What I Learned By Writing Two Steps From Hell's Epic Orchestral Music in FL Studio

In today's tutorial, I decided to analyze a few things I learned by rewriting Two Steps From Hell's Epic Orchestral Track "None Shall Live" in FL Studio, originally composed by the legend, Thomas Bergersen.
» Daniel Beijbom Trailer Music Course: goo.gl/ShCK7d
» XFER OTT: xferrecords.com/freeware/
» iZotope Ozone 8: goo.gl/6LzL8W
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🎼 PROJECT FILES: www.patreon.com/alexmoukala?ty=h
⏫ PRIVATE LESSONS: Coming soon...
📚 EVENANT MUSIC COURSES: alexmoukala.com/go/orchestral...
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🎧 MY MUSIC: / alexmoukalamusic
💬 COMPOSERS COMMUNITY: discordapp.com/invite/tZ275cj
🗣️ GET IN TOUCH: / alexmoukalamusic
📷 BEHIND THE SCENES: / alex_moukala
🐦 TWITTER: / alex_moukala
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🎻 LIBRARIES & SOFTWARE:
(For each module, the libraries are sorted based on how much I like them).
- STRINGS: Metropolis Ark 1 & 3, Nucleus, Cinematic Studio Strings, Fluid Shorts, Cinematic Strings 2, Jaeger
- BRASS: Metropolis Ark 1 & 3, JXL Brass, Nucleus, Twelve Horn Ensemble, CineBrass CORE, Century Brass, Jaeger, Angry Brass
- CHOIR: Oceania, Metropolis Ark 1, Stormchoir 2
- WOODWINDS: CineWinds CORE, Nucleus, Metropolis Ark 1 & 3
- HYBRID PERCS & LOOPS: Damage, PercX, Decimator Drums, Cerberus
- BIG CINEMATIC PERCS: Los Angeles Modern Percussion, New Epic Toms Ensemble, New Epic Dhol Ensemble, CinePerc
- ORCHESTRAL PERCS: CinePerc, Rhapsody Orchestral Percussion, Kontakt Factory Library
- PIANO: The Giant, Woodchester Piano, Spitfire LABS Soft Piano
- HARPS & OTHERS: CineHarp, Kontakt Factory Library
- SYNTHS: Juggernaut, Serum, Harmor, Jaeger, Evolution Atlantica,
- ORCHESTRAL SFX: Metropolis Ark 3, Palette Orchestral FX
- SOLO STRINGS: Tina Guo Solo Cello, Solos of the Sea, Cinematic Studio Strings Solo
- SOLO VOCALS: Jaeger, Vocalisa
- GUITARS: Basic Live Guitars & Bass routed into Waves GTR / Guitar Rig, Metropolis Ark 1, Heavyocity Atlantica
- TRAILER SFX: Custom / Private Samples, AVA Instinct, Cinematic Trailers Designed, Epic Sound Effects Quantum, Scenes From The Multiverse Vol.1, Juggernaut, Jaeger, Evolution Atlantica, AizerX Classic Trailers Toolkit, AizerX Trailer SFX Tools
- REVERB: ValhallaRoom, ValhallaShimmer
- MIXING & MASTERING: iZotope Ozone 9 Advanced, iZotope Neutron, FabFilter Pro-Q3, FL Studio Plugins
- DAW: FL Studio 20
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💻 HARDWARE & PC SPECS:
- Desktop PC: 3.7 GHz Intel Core i7 8700k / 32GB DDR4 RAM / 2TB Samsung Evo860 M.2 SSD
- Laptop PC: Asus ROG GLW752 (2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ / 16GB DDR4 RAM / 1TB Samsung Evo860 M.2 SSD)
- Audio Interface: M-Audio M-Track Plus
- MIDI Keyboard: M-Audio Keystation 49 MkIII

[@AramZero]

3:04 i think i'm gonna sample that Awesome vid, thanks buddy

[@ArturoAlbero]

That's what I though when I listen to it first hehehe

[@sdwarfs]

Sure... Create a sample pack of Alex Moukala Instrument-Sounds made with his mouth... and then we can compose some crazy trailer music for parody movies. :P

[@ingahan5820]

u mean u gonna sample his dub voice? lol

[@vaultcry]

0:14 How Alex proud of it :D These restrained emotions...

