JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum Ominous Pursuit (Edited)

I still have a lot to learn, especially in the fx's, mixing, and mastering part. Here's my first effort (only 20 tracks - Edited vers. 25 tracks)).

"Ominous Pursuit" (First Edit)
http://schicksville.com/Music/OP%20Edit1.mp3
"Ominous Pursuit" (Original)
http://schicksville.com/Music/Omi%20Pursuit.mp3

John

Wow! You can only go`up' from here! LOL! For your first Logic/EW composition, I'd say you hit it outta the park!

Very nice sounding samples John. Is the piano also from EW?

http://schicksville.com/Music/Brain-Resample.wav

Thanks Steve!

Yeah, the piano is the Steinway from EW. Unfortunately I haven't gotten into the fx's yet on EW. There's suppose to be a platinum reverb they say is awesome with the piano. Give me time and I'll find it.

BTW, I love working in Logic Pro. What a change from my old set-up.

I started a new Logic project. I want to push the limits as far as tracks go to see what the old girl's got.

Best, John

Who needs a movie with a soundtrack like that? I saw the whole thing. As if the suspense and shadows were not enough the killer's gaze at the victim afterward is truly frightening. Which is exactly why the other/next victim fled.

have even more fun John,
John

I agree,this is really cool to listen to.you can picture the whole story in your head.Its making me think that maybe soundtracks should be written before the scripts.Because this music really causes the imagination to do all sorts of things.Awesome!
Michelle

Thanks for the encouragement John and Michelle!

I still have a lot to learn, but it's at the fun stage now.

Best, John

John,
If you had said you'd already written major soundtracks for feature films, I would have totally believed you based upon this piece. Beneath all the wonderful layers and arrangement, there was also an exquisite pianist.

This piece shows a master in the making. I was very pleasantly surprised and honored to listen to it!

Heidi

Thanks Heidi! Wow, the encouragement I'm getting is inspiring.

Being an anti-techie I had some doubts when I first decided to go DAW. Now I love working in the DAW domain.

Best, John

Hey John!

First, I just wanted to let you know that I think your plastic surgeon did a great job. Heck, you look almost as good as Kenny Rogers, now!

Whart a magnificant piece this is. The drama and tension build and explode. Great! But, that subtle piano line is just plain killer. The first thing that entered my mind as this started playing was "Where's Vincent Price?"

Very effecvtive use of the kettle/taiko drums. The change of pace (not tempo) at 0:52 followed by the build of the taikos at 1:15 is splendid! Super job, Schickster! The listen removed me from my office and carried me to a daunting, mysterious rendezvous with barbed-wire emotion. Super!!!

Alan

Hi John,

Uh oh...

paradigm shift...

a sea change...

John Schick is is composing in sequencing software, and Logic, to boot!

All I can say is...IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

Congrats!

Some predictions:

You are going to be happy beyond your wildest dreams.

You will find the tools in Logic will speed up and clean up and tweak your compositions in ways you had not imagined possible.

You will always be wanting just one more DVD to plug into your software Sampler...

You will soon know the limitations of even your most powerful Notebook or PC

You will be frustrated beyond your darkest nightmares.

You know, you were "thriving" before Logic. It's a little scary, to think of what you might accomplish now, holy carp! LOL...

Very nice rhapsodic way "IN" with this short but sweet piece of "Credits" music, the titles comes up:

John Schick: The Logic Years

I'll be out there, listening to everything.

Mike

Thanks Al and Mike!

Al, Vincent Price; one of my all-time favorites. Wish I had a sample of that magnificant voice of his. From one film music man to another; so glad it had an affect on you.

Mike, "John Schick: The Logic Years", I'm dying laughing here - very clever!

#3 "You will always be wanting just one more DVD to plug into your software Sampler..." - this one's already kicking in. I have a terrible itch to purchase "X-treme FX".

Well it's only Logic-al. I have orchestra samples, now I need some cutting edge samples. But that will be the last plugin I'll purchase.

Best, John

Okay, I'm ordering it!
"X-treme FX"
http://www.ultimatesoundbank.com/xtremfx.html?doc=support

John

Interesting piece. I seem to hear parts of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto here. Nice work.

