cinematic orchestration

course overview
Personal 1-to-1 tuition by a professional film orchestrator
30 hours of video tutorials including live orchestral sessions,
top session musicians, scoring demonstrations and interviews
Study world famous film scores like John Williams
Star Wars - the full score of the suite is included with your course
materials.
Detailed instruction in every aspect of working with samples
and demonstrations of the major libraries
500 page course text plus dozens of scores and recordings
Watch the process from first sketch through to a live
recording with our very own 50 piece film orchestra
Challenging projects for both sampled and live orchestrators
with one-to-one feedback for an industry professional
Hear your music performed live by soloists and ensembles
in our optional Student Sessions and get feedback from the players themselves.

*2014 student survey of ThinkSpace students

who completed their course

cinematic orchestration
Film orchestration is built on solid classical foundations and this course is no exception. But the film
music that inspires many of us, has now taken on a
life of its own. It requires specialist techniques, a new
approach to scoring and arranging that you will never
learn from manuals written a hundred years ago.
This course will teach you both the traditional principals of orchestration and how to advance with new
technologies and techniques to produce uplifting, inspiring, nerve tingling orchestral music in a contemporary cinematic style.
Contributors include
Alan Parker (John Williams, Howard Shore, Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin)
Nick Dodd (Time Travellers Wife, Narnia, Quantum of Solace)
Nic Raine (Star Wars:The Clone Wars, Wallace and Gromit)
Nick Phoenix and Doug Rogers of East West Quantum Leap
Herb Trucmandl of the Vienna Symphonic Library
Tony Pleath (Dark Knight, Hannibal, Da Vinci Code)
John Rodd (Pirates of the Carribbean, Spiderman 2, Bourne Supremacy)
Howard Blake (The Snowman, Flash Gordon, Monster-in-Law)
Perry Montague Mason (Iron Man, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda)
and many, many more.....

Where else could you watch the whole

process from first sketch, through
orchestration, and finally to the studio
recording with a 50 piece orchestra?

A unique opportunity to learn the art

and craft of orchestration one-to-one
from working, film professionals.

Above Guy Michelmore (left) the course director and

award winning film composer, EMMY and ANNIE Nominee.
Nic Raine (right) the Course Orchestrator and Conductor.

your tutors
These are some of the people who will listen to your work, look over your scores, listen to
your mock-ups and judge them by the standard currently expected by the industry. All our tutors are currently working professionally as film orchestrators or composers, including regular
sessions with live orchestra. We are the only course in the world to be able to say that.
Charles Fernandez, composer and orchestrator, EMMY and ANNIE Nominee
with a host of credits for Disney, MGM, Warner Brothers and Universal.
Charles is a graduate of University of California, Loyola University and the
Royal College of Music. His work spans everything from orchestrating film
trailers to concert commissions, composing and orchestrating feature films
and television. Charles is based in Los Angeles, California.
Milton Nelson is a composer and orchestrator with credits including the
Haunting in Connecticut, Pokemon and Jackie Chan movies, TV shows including
Scrubs, The Wayne Brady Show, The Tonight Show and High School Musical: Get In The Picture. He works both with samples and live orchestra and is
based in Los Angeles California.
Adam Klemens is a conductor and orchestrator with credits including
District 9 (US box office number 1), Brian Tylers score for Final Destination
and with Mark Isham on The Bad Liuetenant. He is based in Prague where he
has worked on dozens of Hollywood movies. He taught music theory at the
Prague Conservatiore until 2007.
Robin Hoffmann is a young up and coming orchestrator with credits in
both feature films and games. He studied composition at the University of
Dresden. His music speaks volumes for his skill as an orchestrator. Check
out his music on our website and youll see why we were so keen to have
him join our team of tutors.
Jamie Christopherson is a game and film composer based in Hollywood. He
has an exhaustive knowledge of sampled orchestration but also works regularly with live orchestra on major games projects including Lord of the Rings,
Spiderman, Command and Conquer and Mortal Kombat.

Our Real-Deal Guarantee

Go to our website and you can hear examples
of the work of each of our tutors.

