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HOLLYWOOD FANTASY ORCHESTRA , a brand-new orchestra that includes everything you need to create fantasy film, television, and game soundtracks. Produced by sound titans Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix, Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra includes unique ensembles of world instruments that have been featured in the biggest movies and games in history, mixed with modern octave-doubled orchestral sections that perfectly compliment Hollywood Orchestra, all with full stereo imaging mic placement and all the features of EastWest’s revolutionary Opus player. If you’re scoring the next big fantasy epic or medieval tale, adding in a few period instruments won’t cut it — you need to bridge the gap between orchestral and world instruments. Every instrument needs to earn its place in the mix to create a massive cinematic sound, so we created an entirely new orchestra that puts all the period instruments you need on the same stage. It’s simply unlike anything you’ve heard before. Fire-breathing dragons. Epic battles between kingdoms. Ancient untold magic, casting 1,000 years of darkness upon the land... No matter how grand the scene you need to set, Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra is equipped with everything you need to make it happen right out of the box. If your arsenal is missing the ancient and traditional folk strings needed to give your orchestrations an authentic edge, your collection will finally match the limits of your imagination.
HOLLYWOOD FANTASY STRINGS is the first iteration of Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra, putting 5 of the most iconic instruments from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras at your fingertips alongside brand-new stylized recordings from modern-day orchestral musicians. It includes true legato, diverse articulations, everything you need to produce the perfect fantasy cue to the highest professional standards. We infused it with the same power and flexibility as Hollywood Strings, with the same microphone placements, in the exact same studio, tailor-made to mix perfectly, so you can rest assured that your string libraries are all up to the task.
147 instruments across 6 ensembles and 2 solo instruments with numerous articulations.
Lutes and dulcimers are recorded in trios, creating a beautiful sparkling stereo image that cuts through any mix.
Includes hurdy gurdies and massive sounding traditional string ensembles, recorded in octaves for those moments when you need bombast to round out your fantasy sound.
72GB library of medieval-, Renaissance-, and Baroque-era string instruments with micro-tuning controls
4 mic positions with level and pan controls: Close, Mid, Main, and Surround
Loads of articulation sets, including trills, true legato, crescendos, and more
8 violins 6 violas, 6 celli, 4 basses, 3 lutes, 3 Hardanger fiddles, 3 viola da gambas, 3 mountain dulcimers, 2 hurdy-gurdies
HOLLYWOOD FANTASY BRASS puts the grandeur of some of history’s most iconic brass instruments at your fingertips, complete with a broad articulation set and true legato for maximum realism and authenticity. Everything you’ve come to expect from the Hollywood series is here: multiple mic positions, custom effect chains, lush ambiences... but this time, with a collection of brass instruments used in some of the most famous fantasy scores in history. If you’ve tried to recreate the feel of your favorite scores countless times but something is still missing, the fix could be as simple as using the right instruments for the job. Instead of trumpets, you’ll find flugelhorns; rather than French horns, Wagner tubas and alpenhorns take their place. The result is a majesty that modern day orchestras can’t quite replicate, but with the power and conviction demanded by current movies and games. Each of these core instruments is recorded in ensembles of 3, giving you a far more cinematic quality than solo instruments can achieve alone. As with Hollywood Fantasy Strings, the entire brass collection was recorded in the same soundstage as the acclaimed Hollywood Orchestra, providing a cohesive sound between all the elements together. Whether you need bold fanfares for distant kingdoms; sonorous melodies for heroes, villains, and magical creatures alike; or a rich, mellow tone to evoke the mystique of castles or scrolling landscapes — Hollywood Fantasy Brass has you covered.
Every instrument in Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra is programmed with 3 moods, on a scale from most authentic to most cinematic: Classic, Soft, and Epic.
Individual control over the level and pan of four separate mic positions: Close, Mid, Main, and Surround, giving you full control over the dimension of the sound.
