Old 07-21-2017, 08:14 PM   #1
peter5992
Human being with feelings
 
peter5992's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 10,478
Default Reaper at Skywalker Sound

Hello Reaper friends:

I posted about this in the lounge before, but I guess that very few Reaper users frequent the lounge, so I'll post in the general discussion forum as well.

Last weekend I was at Skywalker Sound, in Marin Country, as assistant orchestrator / copyist. This is my second year.

Reaper was extremely helpful, again, in getting the job done, under extremely tight deadlines. Below are pictures of Reaper in action, and Sibelius, and pictures of Skywalker Sound.



























peter5992 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-21-2017, 10:19 PM   #2
Dannii
Human being with feelings
 
Dannii's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Adelaide, South Australia (originally from Geelong)
Posts: 5,598
Default

Very cool Peter!
Great to see REAPER getting a good workout in such a high profile environment again too. That's a very nice gig!

Love those 802s behind the console too.
__________________
Dannii is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2017, 03:27 AM   #3
endorka
Human being with feelings
 
endorka's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 521
Default

Wow, that is really something. Just to see inside the place would be amazing, but to be working there... well done!

Cheers,
Jennifer
__________________
Producer | Arranger | Composer | Bass guitar | Double bass
Website: https://www.jenclarkmusic.com/
endorka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2017, 05:25 AM   #4
FKAB
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 623
Default

Nice.

Gotta get me a PC Audio Labs. OB-1 Hah. https://pcaudiolabs.com/
FKAB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2017, 08:48 AM   #5
lolilol1975
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,739
Default

There sure are worse work places.
lolilol1975 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2017, 12:44 PM   #6
peter5992
Human being with feelings
 
peter5992's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 10,478
Default

Thanks everyone ... yeah, it's a great place to work. The studio is in Nicasio, on a private estate of 44 acres, with its own vineyards, farms, guest houses, and separate video editing facilities. They spare no expenses, even have a gourmet chef to cook for everyone 3 meals a day.

Only thing that gave me trouble was printing scores and parts ... the printer in the iso room next to the control room (where we were stationed during the weekend) couldn't print conductor scores (couldn't find the right printer driver), and the printer in the office upstairs didn't print certain characters like dots after notes, metronome marks ... eeks! We finally figured a way around that, which is to print straight from Sibelius. That is actually pretty convenient as you can specify exactly how many copies you need for the scores and parts. 3 for the scores, one of the conductor, one in the control room, and an extra copy; and for the parts 3 for the first violins (3 desks, 6 players), 3 for the second violins (3 desks, 6 players), 2 for the violas (4 players, 2 desks) and 2 for the celli (2 desks, 3 players); and everyone else one copy. Gave me a bit of a headache though, next year I might bring my own printer (looking at a decent used HP 5100dtn or 5200dtn, solid work horses that can handle 11 x 17 which is the standard format for conductor scores).

By the way, that PC Audiolabs laptop is now 8 years old, has been repaired and upgraded several times, and it's still going strong. PC Audiolabs gives lifetime support, no matter how old your machine is or whether it's long out of warranty. You pay more than if you would build the machine yourself, but I can definitely recommend them.
peter5992 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2017, 06:48 AM   #7
The Byre
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 699
Default

With over 40 engineers on the payroll, I am wondering if that is the largest sound studio complex on Planet Earth?
The Byre is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2017, 09:22 AM   #8
philper
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SF area
Posts: 77
Default

Were you working with Leslie Ann? I like that room a lot, I feel like it can do just about anything, esp with Leslie Ann and her folks in the pilot's seats. I am pretty sure that the 40 engineer thing is covering a lot of free-lancers, including a lot of people who work over on the motion-picture sound side (in a whole separate wing of that complex, a separate business, really). When I've worked there in the past few years there were really only ever 2 engineers, plus some support staff around on the "music side". Reaper has been great for me (too) under fire--very fast to get what I need with a minimum of fuss. This spring I did the sound design and sound composition for a new ballet literally standing with a laptop balanced on the top of a spinet piano in the middle of rehearsals (with loud playback) with everyone looking at me impatiently waiting for the next iteration of that part of the score, which I was making while they worked with the previous iteration. This experience was what convinced me to adopt Reaper as my main axe: studio, location, editing, recording etc..
philper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2017, 09:55 AM   #9
peter5992
Human being with feelings
 