James Semple from the

UK is forging a career
as a film and television
composer with his foot
already firmly on the ladder.
The course is an essential and
comprehensive guide to working with a modern orchestra. It
covers thorough details of the
various orchestral instruments
and how to arrange for both small and large orchestras in
a modern cinematic style. All of the detailed course notes
are backed with hours of fantastic video footage including
some excellent interviews with seasoned orchestrators. The
process of taking a MIDI mockup and turning it into a full
live orchestral work is detailed meticulously and an actual
working example is given with video footage of the orchestra
actually recording the music. The assignments are certainly
challenging and combined with the course materials will
provide a thorough grounding for someone wanting to learn
about contemporary orchestration.

students view
A course is only as good
as the people who teach it.
And the tutors here are as
good as you get.

how it works
Who is this course aimed at?
Musicians who want to write and arrange orchestral music in a cinematic style, whether writing for live players
or samples. Many will be composers interested in film,
television or games. Others maybe inspired to write by
great film scores.
What will I learn?
You will learn to write and arrange orchestral music that
is both technically competent and creatively interesting.
You will learn the range, articulations, strengths and
weaknesses of each section and instrument of the orchestra. You will learn common combinations and scoring techniques, how to balance and blend the sections of
the orchestra, different voicings, doublings and articulations. You will understand how to create convincing
orchestral mock-ups using sample libraries, keyswitching, legato mode, multiple articulations and controllers.
You will also be able to produce a playable score for a
live orchestra or musician, and understand the process
of taking a score from a simple sketch or midi mockup to
a live recording.
Obviously where you end up depends on the skills you
have to start with. To achieve the outcomes I have
outlined above you would need to enter the course with
a good working knowledge of music theory including harmony and a reasonable grasp of how to work with music
technology and sequencers.
How will I learn?
The 500 page course text is the backbone of the course.
There we explain for example, how the cello works,
its technical restrictions and the range of colours and
articulations. We then introduce video tutorials with

Tony Pleath, whos cello solos you would have heard on

Hans Zimmers scores like Gladiator and Batman. He
plays examples and explains what different techniques
sound like in practice. Then a Hollywood orchestrator on
video analyses a particularly the string writing in Star
Wars. You follow the tutorial in your own copy of the
score. Then orchestrator Nic Raine takes a simple piano
sketch and, in real time on video, orchestrate the piece
for string orchestra. Finally we record the piece with
our own live string orchestra. Now film composer Guy
Michelmore takes you through sampled orchestration,
creating a string template, choosing a library and gives
you a scoring demonstration applying advanced techniques in practice.
You then choose a project. It could be a simple scoring assignment for string quartet, creating a sampled
mockup of a famous film score, transcribing a MIDI file
or MP3 file for live orchestra. There are assignments for
every level of ability and every area of interest. You then
receive detailed feedback on your work from a professional film orchestrator or composer.
Are there face-to-face classes as well?
We organise regular workshops and seminars for
students. There will also be opportunities to have a
short piece of your music recorded by a live musician or
ensemble at a reasonable cost. They are not compulsory
but most students find them inspiring and invaluable.
They are however completely optional and additional
seminar and session fees apply.
How long will it take?
The course lasts 12 months and you can start whenever
you like. If you need extra time you can simply pay an an-

nual tuition fee and stay as long as you like.

Do I get a qualification?
When you complete the course you will receive a Certificate of Course Completion. T
Is everything included in the price?
All of the text is provided as downloadable pdfs along
with most of the scores and audio. You will need to purchase the Star Wars Suite ($75) and Snowman score
(25) and some audio recordings though.
Do I need to read music?
Yes. We dont require fluent sight reading but when you
open an orchestral score you need to know what youre
looking at. However, some students do complete the
course with no music theory at all, just concentrating on
sampled orchestration.
Do I need to know about technology?
Yes to some extent. You should be able to write and record a simple demo in a computer sequencer/ That said
some students do complete the course just submitting
scores from Sibelius or Finale.
See the full course requirements for more details.

the course: unit by unit

Unit 1: An Introduction to
Orchestration

What is orchestration, how to read orchestral

scores, video examples with our live orchestra, different approaches to sampled and live scoring and
workflow, take-downs and how to orchestrate from
audio files.
Unit 2: Strings 1
A detailed look at the ranges, articulations,
strengths and weaknesses of the individual string instruments. Extensive video tutorials with top session
players. In sampled orchestration we look at how
to build your string template and the library choices
available to you.
Unit 3: Strings 2
String writing in practice, approaches to common
string applications, a detailed analysis of the writing
for strings in John Williams Star Wars, Howard
Blakes The Snowman and Peter Warlocks Capriol
Suite. Watch a top orchestrator arrange a piece
from scratch in Sibelius, then record the piece with
a live string orchestra. Live scoring examples of
writing for sampled strings.
Unit 4: Woodwind 1
A detailed look at the ranges, articulations,
strengths and weaknesses of the individual wind
instruments. Extensive video tutorials with a top
session player. In sampled orchestration we look at
how to build your woodwind template and the library
choices available to you.
Unit 5: Woodwind 2
Woodwind writing in practice, approaches to common wind applications, a detailed analysis of the
writing for woodwind in Princess Leahs Theme
form Star Wars, Howard Blakes The Snowman and

