Stand by Me: The Sounds I made for the Film
In this video, Anthony tells the story surrounding the musical score from (1986) hit film Stand by Me which features an All-Star cast that incudes River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, John Cusack and Richard Dreyfuss.
We learn that the first version of the film was titled The Body, named after the novel by Stephen King. The film's director, Rob Reiner intuitively changed the film's name to Stand by Me after licensing the rights to the song with the same name written by Ben E. King along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The name change was made only one week before the film's delivery date. With little time to spare, the musical score was re-created using the sounds and melody from the song and performed on the Synclavier Digital Music System using it's on board sequencer/recorder and employing a sound modeling technique unique to the Synclavier called "Resynthesis".
Anthony describes "Resynthesis"as creating synthesizer sounds based on samples analyzed by the computer that use cross fades of back-to-back wave tables. "Resynthesis" gives you the tonal character of the original sampled sound with all the benefits of a synth (e.g less memory, same length across the keyboard, more editing capabilities...) Along with Brian Banks, Anthony programmed all the sounds and replayed the entire score in this way after the original score by Oscar Winning composer Jack M. Nietzsche was abandoned. The film's director Rob Reiner was present throughout the scoring process. The duo had just completed work programming and performing Jack's score for the John Carpenter Oscar Nominated film Starman.
You'll hear the actual sounds used in the film that Anthony loads from the original 5.25" floppy disks (that still work perfectly after being in storage for close to 40 years). The final score used a core instrumentation of resynthesized versions of a flute, stand up bass, bowed wine glasses and piano. There was no DAW in existence so all the tracks were input into the Synclavier's internal sequencer/recorder and locked to picture using the latest feature SMPTE time code. With this set up, everyone could watch the film while the music was being recorded.
00:00 Intro
00:56 The Body
01:21 Resynthesis
02:21 Only one week to create a new score!
03:37 Performing the Score
04:51 Resynthesis (recap)
07:13 The Synclavier Sequencer
09:07 What is an ICONIC Sound?
Anthony also states the importance of a good film or a good song. It's all the difference in the potential of your work as a programmer, arranger or performer. He advises to step back and really listen to what you are creating to find the emotion in the sounds.
Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.
His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.
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This channel came out of nowhere and filled a massive gap I didn't know was in my life, because I assumed it would NEVER be a thing. A guy who worked on scores and albums I absolutely love going "let me break this down in detail myself while also giving a college course on how synth works, how the synclavier works, and how we used it to score your childhood" Cannot thank you enough for the work, and for what you're doing now giving us all this behind the scenes insight.
@adam872
Жыл бұрын
My sentiments exactly! I've loved nerding out on all this Synclavier content.
@bigmistqke
11 ай бұрын
I knoooow. This is what the internet is made for.
