Sight and sound are everything when it comes to creating a film that evokes the emotions of the audience. While the audio is always important, it becomes especially prominent when the focus of the film is music. Straight Outta Compton is a chronicle of the members of iconic rap collective N.W.A. and their journey from the hoods of L.A. to national prominence and household recognition. Composer Joe Trapanese was given the honor of controlling the sound for the film, and he relied on Avid's Pro Tools and Sibelius to get the job done.
The Pro Tools Standard
Trapanese held out on using Pro Tools for a while, but he eventually caved to the pressure that converting from other software into the industry standard put onto him. Switching to Avid reduced the workflow crunch that occurs when collaborating between multiple teams. While comfort can make a job easier, converting between the formats added extra time and effort that could have been better spent on making the small tweaks that make a score unique. Once there, he fell in love with the powerful combination of MIDI and audio control.
Sibelius and Working with Musicians
Modern audio editing software offers a robust selection of tools that let you manipulate every aspect of a sound wave, but most aren't seamlessly compatible with how traditional musicians and orchestrators read and play music. That's where Avid's Sibelius finds its cue to jump in and save the day.
Sibelius is the tool orchestrators use to create the sheet music that their musicians will use, and it is designed to blend seamlessly with projects that started in Pro Tools. You can effortlessly go from scribbling down notes on the tablet version of the software to passing out music sheets for a recording session and then onwards to mixing and editing the audio for the entire film.
Dynamic Sound from the Digital Dynamic Duo
Both Pro Tools and Sibelius are tools that Trapanese and other composers use to create magnificent audioscapes to play alongside the wonders of the modern film industry. Joe emphasizes that both of the programs, for all their worth, are just tools that allow the music dancing within the mind of the composer to come to fruition. Still, it's hard to argue against the value of the pair when you settle in to watch (and listen) to Straight Outta Compton.
