crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Shit, this only just happened! An AMA with Murphy and two other mastering engineers for the prequels and OT. Did anyone know about this?? Could've asked about the state of the OT and PT masters and unreleased music (and future releases)! https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/3w97d3/were_pat_sullivan_dann_michael_thompson_and_shawn/I had a quick skim and saw such questions as, "would you rather fight 100 mouse sized wookies or one wookie sized mouse droid?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewya 360 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Missed this. Going through it right now... I am also in the middle of a massive video searching for bits.Shawn Murphy: "Episode 7 is closer to Episodes 4, 5 and 6 in sonic quality. And the musicians always play very well for John.""Episode 7 is going to be a lot more like 4, 5, and 6, but interestingly 4 was the only one of the first six that was recorded not at Abbey Road, but was recorded at Anvil Denham, a smaller stage, and if you listen carefully, you can tell. You can tell that episode 4 has a different sonic character to 5 and 6 which Eric Tomlinson also recorded, and also 1, 2, and 3 which I recorded.So you know, same orchestra, different stage, different techniques. I think 7 is going to be a little bit more like 4 than any of the others. It was recorded in Los Angeles, but sonically it's going to be closer to 4 too." Which movie's score would you say is your favorite out of the six and why?I can't name a favorite because they all have elements in them that are fun, and good, and great music. I didn't work on 4, 5, and 6. Eric Tomlinson who just passed away two weeks ago sadly, worked on 4, 5, and 6 and did a fantastic job. So there's elements in all 6 of them that I really enjoy. And they're all great pictures and great recordings. Dramatically there's discussion, but I think musically they're all very interesting.Hey, thanks for taking time so do this. My question for Shawn is, of the three Star Wars films you mixed, which one did you find the most interesting, the most fun, and the most difficult?They're all similar actually, of 1, 2 and 3. Establishing a sound in 1 was a big challenge. The complexity of the score in 3 was probably a little bit higher, so the element of mixing live mixes in number 3 may be a little bit more challenging. But, ultimately, they were all pretty similar. They were all done in London, they were all done with the LSO, they were all done at Abbey Road, they were all done with a similar orchestral set up--an orchestra of about 105-108 players. I don't know if there's anything that I can single out in saying that it's the most or more than the others because they're all unique scores.We did do a little bit different approach to the recording and mixing of each of those in terms of the equipment that was available. The one thing that I can say is that the first two were done with analog recorders and the third was done with a Pro-Tools at 192K because we could not obtain enough analog tape to record the third one completely. That was the interesting anecdote of Star Wars 3, that by 2005, there was not a universal availability of analog tape that we could actually buy enough reels of any one kind of tape. We were looking from Ampex 456 and we needed about 150 reels and we couldn't get them. What was it like to work with John Williams? Well, I've been working with him for almost 30 years, so he's an enormously talented composer. Probably the greatest film score composer of our generation. His flexibility and musical genius is well known by all. He's a gentleman, he's a pro, he's easy to work with, and he expects everything to be done properly, as he should. Everyone who works with him is a pro and excellent at what they do, so, how can it be bad? It's a great experience. It's always fun to work with John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 He claims TFA will have a drier sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,338 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Comment from discussion We’re Pat Sullivan, Dann Michael Thompson, and Shawn Murphy, and we were the mastering engineers for the upcoming Star Wars: The Ultimate Vinyl Collection Limited Edition 11-LP Box Set. Ask Us Anything!.That's Murphy, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,479 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Cool embed Cerebral Cortex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Wish we knew what state the original tape masters of the OT were in. Didn't parts of the ESB master basically disintegrate for the special editions? Did anyone ask how they "restored" the old masters? Were they run through some garbage audio enhancement filter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I would have asked:Shawn, why is it that beginning in 2001, you ruined every John Williams score you recorded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 "Shawn. A.I. What the fuck?Also, love your work! xoxo" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balahkay 627 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Wish we knew what state the original tape masters of the OT were in. Didn't parts of the ESB master basically disintegrate for the special editions?Did anyone ask how they "restored" the old masters? Were they run through some garbage audio enhancement filter?I thought someone (was it Doug?) reported a few years ago that the original masters of SW are in good shape and have been digitally preserved. Who knows about ESB and ROTJ at this point. There was a rumor that higher quality masters for ROTJ were discovered, but that was many years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 There are definitely higher quality masters of ROTJ somewhere because they were used on the ROTS bonus DVD. They actually sound like a modern score recording, rather than a casette tape recording from inside a public bathroom run through a noise reduction filter 17 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 It sounded definitive on the original album, but got worse with each subsequent release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balahkay 627 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 