the synclavier was an iconic piece of alot of these tracks but i think anthony just has a real affinity for nice sounds and making music sound pleasant
What's not mentioned here: The process of specifying timbre frames was done in the Signal File Manager. You started with a sample that would be recorded via the Sample-to-Disk (a separate box containing an A-to-D converter, and some DMA bits for shooting data directly into buffers that could be sent out to the winchester disk, typically a 10 megabyte IMI disk.). A sample could, in its most basic form, be loaded into the performance program, and played via the keyboard, and sequenced via the memory recorder (sequencer). The sample would literally be streamed off the disk, onto a sound channel via DMA. It was monophonic. But NED realized very quickly, that Fourier Resynthesis could be used to analyze the sound, break it up into frequency/amplitude components, and the changes could be specified via timbre frames, they are quite analogous to "key frames" in animation, and thus a sound that previously existed as a monophonic sample coming off the hard drive, would be transformed into a synthesizer instrument that could be played polyphonically on the keyboard, and into the memory recorder. But the process of resynthesis had a hefty manual component: the specification of the timbre frames. This was implemented via the "label" feature in the signal file manager, which had been previously used for editing/trimming. You would specify labels of a specific naming convention (I forget precisely), and the typical pattern was to place these labels (and therefore the frames) at the transient portions of the sound, where there were drastic changes. For many instrument-like sounds, this was the attack of the sound. Given the speed of terminal redraw (the terminal ran at 9600 bits per second, sending a mash of Tektronix 4010 and VT-100 commands for graphics and text, yes, this was what the RetroGraphics VT-640 was, a board that added Tektronix graphics to a DEC VT-100 terminal), this was very slow, and thus you spent an awful lot of time zooming in and out with the PF keys, and moving the cursor with the arrow keys to find a place to place a timbre frame. I got very tired of this. I had, through tons of begging and pleading, gotten a copy of the Scientific XP/L compiler, and language manual from NED, and learned the language. It was sort of the weird schism of PL/I and BASIC, with lots of functions to handle complex math, particularly matrix math (a really good thing if you're working with data that has frequencies and you wanna transform them somehow)., and had started writing some of my own little programs (using the full screen editor on the Synclavier. The operating system on the Synclavier was probably the largest deployment of the Dartmouth Time Sharing System, outside of Dartmouth, and was the reason that the various commands were as they were, CATALOG, OLD, NEW, SCRATCH, etc.), and I wrote the dumbest most naive little program to find the highest amplitudes in a signal, and place labels on them, because this was most likely where the action was, and where they needed to be in the first place. It worked on source material output by the Reverse Compiler. It worked great, and allowed me to make resynthesized sounds in half the time. :) the PSMT re-design ultimately meant that the Synclavier's synthesis, resynthesis, and sample-to-disk features would take a back seat, and NED would eventually stop working on that part of the system, altogether, as Synclavier morphed into a post-production direct-to-disk recorder and editor, in much the same way that the Fairlight CMI became the MFX.
@jimbotron70
Жыл бұрын
Wow!
@bigmistqke
11 ай бұрын
This channel has the best comments
I was originally here to learn about Thriller, but these recent synclavier videos (Thriller or other films) have been so enjoyable to watch and learn. I had no idea what the synclavier was capable before this. Thank you Anthony and the rest of the team!
Had no idea that you were involved with Stand By Me, Anthony! What an amazing story! That film is so iconic, and the song so well known, that people probably overlook “the score”. Hopefully you’ll be looking into the music for Starman! 👏🙌
@ssommerfeld
Жыл бұрын
Totally want more back story on Starman! Sounds interesting for sure.
@bigmistqke
11 ай бұрын
+1 on Starman, sounded crazy
I never heard of resynthesis in the Synclavier. Incredible. Amazed to learn the title and score were changed so late in production. It was the right decision, as the message and music work so well.
I've been carefully watching since you started your series with complete fascination. I'm constantly blown away with everything. The fact you can remember it all alone is amazing in itself! What a blessing we have in you passing it all on. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it ❤
9:07 _"Well, they say that because it's an amazing movie."_ Ahahaha. :) Great work, Anthony Marinelli! That's right! 9:20 _"[It's] a good sound, but it's in an amazing song."_ :) Context!
This channel has important historical value - simply amazing content!
I can't overstate how much I'm enjoying these Synclavier videos. What an incredible piece of technology, not only for its time, but in general.
Very cool. I haven't seen that picture in a long time, but I liked it very much as a kid and I never took away that it had a "synthy" score. So cool to see the range of flashy "New Sounds" as Michael would say ...all the way to the tastefully inconspicuous supporting roll this instrument is capable of in the right hands. Thanks and cheers.
The Synclav, and what Marinelli was doing on it was 30-40 years ahead of its time. Now many of us can try and learn from some of his great work. Its great technology has been democratized to the point where we can do this all in a DAW without a lot of $$.
Another Throwback SUPER!!
