, BMI and SESAC Royalties Instructor: Performing Rights Author and Composer Mark HoldenThis one-day seminar by veteran per-forming rights journalist and composer Mark Holden provides an in-depth look at how performing rights royalties are paid and how composers and

songwriters can maximize their royalty income. The course will cover topics including how the performing rights system works and the role of perform-ing rights organizations (PROs), choosing a PRO, pros and cons of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, the process of registering your works and filing cue sheets, music usage categories, payment rates, and more.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15Conducting Film Music Recording SessionsInstructor: Orchestrator, Copyist and Author Ron HessConductor and orchestrator Ron Hess teaches all the basic and not-so-basic conducting skills composers will need in order to take control of a film scor-ing session and competently conduct ensembles ranging from small groups to large orchestras. The course will include participants conducting a live musician. Among the topics covered will be workable beat patterns, saving effort by cuing within the beat pattern, developing left/right arm indepen-dence, visual telegraphing of important score elements, mental approaches so you can control your ensemble (and not vice-versa!), eliminating counterproductive elements in your conducting, replacing time-consum-ing verbosity with gestures that work, sight conducting, and session strategy.

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Basic Engineering for ComposersInstructor: Film & TV Scoring Mixer Michael SternVeteran scoring mixer Mike Stern dis-cusses and demonstrates a variety of important engineering techniques that can be used by any composer to make their mixes sound better. These basic techniques can be accomplished with most DAW and digital editing software that will be used during the course to demonstrate the engineering tech-niques for composers. Mike will also discuss advantages of different digital editing software for composers and will discuss plugins, mixers and other outboard equipment.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5The New Music EditorInstructor: Film & TV Music Editor Christine LuethjeMusic Editors are the ultimate conduit between the Director/Producer and the Music Department. At any point in the process this position can have a significant amount of influence on who is hired, which songs are used, and how the royalty generating cue sheets are reported. Usually working for no less than 5 people per project, the music editor directly contributes to the efficiency of each project’s work flow while managing an often heavy editing work load. Areas covered in the course include spotting music meetings that are music efficient, the influence behind tracking music, temp scores, and music libraries, tips and tricks for cutting songs and licensing responsibilities, support and strengthen the scoring session, bullet proof the final dub: delivery specs and protocols, cue sheets that protect performing rights royalties, deal memos that safeguard the creative process, and how to employ digital transfer technologies for improved work flow. Handouts, demonstrations, and examples will be provided.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19Scoring Reality TelevisionInstructor: Film & TV Composer Shawn ClementAn in-depth look at the day-to-day work of scoring top reality shows from a working composer’s point of view. The course will focus on the art, craft, business and technology of this boom-ing area of television programming including how jobs are won, the use of library vs. custom scored music, unique scoring challenges (artistic issues), logistical issues including turnaround time, examples of good reality scoring, where the reality tele-vision marketplace is headed, political issues, and budgets and the use of live musicians.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26Creating Great Film & TV Scores and Parts with FinaleInstructor: Orchestrator, Copyist and Author Ron HessVeteran Finale pro and orchestrator Ron Hess provides an in-depth look at how composers can quickly and effectively use Finale for score and part preparation. Special emphasis is placed on working efficiently with Finale and creating parts that are easy to sight-read. Whether you’ve worked with Finale for years or are new to the product, learn tips, tricks and intelligent strategies at this focused course designed to enable composers to embark on the path to mastering this powerful tool. Areas covered in the course include: approaches to being the master and Finale the slave (instead of vice-versa), extending Finale’s capabilities through the use of internal and external macros, saving time & effort by building good templates, batch-processing through the use of Finalescript, a look at the future of computer notation: touch-type input of scores, making sense of the recent score/part linkage features, really cool, but undocumented, Finale capabilities, and customizing finale to achieve your own distinctive nota-tional style.

SATURDAY, MAY 3The Art of the DealInstructor: Film & TV Music Agent Jeff KaufmanThis course will benefit those who are already working or are seeking to work as a film and television com-poser, film music agent or manager. This course takes a comprehensive look at the role of the film and televi-sion music agent, and how composers can effectively function as their own agent if they do not yet have an agent handling their careers. The course is also designed to benefit those who are considering a career as and agent or manager for film and television music.