Reichas Wind Quintet No 2. Watch a top orchestrator arrange a piece for woodwind and strings
from scratch in Sibelius, then record the piece with
a live orchestra. Scoring demonstration of writing
for woodwind and strings.
Unit 6: Brass 1
A detailed look at the ranges, articulations,
strengths and weaknesses of the individual brass
instruments. Extensive video tutorials with top trumpet, trombone and french horn session players with
credits from Narnia to the James Bond movies. In
sampled orchestration we look at how to build your
brass template and the library choices available.
Unit 7: Brass 2
Brass writing in practice, approaches to common
wind applications, a detailed analysis of the writing
for brass in John Williams Star Wars and Howard
Blakes The Snowman. A masterclass in swing band
writing with Moulin Rouge arranger Steve Sidwell.
Watch a top orchestrator arrange a piece for live
orchestra from scratch in Sibelius, then record the
piece with a live orchestra. Live scoring examples
for samples.
Unit 8: Writing for Harp
and Percussion
This unit looks at the highly technical area of writing
for both harp and percussion. There is a masterclass with Kevin Hathway, Professor of percussion
at the Royal College of Music and top film session
player. Theres a close examination of hard and percussion in both Star Wars and The Snowman. We
show you how to create that wall of sound percussion track with samples with live scoring demonstrations.

Unit 9: Writing for Small Orchestra

This unit starts bringing it all together. Specific
requirements of working with smaller ensembles, a
bar by bar analysis of The Snowman with the composer, Howard Blake, plus live scoring demonstrations, how to work with short score and much else
besides.
Unit10: Writing for Large Orchestra
A bar by bar analysis of the Main Title of Star Wars
with Hollywood orchestrator and composer Charles
Fernandez, live scoring demonstration from piano
score to final recording of large action and heroic
cues, lice scoring demonstrations on how to create
that epic sound using just samples.
Unit11: Working with Musicians
From sequencer to score, how to take a midi demo
and turn it into a performable piece of music. The
million and one things you need to know about preparing scores, parts, backing tracks, click tracks,
running orders, mix minuses, Pro Tools session and
a lot more besides. Watch the process as we take
a score and record it with our live orchestra. And
finally advice on mixing orchestral music from two
top scoring mixers.
Sampling Technology Supplement
Everything you could possibly want to know about
how sampling works, the technology, the libraries and the developers. Demonstrations and video
tutorials of everything from how to use multiple
articulations and controllers, key-switching, legato
mode and overcoming the machine gun effect.
Video interviews from Vienna and LA with the men
behind both VSL and the EWQL libraries. Choosing
a library, setting up a multi-computer rig,

Postgraduate Degrees
If you like the sounds of Cinematic Orchestration but want an even deeper and more
demanding course that leads to an internationally reconised posstgraduate degree
then look at our Masters Degree programmes. Orchestration for Film, Games and
Television is a 12 month online MA programme in partnerhsip with the University of
Chichester. For more details see teh Degree section of the ThinkSpace website.

Thiago Spada is a composer

from Brazil already working in
film, television and games.
Hours of excellent videos from working professionals with a lot of useful
information. And of course, the practical assignments and the feedback,
the knowledge shared by professional
tutors is the best way to learn how to
do it. There is no better investment you
can make in your career as an orchestrator or composer.

students view
Student Sessions and Workshops
To hear your music performed by a live musician is thrilling and life changing experience. We regularly offer students the opportunity to have a short piece recorded and give them feedback on their
composition from the players themselves. Because these sessions are shared by many students it
comes at a fraction of the normal cost. The only restriction is that the recording cannot be used in
a commercial context.
We also organise regular workshops, seminars and hands-on training to supplement your course.
For many students this combination of face to face training and distance learning is the perfect
way to learn in a supportive and creative environment. Additional fees apply to both the student
sessions and the workshops and
seminars.