Thanks Ray!

I'm sure I've been influenced by old Rach.

Two of my favorite Rachmaninoff's works are "Bells of Moscow" (Prelude in C# minor) and the C-minor Piano Concerto. "Bells of Moscow" was probably responsible for my composing ambitions.

When I started piano lessons with Paul Schocker (rest his soul), my first lesson, he was playing "Bells of Moscow" for the student before me. It ignited something inside of me.

Best, John

Hi John,

Sounds good! I like the arrangement you have. I can't believe you have 20 tracks here.. So making it sound this simple is a big achievement! On the nit side, I think the piano didn't blend that good with the string section, but thats a tweaking issue, not about playing and arrangement.

Thanks Magne!

I think if I add the "platinum" reverb to the piano it will mix better. I'll fool around with it today.

Best, John

John,

Just for you!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmgAsLr2bgI&feature=related

This is my favorite Vincent Price movie. By the way, he was born in my hometown...St. Louis.

Alan

Yeah, that's my favorite also Al. Strange, the only way I can play a youtube video is doing this:

[youtube]FmgAsLr2bgI&feature=related[/youtube]

but it only works when I post it on Harmony Central.

Strange...

John

John,

I don't know what kind of computer you have (PC or MAC) or the OS, but if it is a PC, the problem might be your Flash Player. An update would probably take care of that. If ti is a MAC, I haven't a clue.

FWIW.

Alan

John,

I don't know what kind of computer you have (PC or MAC) or the OS, but if it is a PC, the problem might be your Flash Player. An update would probably take care of that. If ti is a MAC, I haven't a clue.

FWIW.

Alan


Yeah Al, I've tried that among other suggestions I've received in the last year. Strange, it always worked for me until one day about a year ago. Hasn't worked since.

About "House On the Haunted Hill". I was around 8 years old when I saw it at the movie. The seats we sat in were next to the middle exit door. The chilling part was that they had the exact same curtains across by the exit as the curtains in the haunted house. Believe me, being 8 years old, it added a whole new dimension to the movie.

BTW, I still remember how much the movie cost back then. .25 to get in and the rest of the dollar bought popcorn and soda.

John

Yeah, that is strange about your computer!

I was 12 years old when I saw it. The movie came out in 1959. I just remember it scared the crap out of me! Pretty spooky about those curtains...for sure!

Same here on the admission. it was 25 cents to get in. I can't stand the smell of popcorn, so I always went with a Coke and as large box of candy...usually JujyFruits. For that quarter we also got MovieTone Newsreel, a movie, a cartoon and a second movie. Not a bad afternoon for a buck! Now, I almost have to finance a trip to the movies if I take my grandkids. All the best.

Alan

PS: I still say this is a great song!

Great memories Al! Acyually I have a DVD of the original "House On the Haunted Hill". Maybe I'll watch it tonight.

Best, John

Wow. This works. The textures are rich and clear. The song has such a beautiful quality to the development. Very impressive.

Tom

Good gear is only any good in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. Real gear + real composer = magic.

Knock 'em dead John !

cheers, niteshift

My word, John, this is pretty dang fantastic!

The world is really your oyster now.

Donna

Thanks Nite & Donna!

I've been working in the mixing/ mastering mode today. There's some pretty powerful mastering fx's - when I've mastered them , I'll re-post the mastered version.

Still a lot to learn. I wanted to drag one of my tracks to a duplicate location. The info to do this was: 1. select all regions, 2. add a duplicate track with the duplicate track button, 3. then option-drag to the duplicate location.

Sounds simple, right? It took me a couple hours (and with help too), until I realized the option meant to hold the option key on the Mac while dragging track to new location. Dang! Why is every little thing a struggle for me? Don't answer that!

Anyway, I'm even beginning to enjoy the struggle.

Best, John

Hi John,

EGADS!!! Sounds wonderful but like Nite says, garbage in, garbage out. The equipment can only do so much. You've put a lot of talent into this and so you're getting some remarkable music back.
By the way, my Grandfather owned a movie theater around the corner from where I lived, so I got in for free. Guess where I spent my Saturday afternoons?