You're the mister rogers of synthesizers... Always so calm, and the way you explain stuff....it just relaxes me when i watch your show
This is history, synthesis, purpose, and tutorials all in one video. Thank you for sharing all of this information. It is invaluable!
I always appreciated the sparse nature of the score as it was really emotive and captured the mood perfectly. Never realised it was done on a Synclavier though. Another amazing video Anthony.
Great rundown of the production process. So much easier and more effective doing it in real time vs time code and notes.
Well damn....At first I thought maybe Anthony here was dropping the big bombs a little too quickly, but maybe hes just never going to run out of ammo.
@anthonymarinellimusic
Жыл бұрын
I’m just getting started!
@tyler_
Жыл бұрын
@@anthonymarinellimusic and this late 80s baby is here for it, my man!
Amazing! Iconic sounds and scores...New fave channel!
Thank you so much for this! It looks you have made the sounds and score for most of my favorite films. An amazing movie with an amazing soundtrack.
The bass player from my old band loved that movie, and he had the book too. :-)
I remember seing this function in Arturia's Synclavier V ... I was blown away, and couldn't believe that a synth could have this kind of functionality back in the 80s. To me it is one of the most innovative features ever...
Every now and then the KZread algorithm gets the recommendations right for me… love this channel now!
Great !!!
Looking forward to this one!
Hi Anthony, This is great content. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
@anthonymarinellimusic
Жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Another fantastic video! Thank you 👏🏾❤️👏🏾 will you please do a video about your score for YOUNG GUNS? Its easily the most underrated film score of the 1980s!!! 🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾
Looks like a really interesting episode!
First time I hear about resynthesis. The Synclavier is such an amazing machine!
please make an Starman episode, or two 🤭 i watched it last night, great sounds and music!
One of my favorites as a kid. Thanks for doing these videos!
The wine glass sound is amazing!
This was great! So those resynthesized frames are basically different FM sounds that get morphed into one another over time? Interesting concept! Makes me wonder how other sounds like cellos, vocals and the like would sound like!
Anthony you’ve been involved in so many songs/movies that’ve been a part of my childhood and I never even knew it. Pretty awesome ❤️
Thank you for this fantastic lesson ❤
Keep the videos coming!
Those resynthesized FM sounds are very very nice! Surprisingly good for FM.
Your stories are great. I appreciate you sharing your experience and workflow on generating all your sounds on your numerous projects!
Would be very interested on seeing a video about sounds on starman. Tbh I thought that was all Jack Nitchsche..and a lot of roland d50
This channel is going to blow up and be massive and I'm happy to watch that happen. Your work is legendary!
Awesome.Really enjoyed this. thanks ❤🙏
Excellent channel,-
@anthonymarinellimusic
Жыл бұрын
Thank you very much!
Priceless.
I'd love to see more of your soundtrack work! Great series.
I really love these film score videos you’ve been doing, Anthony. The Synclavier is such a fascinating machine and I have enjoyed learning about the various things it’s capable of. I never realized that it could do resampling like this until now! I’m impressed that you were able to get anything done, with how much fun you must have been having! Keep up the great work, and thanks so much for sharing your secrets!
Beautiful video, Anthony. Thanks so much!
I realy love this channel! Scoring a cue in free time, juste playing with your fingers and your soul while looking at a scene: Actualy I did that a lot, like a silent movie pianist, and sometimes it's great.
That's awesome! Just found this channel through a comment on youtube! Really like the sound design but also the stories behind your work with other artists! Would be nice to see a studio tour at one point! Cheers!
Thanks Anthony! Very inspirational, your message really resonated with me. 👏🏼🤘🏼
incredible video. i had no idea the synclavier had such a feature “resynthesis”.
I LOVE your videos!!! So interesting. Give us more . 😊
Thank you. I watch many of your Videos and such an inspiration especially since I do mostly everything in Entertainment by myself. it's a joy because the work is not hard it's just never ending and sometimes I just need a piece of mind. Then I'll come across your videos and homework sets in and then it's Go time.