A group of students attend a four

day intensive workshop in London
(Left). Students came from all
over the world including Brazil
and Australia for the event!

there is no better
investment you can make in
your career as a composer
or orchestrator

the course: requirements

Technical:

Personal Requirements

PC: Quad core 2.5Ghz + processor 16Gbs RAM Windows & or above
Mac Macbook Pro, imac or Mac Pro OSX 10.6 or above
Quad core 2.5Ghz + 16Gbs RAM

Time: The course lasts 12 months and assumes approximately two hours
a week. You are required to submit 11 projects, each of which should take very
roughly 4-8 hours of work. These are very approximate and vary greatly fro
studefnt to student. If you are not able to complete the course in the time you
can extend as long as you like by paying the annual tuition fee, currently 190
or $400. Please check online for the latest prcing information.

The video tutorials come as downloadable Quicktime Movies, but you can also
purchase a DVD pack if you want hard copies of the movies.
A broadband internet connection in order to upload assignments and download
updates.
Software Required
Quicktime 7 or above
iTunes plus, preferably, access to the iTunes store
A sequencing package like Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer or Sonar
A set of orchestral samples. You can wait until you start the course to buy
these as you will be able to make a better choice and some suppliers offer a
substantial discount to students.
Minimum: EWQL Gold Complete
Optional: A score writing programme like Sibelius or Finale.
Sibleius is recommended.

Music Knowledge: We are assuming you can read music to some

degree in both treble and bass clef. You have a good understanding of keys,
scales, and the basic principals of harmony. This is roughly equivalent to Associated Board Grade 5 theory. Good knowledge of four part harmony is an
advantage although not essential to start with. The ability to produce a printed
score is a big advantage.
We offer courses in both music theory and harmony if you need to acquire or
improve these skills. These course can be taken either before enrolling in Cinematic Orchestration or run concurrently.
We do not exclude students who want to concetrate largely on sampled orchestration and have little or no music theory. However you wont be able to
follow the course scores and some of the video tutorials and some tutors are
not prepared to work with students who dont meet the minimum music theory
requirements.
Technology Knowledge: We assume you are familiar with basic
computer operation and can use virtual instruments and a sequencing programme to produce a basic audio demo of your work in MP3 format. Ability to
create zipped archives and upload through a website. It is possible to complete
the course just using a score writing programme like Sibelius or Finale as long
as you are also able to create MP3 files fo your work as well.

what it costs
Cinematic Orchestration Course Fee: 995 / US$1595
(Plus postage and packing where applicable)
This is a 12 month course, 500 page course text and 30 hours of video tutorials, 11 scoring assignments with feedback from real professional orchestrators and you get a load of scores and recordings.
Course Duration: 12 months / Tutorial Credits:11
Instalments: Deposit: 430/US$700 (plus P+P where applicable)
then 6 monthly instalments of 120/US$175
We also take payments in Euros.
Instalment Plan: Available for Credit Card Payments only. Instalment total
includes an administration charge. These figures are a guide and subject to
change. Please check the website for up to date pricing. For details of postage
see the website. Postage charges must be added to the deposit. Please read
our terms and conditions on the website.

how to enrol
You can enrol through our website by clicking on store in the left-hand menu
or call our admissions office on +44 (0) 1243 512730. Alternatively, email us
and well call you back. info@thinkspaceonline.com
ThinkSpace, Atlantic House, 119 Third Avenue, Almodington,
West Sussex PO20 7LB United Kingdom

Call Bradley
Why not give us a call or drop us an
email to discuss your own situation.
Bradley Jordan (right), the Stuent Support manager, is also a professional
composer working on Hulk for Marvel
and Lassie for Dreamworks. If you want
to know if the course is right for you, if
you have the right musical level of knowledge or equipment then call Brad.
info@thinkspaceonline.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1243 512730

I have to say this course is incredible - Ive learned so much

in such a short period of time - its like getting the opportunity
to crawl around all these great peoples minds for a few hours
and grab a lifetimes experience in a heartbeat.

I think I have already got my moneys worth and Im only just

getting thru reading Unit 2... I think I read Unit 1 in a couple
of hours - I didnt even notice the time going by, it just had me
grabbed from the first minute.
Andy Stutely
CO Student

how good could you be?

ThinkSpace