Ricki

Thanks Ricki!

The quality samples are sure inspiring though. One of the best things about the DAW is it ends up sounding just as it does in the Logic program. In my old set-up, it would sound pretty good until I mixed it down to a wav file. Then it lost some of the high-end (and other stuff; for lack of a better word).

Best, John

This is..ominous. It really is great! You've got an "A" thus far. I think you're going to pass the final.

Thanks Wendy! Yeah, a lot of studying to do before the final.

John

Gave me goosebumps. Very powerful, the way art should be.

Wow! Love to give the listener goosebumps Jon.

Best, John

I did it! I ordered these samples today: "Ultimate Sound Bank UVI Soundcard Xtreme FX". I thought it would compliment the East West samples. Now that's it for my spending for awhile.

The samples were sent out today. Should be here by Thursday.

"You will always be wanting just one more DVD to plug into your software Sampler...Michael"

Boy, was he right!

John

I just added an edited version of Ominous. I added a subtle fx and panned the piano differently. I wanted it to blend with the orchestra better. I also added a few minor parts and did some other panning, volume adjustments, etc.

I'm not to the mastering stage yet. Still have some tweaking to do in the mixing stage.

Having fun though...

John

Very nice job. Unbelievable for a first effort.

I have no idea how to use any of this stuff. I don't even understand the terminology. Is this MIDI? Do you have to play all the parts on your keyboard or do they just materialize from somewhere?

This is fantastic, John. If I wasn't still sitting here in my comfy chair, I would swear something was just chasing me. Wow.

Wonderful, really.

Best,
Jennifer

Thanks Jennifer! Glad it had that affect on you. I felt I captured the "ominous", but I wasn't to sure about the "pursuit".

Best, John

I listened to both, they are fantastic! Nice builds, good dynamics (hard to do with orchestral samples), pretty melodies. Nice job! The updated version sounds very real. I'm on headphones, so I can't say much more until I listen at home. Enjoyed it!

Thanks Bob! I've been trying to articulate each instrument (and have the right mindset). I'll keep trying to improve, but it's a start.

I see the "Xtreme" samples are due for delivery tomorrow. That should add another dimension - especially for film work.

That's it for my spending for awhile. I did my patriotic duty for the economy President Obama. Always glad to help.

Best, John

I really wish I could afford some of those same, expensive orchestral samples. I have an old Kurzweil that just doesn't keep up with modern software samplers. That's why most of my demos are simply piano/vocal or guitar/vocal. But I went to school, learned music theory, dropped out in my final year, and I'd really love to be able to dabble with more serious works again. In the meantime, thanks for sharing!

Bob,

I hope you can find a way to purchase those samples. It opens up a new world. Then again; I've heard wonderful tracks with very modest gear.

Best, John

Hey John...love the new picture...you're lookin' GOOD...are you doing something different with your hair???!!

I really enjoyed this. You have done a fantastic job. If this is your first time using these samples...I can't wait to hear what you come up with next!

Kind wishes,
Gail

Thanks Gail! That's my new slick hair style. I'm starting a fad. I predict within 6 months every man on this site will be wearing his hair like this. Unfortunately, they don't have the brows to pull it off. So they'll just look silly.

Yeah, I'm still a rookie at this DAW business. I'm trying to learn everything as fast as I can, but there's a filter implanted in my head that only allows a little knowledge to enter at one time.

Best, John

Hi John

You never dissappoint me with your work and this is no exception, I wish I could create that feel you have for putting compositions like this together.

Dude

Thanks Mark!

Now you did it Mark; I'm going to have to push harder on my next project. And I was thinking of taking it easy on the next one.

Best, John

Hey John,

Yes, the edit has a wider stereo field, and feels very rich. It's making my phones rattle ! I'm sure it would shake the house on a home theatre system. Nice work with the new toys.

cheers, niteshift

Thanks Nite! Nothing like making phones rattle!

Best, John

Damn! The Xtreme FX arrived an hour ago. I'm still waiting for iLok authorization. I didn't have this wait with the East West samples.

I can't even download the dvd's on my computer.

Oh well, I'll have to utilize my patience device.

John