It’s A New World Out There...

w w w . f i l m m u s i c i n s t i t u t e . c o m

F I L M M U S I C I N S T I T U T E S P R I N G 2 0 0 8 C O U R S E S

ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008� 7weeklyFILM MUSIC

Title: Movie Score Media Composer: Various Label: Movie Score MediaSuggested Retail Price: $16.95 Grade: B+

W ith so many composers vying for so few quality movies, it can be hard mov-

ing up the musical ladder — especially when said film barely gets a release. But leave it to Movie Score Media to hear the best scores that lie within Netflix oblivion, creating a label that basically sells itself on the guarantee of good, if not downright impressive music with each purchase. The Swede responsible for this cool boutique label is Mikael Carlsson, a film journalist with a natural ear for upcoming tal-ent. And he’s given many deserving composers a real foot in the door with his slim, smartly packaged releases. For these are the kinds of scores that will hook any producer and director – let alone film music fan.

Though Carlsson has a number of no-table electronic releases available via iTunes like The Roost, Evil and Headspace, it’s his preference for symphonic music which shines through on most of MSM’s “hard copy” releases, no more so than in The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of The Rocket Post. As scored by Nigel Clarke and Michael Csanyi-Wills, Post’s strings, flutes and harps beauti-fully evoke the Scottish Isles; a lush, lilting sound that’s as romantic as the heather on the highlands. The psychological drama of Jeff Toyne’s Shadow In The Trees is a nuanced, and haunting score that makes effective use of voice, violin and piano; the perfect music to

raise the rural ghosts of the past. Also rusti-cally appealing is Guy Farley’s score to The Christmas Miracle Of Jonathan Toomey, a heartwarming holiday soundtrack that doesn’t slam the jingle bells in your face. Instead, Far-ley gets across the Xmas magic with soothing, understated melodies for the piano and strings and several country hoedowns – all of which beautifully evoke a young boy’s loss, and his new emotional bonding with the holiday spirit.

An understated, and mightily creepy composer on the rise is David James Nielsen, whose Haunting Villisca is a truly foreboding spook house score that gradually builds its fear with an impressive, melodic touch. And though having Batman’s Adam West in the place of Rod Serling for Tales From Beyond might make you think you’re getting a comedy score, Nielsen thankfully plays it creepy with a striking number of musical styles, ranging from lounge lizard jazz to skittering disso-nance. Yet all remain tonally cohesive, making for an effective omnibus score. And while it’s only a bunch of film students running from a movie-crazed killer in Scott Glasgow’s score for Hack, the composer uses the opportunity to pay tribute to such current, malefic maestros as Marco Beltrami and Danny Elfman, all with the kind of shrieking chords and playfully dark orchestrations that have filled such horror flicks as Scream and Psycho. But Glasgow’s got

the horror stones to pay tribute without doing a sound-alive, showing he’s got his own darkly thrilling voice that can evoke past chillers while remaining its sinister own. The Kill-ing Floor is given a mean, propulsive edge by Michael Wandmacher. And after his similarly inventive thrill scores for Modern Vampires and Cry Wolf, Wandmacher’s use of samples and orchestra for The Killing Floor reaches a new adrenalin high, with a propulsive sound that reaches the cool factor of a Jason Bourne beat swinging a bloody symphonic axe.

Some of MSM’s most notable releases come from the label’s European home base, begin-ning with Dario Marianelli’s I Capture The Castle. As one of the scores that led to the com-poser’s current Oscar nomination for Atone-ment, Castle beautifully shows off Marianelli’s near-wondrous talent for melodic themes, es-pecially in the “costume picture” context. Like his other Oscar-nominated score to Pride & Prejudice, Marianelli has a real way of captur-ing the lovesick feminine sensibility, a laced-up place of romantic yearning that he lets loose with gorgeously lush orchestrations. Far lighter in feel than Atonement, Castle ranges between playful accordion waltzes to flutes and strings, the kind of music that tells you things will end up just fine as the characters find transcendence from class-conscious rigidity.

CD REVIEW by DANIEL SCHWEIGERdschweiger@filmmusicweekly.com

The Movies You’ve Never Seen are the Scores Worth Hearing at Label

Specializing In New Composing Talent

(Continued pg 8)

8� ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008 weeklyFILM MUSIC

CD REVIEWMarianelli travels to far darker territory in Beyond The Gates, another score to deal with the Rwandan massacre. Combining African songs with his own tragic music, Marianelli is careful to keep his musical outrage to a boil instead of a roar, a powerful way of capturing characters who can only do their small part in the face of atrocity. The far more genteel atmosphere of Vienna’s artistic “Secession” movement is strikingly captured by Jorge Ar-riagada’s score for Klimt. This wonderland of bold new poetry, painting and music is given a striking canvas, with music that recalls ev-ery style from Mahler’s revolutionary orches-trations to Strauss’ “Blue Danube” waltz. And when it comes to the artist himself, Arriagada plays Gustav Klimt with dream-like expres-sionism, perfectly capturing a painter who falls into the illusion of his erotic work – a tapestry of Cimbaloms, voice and strings that do the almost impossible task of sonically capturing art’s visual process.

