The Live Sound

[Quintus 5,391]

I really like the live recording sound of an orchestra in concert; I love the slight echo of the music as it makes full use of the acoustics of the hall. The precise qualities I'm referring to can be heard during the live JW concert featuring words from Spielberg which was ripped (I think) from a radio station play of the event, about 12 months ago. I'm sure most of you here will have the recording in some form in a folder somewhere on your pc. I just love the whole live ambience of a recording like that, audience applause included, where available. Are there any live film concert albums available which could be recommended to me?

Also, as a user of Windows Media Player 11, does anyone know of the perfect way to recreate this sort of sound via the equalizer options? I've mucked about with it a bit myself, but I can never really find the sound I'm looking for. Incidentally I've noticed that whenever commercial radio stations (like BBC Radio 1) use a snippet of film music for a promotion or something, they somehow achieve the desired effect - they make an ost cue sound uncannily like a live performance. Classic FM broadcasts sound the same. Is this deliberate? Is it some sort of radio broadcast by-product, or am I hearing things?

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

You don't need a live recording to have a nicely ambient sound. But sadly, many film scores are miked rather too closely, producing a drier sound. I don't mind as much as I used to, but the right amount of ambience can make a huge difference on a good system.

It also very much depends on the recording location, though. For example, the famous golden hall at Vienna's Musikverein has so much ambience that it sounds great when played well, but rather messy when an orchestra plays too loudly or with a wrong balance. In contrast, the Konzerthaus and the State Opera have a far drier sound.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

many film scores are miked rather too closely, producing a drier sound. I don't mind as much as I used to, but the right amount of ambience can make a huge difference on a good system.

I vastly prefer it to a recording which has been given fake reverb to simulate the "concert hall" experience.

[Quintus 5,391]

As do I, but every now and then I like to stray from the beaten path and listen to music a little differently, depending on my mood.

[Datameister 1,394]

You know, I'm actually starting to wonder if something like that was done to the TLC soundtrack. The DVD audio seems to have a significantly dryer sound.

[Romão 1,931]

The thing is, a score cannot sound as it was played in a concert hall, it detracts from immersive quality of the film experience. It's a must for re-recordings, but for the soundtrack itself, it cannot convey the feeling of a concert hall, but rather of music that is totally part of the scene.

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

I don't see why. It's not like dry music playing in a scene without any musicians around is any more natural than spatial music. And there are soundtracks that aren't overly dry. Like Botnick's Goldsmith recordings or plenty of Goldenthals. Rhodes' Potter recordings is a nice example, too.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,064]

And don't forget Lord of the Rings.

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

They're rather too cavernous. I understand it was (at least in part) a desired effect, but I wouldn't appreciate it with most scores, particularly more polyphonic ones.