There are definitely higher quality masters of ROTJ somewhere because they were used on the ROTS bonus DVD.They actually sound like a modern score recording, rather than a casette tape recording from inside a public bathroom run through a noise reduction filter 17 times.I thought so, too. However, this analysis makes it seem like the SE masters were used with some corrections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,338 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 There are definitely higher quality masters of ROTJ somewhere because they were used on the ROTS bonus DVD.They actually sound like a modern score recording, rather than a casette tape recording from inside a public bathroom run through a noise reduction filter 17 times.You mean they weren't actually recorded like that?? I suppose next you're going to tell me that my old VHS tapes didn't look that way in theaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Well, I hate to break it to you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,338 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,364 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 However, this analysis makes it seem like the SE masters were used with some corrections. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amer 2,136 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 So its confirmed that they have gone back to the original album masters and remastered them at higher resolution for the Vinyl issues for Episodes 4,5 and 6 (and possibly for their cd re-issues ?) Also interesting to note is that the Prequels album has been re-mastered for Vinyl. Its also good to know there exists possibilities to redo the Prequel expansions but Shawn Murphy simply alludes this to the Sony people for THAT decision. So, Im hoping to hear great sound quality of the original John Neal mixes from the LP sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Why oh why couldn't someone ask when Sony's rights deal expires! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amer 2,136 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Somebody I know in the sound mixing field actually asked to be involved in rectifying the horrible remixes on the 1997 editions. But was told that he was too late to address the issues as these had already gone into production. But now there appears to be some rumblings about the Disney people eventually getting involved and inheriting the music portfolio when the Sony deal expires. So who knows? Keep your fingers crossed and but DON'T hold your breadth. Incanus and JasonTHX 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Interesting info, thanks azahid.Let's hope Disney come to their senses here. I'm sure a nudge in the right direction from JW himself (possibly instigated by a certain expanded soundtrack producer) would see them happen in no time at all. Let's just hope the damn Sony deal expires in 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,725 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Somebody I know in the sound mixing field actually asked to be involved in rectifying the horrible remixes on the 1997 editions. But was told that he was too late to address the issues as these had already gone into production. But now there appears to be some rumblings about the Disney people eventually getting involved and inheriting the music portfolio when the Sony deal expires. So who knows? Keep your fingers crossed and but DON'T hold your breadth.Fingers crossed! Amer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Star Wars is probably one of the top 3 selling soundtracks of all time. I'd be gobsmacked if Disney aren't licking their lips with anticipation in acquiring the entire saga's musical portfolio.Especially when TFA is pre-ordering like hotcakes. It will easily be the best selling soundtrack of 2015. Amer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,528 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Wait, so was ESB recorded at Anvil or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarpia 132 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Wait, so was ESB recorded at Anvil or not?Yes, it was recorded there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,479 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 There's no reason to think Sony's contract expires in 2017, since it was RCA who put out those 1997 sets originally. Their contract likely expires in 2019, 20 years after they put out the TPM OST in 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo 3,709 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I have a feeling I read it was 2019 same as the fox distribution deal but I don't know where I read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnald 377 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I'm disappointed no one asked if the rumours of a naked wrestling match between Williams and Giacchino to decide who scored TFA (while Abrams watched on) were true or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 And what flavour of jelly was involved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnald 377 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Flavour is always pivotal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I'm disappointed no one asked which kind of pizza does JW prefers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnald 377 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Or indeed what type of jelly he likes on his pizza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,725 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Ah Johnny's old school recording methods: [–]m50x3AMA! How different are your mixes compared to the actual orchestra performance when you work with John Williams?Well, with John Williams we don't layer. Everybody records at one time, and John's orchestrations are such that our best shot is to get a live representation of what he's written. Because of that, we're typically doing live mixes or close to live mixes and we're not adorning them with anything other than a little bit of reverb.His compensation, his writing is complete. He doesn't use orchestrators generally. He balances it on stage the way he wants it to sound, and he will check with me in terms of playback. If it's what