G r e g•T o w n l e y

Universal Release

2011-07-14T13:31:00.001-07:00

My "Cinematic Soundscapes" CD is up on the 'Featured New Releases" frontpage of Universal Music International's website. Fun stuff!

With over 30 global offices Universal International is the leader in Production Music worldwide.

The UPPM heritage has evolved over decades into a diverse and comprehensive collection of popular and respected group of labels.
Most recently in 2007 BMGZomba was aquired by Universal Music Publishing and we were welcomed as part of the Universal Music Group. We continue to work with our highly respected labels with international additions such as Mastersource and Immediate music.
http://www.unippm.co.uk
http://www.unippm.co.uk/#/browse/browsed-results.aspx?SelectedCDId=7322

Poppers

2011-06-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Never ceases to amaze me how these light comedy's can involve so much work musically from so many people. To me the people on a scoring team are a bold lot, and work under extraordinary circumstances. A great deal of money gets spent each minute, huge technical requirements are required, navigating creative personalities, and seeing that the composers vision comes alive. Rolfe Kent provides a playful, ebullient score that he wrote in 6 weeks, I was on this show 2 1/2 weeks.. 4 days at Fox Scoring, I day at Warners Scoring, and then 9 days for the 5.1 score mix and an additional 4 days for the CD mix that will be released June 28 on Varese Sarabande. I also had the privilege of mixing the music on this trailer for Immediate Music.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Adventure-loving house painter Mr. Popper (Jim Carrey) contends with the problem of having too many penguins in director Mark S. Waters’ adaptation of author Richard Atwater’s beloved children’s book, MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS. Shortly after penning a letter to a team of Arctic explorers, Mr. Popper is surprised to receive a penguin in the mail. Later, after making his mischievous new pal a cozy new home in the freezer, the hapless Mr. Popper comes into possession of a playful female penguin as well. Before long Mr. Popper finds himself surrounded by a growing family of the flightless birds, and begins training them to perform in a traveling show dubbed Popper’s Performing Penguins. With each new town the show travels to, pandemonium is quick to follow.

20th Century Fox will open MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS nationwide on June 17.

Here is a sample of the score:

G2

2011-06-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

A pre-release video of Globus 2....

APM Release!

2011-04-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

A nice behind the scenes interview of Sonoton's Trailer Tracks series -
Chat with composer Gregor Narholz on the making of the new TRAILER TRACKS albums from Sonoton

http://www.apmmusic.com/sonoton/behind-the-scenes-of-sonotons-trailer-tracks-series

Cinematic Soundscapes

2011-04-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

"Cinematic Soundscapes-Aurora" marketed by Imperitiva Records and distributed by Universal was released last month. The music I wrote for this project was always conceived with a passion for reaching outside conventional sonic boundaries, sometimes ambient, sometimes powerful.

There's a fine line in whether you're being melodic or ambient in the way you perceive sound. The priority for this project is the fusion with film music, whether it's playing a supportive minimalist role, or driving the visuals.

There is an incredible amount of sonic depth in these pieces, which brings its own set of challenges, you have to have clarity, and everything has to be focused at the same time developing you in great amounts of distance between the instruments.

One of the great aspects of this record was experimenting with no rules, and thereby limitless potential.

A few select pieces:

Young Adult

2011-04-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

Directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody,
starring Charlize Theron and composed by Rolfe Kent. The story follows Charlize Theron after her divorce, she's a fiction writer who returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now married with kids.

Rolfe chose to have a percussion based score for this film so we tracked percussion and trap drums at East West in Hollywood. I was given a choice where to mix and Rolfe and I agreed to mix at my studio. I fired up my source live a few times and broadcasted mixes to Rolfe before he came in. This is such amazing technology. Real time, full bandwidth streaming to Rolfe's studio, witch by the way is equipped with the same Genelic monitors I use. So what I hear he hears. Fantastically efficient. I used my new Intel 2nd ProTools rig to stream video and host ALL my reverbs and delays. I packed the 2nd rig with 8 Waves IR1's and it sailed. I also had a ton of processing power left for my main rig to have all the 5.1 matrixing and a slew of EQ's and compressors. We rented a 3rd rig to print all the 5.1 stems for the stage.

Here is a sampling of the tone of the score:

Music with Visuals

2011-04-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

N.P.B and I....ahem..... produced and wrote this track called " Human Condition" featuring Rich Ferguson. An uplifting music video directed by Mark Wilkinson was born from it. I have never been in a music video before, so to say I was a bit out of my comfort zone is an understatement. This video is a commentary on the media blitz we all face daily. A great many friends were called in to help us out.

Kind of a fun ride. Enjoy!

Cinema Verite

2011-04-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

I just wrapped another great score with Rolfe Kent. Mixed in my studio in Hollywood. Cinema Verite is a film that tells the story about the making of the first American family to be the subjects of a reality show. Starring James Gandolfini,Tim Robbins and Diane Lane.

The original documentary, "An American Family" was filmed in 1971 and first aired in the United States on PBS in early 1973. The show was 12 episodes long, edited down from about 300 hours of footage, and chronicled the experiences of a nuclear family, the Louds of Santa Barbara, California. It is one of the earliest examples of the reality television genre which became very popular in the 2000s.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the score:

Globus 2

2011-04-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

In early Janurary, Yoav Goren called me to propose a concept for us to work on. He had been compiling tracks and songs for nearly a year to be slated for the follow up CD to the highly successful Globus-Epicon. When he asked me to produce the project with him I was elated. Producing a project of this scale was admittedly somewhat daunting. The pieces were structured, however in a very raw stage. But the scope and depth of a project such as this was a very exciting prospect.