peter5992's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by philper View Post
Were you working with Leslie Ann? I like that room a lot, I feel like it can do just about anything, esp with Leslie Ann and her folks in the pilot's seats. I am pretty sure that the 40 engineer thing is covering a lot of free-lancers, including a lot of people who work over on the motion-picture sound side (in a whole separate wing of that complex, a separate business, really). When I've worked there in the past few years there were really only ever 2 engineers, plus some support staff around on the "music side". Reaper has been great for me (too) under fire--very fast to get what I need with a minimum of fuss. This spring I did the sound design and sound composition for a new ballet literally standing with a laptop balanced on the top of a spinet piano in the middle of rehearsals (with loud playback) with everyone looking at me impatiently waiting for the next iteration of that part of the score, which I was making while they worked with the previous iteration. This experience was what convinced me to adopt Reaper as my main axe: studio, location, editing, recording etc..
No, Leslie Ann was there, but Dan really ran the show, together with Lucy and Arthur (? the Dutch guy) as PT operator. I worked mostly with Arturo Rodriguez, he's a former fellow of the program and a fine composer / orchestrator / conductor.

The procedure this year was to take everyone's midi mockup audio mix and midi files, and then import everything into a DAW (Reaper for me, Logic for Arturo), quantize it to the extent that hadn't already been done, and then import the midi into Sibelius, and clean it up, make sure everything is in the appropriate register (some midi instruments transpose by octave), make sure system and page breaks are in the right place, etc., and then finally print everything, and bind the conductor scores (printed duplex style) with tape.

Last year the procedure was slightly different - each of the fellows had to deliver pro tools files, with the individual stem tracks bounced to audio (strings high, strings low, woodwinds, brass etc) and the midi included. Dan would get the same PT file to prepare for the recording sessions. I had issues with my iLok so had to use Reaper (converting the PT sessions with AA translator).

I could have used PT this year but Reaper is just so much easier to work with, and much less nitpicky when it comes to running Sibelius and PT simultaneously (PT tends to highjack the ASIO engine).
peter5992 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2017, 11:39 AM   #10
philper
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SF area
Posts: 77
Default

I like your new method better! And agree re: Reaper in high stress situations.
philper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-24-2017, 12:01 PM   #11
peter5992
Human being with feelings
 
peter5992's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by philper View Post
I like your new method better! And agree re: Reaper in high stress situations.
Yeah, me too ... but it kind of depends who you are working with / for. Last year the lead orchestrator had a different protocol. He uses Pro Tools for pretty much everything, midi mockups, live recording etc. so he's a seasoned PT user, much more so than me (he's actually a former instructor of mine and taught me pretty much all I know about PT). I'm trying to follow everyone's workflow as much as possible, it's a psychological thing, there is so much time pressure, and it makes it easier if we're all on the same page in case there's something wacky (missing or corrupted files, discrepancies in the bar numbering or whatever). The fellows aren't all equally experienced and they may give you an incorrect version - or they may give you something half baked and then you just have make the best of it (fortunately that didn't happen this year or last year). I want to get asked back ... and you know this is pretty tough business where you have to prove that you can handle something, including mishaps.

It's show business ... and the show must go on!

But yes, Reaper's definitely the preferred program, for me at least. It's funny, last year I wore my Reaper T shirt and one of the sound design guys asked me about it, he was looking for something simple at home; at Skywalker PT is pretty much the standard platform (for obvious reasons).
peter5992 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-25-2017, 02:43 PM   #12
davetbass
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 185
Default

Not sure about that environment, I know more about metal than classical but can you really record some passionate, tempestuous Beethoven (Iron Maiden) or gloom and doom Tchaikovsky (Black Sabbath) after a gourmet snack and a stroll through the gardens?

Actually I do know a rock band that might feel at home there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BkIKBofh4Y

Lyrics:

They say there's people starving, droppin' down dead in the streets, y'all
The lazy slobs, they ain't got a job, they say they ain't got enough to eat
Well, Let Them Eat Rock
Why don't you eat rock?

They're pickin' through the garbage behind my favorite restaurant, y'all
They're sickly pale, they're thin as a rail
I don't know what in the hell they want
Well, Let Them Eat Rock
Why don't you eat rock?
I said, already on dock
Why don't you eat rock?
Eat rock now!

Well, I myself have felt the pang of hunger, but I know about a'one thing worse
And that's the way I feel after a twelve course meal
When I feel like I'm about to burst
Well, Let Them Eat Rock
Why don't you eat rock?
I said, already on dock
Why don't you eat rock?
Let Them Eat Rock, yeah!
Why don't you eat rock?
I said, already on dock
Why don't you eat rock?
Eat rock now!
Ooh, all right

Last edited by davetbass; 07-25-2017 at 02:52 PM.
davetbass is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:36 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.