The Use of Virtual Instruments by Australian Screen Composers

摘要

Recent technological advancements, strong competition and targeted marketingudstrategies by virtual instrument merchants have established virtual instruments anduddigital instrument samples as essential components of a professional screen composer'sudtoolset. The democratisation of these powerful tools has led to broad accessibility toudvirtual instruments and the digital sequencing software required to run them. Virtualudinstruments are portable, powerful, and affordable––they are no longer the exclusiveuddomain of expensive recording studios.udThis thesis aims to quantify and qualify the parameters surrounding screen musicudcomposition in this digital age and introduce to the literature new empirical dataudtogether with the experiences of working screen music professionals.udThis is achieved by following a mixed methods sequential exploratory methodologyudstarting with a survey of Australian screen composers (n=102) where they are asked toudanswer questions with a recent cue in mind. Informed by the results of the survey, semistructuredudinterviews were conducted and recorded with working Australian screenudcomposers (n=22).udWhen combined the meta-inferences confirm that virtual instruments are vital forudAustralian screen composers to do their job, especially now that their tools areuddemocratised. Screen composers are able to swiftly create cues that are finishedudproducts and not demos for their director and film-team.udThese changes have also shaped a new paradigm of film and television directors toudexpect final and completed versions of cues from Australian screen composers and notudworking drafts.