This was my entry for APRA TropScore 2012, a competition to create a score/synch for a short film to be shown at TropFest 2012. There were 895 entries submiited, and it turned out that there would only be 20 shortlisted entries.

Unfortunately mine was not selected. Truthfully, I was initially a bit disappointed, but was soon just looking forward to hearing the winner’s entry.

I’m now released to present the track to the public, so here is Returning, a soundtrack for a short film of the same name by Amelia Olsen-Boyd.

I’m not sure how the music will translate without viewing it with the accompanying film (I can’t upload that due to copyright issues), but here it is nonetheless.

For anyone interested, the track was composed using the following:

• Reaper – recording, production
• Notion 3 – complete score
• Native Instruments Kontakt 5
• IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonik (orchestral)
• AcousticSamples TheBox (bass cajón)
• FXpansion BFD Eco (drums)
• 8DIO Glass Marimba
• 8DIO Barbary
• Camel Sounds Dream Voices
• Mildon Studios rainstick samples

I’m looking forward to seeing/hearing the finalists’ competition entries. I’ll aim to link to the film when the winner is selected.

I’m still pleased with the final result of my labours, and hope that you enjoy listening.

Posted via email from rotassator

This is the MXR Micro Chorus.

The short story is that I love this chorus. It creates a lush, velvety warmness to my tone that works wonderfully with fretted and fretless bass. First outing was at Carols in the Park, where Silent Night (and other classics) were supported by sweet, chorus-y plushness that filled out the mix nicely.

The controls are dead easy. The switch turns it on. Groundbreaking, I know. Turn the knob to the left for more subtlety, or all the way to the right for inspired wonkiness. So far, my go-to tone is somewhere between 10 and 11 o’clock.

This one is definitely a keeper.

Posted via email from rotassator

Don’t worry. It’ll all be back to normal (or what passes for it around here) soon.

Blessings,
Steve

If you’ve been watching the news, you’ll know how Pluto was controversially “demoted” to a dwarf planet last year.

This morning, I was reading how astronomers think they’ve found evidence of underground running water on Charon. Depending on current definitions, Charon is known as either Pluto‘s primary moon or as Pluto’s partner in a double dwarf planet system.

That’s interesting by itself, but it got me thinking about how the sizes of Pluto and Charon compare to our more familiar world. So I thought I’d compare them to the size of Australia:

• Pluto: about 2400km in diameter (~1490 miles)
• Charon: about 1200km in diameter (~745 miles)
• Australia: 4000km (East-West) by 3700km (North-South) (~2485 × 2300 miles)

So (suspending reality for a moment), Pluto and Charon would fit side by side inside the shores of Australia.

How about them apples?

Blessings, Steve

[Listening to The Braided, It Ends Here -- Speak To The Sky]

Not that we have a very cold in winter here in Sydney (but it feels like we’re going to have a scorching summer this year), but it sounds better than just saying “I’ve been busy”…

Anyhoo, I let myself get a bit overdone with all the security talk. For some reason put myself under too much pressure with all that über-serious stuff.

So from here on, there’ll be somewhat of a more relaxed tone around here. I’ll still be ranting on about security issues from time to time, but I just don’t have the time to go into too much depth at present. I’m still planning to do the odd articley / tutorialy / thingy, but they’ll be for Special Occasions.

Hope that this means we’ll have a bit more fun in the process!

Blessings, Steve

[Listening to Australian Chamber Orchestra — Handel's Concerto Grosso in D]