Professional Live Recording

Limited to 8 Participants !

July 22-27, 2023

Dates for live session preparations will be from August 17 through August 21, to be held in Baden/Austria. They will include introduction and course description by Conrad Pope as well as the sound engineer, plus lectures, opportunities for one-on-one tutoring, and familiarization with such considerations as recording location and music preparation.

By the end of the fourth day (August 20) compositions must be submitted to music prep.
On the fourth day of class, everyone will be present with their mock-ups and will be coached in regards to conducting their selection.
The Sound engineer as well as the recording equipment will be provided by the international renowned recording studio MG Sound.

Date of Recording Session: August 22. Each particpant will have 50min to record his piece.

Tools, Process and Skills

SOFTWARE:  Your most important tool here will be a professional notation program, such as Sibelius or Finale. You will also need a DAW, such as Cubase or Logic, to create the necessary midi files for the booth staff -this will insure that your clicks will be correct, and that your different takes will be editable.  The preparation class will provide you with all the necessary instruction for this.  (Please note – all recordings will be done to click tracks).

While it is not required that you have a particularly good sound-set or sample library for your notation program (as it is all about providing a professional score to the orchestra), you will be working with your mock-up during the prep class, so the better your sounds, the better your experience will be.

HARDWARE:  You will need a computer to run your notation and DAW software. There is no requirement for a specific platform (PC or MAC).

CONDUCTING:  As this class is a learning experience, you should be able to conduct your piece during the first half of the session.  If the session is drawing to a close and you still have not gotten usable elements, the course instructor at your request can step in and lead the orchestra.

Time during the prep course will also be dedicated to conducting practice.

MUSIC PREPARATION: The composers will be responsible for creating their own score and parts in the notation software of their choice. The participant will provide usable PDF files of the score and parts to the Hollywood Music Workshop. Participants will be instructed how to print and tape the scores and parts as needed. We are also providing librarian services upon request (for an additional fee).

THE FINISHED RECORDING:   Our team is professionally skilled in music editing and will make sure that your entire piece will be recorded at the optimal quality level.  As highly qualified score readers Conrad Pope as well as the sound engineer will be in the booth making sure you get a good take of every bar of your composition.

Within a week or so of the recording, we will provide you with the full set of usable elements from your session. The audio files will be compatible with any DAW (Pro-Tools will NOT be required for you to use them).

Please note: we may not be able to provide you with every single take you recording  (i.e. takes with bad notes, performance errors, etc).  To ensure a final product consistent with the professionalism of HMW, MG Studios, and the musicians, we reserve the right to employ diligent quality control.

The final recording is yours to use for demo purposes.  It can be informally shared on the internet as a showcase of your work.  As the musicians and studio personnel are participating at a special student rate and additional government funding is provided for educational purposes, your recording cannot be sold or used in any professional context.  Violation will revert all rights of the recording to HMW.

THE PIECE YOU RECORD:  You can only record music to which you own the full rights (i.e. music you have written yourself).

It is not required that it be a piece written for a specific scene or film sequence.  However, please keep in mind the following suggestions:

The purpose of this class is to give you a completely professional experience.  Therefore, to get the maximum benefit of your time, the length of your piece may not exceed 2:00 at a moderate tempo.  If you wish to record a longer piece, (or a significantly faster piece at this length) you must book additional recording time.  Overdubs and stemming are not allowed. If you wish to overdub or stem parts, you will need to book additional recording time. It is better to record one piece that is 2:00 in length than to do four pieces that are 0:30 in length, as the changes necessary on the music stands and in the booth will add time to the process.  For each additional piece you wish to record, it is recommended you subtract 0:30 from the total duration of your music.

In your own interest, be conscious of the playability of your piece.  Radical shifts in tempo and time signature all take precious minutes of rehearsal time during your session.  Extremely virtuosic passages will also require multiple takes to get it right, so please plan accordingly.

HMW´s aim is to get you the best performance and recording made possible during your time on the podium with the orchestra.

And finally please remember, this is a recording session and not a concert performance. The musicians, all experienced session players, will be sight-reading your music to a click track without any prior rehearsal.  This is the standard practice in all professional film/tv/videogame recording sessions.  Again, in the prep class, we will provide you with all the needed guidance for this.

Get ready for the best scoring experience with the help of our international recording experts from Hollywood!