Your content is so awesome. I watch EVERY video you put out, they are all awesome and the way you explain everything is awesome.
Very amazing i have a hardware fm synth but copying sounds is a different level of hard. You have alot of experience Anthony to make magical compositions.
Wow. I just stumbled upon your channel. What an amazing and informative video. I'm a fan and new subscriber. Thank you!
YO YOU GOTTA DO STARMAN THEN… THAT SHID IS THE JUICE
The resynthesis concept is cool, it transformed PCM sounds into FM vectors, must have been useful back in the day when hardware resources were scarce.
'Stand by me' is one of the samples that comes in my mind when I play a meeting preset on a synth. I did not know it was used in a movie, but I can understand it became a link along the scenes as it is like becoming an obsession when I comes to play it, as I also play soprano and bass recorder. I'm just begining on Clarinet, but I guess it will becomes the same.
Please talk about your Model D and it's modifications. Thanks!
Always loved the Young Guns score. Would love some music bts on that one.
Cool how almost unsettling it is. Kind of Lynch-like even.
I love you 😭😅🔥🔥
Believe it or not, I was doing resynthesis a week or two ago on a Kawai K5000 (1996) using Soundiver software intended for Windows 95 (!). The way the Kawai does it is a bit different, it uses additive synthesis but what it's trying to do is similar. Of course the Synclavier was a much, much more expensive system, and came out more than a decade earlier, but the process and results are quite similar.
I always thought resynthesis is realized strictly additive. Still nice shirt, presentation, story, words & everything....
1:45 sounds like granular synthesis
Hey Anthony, a bit of a technical question for you. When adding the resynthesis function to the synclavier it upgraded the system from 8 bit to 16 bit from what I understand. Did you find a difference in the core tone of the instrument when this change was made? Thanks.
I’d like to hear some more about the Star Man soundtrack!
@anthonymarinellimusic
Жыл бұрын
Soon !
@mrAlphavilla
Жыл бұрын
Yes. Me too
❤❤❤
+ 1 Marinelli for the Algorithm
@florianmuller4637
Жыл бұрын
kzread.info/dash/bejne/eqBss8OyYLmXqdI.html
@florianmuller4637
Жыл бұрын
Something about Frank Zappa and his Synclavier works
"Resynthesis" sounds like the title of a Stephen King novel.
Pure Diamonds and Gold content for producers🫡🫡🫡
So cool! Is there any film you wish you’d had the opportunity to work on?
How is it that have you worked on so many things that I grew up loving?
Which synthesizers were used during the Starman end credits? Was it soley the Synclavier II or Arp 2600 and Synclavier? Also, which Starman track has the resynthesized mosquito? If you can remember that far back, id love to know! Your videos have good content, sound, and editing. I appreciate all the hard work that you out into these and always look forward to your videos. Thank you!
is the original sample analysis using some sort of FFT? If so, then reconstituting the sound using FM (for anything deemed "too complex" for simple additive sine waves?) seems a pretty complex way to go about it in terms of reverse engineering ... admittedly you would save a lot of output sine waves, but there'd be a lot of computational overheads to get there, and a significant error margin i would imagine. i.e. Is this not just resynthesis based on additive synthesis with a restricted number of partials? there was a fairly advanced pure additive capability after all in the Synclavier if i am not mistaken ... with a relatively high number of sines available for the time ... If it is using FM, i'd very much like to understand a little more about how that analytic reduction took place. And one wonders why it hasn't been embraced since? (or has it?)
Does anyone know what mic was used for the narration in the movie?
Haven't found my penny's yet,
🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
Being that I am tired of youtube thought poiice I will be leaving youtube. I won't give them my traffic. Are you posting anywhere else? If not this is goodbye, I won't have a third party spying on me.
@anthonymarinellimusic
Жыл бұрын
Tik tok and Instagram 😔