[@YasuoMidOnly]

Do you ever stop giving next level tips and tricks! Every time you're comming with something so incredibly useful

[@gaurugeila]

Amazing. More TSFH tutorials plz, especially on composing

[@MCGIMMICKTV]

Keep 'm coming Alex. Your vids is KEY material

Good point about the mid cuts, OTT is nice for that - personally I wouldn't personally compress the master that much, because it messes with the punch too much. In my opinion, carefully individually compressing (or not compressing) hits, then applying subtle glue (1-1.5db) and getting the right spectral balance in the mix and master by doing some individual mixing (as you said) will give you the same tonal balance with even more brutal Dynamics. But this is a nice band aid for a raw sounding track that you need to quickly "intensify" kind of like the soundgoodizer of FL hehe

[@AlexMoukala]

Yep! That's why I say it's "cheating" and advise to do some mixing before that.

[@StevenMelin]

This is incredibly enlightening - I learned a bunch about how to create a bigger-than-life sound in trailers. Thanks for this vid!

[@c.t.emerson8175]

I love watching these videos. The are really helpful Alex! :)

[@happysmash27]

This gives me a new-found appreciation for this song, and this isn't even my favourite one! This is... amazing. I really need to learn more about this.

[@Sunstatemusic]

Alex you are awesome! Big thanks for sharing the reconstruction of Tomas work!

[@davestott]

Wow, that Xfer OTT is a bit of a game changer when it comes to the overall sound. Generally though, this quick tutorial has helped me change the way I think about my pieces and actually start to get that contemporary/hybrid orchestra that I've been after. Definitely going to dive deeper into some more of your tutorials!

[@BluemountScore]

TSFH is my ALL TIME favorit. Thanks for the breakdown!

[@aaroncostello4845]

Thanks for this tutorial Alex! This is my favourite trailer track by far.

[@AlexMoukala]

Another thing this track (and Daniel's course) reminded me: not all mixes are born equal. One thing I forgot to add to this video is that I experimented with parallel reverb and unrealistic panning in this one and it did help. Mixing loud Trailer music is a different feat than mixing a soundtrack. More about that in later videos. - Full Track: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWO5qX-GfpaLbs0 - Stems & MIDI: www.patreon.com/posts/24671028

[@discoveryofficial8713]

Alex, t u for this tutorial, this is my favorite track ever! Pls post the cover when it will be complete! And will you make a second part of best libraries? Updated with new libraries that came out since that video you made about, also it can be intresting to hear your opinion about evolution atlantica, I always use it, and MOAR streams with reviewing subscribers tracks! T U again! Have a good day!

[@mihail-iuliancarabulea7483]

Oh yes! Can't wait for those tutorials (about the differences between mixing for trailer music or a soundtrack). Great tutorial, as usual! Thank you!

[@sadheeshkumar7302]

Hi Alex, listen to KGF movie music. It is amazing dude🤓

[@ho_khanh_van]

Thank you for uploading this video!!! I learned so much from your analysis and it helps a lot in my IB music composition!! Thanks again!!

[@jacobstrelingermusic9482]

Thanks Alex for all this helpful information. None shall live is my favourite :)

[@temstrance]

Very intersting video! I also like the new short format of your recent videos.

[@ChristopherSiu]

Your singing at 3:02-3:06 made my day. Thanks for all you do buddy

[@Bcutter]

Christopher Siu Hahaha I know. Love this guy.

[@HDx03]

None Shall Live is the track that inspired me to make music. It's so uplifting

[@chrispantos3559]

Awesome!!!Thanks Alex!

[@modernman4269]

very good video alex

[@spydrmnd]

That was great bro. Thank you

[@brunocoliveira89]

Excellent video!

