CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA MUSIC | “Saving Christmas”

This is "Saving Christmas", a piece of music that follows the journey of a hero who has to save Christmas! Sit back and enjoy this festival musical tale.
I started writing this track before Christmas as a way to test out my new template, as well as practicing my orchestral writing & mockup skills. I like the ideas I came up with so decided to finish off the track & share it with you all. I hope you like it :)
Check out the orchestral parts breakdown video for this piece: • SAVING CHRISTMAS | Orc...
This track was created with virtual instruments/sample libraries only.
Sample libraries used:
Cinematic Studio Strings, Cinematic Studio Brass, Berlin Woodwinds Revive, Albion One (low pizzicato layer), CinePerc, Hans Zimmer Percussion, Strezov Arva, Freyja & Wotan Choir, Voxos Choir.

[@TomHawkComposer]

Hey everyone, I uploaded an orchestral parts breakdown video for this track. This shows you what each orchestral section sounds like playing on their own :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5ycp6uEnbyElc0

[@SjoerdV]

Love it. I imagine this is what it sounds when Edward Scissorhands, Home Alone, PotC and LOTR get a love child ;-) Great influences!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thanks Sjoerd! Glad you like it! Haha yes, lots of influences in this piece 😊

[@JamezDahlMusic]

Really cool layout for the video! Wish it were christmas again!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thanks James! Glad you like the video layout :)

[@zaharishtonov]

Tom. this piece is written brilliantly! Such a great play between the different parts of the orchestra! Everything is so well thought here! Really enjoyed listening to it several time!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you so much Zahari! Glad to hear you enjoyed listening to this piece & appreciated the orchestral writing :)

[@seventearsofhope]

Very nice track, I also liked the visualization. Well done, Tom!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! Glad to hear you liked the track & visualisation :)

[@jonremimuziq]

Awesome track here Tom!! Love the orchestration choices and this type of detailed - well thought out music. I took a look at the list of libraries you used and was amazed. Clearly I need to work more on clearing up my mix and writing altogether more clear music. How do you get those Brass swells/rips to sound so clean? Is it both CC11 and CC1 you're using? (reference both 1:22-1:37 and 1:59-2:06)

[@TomHawkComposer]

Hey, thank you so much!! Glad you like the track. And yeah regarding the swells/rips: at 1:22 that’s just CC1 controlling the dynamics, and later on at 1:59 I’m using the rips articulation in CSB’s Horns

[@jonremimuziq]

@@TomHawkComposer wow! Thank you so much! I thought it was using the CC1 for sure, I've gotta say, that same day, I went home and tried this out myself. Came out only half as good but the practice will make progress lol! Anyway, thanks for getting back to me.

[@FlowerProductions1]

Brilliant stuff!!

[@filipjonathan]

Awesome job Tom!! Such a thrilling piece!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thanks! Glad you like it :)

[@animatorizwan]

Taken to some fantasy world. Looks simple but there are lot of things going inside. One of your Best composition man. Loved it. 😍

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! That means a lot, I’m really happy with how these little ideas grew into this piece of music 😊

[@robertsmorra4132]

Love it Tom!!! This is by far on of my favorite Channel!!!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! Glad to hear you like it :)

[@kenniewestt8902]

This is heavenly

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thanks!!

[@kenniewestt8902]

@@TomHawkComposer more please

[@TomHawkComposer]

@@kenniewestt8902 More music is in the works :)

[@jules-etiennelepany8397]

God this is awesome Really impressive ! cheers

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed listening :)

[@luisencaladadepiura]

Increíble trabajo¡

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you!

[@eylam9690]

A masterpiece, mate. May I ask what library(ies) you used to make this?

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! Only just saw this comment now, the libraries are listed in the video description

[@omkarchavan9062]

This is amazing Tom

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you 😊

[@hnzo1227]

such a big inspiration mate

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! Glad you like it :)

[@emir_audio]

Great piece! I really enjoyed it. Which libary did you used for the bell at 0:50? Is it CinePerc?

[@TomHawkComposer]

Hey! Glad you enjoyed it. Yep that’s CinePerc there :)

[@emir_audio]

@@TomHawkComposer Thanks for replying ^^ Love your works.

[@TomHawkComposer]

@@emir_audio No worries! And thank you :)

[@emir_audio]

@@TomHawkComposer :)

[@dangeeestudios]

This is AMAZING!!!!........Can you please do a tutorial on mixing and eq'n......Please!!!!!!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! I’m not the most experienced mixer but could perhaps share how I approach mixing my own tracks :)

[@dangeeestudios]

@@TomHawkComposer please its needed big time, plenty out there show how to create big film music but never the mixing part which still plays a big role

[@adameusmusic]

Ah I love to write Christmas music. Not only does it sound great in the end but it fullfills me with joy while writing. Great piece, Tom! May I ask which choir libraries you used? The children's choir sounded a lot like Metropolis Ark 2.

[@adameusmusic]

Ah yes but the children's choir from MA2 does not contain staccatos which are also in this piece so i rather think it's Liberis or stuff like that

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you! Glad you like this track :) the children’s choir in this is Arva & some VOXOS Boys choir layered in for the intro

[@adameusmusic]

@@TomHawkComposer Thanks Tom! Keep up the great work!!

[@TomHawkComposer]

@@adameusmusic thank you for listening & commenting! More videos coming out soon :)

[@TheFinalGamerRN]

Hey! Discovered you through Nucleus and since then I'm a subscriber! Could I know what libraries you used for this song? I'm a HUGE fan of that choir and brass specially!

[@TomHawkComposer]

Hey! Sure thing, there’s a lot of libraries that I put into my new template so let me know if you want to know about any specific instruments. Regarding your question about the brass and choir; brass is all Cinematic Studio Brass, whereas choir is a big mixture in this track: Arva, Freyja, Wotan and VOXOS.

[@TheFinalGamerRN]

@@TomHawkComposer Hey Tom! Thanks for answering so fast! I see, I was thinking of buying the new "Choir Essentials" from Strevoz Sampling, as it includes something from each of those libraries, do you think it is a good option? Also, about the brass, since it is Cinematic Studio Brass, are you complementing that with Cinematic Studio Strings and Woodwinds? Or are you making a mix there?

[@TomHawkComposer]

@@TheFinalGamerRN If it's your first choir library then it does seem like a good option to look into. Watch the walkthroughs and see if you like the sound & overall workflow :) And to answer your other question, it is all a big mix in this track, so the woodwinds are not CS Woodwinds, they're Berlin WW in this one.

[@kevroberts8147]

Great to have you back Tom, I really enjoyed this piece, what libraries were used for the composition?. It’s so beautifully written and constructed. 👍

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thank you Kev! Glad you like it. Lots of libraries used in this because I was testing out a bunch of different combinations in my new template. Any specific instruments you want to know about?

[@kevroberts8147]

@@TomHawkComposer Yes, love the brass, especially the French Horns, they sound thick and meaty.

[@TomHawkComposer]

@@kevroberts8147 Brass is all Cinematic Studio Brass in this one 🎺

[@benpieler3329]

Holy shit dude you are awesome 🔥🔥

[@TomHawkComposer]

Thanks Ben! Glad to hear you like it 😊

[@benpieler3329]

@@TomHawkComposer sure.. you are fucking talented!!! 🔥

[@TomHawkComposer]

@@benpieler3329 thanks Ben, I appreciate the kind words! Remember: anyone can learn how to write this style of music, it’s a skill like any other. A year ago I wouldn’t have been able to write something like this, not until I started heavily studying film scores about 6 months ago & applying the techniques they use 😊

[@michael-wood]

Hi Tom, I have a technical question, what software do you use to capture screen and sound? I try to use OBS but I can't get the sound. Thanks in advance for your help and have a nice day.

[@TomHawkComposer]

Hey Michael! I use Screenflow which is pretty good. With OBS you can make it work, you might just need to take a look at how you are routing the audio in OBS and in your DAW. Really easy to do in Screenflow, just select "record computer audio" and then make sure Logic inputs/outputs are setup to work with Screenflow's audio driver (Logic usually does it automatically now). Try it with OBS, you might just need to play around with the audio inputs and outputs in your DAW. Also worth mentioning that for a video like this I will mute any music/audio that's recorded by Screenflow and I'll just use it to capture the visuals. Then in my video editing software I will add the mastered track as a WAV file and just line it up with the picture, that way I guarantee there won't be any strange clicks & pops (which can happen when recording with Screenflow).

[@michael-wood]

@@TomHawkComposer Hi Tom, thank you very much for the explanations. I had a doubt on how to do the final cut but you just confirmed me. The final solution to having perfect sound is to have a video track and a soundtrack in video editing software. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Take care of you and your loved ones. See you on your next video. Greetings from Switzerland

[@michael-wood]

Hi Tom, normaly you have to know i really appreciate your work but that time they are a little bit light. I explain my point of view the drum don't be to much deep and i think in 70% of the track miss a little more reverb and many instruments sound very high. But of course this is only my opinion but i allways appreciate what you make and wait your next proposal.

[@TomHawkComposer]

Hey Michael, thanks for sharing your thoughts & feedback. That’s fair enough, this style of music tends to be lighter on the drums/percussion, so that was a conscious decision :)

[@mogeekie2082]

Christmas? Too early lol.........Geat track though Tom!!! have to say i like that you reply to everyone unlike some "KZbinrs" (or so they think ) Great ! Be grateful if you can check out some of my tracks. Thx Mo