In early pre-production meetings we chose 12 of 20 or so tracks he had in mind. What was the genre? It didn't really concern us, we were simply going to produce the music that came out of us. At times orchestral, at times hard core rock, at times gentle and ambient.

Once all the raw tracks arrived at my studio I started formulating a plan. What tracks need what new elements and so on. We started calling players to be involved. First up was my long time friend and incredible drummer Fritz Lewak to put some groove and power into the foundation of some of the tracks. Then, Dave Sutton, the baddest bass player I know and the amazing Satnam Ramgotra to pocket Tablas and ethnic drums. Next we enjoyed the creative talents of guitar player Bruce Watson who contributed enormous texture and grit to the pieces. We recorded some live strings and brass to supplement the pre existing orchestra and brass as well as a very special cello soloist Tina Guo. And lastly premier vocalists Lisbeth Scott, Ryan Hanifil, Jane Runnalls, Alex Brown and of course the Waters Singers.

The record sounds huge and as big as we could get, utilizing a 90 piece orchestra, 60 voice choir and hard core rock elements firing on all cylinders at times and then will drop you off a bridge to being virtually inside one single acoustic instrument. After two months of mixing, Doug Sachs at the Mastering Lab in Ojai put the finishing touches on it for us.

Great sonic dimension in this record if I do say so myself. Having a creative stake in the music I work on is incredibly fulfilling.

A Long Path

2010-10-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have been commissioned to write and produce 3 hours of music for world renown spiritual teacher Sonia Choquette. The music is intended for workshops and seminars around the world as led meditations. Four pieces, Air, Water, Fire, Space. Not too difficult, one might think" Meditation music is easy, its just drones". First however, each piece is 45 min long…. an eternity it seemed. The pieces have to evolve and change colors. Each new event must be a subtle addition, not really noticed but felt.

"Air" I started with the sound of a gentle wind that turns into in a windy bamboo forest, with chimes, bells ect: the piece evolves and introduces sonic colors ever so gently. Emphasizing clarity of mind.
"Water" As if you are sitting by a running brook in the forest and overtime immersed in a rainstorm. I chose Tibetan prayer bowls and some indigenous chanting for melodic content.
"Fire" The sound of a campfire, then envelopes you in a raging bonfire. I felt it needed to become an American Indian fire dance. It starts out with multi-instrumentalist Kalani playing an American Indian wind instrument. The dance groove lasts more that 20 minutes and becomes fantastically trance like.
"Space" A sense of leaving your body.. Slow Pranayama breathing base. Drones with analog synth's in a spacey, other world repeating musical phrase. I recorded Jane Runnalls who has a wonderful voice to sing angelic phrases. The piece will pull you out of your worldly self.

Sonia loved Fire and Space, however she needed to feel more movement in Air and Water. As she said" They are beautiful if you are meditating alone, but I lead hundreds of people at a time thru their journey" I suggested we make them more hypnotic rather than meditative. She was excited about this idea. So I called my dear friend the unbelievably talented Bruno Coon to layer some wind instruments, add some ethnic drum colors, play some Ude, and finally add some of his amazingly special vocal colors.

A very creative endeavor. If one has the patients to sit and listen to the pieces in their entirety they can be a wonderful experience. All in all I love each piece, although I am sure most people listening will not really notice much of the subtlety I labored over. But as I put headphones on and meditated to them I noticed each and every sound, where they entered, how they evolved, and how they seemed to disappear.

Here is a 10 minute excerpt from "Space". Relax, take your time. It will take a while.

Never Stop...

2010-07-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was approached earlier this year by Canadian company macProVideo to provide a one hour tutorial of some of my mixing techniques. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. We used a software program called "Screen Flow" to capture every one of my movements while I speak about what my process is. As I am quite unfamiliar with teaching the way I approach a mix, admittedly it was challenging to get started. But after I began rolling, I found it a completely fulfilling experience.

What Is macProVideo.com?
MPV features in depth, real-time video training created by the multimedia industry's top educators, macProVideo.com brings high quality video training to your computer desktop.
1. A software education community where creative people learn quickly.
2. Watch Online Tutorials in your browser, or download HD Tutorials.
3. Pro Educators teach software users important workflow tips & tricks.
4. The Nonlinear Educating(R) System - See & Hear how software works.

We all should never stop learning...
If you check out some of their videos I am positive you will learn something new about the programs we use every day
http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/sonicdimensionmixing

Trailerhead:Saga

2010-07-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

I just wrapped up mixing a project for Immediate Music. Trailerhead:Saga's 14 tracks are high impact, high emotion and large scale
productions. As Yoav says to me " Make it bigger than life, and punchier than you can imagine". My response " Sure, send me what you've got...
no problem....Of course these are two completely sonic dimensions". After a wry smile he says... 'I know" So i fired up both rigs, some pieces nearly 200 tracks. Having at this point in my career mixed over 100 big orchestra and choir tracks, I knew where to look. So challenging, so much fun I have, mixing this genre of music!!!!

Immediate's second album of Epic Cinematic & Trailer Music has arrived. Contains music featured in worldwide trailers and TV commercials for "Pirates of the Carribbean 3", "X-Men 3", "Monsters vs. Aliens", "Astro Boy", "Night At The Museum", "The Changeling", "Lions For Lambs", "Incredible Hulk", "Hellboy 2", "Aviator", "The Mummy 3", "World Trade Center" and many more.