Since he’s dealing with scores that usually lack for name and title recognition, Carlsson is smart enough to put out his

physical releases as limited editions – with many at no more than 500 copies. This can lead to quick sell-outs, though you might have luck on eBay at finding Nicholas Dodd’s sold-out score to Treasured Island. As a long-time orchestrator for David Arnold on such films as Stargate and Casino Royale, it’s easy as to hear how his work is strikingly similar (and just as good) as Arnold’s – especially when Dodd’s given the chance to do his own score. And while his eerie sci-fi score for Renais-sance landed him this Island, don’t expect any Caribbean-sounding scoundrels here – as Dodd’s impressive talent for lush, orchestral melodies give this score a sound that’s at once swashbuckling old-school and alt. modern with its techno-percussion. Here’s a truly refreshing take on the pirate score with no small amount of humor, action and pure com-posing panache. Dodd is one composing talent that deserves the kind of success he’s played a part in, and hopefully Treasured Island will alert the industry to it – the kind of thing that Carlsson’s label is doubtlessly doing for many composers.

It’s understandable how the bigger labels can’t put out, or even bother to hear, a frac-tion of the releases that MSM is responsible for. And God bless them for taking the risk, especially with such upcoming releases as Jeff Grace’s Trigger Man and the elegant “bad seed” score from Joshua by Philip Glass’ protégé Nico Mulhy. Then there’s The Legend Of Butch And Sundance, a television film that marked the last score from the late Basil Poledouris, the amazing composer who deserved better from Hollywood after the likes of Conan and Robocop. That Carlsson is giving this legend a proper soundtrack send-off speaks volumes for the evolving mission of Movie Score Media. And I hope it’s one that consumers will continue taking as they give new composing talent a chance, a gamble that will always roll quality here. n

LISTEN HERE: •www.moviescoremedia.com

Movie Score Media (continued from pg 7)

ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008� 9weeklyFILM MUSIC

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THE CHART DOCTOR by RON HESSrhess@filmmusicweekly.com

Notating Without Thinking, Or

What The Computer Can Do For This Generation Of Composers

Last week I said a shocking thing, so it’s probably worth repeating: So entrenched

is the sequence-then-notate priority that, to suc-ceed and survive, this generation of industrial composers has come to define compositional limits not as what they can purely imagine, but as that which they can coax a machine to perform.

At the recent NAMM show, the leading notation software developers waxed proudly about their efforts to “get us away from the mouse.” Uh-huh. When I inquired about when they would be “getting us away from the MIDI keyboard,” they looked at me with blank stares. One hard reality for us in the music prep community is that these developers have a market they are trying to nail, and it ain’t us. It’s teachers – hundreds, maybe thousands of them for each one of us. So many that they get their own discount. And they aren’t nearly as demanding as we are. As Michael Corleone said in The Godfather, “This isn’t personal, Sonny; it’s business.” Perhaps we industrial types may be fortunate that our tools work for us as well as they do.

I am inputting this column with a computer (ASCII) keyboard. In a previous life, when I actually earned some money as a typist, it hit me that the reason I could type 100+ words a minute on my trusty IBM Selectric II was that I wasn’t processing what I was typing. In fact, to really fly, I turned on a radio to pull my head out of the natural impulse to understand what I was typing. The shorter the path in the brain between optical recognition (seeing) and firing the neurons which produce the keystrokes (typing), the faster and more reliably you will do it. Any unneeded detours through the realm of understanding what you are typing will just slow down the process.

The same principle holds true for nota-tion input, only the symbols (and how they are positioned relative to each other) are different. Thanks to different priorities and the demand for MIDI involvement, we have grown used to a MIDI-assisted input system, hosted by

notation and audio software, which demands a priori that your mind concurrently wrestle with several layers of non-musical crapola to get the data, correctly formatted, into the computer. Strictly from a creative-freedom versus getting-it-written standpoint, the gap separating thought from computer notation is still Grand-Canyonesque compared to pencil and paper, and catch up isn’t even on the horizon.

