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Christian Henson's YouTube Channel - Nighty Night!

While there are lots of deserted islands on the planet, I'm not sure if there are any islands that are actually also a desert. Islands tend to be more tropical. Just saying.;)
 
Rctec said:
But I would add the Bernstein "Harvard Lectures"...
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Couldn't agree more @Rctec! Finally got my own hard copy a few weeks back. Bernstein is such an amazing teacher.
 
Rctec said:
Christian, I would pick the same - especially The Neve compressor. I think it's really the only compressor that works for orchestra. But I would exchange the Jup 4 for Zebra2 or a Moog 55 of course :). But I would add the Bernstein "Harvard Lectures"...
We do have remarkabley similar sonic tastes!
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I've followed your advice Hans and it was a toss up between the Moog and Zebra2, after consulting with my wife I'm going to go for the Zebra?

If nothing else but to make me feel better about the week I've just had:

 
This episode is quite a neat encapsulation of why I am still not buying any new libraries that are K5.6.8 only.
NI want to push Native Access and so have tied the devs into 5.6.8 for new releases, fair enough, but NA just doesn't have any benefits for users, rather flaws and an incomplete feature set versus Service Center. It makes it easy for me to buy other stuff right now. CH doesn't explain what his actual OS problem is. I am just deeply fearful of getting trapped in unnecessary/non-benefiting upgrade cycles that destroy time and money.
 
christianhenson said:
I've followed your advice Hans and it was a toss up between the Moog and Zebra2, after consulting with my wife I'm going to go for the Zebra?

If nothing else but to make me feel better about the week I've just had:

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Ah man that sucks! We all have those weeks, they just stick out more because we tend not to notice when things are going smooth. I forget what the quote is but "Smooth seas don't make good sailors"

I used to have a system like yours where when you are on project you dont change things, but then I realised I was always in the green zone so I tried to adapt so that I am not reliant on any one particular way of working, if one machine starts playing up I can still write music on my other machines in a different way. I always host my projects and samples externally so they can be accessed by anything. I can switch in and out of writing processes and such much easier now. Its also a reason I try to keep proficient in 2 DAWS...if one cocks up I can crack on with the other!

BTW mate sounds like you need an assistant, could have had him chipping away at the errors while you are out of commission in London! (which seems a regular thing)

Hope it all works out mate, and hope you have a smashing week this time :)_

-DJ
 
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URL said:
Does the UAD version of the Neve 33609 compressor have similar effect on orchestra as the hw?
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I'd say it's in the ballpark actually.

@christianhenson I'll stick with the Kemper over the Fractal myself. Just something about profiling your own amps is appealing, and more effective that I anticipated from a scoring perspective, for example, I had one fender deluxe that needed to be turned up loud but played quite quietly. The amp had tons of hiss, but the profiled kemper had none (must be the way it captures the sound) The upshot is the chord tails were really clean.
Oh, and I'd take the 414 over that small Neumann fwiw.
 
christianhenson said:
I've followed your advice Hans and it was a toss up between the Moog and Zebra2, after consulting with my wife I'm going to go for the Zebra?

If nothing else but to make me feel better about the week I've just had:

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You need a tech! (I'm not auditioning for the part, I'd be terrible!)

What DJ said about smooth seas is true but... the composing job has so many domains of knowledge already.
 
Yes @christianhenson - get a tech / composing assistant with a tech side ;)

I would be auditioning, but I don't live anything near you ;) If you consider remote assistance however....

I love your videos, great stuff, keep it up and hopefully your systems will act normal again soon :)
 
MatFluor said:
Yes @christianhenson - get a tech / composing assistant with a tech side ;)

I would be auditioning, but I don't live anything near you ;) If you consider remote assistance however....

I love your videos, great stuff, keep it up and hopefully your systems will act normal again soon :)
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Beware all: I suspect any tech/assistant would have to keep Christian's work hours, i.e. pre-dawn! :)
 
Tech assistant = overheads = restriction on liberty. It is a slow erosion but I think we're all obsessed about being massively busy, never having time off and always being knee deep in projects. This culture drives you to take more work and create more overheads more assistant more orchestrators more music editors etc etc. Then suddenly you're in a complex of your own with eight studios a dozen or so people on your payroll or paying you rent and you're never seeing your family because you have to take every bit of crap that comes through your door, and your giving the jobs that are actually furthering your career scant attention because you're knee deep in media turd. This is my story and a doctor caught me at my rock bottom when I displayed the stats of 'an eighty year old man' at just 42 years old. Since then just three jobs a year max and they've got to be brilliant and worthwhile I'm earning more than I did because of it I see my family 200% more and my stats are back where they should be (ish) and no one in the TV and Film industry, no directors, no producers have registered that I'm working less as a sign of me slipping down the composer food chain. All they care about is the really good work I'm doing.

Sorry for waffle but having seen the light it has shocked me how obsessed we are at being so mentally busy and up to our hilt in overheads... my mistake was when I had a break back in July I should have upgraded my OS but didn't because I'm captain chill now... more fool me cos it bit me on the arse this week.

