Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I prefer complete scores for these.

I wish the great hall music had been used more.

[MrJosh 892]

Well, we could debate it till the end of time, but I'll just restate my position: I'd rather listen to a DVD rip than nothing at all.

I'm with Datameister on this one. Sure, I find it bothersome sometimes to hear the crappy sfx over unreleased music in my DVD rip edits, but I also find it cool when the complete score IS actually released/ leaked because it's a special moment to me when I can chuck my DVD-ripped sections and hear the music clean and clear. Dang...I sound like a nerd.

I do completely understand the hatred for DVD-rips, I guess I am just able to tolerate the sfx knowing that someday (hopefully) the complete score will be released.

[Wojo 2,453]

Listening to a DVD-rip complete soundtrack is like listening to a clean complete soundtrack with the windows open, the wind blowing, the birds singing, and the children playing...

No wait, now they're fighting...Jimmy's got Billy in a headlock...Sally is crying...and Tommy shot them all with his laser.

Yes, they're just about the same.

[Datameister 2,043]

So if you were stuck in a house where the windows were always open and there was usually a little noise outside, you'd never listen to any music?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Headphones. In my case, I turn the music up very loudly. Sometimes, you can hear it from the end of the street.

Question: Are the Owl's Flights all practice takes? I can't figure if any one was intended to be used.

[King Mark 3,631]

You know what's the best thing about this?

After getting somewhat screwed over in the last 10 years regarding important Williams releases ( the half-assed Indy box ,no Prequels or Hook and likely never Harry Potter) , we finally get the mother of all Williams leaks.

It's like big weight of resentfulness has been lifted

[Taikomochi 1,136]

If anyone made a corrected version of "You're a Wizard, Harry" with the dvd rips or has just that part from the dvd rip and would be willing to pass it along via PM, I'd be mighty thankful.

[King Mark 3,631]

I wouldn't mind hearing it, just for the sake of hearing it and not including it in the recording sessions.

I deleted all DVD rips the other day before I thought about it

[Trent B 337]

KM,

Don't count on the sessions for the Star Wars Prequels leaking. I bet if they did the person who ended up leaking them would get into some serious shit from Lucasfilm.

[King Mark 3,631]

I know..I don't think they will leak

What I meant is that at least getting something as important as HPSS makes editing the Prequels from videogame files less painful

[Trent B 337]

Ah good point. I myself don't mind stitching the Prequel scores together. I actually enjoy doing it.

[Andy 4,127]

As a novice editor, I am having difficulty with volume levels. I raised everything 5dB, but there still are some extremely quiet and loud passages that make me reach for the volume knob. Is there a recommended way to normalize without sacrificing quality?

[King Mark 3,631]

As far as I can see the loud parts are meant to be that much louder.

I most cues I raised the volume by 5.5 db. In the very loud overall cues (like Troll Fight) by only 4.5 db to avoid clipping

The only really problematic one is "Three Note Loop"

[Datameister 2,043]

The dynamic range is WAY too wide for headphone listening. I adjusted every single cue moment-to-moment to get more consistent levels, but I'm still having to adjust the volume control constantly as I listen. Gonna have to go back in and tweak some more.

[King Mark 3,631]

I don't like tweaking the volume in different sections of a single cue ,because it alters the actual recording

[Andy 4,127]

That cue was definitely one of the worst offenders.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I agree, volume levels vary wildly. The volume was initially overall too low, so I raised it. But now it's too high when I mix in the COS CD Harry's Wondrous World. Entry into the Great Hall is too low. Three Note Loop is too high. Using the basic iTunes volume adjustment, I can't find a suitable middle ground. It's great for listening through the DM port on my home theater, but headphone listening is where it gets wacky.

[King Mark 3,631]

That cue was definitely one of the worst offenders.

lol,yes!

[Andy 4,127]

The only really problematic one is "Three Note Loop"

edit: oops, trying to add the quote onto my previous post.

[Trent B 337]

For sections which I knew contained 'action' style music I just normalized everything. Then for the quieter passages I actually amped it up to 16dbs instead of 5dbs as you suggested KM. It worked a lot better in my opinion.

