For the new BBC One series Hidden Kingdoms, made by the
BBC’s Natural History Unit in Bristol, the team turned to composer Ben Foster
and BBC National Orchestra of Wales to provide the soundtrack for this
innovative new series. Here, Jake Jackson, recording and mix engineer, explains
the process of getting the music on screen.
An important part of any documentary is the soundtrack – the
music in the background that matches the excitement and emotions of the action
on screen. For the new BBC One series Hidden Kingdoms, composer Ben Foster
wrote an original score to accompany the series.
The process for getting Ben’s work from initial ideas to a
fully recorded soundtrack takes around 4-6 weeks, and part of my job is to make
sure that the orchestra sound their very best.
Once Ben sees a rough copy of the programme, he meets with
the production team to decide which parts of the episode need music – these are
broken down into around 20-30 sections, or ‘cues’. These will be the moments
where the soundtrack can help to heighten the emotion, to add excitement, or provide
a sense of mystery.
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The soundtrack enhances the drama in this clip from Hidden Kingdoms.
Then, once Ben has those ideas, they are ‘orchestrated’,
meaning that the different tunes in the music are given to different of
the orchestra. This is an important part of the process, as you might want to
give a soft, sorrowful tune to a woodwind instrument like a flute or an oboe;
whereas a loud, triumphant fanfare might go to a trumpet or horn.
Those individual parts then have to be written out for each
member of the orchestra by a copyist. The conductor will have a copy of the
full score, setting out all of the music, but each member of the orchestra will
only be given their individual part – it’s the copyist’s job to set this out.
When recording day itself comes round, the first job is to
set up all of the microphones and headphones in the recording studio. We use
lots of microphones positioned close to each of the different instruments, so
that we can highlight certain of the orchestra when they are playing
the tune.
My job is to capture the orchestra’s performance as close to
how they would sound in the concert hall, but with some additional emphasis on instruments
to feature them, if they’re playing the tune or melody.
It’s important that the music matches up with the images on
the screen, and so all of the orchestra have headphones with a ‘click
track’, meaning that they hear the tempo as well as see the conductor’s beat. There
are points in the score called 'hit points', where there will be a flourish of
music, or a sudden loud age, that matches with the action on the screen,
and so it’s crucial that these moments match up so that they have maximum
impact.
Jake Jackson at the mixing desk.
It takes a little while to get used to having one ear
covered up with the headphones. Part of my job on the day is to change the
volume of the click track throughout the session, to make sure that the orchestra
can hear the click track all the way through – but make sure it’s not so loud
that it’s uncomfortable for the musicians’ ears, or that the click track leaks
and you can hear it through the microphones!
The great thing about the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is
that we can record music quite a bit quicker than with some other orchestras, as
they are very used to the process of a recording session.
It can be a very intense day, and everyone makes sure they
are on top form when the red recording light is on, so that no time is wasted.
With BBC NOW, we can get up to 40 minutes of finished music in a three-hour
session. It tends to be a very busy day, but it can be a lot of fun – and the
finished product is definitely worth it!
Then, once the recording
session is over, I’m busy mixing the music to make sure that the instruments
are at the right volume, and highlighting any interesting tunes and melodies.
Once that’s done, it’s handed to the dubbing team, who add it to the finished
images, add sound effects, and the voiceover. It’s then ready to be broadcast,
ready for you to watch (and listen) at home.
Hidden Kingdoms starts Thursday 16 January at 8pm on BBC One.
