Film Score Companion

Music can make or break any film or game. Dialog, scenery and great effects are simply not enough to convey the full feeling and emotion of what the filmmaker or gamemaker is trying to express. It takes more than a clever or humorous script. It takes more than great special effects and CGI. And it even takes more than a perfectly-delivered sarcastic Nicholson quip or raised eyebrow.

It takes music. Thoughtful, correctly-timed, appropriately-themed music. From sci-fi thriller and heart-wrenching drama movies to grand-scale end-of-the-universe games and everything in between, music is an indispensible pillar upon which a production’s success is built.

What would Jaws have been without the menacing drun-da, drun-da, drun-da in the background, announcing the imminent arrival of one of filmdom's most infamous villains? Does anyone not know that music?

Whether you're the next Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Quincy Jones, or just looking to add some great sounds to your video from last summer's trip to Aruba, you need a complete film score sound production package. You need the best.

You need Film Score Companion.

This is an amazingly capable suite comprised of 5 distinct collections. (For more information and to download a trial version, simply click the plugin UI).

Orchestral Companion - Brass

The SONiVOX design team has produced over 80 outstanding brass programs, each one meticulously crafted to deliver as accurate and convincing an experience as possible. That's what you demand, so that’s what we did.

There is a comprehensive collection of full orchestral brass ensembles, and also a full array of smaller brass sub-groups. In addition, we provide you with a complete selection of solo instruments. All the major instruments are here, including solo trumpets, trombones, bass trombones, French horns, and tuba. Double and flutter tonguing, sustained and staccato notes, plus instrument mutes, swells, sforzando, and marcato voicing provide you with the depth of content you need for convincing brass parts and tracks.

Orchestral Companion - Strings

The SONiVOX design team has produced over 90 outstanding string programs, each one meticulously crafted to deliver as accurate and convincing an experience as possible. Your productions deserve nothing less.

There is a comprehensive collection of full orchestral string ensembles, which are fantastic for background string parts or quickly sketching out an orchestral score. But we also offer you also a full array of individual string sections so you can really customize and polish your final creation by building things up section by section. The key is flexibility—you can compose and create on as detailed a level as you'd like. All sections are fully represented, including 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and contra basses. Up and down bow bowing, sustain, staccato, and spiccato notes, plus instrument pizzicato and tremolo articulations provide the depth of content needed for convincing ensemble string parts and tracks.

Orchestral Companion - Woodwinds

We’re all united by our deep and profound love of music, in all its forms, in every style or genre, in any instrumentation. It reaches us on a level that we just can’t put into words.

But there's something about woodwinds. Perhaps it's because the wind instruments parallel the human voice in both frequency range and overtone structure more closely than any other category of instruments. Whether you're listening to Nicholas Daniel performing Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C Major or hearing the unbridled joy of Benny Goodman on clarinet on the still incredibly hip 1937 recording of Sing Sing Sing, in the hands of these amazing musicians, these woodwind instruments seem like they're speaking directly to you.

Eighty Eight Ensemble

Our flagship piano instrument is not just any piano. Eighty Eight Ensemble 2 is an exceptional recreation of the Steinway 9-foot CD 327 grand piano. Meticulously sampled and expertly voiced, Eighty Eight Ensemble 2 provides every composer, pianist, and musician the opportunity to infuse their compositions, recordings, and performances with the breathtaking realism of this truly world-class grand piano. The recording philosophy employed in creating Eighty Eight Ensemble 2 was based on using a simple signal chain, the finest A/D converters, and exceptional microphone preamps. The result is some 1500 sample recordings, with 16 dynamic levels captured and preserved for every key.

Big Bang Cinematic Percussion

Whether you are searching for that extra bit of rhythmic flavor, or striving to create the most epic of battle cues, Big Bang Cinematic Percussion 2 packs the punch you need to get the job done in minutes. At its core, Big Bang Cinematic Percussion serves up a powerful selection of cinematic drum and percussion instruments, all painstakingly created by top SONiVOX sound designers and ready to spark some serious fire under your musical scores. Each instrument has been lavishly captured, and was played with the proper professional technique. The multi-velocity, multi-take round robin format provides the pinnacle of realism.