[King Mark 3,631]

Anyways after doing all that I think the itunes volume adjustment is the best bet

For sections which I knew contained 'action' style music I just normalized everything. Then for the quieter passages I actually amped it up to 16dbs instead of 5dbs as you suggested KM. It worked a lot better in my opinion.

Problem sometimes you don't want solo instruments like a celeste or harp "too loud"

[Trent B 337]

It didn't seem loud to me. Then again I don't play everything at high levels to begin with.

[Henry B 50]

As a novice editor, I am having difficulty with volume levels. I raised everything 5dB, but there still are some extremely quiet and loud passages that make me reach for the volume knob. Is there a recommended way to normalize without sacrificing quality?

The music hasn't been compressed for a commercial release. Compression reduces peaks for a more even sound. When used sparingly, it brings the music into a more acceptable listening range while preserving most of the dynamic contrast, but when used excessively it can be

.

So if you don't want to compress, you can simply amp up the volume, but as KM mentioned, that induces clipping (scratching noises). You can then use a tool to remove clipping. Sometimes this works, I think. The TPM UE is full of declipped sound, but it sounds great. Kind of.

[Datameister 2,043]

I don't like tweaking the volume in different sections of a single cue ,because it alters the actual recording

That sounds wonderful in principle, but in practice, it's a lousy approach. You have two options: constantly adjust the volume of the device as you listen (which amounts to the same thing anyway, but you have to do it every time you listen instead of just once), or keep a constant volume level (which means you can't hear the quiet parts at all and the loud parts destroy your eardrums). What's next...are you going to tell me you'd rather not listen to piece at all than listen to it with a little background noise? Oh wait...

EDIT: You're right that in excess, normalization is a problem, Henry. But I've never heard an orchestral album that made me think, Wow, the dynamic range on this puppy is way too narrow. The majority of the time with classical and soundtrack releases, it's a pretty natural sort of compression. You can still hear the difference between the different dynamic levels, but you can listen comfortably without keeping one finger on the volume dial all the time.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

Does anyone know if the volume adjustment in iTunes transfers onto your iPod? I raised the volume on my tracks and they're fine in iTunes but when I listen on my iPod it's still too quiet.

[Henry B 50]

I don't like tweaking the volume in different sections of a single cue ,because it alters the actual recording

That sounds wonderful in principle, but in practice, it's a lousy approach. You have two options: constantly adjust the volume of the device as you listen (which amounts to the same thing anyway, but you have to do it every time you listen instead of just once), or keep a constant volume level (which means you can't hear the quiet parts at all and the loud parts destroy your eardrums). What's next...are you going to tell me you'd rather not listen to piece at all than listen to it with a little background noise? Oh wait...

For an orchestral score like this, I prefer a quiet, isolated place to listen. It's not often going to be playing on my iPod on the bus to classes.

[King Mark 3,631]

EDIT: You're right that in excess, normalization is a problem, Henry. But I've never heard an orchestral album that made me think, Wow, the dynamic range on this puppy is way too narrow. The majority of the time with classical and soundtrack releases, it's a pretty natural sort of compression. You can still hear the difference between the different dynamic levels, but you can listen comfortably without keeping one finger on the volume dial all the time.

That's why I love the new ipod nano with hard volume buttons

And my Shure earphones block most of the subway noises

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Does anyone know if the volume adjustment in iTunes transfers onto your iPod? I raised the volume on my tracks and they're fine in iTunes but when I listen on my iPod it's still too quiet.

Yeah, it does.

[Henry B 50]

EDIT: You're right that in excess, normalization is a problem, Henry. But I've never heard an orchestral album that made me think, Wow, the dynamic range on this puppy is way too narrow. The majority of the time with classical and soundtrack releases, it's a pretty natural sort of compression. You can still hear the difference between the different dynamic levels, but you can listen comfortably without keeping one finger on the volume dial all the time.

I've heard a few. Some of Giacchino's? The Star Wars SEs, actually. But my point was just that a novice editor should use compression judiciously.

[King Mark 3,631]

I just pull the entire WAV up or down in the editor and avoid chopping sections off (clipping). Not sure what "compression" is

I noticed in some TFU RotS game files the WAV is already chopped off and you hear distortion ( unreleased Anakin's Dark Deeds fanfare,I am the Senate)

[Datameister 2,043]

For an orchestral score like this, I prefer a quiet, isolated place to listen. It's not often going to be playing on my iPod on the bus to classes.