3 Wagner Tubas - You can hear the Wagner tuba in the scores to Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the Lord of the Rings films, Jurassic Park, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, World of Warcraft and several other expansive scores that have helped define the modern fantasy sound across movies and video games. Imagine a cross between a French horn and a trombone and you’ll get close, but this ensemble has something a little extra that effortlessly evokes fantastic and unexplored worlds.
3 Flugelhorns - This flugelhorn ensemble is an easy choice when you need majestic, mellow brass to carry a theme, especially for fanfares and “royal” settings. The soundtracks of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the original Final Fantasy VII, and L.A. Noire all make use of this instrument’s regal and haunting quality. Try substituting this for a trumpet ensemble and you’ll plainly see the fantastical character that these flugelhorns add to your scores!
3 Alpenhorns - In addition to its role in German and Swiss folk music, this elongated horn was used primarily for communication and as an integral part of ceremonies and festivals. Its sound is uniquely mellow and hollow, owing to its wooden construction and straight rather than wound piping, it makes for a great mellow horn melody, especially in conjunction with the flugelhorns. Think of this as a group of extra-long hunting horns ready to lead the charge.
3 Brass Trombones, 2 Cimbassos, 1 Tuba - Included is a powerhouse section of select low brass instruments to help fill out the low end and achieve the growling, dark intensity that even Hollywood Brass doesn’t quite match. Rather than making massive EQ and reverb changes to another brass ensemble, simply add in this collection and you’ll have the perfect complement.
HOLLYWOOD FANTASY WINDS presents an array of ethereal, majestic woodwind instruments, complete with true legato and a wide variety of articulations to command the realism and power you need in a cinematic ensemble of winds. With this collection, you can paint detailed images of Celtic highlands, scrolling mountain ranges, enchanted forests, and any other fantasy settings you can possibly imagine. These winds complete the core orchestral trinity with lyrical strings and brilliant brass, giving you the texture you need to complete a true melodic fantasy ensemble. Many instruments in the Hollywood Fantasy Winds have no parallel in the modern orchestra: sonorous Uilleann pipes, mellow ocarinas, and brilliant Irish whistles to name a few. You’ll find they feel right at home even in the grandest settings though, and that they carry a rich, haunting quality that conventional sample libraries can’t touch. Winds are the lifeblood of fantasy folk music, adept at describing everything from crowded merchant streets to fantastic adventures across uncharted lands. The entire collection is deeply rooted in Celtic musical literature and is perhaps the most unique and evocative section in Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra.
5 instrument ensembles featuring 2 Irish Whistles (High and Low), 2 Renaissance Flutes, 3 Uilleann Pipes, and 4 Ocarinas. Numerous articulations include legato slur, sustains with different vibratos, shorts of various lengths, and effects like flutters and glissandos perfect for fantasy film, television, and game soundtracks.
Each instrument recorded with 4 microphone positions: Close to capture instrument (ensemble) detail, Mid at the edge of the stage for definition, Main providing a big, unified sound with a Decca tree + outriggers configuration, and Surround providing a deep, lush space at the back of the stage.
Use the Moods to find the right feel for your composition. Use the Soft mood for more intimate writing, the Classic mood for a traditional orchestral sound, and Epic for a big, cinematic sound. The color of the user interface indicates the currently selected mood.
Comes with innovative new features and a suite of powerful effects available in the revolutionary Opus software engine.
HOLLYWOOD FANTASY PERCUSSION provides a full suite of thunderous, mystical struck and shaken instruments to complement even the most epic soundtracks. While they’re well-suited to most orchestral scores, they shine in combination with the rest of the Hollywood Fantasy palette. There’s no shortage of bombastic drum libraries available, but there’s never been a percussion library specifically designed for scoring epic fantasy soundtracks. When scoring for fantasy, there are countless settings where conventional percussion simply doesn’t cut it - fiery iron forges, royal celebrations, traditional folk festivals, and that’s just scratching the surface. That’s when you need percussion that doesn't just carry the drama of the scene but feels perfectly at home in the world you’re composing for. Each instrument in this collection has been selected to span every setting imaginable, so that no matter the scoring task, you have the tools to not only underscore the drama on-screen, but to wrap up the audience in an entirely new, fantastical world they need to hear to believe.
