RECORDING August 2022 - 69

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adjusts the color. It's basically that with one button
for audio and it really, really worked well.
One funny story. Something that happened to
us on a show this past summer was we
accidently applied reverb to an entire music
cue... completely accidental. We just accidentally
got it down to the reverb tracks, and the
network wrote back, " What is this amazingsounding
cue? It's so cool. It's like nothing
we've ever heard before. It's kinda like you're in
a cave, but it's really neat. " And we're like...
" Sure! "
Now they want everything swimming in reverb.
I think sometimes it really works. Like if you
really want some pop kind of a cue, like maybe
if it's a little dark, throw some reverb in there;
apparently, they like it.
Audience question: Do you guys ever have a need
for cues that would have scratching vinyl records?
I'm not sure if he's asking for scratching like a DJ,
or clicks and pops like vinyl sounds.
Like if we're doing like a hip-hop kind of a
sound? Sometimes. I would say that that might
be a nice example of where we would want a
version that has that effect on it, and a version
that does not have the effect.
We get people that aren't fully initiated to the
drill yet, and they will send in cues that have like
raindrops in the beginning, or thunder and lightning
as a sound effect rolled into the beginning
of a cue, and I always tell them, " Don't do that! "
You're dramatically limiting the use for this,
because the only way an editor can use it is if
they wanted thunder and lightning. So why do
that?
Glen Lavender asked: " Can Laurel offer some
examples of what kinds of shows are using the
more scored sound? "
I would say a lot of the streaming networks
are. A lot of the Netflix shows that I've worked
on are doing that. The more relationship-heavy
shows are doing that, like Married at First
Sight. Dating shows are going that route.
I figure it would be tough being an editor looking
at a bin full of cues for tension cues. Although I
know it's waning a little bit, but tension. I mean,
there is tension in The Bachelorette; who's gonna
get the rose, who's gonna get the boot? Tension;
husband and wife having an intense moment in a
reality show standing in the kitchen trying to
decide where they're going for dinner tonight,
whatever. Tension; that might lean towards the
more horrific side, like you're gonna walk into the
room and be scared to death. So, are there titles
or any sort of hint in those titles when you are
RECORDING August 2022 69
looking for tension, or is it all just massed into
one bin and you really have to go to work to find
the right cue with tension?
Well, we say tension. It's usually broken down
into many, many finer categories than that.
You've got dramatic action, orchestral tension,
pop, hip-hop tension, so it's broken down for
the vibe and genre.
The problem with tagging is it's hard to be objective
about your own music, and it's also hard to
know which are the most important things that
you should tag. I find that many musicians don't
even get the genre right; it's just really hard to
be objective. Is this a singer/songwriter song or is
it an indie folk song?
Oh, my goodness, I've gone overtime. I didn't
even realize that-wow. Well, I guess all the rest
of the questions will have to be answered on Laurel's
next visit, because we are absolutely certain
that we'll be asking her back.
Laurel, you're a rock star in our world. People
kept saying, " Wow, she's such a great communicator. "
Yeah, I've been telling you guys that. You're
delightful to interview, because every sentence
that comes out of your mouth is valuable. So
thank you. I think that TAXI members probably
got their entire membership fee for the year paid
for just by this interview. So I'll see you again in
the future, I'm sure. Thank you for doing this on a
Sunday morning; I really appreciate it. Ladies and
gentlemen, Laurel Ostrander.
Thank you so much!
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