At this point, we need to advocate tools which give us back the freedom to compose as before, while preserving the advantages of realistic playback and data manipulation. Our industry is telling us: “Realistic playback is paramount, notation is optional, and effortless notation isn’t.” What we need to advocate: “No-tation as effortless as typing, reasonable auto-matic playback, and superb playback achievable with a little extra effort.” What we need is to touch-type our scores as part of a “notate first; play back after” model of music production. (As an aside, I flirted with touch-typing Finale 15 years ago, but couldn’t make it work. The first Acorn-compatible Sibelius had potential, but hasn’t yet followed through...)

Real-time MIDI input is a nice feature, but it usually serves the needs of the samples, not the composer. The inherent notation/perfor-mance conflict is never clearer than here: One MIDI pitch (“C”) can be notated multiple ways (B-sharp, D double-flat), and one notated dy-namic (forte) can have multiple MIDI meanings. Simply put, ASCII keyboards should be for the input of symbols and MIDI keyboards should be for MIDI sequencing, and notation software should carry the translational weight of placing the former and playing back the latter.

Many, perhaps most situations do not need “realer than real” playback. So why is our notation software bogged down by baggage as if it did? Why is the output so mediocre? If we conceived of a system where input was as effort-less as touch-typing and how it sounded came after, we might make better strides at massag-ing that MIDI output for proper effect. I don’t think it has been attempted on a proper scale,

but the advantages to composers of performed music could be huge: (1) Shrinkage or elimina-tion of the chasm separating composing from notating, (2) more sophisticated compositional architectures made practical again due to com-posing with all of your “tracks” simultaneously visible and outside of real time (rather than just audible during sample playback), (3) elimina-tion of the usual post-inspiration workload, as there’s nothing to clean up, (4) composition do-able anywhere you can write an e-mail, (5) playback which reinforces your orchestrational/score-prep experience instead of fighting it, and (6) practical and complete music composi-tion in the hands of the visually-impaired. The downside? What is needed from our develop-ers to accomplish this approach? (1) software that can learn the finite set of rules that every copyist knows about symbol orientation and that can place and edit those symbols by ASCII keystrokes alone, (2) real-time ability to easily and quickly rewrite MIDI performance data for situations where the automatic notation play-back isn’t quiiiiiiiiiite what is needed, and (3) a practical, adjustable MIDI architecture which will allow third-party samples to correctly respond to standard notational elements like real-world musicians.

Acceptably realistic playback could still be achievable; we would just get there by a different route, one that doesn’t hamper all of us, either in self-imposed limits on what we can compose or self-accepted limits on how effort-lessly we can do it. Let’s face it: the next time you sit down to write an e-mail, imagine you could instead be typing your next musical opus just that easily. Why not?

n Ron Hess works as a studio conductor, orchestrator, copyist and score supervisor in Los Angeles, where he’s well-known for his quick ability to ferret out the most hid-den performance problems and spot score glitches rapidly. He holds a Master’s Degree from the New England Con-servatory, and is considered one of the top Finale experts in Los Angeles. Email your questions to Ron at rhess@filmmusicweekly.com

ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008� 11weeklyFILM MUSIC

MUSIC TECHNOLOGY by PETER LAWRENCE ALEXANDERpalexander@filmmusicweekly.com

RME Fireface 800 and the KRK VXT8s

A while back I reviewed, positively, the KRK VXT8 monitors using the MOTU

Traveler. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to replace the MOTU Traveler and work with the RME Fireface 800.

The RME Fireface 800 is an audio card that connects to either the PC or the Mac using the Firewire connection. With this ap-proach, you no longer need to install an audio card inside your computer.

The Fireface 800 is actually more than an audio card. It’s also a mini-mixing board in a single space unit. Starting with the back of the unit, going left to right, there’s the three-prong electrical connector. To the right of that is a pair of MIDI In/Out Ports. This gives you a couple of options. If your MIDI keyboard can connect directly to the computer via USB, you can use that connection. Or you can run the MIDI In/Out of the keyboard to the MIDI In/Out of the Fireface 800. In a larger studio, this saves a MIDI port on your hardware MIDI interfaces.

The next section has Word clock out, and below it, two options for Firewire connec-tions. The first connection is the standard Firewire 400. The next connectors are for the newer Firewire 800 which doubles the speed of transfer. If you’re on either a Mac PowerPC or PC, you’ll get the standard Firewire interface. If you want Firewire 800, you’ll need a PCI card which ranges in price from $49 to $69US. On the new Power Macs, the Firewire 800 comes with it standard.

The next section contains the audio out-puts. The Fireface 800 generously gives you eight balanced outs, along with two (2) ADAT connectors for both In and Out. So on the back panel you can have 32 audio ins and 32 audio outs total. There’s also SPDIF and Word Clock out. The final section contains eight balanced line ins, along with Video In, and LTC In and Out as a time code option. LTC stands for Linear Time Code.