he wants, then it's what he wants and that's what we stick with.We do not use samples, we do not use multiple takes other than for editorial purposes and performance, but we don't layer, and we rarely overdub. The only time I can tell you that we did much in the way of overdubbing was a heavily percussive section in A Lost World or Star Wars Episodes 1 or 2 where we had a lot of percussion and we did that separately. How do you approach reverb for dense orchestral sections?We use multiple reverbs typically. We use a short dense reverb to sort of fill the spaces between the instruments, and we use a longer reverb to create a tail. We use it judiciously for film and music because we don't want the reverb to overcome the direct sound in terms of competition with sound effects and dialogue on the screen. We want the picture to represent the music on the screen accurately.So multiple reverbs typically, not too much, for classical recording or sound track recording we typically add a little bit more reverb for the CD and typically a little bit more as well, because we want to make sure there is a good clarity and a good accuracy in music representation verses sound effects and dialogue on the screen. Joni Wiljami and Jay 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyD 1,224 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Cool interview and information. It's fascinating to have information on how the recording of the Maestro's music is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilal 569 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Hmm, no mention of the percussion section for Episode III being recorded separately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,725 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Hmm, no mention of the percussion section for Episode III being recorded separately.An oversight I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,479 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I think when he typed Episode I and II, he meant Episode I and III. Or would that Yoda/Dooku percussion have been recorded separately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilal 569 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 He didn't type I and II - he typed 1 and 2, so confusion is less likely here. Also, I doubt he typed it all himself, considering he has only one arm to work with.It was done separately for III, however, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,276 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I'm sure sections of Chase Through Coruscant were recorded separately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,479 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Maybe only episode 2 and 3 had separate percussion recordings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilal 569 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,479 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Which cues in Episode 1 would need percussion overdubs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,276 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 1 and 2 were much more percussion-heavy, were they not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilal 569 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 We have versions of Escape from Naboo and The Tide Turns with sections accompanied by a field drum ensemble where the film versions do not have that same accompaniment. The former otherwise fully correspond to the film versions.Anyway, I think we can assume they did overdubs for all three prequels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,479 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 OK, all three then, and he just mis-remembered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,725 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 We have versions of Escape from Naboo and The Tide Turns with sections accompanied by a field drum ensemble where the film versions do not have that same accompaniment. The former otherwise fully correspond to the film versions.Anyway, I think we can assume they did overdubs for all three prequels.Episode 3 had certainly percussion overdubs done for many sequences, especially to beef up the final duel and some preceding scenes.I also remember a 1999 on Episode 1 where the percussionist is telling how Williams had just handed him a list of drums, some even a bit vague description-wise, and just told to get them. There was quite a hefty fee for renting many of those.From Classic CD August 1999:Working with John Williams - let's hear it from the musiciansNeil Percy (percussionist)Before the sessions John provided me with a huge list of what he wanted. It included "primitive drums, heavy drums, low drums, war drums and sinister drums". I was immensely privileged that John had left it to me to come up with drums to fit these adjectives. The actual hire bill for all the extra drums we needed for the fortnight was £6000.As the sessions progressed it seemed that John got more and more experimental, at least in terms of percussion. It made me smile when he said one day: "Yeah, Neil, I want something which sounds like balalaikas and weird guitars". So I ended up playing a Cretan Lyra (which looks like a stringed guitar that's bowed like a balalaika).Not that it proves anything in terms of percussion overdubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Wait, so they remastered the prequel albums as well? It'd be nice if TPM sounded less reverby and more like the Ultimate Edition, but with superior dynamic range, and if Attack of the Clones didn't sound so flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilal 569 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Fascinating stuff, Incánus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,367 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Would be good to clarify if it was Sony themselves who decided to use the film stems for TPM UE, rather than the actual sessions. The insinuation from Murphy seems to be that it would be a lot of work to do it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Not for this man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,493 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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