1. With Starship Exeter I know that you had to use the same kind of instruments as they used back in the original Star Trek TV show, did this limit you in any way, and did you find that you used instruments that you'd nevr really thought about before.

BEN - Before I actually started composing, Jimm (Producer) sent me actuall cues notated from a couple TOS episodes. He had found them archived somewhere on the net. I use these cues as a foundation for the size of the orchestra I would create as a template. Jimms only instruction was to remember that the old TV show had a tight budget, and the reason the orchestra was usually 30 instruments or smaller was because of this. He told me not to stray too far from that idea. Although future episodes started to use larger and more exotic instruments, electonics, and vocals at certain spots. I did my best to hold true to this concept.....Very restrictive, but also very challenging.

2. Was it tough to tune into the 60's style and how did you do that

BEN - The hardest part of this whole process was getting the dynamics to sound right. TOS has a real Jazzy, bright, brassy, big band, swing type of sound. It's real tricky to get this sound with Vienna but it is possible. I basically rented as many TOS episodes as I could from the Blockbuster and studied them for about 3 weeks. This show was before my time, so I had to do tons of research to do it justice.

3. What equipment do you use.

BEN - Samples: VSL Pro Edition, VSL Horizon Series, Sam Trumpets, Reason 2.5, Voices Of the Apocalypse.
Software: I use Cubase 3.0 SL, GigaStudio 3.0 rewired
Hardware: Pentium 4 3.2G, 1.5 Gig ram, 3 firefire Glyph external HD, US-428 Tascam ASIO. I'm in the process of getting another machine. You really do need more than 1 computer when using VSL to get anything done with a resonable time frame.

4. What structure of mixing do you use. I.E. How many buses of instrument groups, how many main buses for effects, and what mastering plugs do you use.

BEN - Generally I only use 1 group/port of instruments as my template in GigaStudio. Everything stems from this group of Woodwinds/Horns/Trumpets/Tmpani/Percussion Set. I have various Trills and articulations set up through out this 16 track group. After some practice and tweaking, I'm able to get the sound I need. With regards to effects, I use Gigapulse as the Verb. The trick with the sound is not too much reverb, it gives the effect that the ensemble is small. I don't have to master anything because that is done on the engineers side who actually prepares the clip for the web.

5. Did you have to do a particular mastering thing to arrive at the sound that you had. I.E. The 60's thing, how did you get the sound to be like it was on the TV show.

BEN - To actually arrive at TOS sound, it was more a matter of EQ than mastering. Taking a lot of the mid-range out and pumping the volume up gives it that Big Band, type sound. A lot of it too depended on how the instument was actually played. Lots of Trills and Portamento!

6. Did Jim Johnson give you tonnes of direction with the music, and what were his comments when you showed him your first versions.

BEN - Jimm Johnson is a perfectionist. If you look at the bridge constructed for the show you can see the detail that he has in mind, and how serious he takes this project. Jimm is very hands on with the music also, and he knows what he wants. The Teaser and the first act of the show we were pretty much just getting a feel for it. Lots of changes and corrections in the music. Mainly the intensity of the cues. The music was usually always "good". He used the words "More Intense", or "Softer" to discribe his changes. We've built up a pretty good cue library as a by-product of all these takes! Act II is where I really began to have a feel for what Jimm was looking for. There weren't very many changes for Act II. Act III is the same way. We are on the same page now. The clips you heard are from Act III, not yet released.

7. Do you think you'd like to do filmscore for his kind of show again.

BEN - I'd love to do this again! It's a privelege to be part of something like this. I will never get to score a space sci-fi film of this caliber so it truly is something special. It's also a great excuse to create this type of music. Very fun. You can probably tell I'm enjoying it and it's manifesting itself in many of the cues. Well everyone, enjoy the rest of the show. The remaining acts (III and IV) should be complete by summers end. Thanks for listening!

-Ben

VSL Podcast Show 006	Media / Links
Opening
Opening Music and Intro
VSL podcast Tuesday June 13th, 2006. A community show for users for the Vienna Symphonic Library.
Welcome all to the VSL podcast
These are the sounds ...
Play music - Starship Exeter Theme
Some special pieces of film music by Ben Jasmine	www.cratewatchers.com
1. With Starship Exeter I know that you had to use the same kind of instruments as they used back in the original Star Trek TV show, did this limit you in any way, and did you find that you used instruments that you'd nevr really thought about before. BEN - Before I actually started composing, Jimm (Producer) sent me actuall cues notated from a couple TOS episodes. He had found them archived somewhere on the net. I use these cues as a foundation for the size of the orchestra I would create as a template. Jimms only instruction was to remember that the old TV show had a tight budget, and the reason the orchestra was usually 30 instruments or smaller was because of this. He told me not to stray too far from that idea. Although future episodes started to use larger and more exotic instruments, electonics, and vocals at certain spots. I did my best to hold true to this concept.....Very restrictive, but also very challenging. 2. Was it tough to tune into the 60's style and how did you do that BEN - The hardest part of this whole process was getting the dynamics to sound right. TOS has a real Jazzy, bright, brassy, big band, swing type of sound. It's real tricky to get this sound with Vienna but it is possible. I basically rented as many TOS episodes as I could from the Blockbuster and studied them for about 3 weeks. This show was before my time, so I had to do tons of research to do it justice. 3. What equipment do you use. BEN - Samples: VSL Pro Edition, VSL Horizon Series, Sam Trumpets, Reason 2.5, Voices Of the Apocalypse. Software: I use Cubase 3.0 SL, GigaStudio 3.0 rewired Hardware: Pentium 4 3.2G, 1.5 Gig ram, 3 firefire Glyph external HD, US-428 Tascam ASIO. I'm in the process of getting another machine. You really do need more than 1 computer when using VSL to get anything done with a resonable time frame. 4. What structure of mixing do you use. I.E. How many buses of instrument groups, how many main buses for effects, and what mastering plugs do you use. BEN - Generally I only use 1 group/port of instruments as my template in GigaStudio. Everything stems from this group of Woodwinds/Horns/Trumpets/Tmpani/Percussion Set. I have various Trills and articulations set up through out this 16 track group. After some practice and tweaking, I'm able to get the sound I need. With regards to effects, I use Gigapulse as the Verb. The trick with the sound is not too much reverb, it gives the effect that the ensemble is small. I don't have to master anything because that is done on the engineers side who actually prepares the clip for the web. 5. Did you have to do a particular mastering thing to arrive at the sound that you had. I.E. The 60's thing, how did you get the sound to be like it was on the TV show. BEN - To actually arrive at TOS sound, it was more a matter of EQ than mastering. Taking a lot of the mid-range out and pumping the volume up gives it that Big Band, type sound. A lot of it too depended on how the instument was actually played. Lots of Trills and Portamento! 6. Did Jim Johnson give you tonnes of direction with the music, and what were his comments when you showed him your first versions. BEN - Jimm Johnson is a perfectionist. If you look at the bridge constructed for the show you can see the detail that he has in mind, and how serious he takes this project. Jimm is very hands on with the music also, and he knows what he wants. The Teaser and the first act of the show we were pretty much just getting a feel for it. Lots of changes and corrections in the music. Mainly the intensity of the cues. The music was usually always "good". He used the words "More Intense", or "Softer" to discribe his changes. We've built up a pretty good cue library as a by-product of all these takes! Act II is where I really began to have a feel for what Jimm was looking for. There weren't very many changes for Act II. Act III is the same way. We are on the same page now. The clips you heard are from Act III, not yet released. 7. Do you think you'd like to do filmscore for his kind of show again. BEN - I'd love to do this again! It's a privelege to be part of something like this. I will never get to score a space sci-fi film of this caliber so it truly is something special. It's also a great excuse to create this type of music. Very fun. You can probably tell I'm enjoying it and it's manifesting itself in many of the cues. Well everyone, enjoy the rest of the show. The remaining acts (III and IV) should be complete by summers end. Thanks for listening! -Ben
Play Music - Opening of Act 3
Play Music - What in the name of god
Visit the Starship Exeter Website .. they even have their own podcast	www.starshipexeter.com
Play break music. Beat Kaufmanns "Nice Meeting"
Visit Beats site for great tutorials on using the VSL	www.beat-kaufmann.com
Composition Showcase
Composer Review Number Eleven - Guy Bacos	www.vsl.co.at
Play piece - Mickeys Berlin Fantasy
Play piece - Someday
Composition Showcase
Composer Review Number Twelve - Herb Tucmandl	www.vsl.co.at
Play piece - Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky - 4th Symphony - Scherzo
Feedback
Request listener comments on	hetoreyn@yahoo.co.uk
Please send any comments on the show to my e-mail address. If anyone has any questions that they'd like to ask of course we have the VSL forum, but if there is a big topic that people would like me to put out on the show, send it to my e-mail and I will get it up on the show, for later comments and suggestions.	hetoreyn@yahoo.co.uk
Request for listener compositions to showcase
If you like the idea of getting your stuff heard for comments and appraisal please send it in to me along with some details on who you are, what your VSL forum name is and a little bit about the piece that you are submitting. I claim no copyright towards other peoples pieces, as I say this is a community show and is all about showcasing the music.
Closing
Play outro music - Steve Thompson - Lizard Lounge	www.stevethompsonmusic.net
Visit the VSL Site	www.vsl.co.at
Also visit the website	www.elvenmusic.com