Says RME, “The TCO (time code op-

tion) module is an optional extension for the Fireface 800 option slot.

“The little module provides the Fireface with a Word Clock input and offers a synchro-nization to LTC and video. Thanks to Steady-Clock™, the TCO not only extracts absolute positions from these signals, but also a very clean low-jitter word clock. Thus a sample accurate timecode synchronization to audio or video sources is assured.”

The Fireface 800 enables you to connect two ADAT systems, and up to four systems with audio outs. Counting the sequencing/digital audio system, that’s seven (7) comput-ers that can be connected to the one RME Fireface 800 card combining ADAT and stereo options.

I have one small system dedicated to strings with an RME 9652 audio card connect-ing directly to the Fireface 800. The richness and detail in the strings makes the invest-ment well worth it. But if you can’t afford the Fireface 800, do the next best thing and get

the Fireface 400.

The front of the audio card

gives more options. On the front panel, you can connect up to five additional instruments, effects, or mics. There’s even Phantom Power. Each connector lets you control volume (also called gain).

Installation

This feels like my soapbox, but the instal-lation instructions for the Mac were not clear. I even had someone smarter than me look at it, my wife, who has her Master’s in Film Composition while I have but a Bachelor’s degree.

What could have been handled in 5-10 minutes took about 30.

I had two issues with the manual.First, the manual does not contain a

complete graphic of either the front or back panels, but it does have sectional panels. The only place that does have graphics of the front

and back panels happens to be the box. The Fireface 800 box does have outstanding graph-ics. It’s just amazingly inconvenient to use.

Second, the manual does not show the number of connection opportunities possible with the Fireface 800 the way the MOTU Traveler manual does. This may be a small point to some, but for many composers who come to recording with ground-zero level expe-rience, or only slightly higher, having such a connection diagram is really appreciated.

The manual has a General section, fol-lowed by specific setup sections for Windows and Mac, and finally a section on the Total Mix software which allows for unlimited mixing and routing. This section is a bit of a geek’s paradise since RME gives you an engi-neering schematic for Hardware Input 1 and how the signals are routed.

The balance of the manual is dedicated largely to the mixing opportunities using the Fireface Mixer which is based on RME’s Total Mix software. Just learning to work the Fireface Mixer is a lesson in itself, and perhaps we’ll revisit that one day.

In all this is a very powerful audio package.

Re-Enter The KRK VXT8s

Because of the kind of work we do as dramatic composers, whether film or TV, one thing is guaranteed, we need audio clarity to create effective mixes, especially when audio engineering is a “second language” for many composers.

(Continued pg 12)

12� ISSUE�52�•�FEBRUARY�26,�2008 weeklyFILM MUSIC

MUSIC TECHNOLOGYWhen I first heard the Fireface 800 with the KRK VXT8s, I was so

surprised at the aural results when compared to the MOTU Traveler, that in fairness to the folks at KRK, I went back and retested half the pieces from my review in the December 11, 2007 issue.

In every single case, the detail was exceptional. I even listened to MP3s from a Jerry Goldsmith album available from eMusic. Even here, the level of detail compared to before was significant.

I retried samples from the Vienna Strings. And while there was still some edginess in the upper register, it wasn’t as pronounced and angular through the RME Fireface 800.

You’ll have to listen for yourself, but to my ears, the RME Fireface 800 combined with the KRK VXT8s is a magnificent audio combination to be heard.

Protecting Your Monitors With SUZY

Suzy is a great tool to protect your monitors, especially when you’re connecting your audio card directly to the computer and bypassing a hardware mixing board.

The front of the Fireface shows what appears to be a master volume knob. But it’s not. It’s the volume for the headphones. To protect your audio monitors, consider getting SUZY from Alva. SUZY acts as a bridge between the audio card and the monitors. You connect balanced cables from the Main Outs from the audio card into SUZY. Then con-nect balanced cables from SUZY to the audio monitors. At the end of the sawed off triangle, you see a knob labeled Volume. This acts like a master volume between the audio card/computer and the audio moni-tors. If your main DAW is also connected to the Internet, this is a great way to protect your speakers when you go to sites that have sound and volume set quite high.

Wrap Up

So there you have it - three pieces for a single system.

n Peter Alexander is preparing to score The Good Samaritan. His most recent books are How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite, and Professional Orchestration. He has also written White Papers on music education.

RME Fireface 800 and the KRK VXT8s (continued from pg 11)

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