Taiko, Bodhran, and Nagara Drums
Cymbal and Gong Ensembles
Ceng Ceng, Goatnail Percussion and Metal Shakers
Orchestral Chimes, Metals, Gran Cassas, Crotales
Snares and Tom Ensembles.
HOLLYWOOD FANTASY VOICES puts the power of singer Merethe Soltvedt’s majestic voice at your fingertips, along with full male and female choirs. Anytime you need ethereal, floating vocals to capture the essence of battles, lost kingdoms, or emotional trials, Merethe’s voice will sell the scene even when nothing else does the trick. She lent this library the same power and grace she brings as the lead vocalist for Two Steps from Hell. If you enjoy fantasy movies, you’ll love this: Every word she recorded for the Hollywood Fantasy Voices library comes directly from Tolkien’s Elvish language, allowing you to make your scores as authentic as possible! There’s a world of difference between a trained singer and a vocalist who has perfected true cinematic fantasy singing — and with Hollywood Fantasy Voices in hand, you can finally bridge that gap in your scores. We meticulously built this collection from the ground up, with multiple microphone positions, portamento control, mood (Soft, Classic, and Epic) and more so you can command the mythic fantasy vocals you need for your newest epic soundtrack. This is the authority that Hollywood Fantasy Voices puts in your hands — the ability to, with only a few words, make the audience feel on instinct: “I’m far away from home.
Hollywood Fantasy Voices puts the power of singer Merethe Soltvedt’s majestic voice at your fingertips.
Ethereal, floating vocals to capture the essence of battles, lost kingdoms, or emotional trials.
60 different words from Tolkien’s original language across a range of notes, which you can perform in isolation or chain together to create your own unique phrases and sentences.
Hollywood Fantasy Voices wouldn’t be complete without a full choir to back up your solo singer. Included are ethereal male and female groups with different vowels to provide a rich palette to underscore the most gallant and potent moments in any project you’re writing for.
A keyswitch section to bring the rest of the instrument together into several condensed patches, allowing you to include all the fantasy voices you want with less tracks and menu diving.
HOLLYWOOD FANTASY ORCHESTRATOR
IMPORTANT NOTE
CHAPTER 6: HOLLYWOOD FANTASY ORCHESTRATOR
COMPOSE FANTASY SCORES IN SECONDS
Ensemble allows you to quickly create rich orchestral arrangements with presets that combine instruments into various strings, brass, winds, percussion, choral and full orchestra ensembles. For instance, loading the ‘Strings and Brass - Legato’ preset in the Strings and Brass Long sub-category will instantly load a string and brass ensemble consisting of 3 Flugelhorns, 3 Alpenhorns, 3 Wagner Tubas, 6 Low Brass, 3 Hardanger Fiddles, High Octave Strings, 3 Viola Da Gambas, and Low Octave Strings.
Ostinato enables you to build rhythmic tension in different meters or create moving melodic lines by only changing a few notes. Start by exploring the sub-categories that contain different note durations (quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, etc.), then choose from one of the many preset variations, including those in different time signatures (3/4, 5/4, 7/8, and more).
Score brings classic Hollywood fantasy orchestrations to life, bringing an endless source of inspiration to your compositions. Choose between a wide selection of themes in the sub-categories, each with lots of different variations, including alternative time signatures.
User is where your own presets can be stored by modifying existing presets or by building your own ensembles from scratch!
NEW VOICES INSTRUMENT SECTION
AN INNOVATIVE SCORING ENGINE
MIX TO PERFECTION
Hollywood Fantasy Orchestrator is the perfect tool both for new composers who want to get that magical fantasy sound quickly and effortlessly, and for professional composers who need to produce large amounts of compositions on a deadline. With its unique set of world instruments and ensembles that have been featured in the biggest movies and games in history, the Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra collection is brought to life with our innovative Orchestrator scoring engine, allowing you to create music in the style of Hollywood's greatest fantasy film, television, and game soundtracks.
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