Much love CH
 
Good point. Watch for your health first, and scale to comfort. You can't enjoy your earned money when you're....not there anymore because of overworking
 
christianhenson said:
Tech assistant = overheads = restriction on liberty. It is a slow erosion but I think we're all obsessed about being massively busy, never having time off and always being knee deep in projects. This culture drives you to take more work and create more overheads more assistant more orchestrators more music editors etc etc. Then suddenly you're in a complex of your own with eight studios a dozen or so people on your payroll or paying you rent and you're never seeing your family because you have to take every bit of crap that comes through your door, and your giving the jobs that are actually furthering your career scant attention because you're knee deep in media turd. This is my story and a doctor caught me at my rock bottom when I displayed the stats of 'an eighty year old man' at just 42 years old. Since then just three jobs a year max and they've got to be brilliant and worthwhile I'm earning more than I did because of it I see my family 200% more and my stats are back where they should be (ish) and no one in the TV and Film industry, no directors, no producers have registered that I'm working less as a sign of me slipping down the composer food chain. All they care about is the really good work I'm doing.

Sorry for waffle but having seen the light it has shocked me how obsessed we are at being so mentally busy and up to our hilt in overheads... my mistake was when I had a break back in July I should have upgraded my OS but didn't because I'm captain chill now... more fool me cos it bit me on the arse this week.

Much love CH
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So really, why not have a clone of your system, not the slaves but the main daw machine? I mean come on. Just clone the sucker and keep it in a different location.( you got the money right? ) Some things WE have control over, yeah?

Breaks are good for life assessments. And also I think we need time to evolve, or devolve from the music we wrote so we can approach new music from a fresh perspective. we need time to LIVE. That means taking walks, working on vanity stuff, taking time with family, even if it kills you to be away. Just my two cents. (we always have some residual income right?)

And yeah, it's only bloody entertainment, stop getting fooled by the glamour pay, it's easy to fall into the "drama" that surrounds productions, like it's the end of the earth or something because the underlings are all running around with their heads cut off and freaking out. Rise above the noise, it's only noise after all, and it can get you off your game if you let it. Like the multiple revisions or the creative differences, just keep an eye on the finish line and what will get you there. Throw out work if it has no value, mother f&@$ing hard to do but essential to your success, and when people see that you're open minded, things start to get along very smoothly.
And then the project is done, you're feeling a few years older and the circus left town and it's all crickets and quiet, like where the f@&$k did everyone go? So much drama and high intensity, and it has nothing to do with the actual work, it's all project management, or lack thereof.
Keep calm and carry on.

-edit-
And you think you'll never work again, and start to feel sorry for yourself. And then the phone rings and the next thing is on the horizon, and all those familiar feelings jump to the fore again, all the excitement, nervous energy so prevalent at the start of something, that nervous energy that ends up costing you to do more then you felt necessary, but need to do to smooth over the hidden objections from the higher ups that you're the "right one for the job" etc etc.
Take time to relish youself in your productive years, it's a wonderful time IF you let it be that, wonderful. And purposeful and profitable. Nice to feel you have a prupose and a place in this world and industry. And to be able to share that with like minded people.
 
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HGW has a great game plan. "Not an industry but a cottage industry". 3-4 projects a year, a scoring assistant, and a tech assistant. He also takes a sabbatical every few years now and teaches and enjoy his rugby.

Christian I do hope your comments don't deter other composers from hiring assistant's as it's about the only way for allot of people to get started these days, something to please keep in mind. Cheers.

dgburns said:
So really, why not have a clone of your system, not the slaves but the main daw machine? I mean come on. Just clone the sucker and keep it in a different location.( you got the money right? ) Some things WE have control over, yeah?

Breaks are good for life assessments. And also I think we need time to evolve, or devolve from the music we wrote so we can approach new music from a fresh perspective. we need time to LIVE. That means taking walks, working on vanity stuff, taking time with family, even if it kills you to be away. Just my two cents. (we always have some residual income right?)

And yeah, it's only bloody entertainment, stop getting fooled by the glamour pay, it's easy to fall into the "drama" that surrounds productions, like it's the end of the earth or something because the underlings are all running around with their heads cut off and freaking out. Rise above the noise, it's only noise after all, and it can get you off your game if you let it. Like the multiple revisions or the creative differences, just keep an eye on the finish line and what will get you there. Throw out work if it has no value, mother f&@$ing hard to do but essential to your success, and when people see that you're open minded, things start to get along very smoothly.
And then the project is done, you're feeling a few years older and the circus left town and it's all crickets and quiet, like where the f@&$k did everyone go? So much drama and high intensity, and it has nothing to do with the actual work, it's all project management, or lack thereof.
Keep calm and carry on.
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If you change your mind Christian about an assistant even sporadically for the odd job then I would love the opportunity as I only live an hour away from you. Very happy to show my reel if this ever were to be the situation. Thanks, Dervish.
 
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