Immediate follow up their debut album, 2008's "Trailerhead", with another emotional journey into the heart and soul of modern orchestral and choral music. Produced by Immediate's Yoav Goren and featuring over 150 of the world's finest musicians and 8 eminent composers, "Trailerhead:Saga" is the definition of "The New Epic"!

Check out the site:
http://www.imperativarecords.com/?page=detail&pid=19

Big Movie Music

2010-07-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

A great experience. This score For Charlie St. Claire found us at Fox Scoring Stage. When I walked the room before the session I discovered the original placement of the 'Studio" orchestra back in the 40's was in the "shell" area. The conductor podium was placed dead center of the room , with the orchestra from there to the back wall. Even before i learned this, when I approached this room I felt the need to push the orchestra way to the back. So I had my crew open up the areas seldom recorded in. The results were a fantastic liveness about the stage.

A view from my perspective:

We mixed in my studio in Hollywood. The third film I have mixed there in the past few months. We did occasionally record separate brass and strings so I needed 3 rigs. One for the main orch and prelays, one for all the extra passes and one to print the 5.1 stems. Much of this score is Big Movie Music, sweeping themes, action sequences, and of course RK's lively fun music side.

Synopsis:
Charlie St. Cloud is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother. So much so that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother is buried. Charlie has a special lasting bond with his brother though, as he can see him. Charlie meets up with his brother (Sam) each night to play catch and talk. Then, a girl comes into Charlie's life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to Sam, or going after the girl he loves.

An excerpt from the main title sequence:

Straw Dogs

2010-05-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

Straw Dogs is a film directed by Rod Lurie and composed by Larry Groupe. It's a remake of the 1971 Dustin Hoffman thriller in which a young, intellectual couple move back to her hometown and have trouble with the locals. It's a creepy film, not overtly but rather psychologically, and Rod created some intense scenes at the film's finale that are worth catching. The remake stars Kate Bosworth and James Marsden as the married couple who get harassed and threatened by their neighboring rednecks. What touched me was the young man (played by James Marsden) who is just trying to do the right thing, but in the end is forced to fight for his life and that of his wife.

Second film I have mixed at my studio in Hollywood. Lots of reworking and details to go over but in the end the score is absolutely beautiful. Recorded in the magnificent Bastyr Church. You'll hear right from the start how grand, sweeping and dramatic the music is and how it plays almost its own character in the film. My favorite sequence is the opening, I could not imagine any better for that first scene, it sets up the story so perfectly and makes the audience pay attention, because they know trouble is coming to this young, ideal couple.

My assistant Phil helped immensely and I'm proud he got credit for this project. I mixed for a week and am pleased with the results. I'm always pleased when the filmmaker and composer get what they want.

Listen to an End Credit Suite:

KIllers

2010-05-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Killers is due out for wide release on June 4. Yet another great score by composer Rolfe Kent. Killers stars Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher as a married couple who get targeted for a multi-million dollar hit because he (Ashton K) is a super assassin. This disrupts their marital bliss and sets them on the run for their lives.

We recorded the Seattle Symphony for this project. This is the first film that I have mixed in my new studio in Hollywood! We had three rigs going non-stop. It was a blast having great music and talented people there each day. There are some great sequences that go to show how much the score can contribute to a film. My favorite is a car chase that Rolfe scored as a bull fight. It adds humor, pizzazz and a unique tone that I haven't encountered on any of my other projects recently. Rather than choosing the obvious, the music really stands out on its own, completely giving Killers a deeper layer. I hope you notice and enjoy while watching.

Here is an excerpt from the main title sequence.

The Art of Words- The Expression of Music

2010-05-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Writer Michael Xavier asked me to write music for a short story he was working on entitled "Ransom". The original visual for this powerful piece was one still photograph of a woman that, over seven minutes, reveals a gun barrel. I chose to write a theme that was based on a repeating 4 bar pattern that builds in dynamics and expression over this fantastic seven minute story. His story has a certain cadence in the way he performed it, one challenge for me was to enhance the emotional impact using a series of meter changes as well as accelerando's. I was thrilled with the music that came out of me that day, and so was Michael. Being moved by the piece and the composition he chose to re-shoot the visuals.

Have a look to the new cut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqxQsTgLEg

A Mountain of Sound-Maximum Impact

2010-02-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

I was approached last week by German composer Gregor Narholz and Sonoton Music, the worlds leading production music company . They are working on a large scale orchestral/Choir/Rock CD they wanted me to mix. As I opened the session they prepared for me, I found myself looking at over 200 tracks of material that had to be mixed down to stereo.... after I took a breath, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work in a genre I know well. I must say it took me about 4 hours designing the work-flow. I up-sampled to 96 immediately, then split the session into both ProTools rigs. I put the live orchestra and choir on one rig and all the perc, synths and band on the other.

How does one start with such a mountain of tracks? Top left hand corner I always say. To me the orchestra was first. At times it had to be broad in scope, other sections tight, compressed and punchy. Then the choir huge and forceful, followed by mixing the percussion as aggressivly as humanly possible, then lastly the rock elements delivering maximum impact. After all engines are firing I start to build the dynamics, depth, and the illusive front to back dimension. With that many frequencies involved one has to look at the piece in a 3 dimensional picture at all times. Throwing elements side to side, top to bottom, front to back. It is the only way to get the impact a track like this requires.