Each of the 5 collections above is also available and sold separately, but you get all 5 together when you buy Film Score Companion, giving you an unbeatable arsenal of total musical firepower. The music you create is limited only by your imagination—not by your software.

We spared no effort or expense in seeking out the best musicians playing the best-sounding instruments, and we took the necessary steps to record them correctly in the most lifelike manner possible. We paid attention to every last acoustic detail—because we know you’ll be doing the same.

The recording details of how we did this are really interesting for the tech-inclined. Like you:

World-Class Musicians; Top-Tier instruments

We recorded everything in Film Score Companion in the legendary Futura Productions studios in Massachusetts. Members of the Boston Pops and/or Boston Ballet Orchestras played all performances, with the same premium instruments they use for their actual concert galas and events. A combination of spot and ambient mic'ing capture every instrumental nuance, while preserving the refined acoustics and intimacy of the performance space itself.

State-of-the-Art Sampling Sessions

Under the expert guidance of SONiVOX musical sound connoisseur Jennifer Hruska, each sample session was faithfully recorded by Emmy award-winning engineers Antonio Oliart and RIAA award-winning engineer John Bono. The players were positioned using orchestrally-correct seating, and measures were even taken to compensate for the sound-absorption of any players absent on that particular day. In order to retain a realistic "organic" feel, we used absolutely minimal post-recording electronic processing. We used two B&K 4011 microphones to preserve the highly-desired front-of-hall sound (you know, the "good seats"), while superior-grade spot mics accurately captured each instrument's individual detail. Benchmark-caliber preamps fed Troisi Octal A/D convertors to complete an uncorrupted signal chain.

We've endeavored to make Film Score Companion the most complete, most accurate and lifelike, easiest-to-use music creation tool for films that has ever been done. That's how important it was to us...because we know that's how important it is to you.

Playable Programs

Each patch and preset is easily playable by virtually every level of performer. All instruments are presented in multi-velocity layers, with natural swells available via the modulation wheel. MIDI key switching provides on-the-fly articulation for select patches. The internal sound engine provides additional modulation (LFO) sources, dynamic envelope control, and studio-grade reverb/effects to allow creative customization of the onboard sounds.

Plug-In Proficiency

Each suite runs as a fully compatible plug-in with any VST (32 or 64 bit), AU (64 bit) , and AAX (32 or 64 bit) for ProTools 10.3 or higher Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software.

Features

Orchestral Companion Strings

9 GB library comprising string ensembles for 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and basses. Articulations include sustains, espressivo, staccato, pizzicato, tremolos and more.

Orchestral Companion Brass

5 GB library comprising Solo and Ensemble Trumpets, Solo and Ensemble Trombones, Solo and Ensemble French Horns and Tuba. Articulations include sustains, staccato, marcatto, mutes, and more.

Orchestral Companion Woodwinds

9 GB library comprising Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon. Solo and ensembles versions of each as well as full woodwind ensemble patches.

Eighty Eight Ensemble

11 GB collection featuring a Steinway 9-foot CD337 Concert Grand, recorded in the same hall as the orchestral instruments for a perfect mix.

Big Bang Cinematic Percussion

15 GB library of 200 different percussion instruments ranging from classical to ethnic to pure raw power hits.

System Requirements

Windows System Requirements:

Windows 8, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate

Minimum Dual Core 2 GHz, Intel Core i5 or i7 recommended

Minimum RAM 2GB, 4GB or more recommended

35 Gigabytes free hard drive space (Download and Installation)

A VST or AAX (Pro Tools 11) compatible host application

Internet Access (Download and Authorization)

A FREE iLok account & manager is required for authorisation of this software - no iLok USB key is required

Apple System Requirements: