Skip to content
Menu
Jánnos Eolou
  • HOME
  • Music Works
  • Short CV
  • Concerts
  • Personal Note
  • Store
  • Random Thoughts
  • Maladie d Amour
  • News
  • Contact
  • My account
  • Checkout
  • Basket
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclaimer
Jánnos Eolou

INTERSTELLAR – A great use of Dynamics

Posted on
By dynamics we mean the general perceived loudness of music (or sound in general). It is common knowledge, something like second nature in every one working with sound these last decades the ‘loudness war’. This is a war of trying to fit more ‘perceived loudness’ into the digital world by over-compressing the hell out of everything, so that it sounds more impressive, more massive, it cuts through the overall sound effect madness of the films, etc. There are millions of articles about it, some of them trying to teach you how to do it, and some trying to talk sense into sound engineers and producers. Although it has a great impact on the music itself and the way audience perceives it, usually composers had little to say about it. It was mostly left to the people working on the final production of the film to take care of this (mostly – but there are several exceptions) With the Interstellar soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, we have a great example of creative use of dynamics, playing an integral role in the fabric of music. Because the film deals with the vastness of universe, and the enormous, out of this planet magnitude of space, they tried to fit such an exhilarating feeling into the sound spectrum of the film as well as the soundtrack. The only sensible way to do this is to use wisely your dynamics, which they did. When the soundtrack starts (on the CD or iTunes) the overall level is so low that you wonder if it is faulty. Then you realise that there is some sound in ti, but you have to crank your volume up. Which is what allows for the extra large hit of sound, colours and emotions when it comes. It is an old trick that engineers used to do back in the analogue era, when they wanted to have a big explosion for example. Some minutes before that, they used to lower the overall level down, slowly, without being noticed, and this resulted in the audience to ‘open up their ears’ more, calibrating their hearing to lower levels, and when the explosion came it sounded enormous, although in absolute terms it wasn’t. Now, in the digital era, there is no need for such things, but in the case of the Interstellar soundtrack, it was a great trick. Classical composers use it all the time. They work with the enormous dynamic range of the orchestra from pianissimo of only some instruments to sforzando of massive parts and this is what makes listening to a live orchestra such a unique experience, never able to be captured into a recording. So, it is a good thing that from a man who blasted the hell out of percussion for so many films (and I mean it in a great way, not as criticism), to have a new attempt to re-think (and have other to follow I hope) the wise use of dynamics, as a musical tool, as part of the total listener experience. This means that your knob on your stereo or listening device won’t be stack to the same position since all recordings were at the same volume – the maximum (as it happened for almost two decades). You may have to do some turning to do… not that difficult in order to enjoy more emotions, be taken by surprise, travel to new levels of excitement…

1922: A Century in Ionia, Thrace and Pontus.

I was asked to compose music for the commemorative tribute...

Read More

Unsurpassable Beauty

It is only in the 2nd half of the 20th...

Read More

The less, the more…

As years go by, I find myself trying to compose...

Read More

What is the purpose of Art today?

Have you ever wondered “why do we need Art today?”...

Read More

Nikos Kazantzakis, a Romantic

I am often asked about the people who influenced me...

Read More

La Forêt des Vœux – The Forest of Oaths

The Forest is a magic grid, a place where one...

Read More

CORPUS AETERNUM (part 2)

While working on the Corpus Aeternum composition I strived to...

Read More

CORPUS AETERNUM (part 1)

CORPUS AETERNUM A new composition for Mixed Choir and Piano...

Read More

Why do we trust simplicity?

A music theme is powerful, direct, understood, loved, remembered when...

Read More

The myth of music being ‘in front of/above’ the film

I have heard it so many times in my life,...

Read More

Going from A to B!

All my life I am trying to go from A...

Read More

Why do we need stories?

Many times I have been asking myself this. Why do...

Read More

The next level for VST instruments

Have you ever wondered why VST instruments never sound like...

Read More

The Ideal orchestra

Orchestras have a long story and has been changing their...

Read More

Composing for the Time Squatters Saga

For quite some time now I’ve been working on the...

Read More

What is a personal voice in music composition?

We all agree that technology has advanced our lives in...

Read More

How do you compose music?

If I had a ‘facebook like’ every time I get...

Read More

INTERSTELLAR – A great use of Dynamics

By dynamics we mean the general perceived loudness of music...

Read More

Sound, part of nature…

How often do we have the chance to be lost...

Read More

The rhythm in editing is what makes music

Have you ever thought what makes music and image stick...

Read More

Listen to seelected Jánnos Eolou Music Works

Jannos Eolou · Jánnos Eolou Samples

Selected Scores of Jánnos Eolou Works

  • Your Hands - Piano Cello Duet
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €40.00
  • Narcissus Score - Piano Quintet
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €85.00
  • CD NARCISSUS
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €15.00
  • CD Amorosa
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €15.00
  • CD Dance of the Dead Roses
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €15.00
  • CD La Foret des Voeux
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €15.00
  • CD Tango Ton Christougenon (Christmas Tango)
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €15.00
  • Young Rose Love - for Two Pianos
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €28.00
  • Luz - Piano Tango for Two Pianos
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €28.00
  • THREE MOMENTS IN ONE - TWO PIANOS SUITE
    Rated 0 out of 5
    €28.00

Best Original Score for Christmas Tango – Hellenic Film Academy 2012

Best Original Score – Audience Award for Christmas Tango – 2012

©2023 Jánnos Eolou | Powered by WordPress and Superb Themes!
Cleantalk Pixel
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}