In the end we were very happy with the results.
Give a look!

Contemporary Turns

2010-02-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

How does one turn a 70's classic track into a contemporary track? French producer Serge Colbert and artist U.G.O have done it wonderfully. Serge called me a few weeks back and said he has another track for me to put a mix on. Toto's Africa, their follow up to "Change" featuring Sean Kingston and U.G.O. Serge wanted me to make it very special. Were not quite finished yet, as I will be going to France this summer to work and put on the final touches. After I heard the rough mix, I felt the track needed some dynamics and breaks. So with his blessing I created some space. I started with the loop, built some punchy kiks and backbeats , put in the vocals and then created some dimension, filtering some sounds, chopping others, creating beat breaks and so on.

Fun track,

When In Rome Session Pix

2010-01-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

Scoring Sessions dropped in and captured a few images from the upcoming film "When in Rome" with composer Chris Young.

http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/196

Onward and upward.

2010-01-17T13:20:00.001-08:00

Finally my new mix room is up and running! In the heart of Hollywood, it's as close to Time Square in NY as L.A. has to offer. The space sounds great, is very private but full of life and creativity. As I first sat down after all engines were firing, I simply was overwhelmed with joy. 2 full blown HD rigs, Neve sidecar, 5.1 monitoring, and a ton of vibe. Everything I ever wanted. I will use the space for all my writing, producing and mixing. Enhancing my production and mixing world tenfold. There are going to be some amazing talented artists coming thru in the next few months.

Great music will happen here.

This Human Condition:

2010-01-17T12:35:00.001-08:00

Spoken word artist Rich Ferguson approached me one day and said" I would live to collaborate on a track with you" I jumped at the chance. I was looking for a creative project that had a unique quality, and this was it. He sent me 5 or 6 of his writings that were all great. However I chose one called This Human Condition. His original writing was a bit long for a song format, so with his blessing I gave him some editing notes. I wanted a positive spin on this piece so in my editing i gravitated to the the those elements. Then my work began. The track I wrote seemed to take on a life of its own early on. I wanted it to be big, powerful and somewhat cinematic in nature. After Rich recorded his performance, premier vocalist Alex Brown made a guest appearance. This track was a blast to produce. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Here is a brief vid of Alex working out parts:

And the track:

Agitation Free

2010-01-17T10:49:00.001-08:00

I started a live concert mix with one of my longtime hero's Michael Hoenig. It was both a privilege and honor to be sitting in a room with Michael. He has always been a music pioneer and innovator to me. I first worked with him when I was 21... I distinctly remember one time when he was showing me this brand new cutting edge technology called Pro Tools. Version 1.0. Note: The mixing and editing were TWO different applications. You had to quit the edit app and then launch the mix app. Can you imagine?

AGITATION FREE was one of the leading exponents of German experimental rock music in the early 1970s. Even in the initial phase of its existence, the group had already attained cult status, which was consolidated over the years. Starting in 1967, the Berlin band had begun to develop long and, for its time, very free musical improvisations. They were experimenting in concerts with liquid projectors, slides, and their own experimental films, in ways analogous to the California underground bands Jefferson Airplane and Iron Butterfly. AGITATION FREE soon was counted among the most interesting bands in Berlin, and worked in the avant-garde music scene with composers such as Ladislav Kupkovič, Friedhelm Döhl, Erhard Großkopf, Peter Michael Hamel and John Cage.

Here is a link to the band site:
http://www.agitationfree.com

Avatar Trailer

2010-01-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

Give a look to this Avatar trailer I recorded and mixed. Music by John Graham.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxuNtDhCZZI

Human Experimente Profile | Mix Profiles King Crimson and Tool Project Human Experimente

2010-01-12T18:55:00.001-08:00

Human Experimente Profile | Mix Profiles King Crimson and Tool Project Human Experimente

Posted using ShareThis

Long Time Colleagues

2009-12-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

Much is said about always doing the best you possibly can do no matter what the project requires. In other words, make nice with all your clients because you never know what they will mean to your career. This week I finished two back to back projects with longtime colleague and friend Bennett Salvay. Bennett and I met forever ago in a studio that no longer exists. On a project we no longer recall. So many of the people I still work with can be at least partially connected to Bennett. It is a pleasure to still be working with him after all this time. He is one of those composers that totally understands not only the technical process of scoring, but has mad musical talent as well. He gives the people around him great amounts of respect both personally and creatively. He always listens when you have an idea, looks at the suggestion and if it makes sense he will choose to implement it. With no ego involved. It makes us all want to work with him, again and again because he listens to you and utilizes your experience. When we are creatively involved in a project, we all work harder, no matter what the job description is. It was Bennett that encouraged me to create ' Ambient Music Design" a number of years ago and subsequently has been a great asset for me in my career. For one of the films we just finished, he had me write a piece of Sound Design textures which worked wonderfully for this supernatural thriller. The second film was for Disney and was quite a large undertaking, over 40 starts and more than 50 minutes of score. At times I had both rigs chalk full with over 150 audio tracks as well as printing multiple 5.1 stems.