Same here, but there is always some background noise in my current living situation, sadly.

I've heard a few. Some of Giacchino's? The Star Wars SEs, actually.

I suppose. They could be less compressed. Never bothered me, though.

[Trent B 337]

I bought a pair of earbuds from Sams Club that are pretty damn good noise cancellation, even in public places they're great to have.

[Datameister 2,043]

I've never had good results with earbuds or noise-canceling headphones. I'm spoiled by the sound quality on my Sony MDR-7506's.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

I'm scared of noise cancellation headphones cause I always listen to music when I walk around the city... I don't want to get hit by a car!

[King Mark 3,631]

yeah it's a bit of a concern

[GoodMusician 56]

I do my own manual normalization which isn't usually too bad... That's a great video to give an example of the sound normalization gone too far... I really try NEVER to get to that point. But you do have to remember, orchestral recordings are a bit different than "band" music but it's a good point.

[scallenger 483]

Has anyone ever tried the "Hard Limiting" feature on Adobe Premiere?

[ins 42]

I would love to check my inbox and get excited about this too

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

uh.. am i the only one leaving the volume as is?

i listened to it in a hi-fi and except maybe three note loop peak which was too high (but not much different that the COS CD), all sounded orchestrally normal.

The volume amplification of quiet cues has irked me a lot (and made me re-burn a lot of CDs) in other footwarmers. Hook, Far and Away...

[TownerFan 4,983]

I adjusted 2 or 3 db, there wasn't need to amp up too loudly imho (I too prefer to listen through hi-fi). But if you listen to it through iPods or mp3 players with earbuds, it probably doesn't sound loud enough.

However, Williams' music (like most symphonic music) has a very broad dynamic range and it's very hard to normalize everything at a standardized volume, so it's not perfect fare for mp3/iPod way of listening.

[fommes 153]

I won't do anything about it either, I'll just turn up the volume of my stereo a bit more. Unless there are cues that are mixed 'louder' than others? Anyway, much less hassle than augmenting the volume of each track!

[Ollie 1,059]

uh.. am i the only one leaving the volume as is?

I leave the volume alone as well.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

There's definitely a lot of great atmospheric and rustic sounding music here. Plus I love those folk tune-like statements of what I think is the Hogwarts theme during the first Great Hall scene (3m6 - 1:49-1:59 and 3:00-3:29). Some remarkable material there that could have been squeezed into the OST.

[MrJosh 892]

I've never had good results with earbuds or noise-canceling headphones. I'm spoiled by the sound quality on my Sony MDR-7506's.

Ah, I have been looking at these headphones to buy! They seem pretty awesome from reviews.

So, does anyone know what the point of the micro-edits on the OST? Why edit tiny snipits out of 'Freindly Reptile' ('trip to the zoo' on the OST), bits from the Gringots Bank sequence, and like 6 sec from HWW? Sorry if this is common knowledge. I don't get the reasons.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's how Williams soundtracks have always been.

[Datameister 2,043]

Yep. With pretty much any Williams OST from any decade, you can be pretty sure that there are little bits missing here and there. They seem to think it produces a tighter listening experience - which in some cases it does, but they just get annoying when you know what's missing.

Curiously, I'm realizing Jurassic Park doesn't really have any microedits. Huh.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

He tends to like editing out good bits, but leaving in droning passages of redundancy.

[MrJosh 892]

A tighter listening experience...I guess that makes sense. Just odd what bits get cut.

And now for my next question, anyone know if the SS DVD has the trailers in 5.1 (for cleaner ripping), or are they only rippable with the dialog. I'd check meself but I lent my HP movies to a buddy.

[Andy 4,127]

To me, the real gem here is the Children's Suite. Just love it to death. Diagon Alley from the Children's Suite is that wish come true, where you always wanted Williams to take a small bit and expand it into a concert arrangement. It's too bad he didn't do it with "Entrance to the Great Hall" as well.

[Jacck 23]

I've left the volume alone except for ReplayGain with an album gain of +5.25 dB (calculated by foobar)..