Here is a sampling of each:

Supernatural Thriller:

Disney:

Up in the Air

2009-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

A very nice vignette of Up in the Air from Rolfe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXQxO1_M4_Y&feature=autoshare_twitter

Pictures at an Exhibition

2009-12-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

This fall, composer Justin R. Durban and I were at Ocean Way Nashville's Studio A to record his score for the new walkthrough exhibit at the Admiral Nimitz National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. ScoringSessions.com came out to capture it. Check the link for some session pix.

http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/209/

Score Keepers

2009-11-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

Michael Kunkes recently wrote a nice feature article on Scoring Mixers for the Editors Guild magazine. Here are a few excerpts:

"In truth, the scoring mixers have one of the most complex, pressure-cooker jobs in post. Officially, their charge is to capture the composer’s original music in the live atmosphere of the scoring stage and, in the process, hopefully make it sound even better than the composer imagined. Part engineer, part recordist, part creative problem-solver, the scoring mixer is the interface between the director, composer, orchestrator/arranger, music editor and the dub stage, helping to determine how best to make a composer’s intent fit the director’s musical vision."

“The job a scoring mixer performs is a lot more than just recording an orchestra and mixing a score,” Townley says. “You need an amazing set of ears, and be able to remain cool under pressure. The score is the last new thing to be created at the end of this multi-year process of getting a film made. The amount of money being spent every hour can be quite large; the list of technical aspects you need to oversee is extensive.
“You’re the person in charge, standing at the console in front of the orchestra with the composer, the producer and the director all relying on you to bring their musical visions to fruition,” Townley concludes. “To survive in this environment, we all have to be bulletproof.”

Here is a link to the full article.
http://www.editorsguild.com/magazine.cfm?ArticleID=787

E-Mix

2009-11-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

I just completed a substantial project for longtime friend and client Danny Pelfrey. The CD will be distributed by mega company Megatrax. We recorded at Conway and I mixed the project here. Danny's studio is not in L.A. so we " E-Mixed" Each day while mixing I would hit him up on iChat and have him log on to 'Source live" we would video conference and he would listen to my mix offerings in real time, streaming to his own studio monitors. Again and again he was amazed at the procedure, and how stream-lined it is. Danny has great ears and a interest in making a great musical endeavor. What a pleasure it was to be working for this talented composer it was as close to having him in the same room as possible given where we both work.

Here is an excerpt.

Images from Air

2009-10-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Up in the Air opens in limited release from Dreamworks Pictures on December 4th, and then open nationwide on December 25, 2009.

Here are some session pix from Scoring Sessions.com who came out to Sony to capture the session with images.

http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/201

Power in music

2009-10-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

I have been commissioned to write and produce four original tracks for world renown speaker Sonia Choquette. Each of the tracks will be designed to provoke a different emotion. As she uses the power of music to guide her participants to experience movement in ways they are not accustomed to. One will be ambient and meditative, one hopeful and positive, one jubilant, and one to get people to move. For this one I produced a high energy track, and then put on top premier vocalist Alex Brown. As Alex started to sing, literally the hair stood up on my arms. She stopped at one point as I was smiling wildly, and she asked me if that was what I was looking for. The only thing I could say was " I just love my job". And the end of her 2nd pass she started laughing and said to me " I don't know where that came from"
Alex, I don't know either...

Have a listen you will see what I mean.

Music is an Art-form

2009-10-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Singer Michael Mulder and Producer Nick South had me mix a few more trackx. Love both these guys, not just for their shear talent but because of there attitude toward art and music.

When I started mixing the first track for them I attempted to tuck in the tuning of the vocal a bit with Waves Tune. I have to admit before I really listened... to be honest. Not because it necessarily needed it but because it has become a "how we do records now" mentality. I would say virtually ALL trackx we hear these days are enhanced with some degree of tuning. Same thing with Nick's bass sound. As I strapped a compressor on it, as I always do with bass because I have at least a dozen different compressors in my arsenal and it helps tighten up the bottom end and evens out lo notes of course. Nick preferred a 'Pure " approach to his sound. Mainly because he played it great when he recorded, even notes, good pitch, great articulation.

Earlier in my career we didn't have nearly as much technology frankly... No Pro-Tools with non-destructive recording... so when you punched in you really punched in, and if it was the wrong place ... gone forever and ever. No Auto-Tune, so singers HAD to sing a track with GREAT intonation or we would do it over and over and over again till it was right. (I must admit I do get more sleep these days having tools like Auto Tune!) But almost anybody would admit that with today's technology, there is a change in the artistry involved. The desire to make it great " when you are recording" as opposed to " In the mix"... I would like to believe is where it should be and something that we should all veer towards. But often we fix it later, cause we know we can, and it gets us to sleep at a decent hour. I will stop short of saying the 'Art" is gone.. But I will say the focus of the Art has changed.

Give a listen to this track and how Michael sang it! He absolutely nailed it in the performance and there is No Auto-Tune in sight in the mix... A pure talented artist.

The Team and its efforts

2009-10-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

In what I do for a living there is always a team effort. I was reminded of this on this last film, Paramount Pictures" Up in the Air" starring George Clooney.
We recorded the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra at the Sony Scoring Stage for this one. In case you have not had the chance to be there, the control room is about half the size of a baseball field....As each of us play an integral part.

Here is the line up. There is Jason Reitman who directed , then there is Rolfe who not only wrote the score but conducted as well. Tony B who orchestrated and acted as booth person, myself at the console. Nick and Allister South handling the music editing. Dan Savant contracting, Larry Mah running Pro Tools for me. A host of Sony people, set up guys, assistants, runners and so on. Each playing an important role.

It was revealed to me on this project how important it is to survive in this business, you have to be a team player. As much as we all have ideas and suggestions, we all have a chain of command. Being great at what we do is a given, or none of us would be there. But then there is the elusive talent of the ability to get along with other people in the session. For instance: Rolfe has to approve his music with Jason, I have to approve my mixes with Rolfe and so on. This is not an individual sport. We often have to remove our ego and do what is best for the film. Making film music is a collaborative experience. We always have to remember that.

Here is a sample of the score:

Its about the Nuances

2009-10-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

I had a great experience on my recent trip to Nashville to record an orchestral score for the National Museum of the Pacific War at Oceanway Studios.
A converted church, Oceanway has high rounded ceilings and a nice bright decay time. The crew adapted to my somewhat unorthodox methods of working without effort. We pulled all the panels off the walls, spread the orchestra out, put mics in uncommon places, used just about every fader on their vintage Neve console, and so on.

Orchestral music is at times about extreme nuances that most people listening don't hear, frankly. However most people will feel them. Here I am in a new city with a room full of classically trained musicians that spend a lifetime perfecting things like their vibrato, and articulation. Refining their art on a their chosen instrument. This is why I give 110% of my focus and respect to these players. At times it's all about the nuances; In how we work, in our treatment of the people in the session, in the players' articulation of a passage. When I am given the opportunity to travel and capture orchestral performances, it is up to me to realize the subtleness in their contribution.

I will continue to reach for a greater level of excellence in my craft.... I will never stop learning. This to me this is the ideal that manages to separate us from mediocrity. I care a great deal about this seemingly obscure concept.

Experience and Talent

2009-10-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

This week I am producing another track for Jessica Bendinger. For this fantastic hooky song entitled "Teacher" , Jessica teamed up with singer/songwriter Eddie Anisko. This song needed a band feel so we tracked drums and bass at Henson. Then I called in my great friend and guitar superstar Tim Pierce. There was something so special about being in Tim's studio and watch him so effortlessly bring this track to life. We talk for a few minutes about the direction I would like, then being the talented craftsman he is we went right to work. Tim has the ability to create a great sense of trust in him as a player... Its hard to explain but I will think something and he is already on the way implementing it. His intuitiveness, experience and talent are rare. This was a very special experience for me. At one point I was laughing out loud at how much fun it was.

Give a listen:

Editors Guild - Featured Member

2009-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've been interviewed by Michael Kunkes as a feature in the recent publication of the Motion Picture Editors Guild. As a I am generally only asked technical questions upon the random feature, it's refreshing to be able to dialog about my experience on this incredible journey!

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.editorsguild.com/FeaturedMember.cfm

Goats On The Run

2009-08-14T12:32:00.001-07:00

I am currently working on a film called “The Men Who Stare At Goats” – a dark comedy starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey.

For this project, our fantastic team of Rolfe, Nick, Tony, Meridith & Allister all took a trip out of town to record. Timing and deadlines always an issue – we swoop into town, work hard, have a few crew dinners with the director, treat everybody with the utmost respect – and blow out as fast as we came in… I’ve never toured as a performer, so this is the closest I can come – being a mixer and all…

Upon arrival back home in Los Angeles, mixing immediately commenced at my studio. We’ve been running three ProTools rigs, mixing 32-channels for the dub-stage. A technical maze, we delivered all digital - 5.1 mixes… Very clean with no signal degradation… a full and comprehensive virtual mix. In addition, we have also been broadcasting live to Rolfe’s home studio, ensuring that he stays in the loop.

Yet again, a truly inspiring process... Here is a sample:

New Journeys - "When In Rome"

2009-07-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Much of my recent July was spent recording and mixing a Christopher Young score for the Disney film “When In Rome”.

Looking for a fresh style of recording and mixing on this project, Chris’s music editor, Tom Milano, assembled a blind test of finished tracks from a handful of mixers in the industry (myself included) in the hope of determining who should be involved in this particular score. Having never met Chris or Tom previously, I was honored at being included in this test, let alone being chosen by Chris for the job.

The recording of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra was done at the legendary Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage w/ mixing being attended to in Capitol Records Studio C.

It’s always a great and wonderful challenge, trying to accommodate a new client's taste. Obvious was their desire for my knowledge of width and depth in recording orchestras. I set up the room simply as wide as it would go – not clustering the symphony around the conductor and utilized my ever-being refined “Imagery Technique”.

Morale is high on this project and everyone seems to be very pleased with the results – not least of whom are the dubbing mixers. The mixes are very wide, leaving a great deal of room left in the center for dialogue.

I personally was pleased with the final mix on the dubstage as the music was played quite loud at times. Kudos to the dubbing mixers.

Dance Club Re-Mix

2009-07-27T15:46:00.001-07:00

I just co-produced a dance club track called “Change” with French composer Serge Colbert – featuring hip-hop phenom Sean Kingston. A great track, I was provided with a remix opportunity to elaborate on a huge bottom end and an extremely tight and percussive punchy track. I utilized Waves Maxx Bass as an effect to enhance a sub-octave of the kick and bass instruments – tunneling for the ever-elusive 30hz.

I also wrote and produced an N.P.B (No Persistent Beat) version. Both tracks can be found and downloaded by searching N.P.B. on iTunes France.

Here is a sample of both:

Club Mix:

N.P.B. Mix:

Maria (an original piece)

2009-07-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

One inspiring morning, I sit down to write an “Ambient Texture” track. As my creative process is often undetermined and not knowing where it will lead – I stumbled across the inspiration to create a lilting and somber emotive piece. Submitting a draft to my client, Yoav Goren, I was humbled by his very complimentary initial response. As the week carried on, Yoav continued to request a longer and more grand-in-scope version. As I rounded the 7th revision of this piece he offered me a chance to have it performed live at the Broad Theater in Santa Monica with 100+ musicians. My composition ended up opening his sold-out concert "Trailer Music Live". Truly an honor...

A very special piece to me, take a listen:

The Creative Start...

2009-07-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am producing a few tracks for Jessica Bendinger and Meridith Meyer this week, with lead vocals being provided by Mycale Guyton. Meridith and Jessica arrive at my studio with only an acoustic guitar and voice as the foundation of the song to be worked on. We talk for a bit before moving steadily into making their song a full-blown track. Ideas are unobstructed and flow freely. I begin by making a few arrangement changes, build the groove and then we start producing on-the-spot parts. This is a truly creative endeavor.

Here is one of the songs we did that day:

Tranformational ReMixing

2009-06-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

I have recently been assigned to mix a "Chillout” CD for French composer Serge Colbert. Formulating our approach to this project, Serge and I have spent many conversations regarding an endless amount of sonic possibilities – yet aiming to fit into his intended genre of music.

Satisfied upon initial listening to my first mix (again, live broadcast – full bandwidth and realtime – direct to his studio overseas), Serge has requested additional variations based on my choices, intent and vision.

I am so very excited for the creative control and trust that he has bestowed upon me. It is not every day that my involvement in mixing a track allows me to fully depart from its original musical intent.

I subsequently ventured far beyond what I had originally envisioned – chopping, rearranging, texturizing, adding new loops, creating new parts and designing sounds. Transforming these tracks into an ambient and trance like down-groove has proved to provide for me a fresh burst of mixing creativity.

After much deliberation, I chose to call this technique “N.P.B – No Persistent Beat”

Here is a before and after...

Chilled - Original Mix:

Chilled - NPB Variation:

Sonic Dimension...

2009-05-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

I can get a little inside about this stuff, but frankly that’s what people hire me to do: I take a look inside their music and see what they perhaps have lost sight of.
Part of what I do for artists and composers is to show them that if everything is in the background, there needs to be something in the foreground (e.g., Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, or Massive Attack - all are masters of sonic dimension).

When I approach a mix, I look at it as a 3 dimensional picture:
Left / Right
Top / Bottom
Front / Back
Three dimensions.

As a photographer always looks to what is behind the subject, as an artist paints with oil to achieve many layers of color - I paint with sound.

Left / Right is not hard to do. I was told once, "if everything is stereo everything is mono." So blast something over to one side... easy... Top / Bottom is also not too difficult... brighten it up... add some bottom... of course avoiding any "Red October's" in your mix (a huge submarine running thru your track...not so good).

Then there is front to back... to me this is an important hallmark of a great mix... Here’s how I look at it: Without light there is no dark, without quiet there is no loud, and without front - there is no back.

So how does one paint this sonic picture? When recording an orchestra I always strive to get those 3 dimensions using the natural room acoustics, by where I place the mics...and which ones I choose to bring up. Before I go into the control room I always go out to the stage and listen to the hall when the symphony first starts playing, I re-create the depth of field I just heard. When you stand behind the conductor you feel the depth of the room. If you listen as opposed to hear (hearing is physical, listening is mental).... You will hear the strings right next to you, but if you 'listen" your mind will perceive depth. The first chair will be right next to you, the last chair perceivably away from you. The woods a bit further back, the brass even further, then the percussion in the back of the room.... depth of field. I want the audience to hear what the conductor is hearing. If you have no idea what I am talking about, stand in the middle of an orchestra you'll understand.

The first dimension: I might find one sound that I want to be in the forefront. I will put it right in the center, perhaps filter it with a band pass... really narrow it down... smash it with compression and make it small.

The second dimension: left right with medium ambience, pleasing imagery, wide spectrum.

The third dimension: way... way back... like someone talking at the end of a tunnel. I will use a 7-8 second reverb at times, and no direct signal to pull you away from what's in the fore-front.

This is perhaps an over simplification but this approach can draw people in and makes them feel different about what they are hearing.

I have been writing and producing this "ambient textures" CD this week, its ALL about dimension. And this one is a great example.

Give a listen:

Pure Honest Music...

2009-05-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Singer Michael Mulder and Producer Nick South stopped by for a few mixes this week...

Some days I am able to experience the true essence of simple artistry in music beyond all the technical aspects we get caught up in....

I am fortunate to spend many days immersed in the studio... at times it is big bombastic orchestras... other times just an acoustic guitar and voice... pure artistry and simplicity... unencumbered by technology... is powerful enough.

I asked Michael before I started to mix.... "What's this song about?"
He said, "Wow, no mixer has ever asked me that. Thank you!" His art is as important to him as mine is to me...

For me to understand the emotional content of a track...To understand what the artist meant when they sat down to write with just a blank piece of paper in front of them.... and help an artist express their vision thru music.... that is why I chose to do this for a living.

An example of the days efforts:

Film Format for Broadcast

2009-04-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

I just complete mixing a Larry Groupé & Rolfe Kent score for an NBC pilot called “Saving Charlie”. It was the first time these two very close friends collaborated together, as composers working separately - each in their own writing studios.

Although television can provide an interesting contrast from feature scoring in terms of workflow, amount of content and deadlines – 5.1 surround mixes are quickly becoming the standard as more and more shows are eventually being released to DVD.

Beyond just mixing, I was tasked to provide seamless delivery to the dub-stage (both sonically and technically), as these types of projects are often under strenuous deadlines. We shipped right on cue – often staying just one reel in front of the dubbing mixers…

.... here's a preview:

Inspirations on Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

2009-04-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is scheduled for wide release next week. Again, Rolfe Kent & I traveled to the Skywalker / Lucas Ranch to record the San Francisco Symphony, mixing the score at Conway in LA.

I am developing a technique of orchestral recording that I recently used on this project. Dubbed "Imagery Mics" - two sets of wide LCR's are placed, one in front of the strings, and another in the back by the brass. The results are astounding! 20% more width of the orchestra is achieved without using ANY close mics. We are STILL experiencing the size and depth of this particular stage using the new the technique.

- inspiration leads to experimentation, and apparently sometimes the reverse....

Posted below is an example of the score:

Best of both worlds...

2009-04-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

Zac Efron's "17 Again" won this weekends box-office without even breaking a sweat! An original Rolfe Kent composition, we recorded the San Francisco Symphony at the Skywalker / Lucas Ranch, and mixed at Conway in LA.

I brought my ProTools rig and my 5.1 system to Conway to mix. We had the best of both worlds... a world-class console, tons of great outboard gear & all of my custom presets on my personal rig right at my fingertips....

Posted below is a sample of the score.

Check out Rolfe's post (on my blogroll) for a few pics and his take on the trip...

Simple & Intimate

2009-04-20T22:23:00.001-07:00

The Sundance Film Festival Award Winner and critically acclaimed PAPERHEART has been slated for wide release on 8/7/09.

What a fantastic and fun time we had on this one! We recorded this very unique and different score at my private studio for a week with Michael Cera, Charlyne Yi and Alden Penner. The goal was to make the film score as organic as their original tracks. Simple and intimate...

A brief taste:

Watch the trailer - HD(480p)29mb

www.paperheart-movie.com

Globus on the BIllboard Charts!

2009-04-20T21:51:00.001-07:00

Globus Music is proud to announce that "Orchard of Mines", the new single from Globus, has been on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart for five weeks running! The song is also #10 on the TOP 40 Singles Chart (secondary market). I am proud to have mixed this record and am very excited for all of those who were involved in this magnificent project!

Globus will be playing a concert on June 27, 2009 at the Broad Theatre in Santa Monica, more details coming soon...

Globus - "Orchard of Mines" ~

www.globusmusic.com

TOC4

2009-04-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Tis the season... and Immediate Music is preparing for the release of "Themes for Orchestra and Choir IV" (TOC4). I am currently mixing and co-producing this feature trailer project. TOC3 was an unbelievable experience and success with placements in trailers of many of the years most widely known films:

Harry Potter 5, Harry Potter 6, Defiance, Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Sweeny Todd, Valkyrie, Rendition, Angels and Demons, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Incredible Hulk, Speed Racer, The Mummy, and Hannibal Rising, among others.

Posted for your enjoyment is a sample of 1 of the 55 orchestral pieces from last years behemoth project...

We are all very excited to witness the impact TOC4 will have on the biggest of this coming summers Hollywood releases...

Creation of "Ambient Textures"

2009-04-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am currently creating, designing and producing an "Ambient Textures" compilation for release with a major production music library. I have been personally tasked to create 25 to 30 'textures' for this product. All the compositions are variations of existing source audio that has been completely manipulated "in the box", utilizing digital means of decomposition and creativity.

I'm halfway thru... Here is a sample of the most recent addition:

180 tracks!...

2009-04-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Having just acquired a second Pro Tools rig, I now have the ability to mix over 180 simultaneous tracks of music at 96k in 5.1 surround... in my personal studio... without even so much as a hiccup... It is truly inspiring to have such an enormous canvas of processing power & instantaneous creativity at my disposal.

Live Streaming Mixes

2009-04-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

I have recently begun to utilize a product called "Source Live". I am now streaming live broadcast -FULL BANDWIDTH / REAL-TIME mixes to my clients in any studio, anywhere in the world, without additional software needed on their end. My clients can listen and comment as I work, saving everyone enormous amounts of time and resources. A live mix session plays through Quicktime audio on the clients computer as I mix...

- IMMEDIATE CREATIVE CHOICES AND COLLABORATION -

I cannot stress enough the importance of this new technology to my workflow as we all adapt to our constantly changing world - and what it means to the immediate quality and satisfaction of everyone - from me, to the client - and eventually to the final product and end user.

Hybrid Lines

2009-04-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

I have been a product developer and beta tester for WAVES for a few years now. Seeing as this week marks the release of their "Hybrid Line", I am now able to mention it to the masses. This package includes the HComp & the HDelay - an exercise in the ongoing concept of combining analog tonality with modern digital functionality. An exciting and new feature of the HComp is the ability to lock the compressor release time to the session BPM; a feature endless in contemporary possibilities. I am looking forward to much experimentation and hopefully posting the subsequent results here...

Hello World!

2009-04-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the launch of my new blog. My plans are to use this space as a linear inventory of the projects to which I am involved. In addition, I may also use this forum as a frequent sounding-board to voice my opinions, expertise & personal work techniques. I am offering public insight into my world of all things relating to the production of music and film scores.

My hopes are that some of you will join my dialog as we all trudge forward, ensuring the utmost quality in our world of entertainment production...

Respectfully,
Greg Townley