[@eugenedesmusic]

Great tips man! Thank you :)

[@epiczeven6378]

Wow! that´s the sounds of a pro in action. Kick-ass song!!

[@robertrenato]

And of course on top of all this great orchestration there`s the amazing vocals, on the Children of the Sun version. One of my favourite tracks, hugely inspiring! :)

[@m1676]

dude your channel should have millions of subscribers!

[@KnightGzh]

OMG that OTT was crazy... it really brought us the sound we want(what music I've ever made sounds just like that without OTT)

[@user-ol1xr9pt4s]

0:12 wow, that's amazing!!!

[@ahrisenpai3438]

Two Steps From Hell is one of my favorite band :D ty

[@8dioproductions]

Very cool!

[@Sellouth]

very instructive thanks

[@mindmachinepsy]

I gotta be honest i liked it waayyy more without ott on the master bus.^^ For my taste you scooped the mids way too hard. The added high end is quite nice but in context i find it to be a bit overwhelming to listen to. Good video anyway dude

[@br1200]

THIS.

[@Castler]

Alex, are you sure this is the exact orchestration? It's pretty impressive to see someone transcripting something like this by ear.

[@IamZeus1100]

Amazing !

[@masteringmelodies769]

Learning so much from you in short periods of time! All the info you provide will help a lot of producers out there! Thanks for that!

[@TravisLohmannMusic]

that synth!!! Reminds me of The Flash.

[@theohallenius8882]

that sounds massive!

[@DacianGradaMusic]

now I'm gonna use OTT on everything, no joke. :P I already do some multiband comp on my masters when things get too hyped in the low end, for example, but this plugin seems to work even better!

[@JJDofficial]

Thank the lord for he bestowed upon us the hallowed OTT

[@adam91876]

Omg its jjd 😅, why are you here?

[@johnkelly8009]

Great tutorial again, I was wondering where you get your trailer hits and risers from? Do you make some of them or have ou downloaded some of them from somewhere?

[@LevellerBeats]

Thomas is the Mozart of Epic Hybrid Music!

[@discoveryofficial8713]

Thomas actually the best composer of our dayz

[@agustinfodrini]

@@discoveryofficial8713 There are a lot of better composers alive today. He's one of the best of all times for sure tho.

[@blasttrash]

@@agustinfodrini looking for more music. can you give the names of those composers please? thanks

[@agustinfodrini]

​@@blasttrash Sure :). John Williams, Nobuo Uematsu and Joe Hisaishi, for example. As for other high level composers at a similar level to that of Thomas I'd say Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shimomura, John Powell, Shiro Hamaguchi, Kouhei Tanaka, Jon Adamich, and a huge etcetera. Nowadays music is much more accessible than before so believe me when I tell you that there is an insane amount of top notch composers these days. Btw, since you are looking for more music, allow me to introduce you some of my favourites OST's: Final Fantasy 1 to 9 OST's (15 also has an insane level), Fire Emblem OST's, Tales Of OST's, Legend of Zelda OST's, Chrono Trigger & Cross OST's, Pirates of the Caribbean OST's, Harry Potter OST's (mainly from the 1st, 2nd & 3rd movie), Lord of the Rings OST's, Star Wars OST's, Jurassic Park OST, Indiana Jones OST, Naruto OST, Fairy Tail OST, Dragon Ball OST, One Piece OST (my personal favourite OST without a doubt), and a huge etcetera, but these are the ones that come to my mind as a first recall, and for good reason. As for composers of older times, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Mendelsshon are my all time favourite composers from the past. You should definitely check out their works, especially their symphonies... Dvorak's 8 and Mendelsshon's 4 are my all time favourite symphonies, so definitely take a listen to that. Hopefully that helps haha. (Btw was trying to edit something in my previous comment and accidentally hitted delete and damned KZbin did it without a warning lol :( ) Anyway, have a nice day. Enjoy the listenings!

[@Omegador]

@@agustinfodrini anime is trash tho

[@qmillomadeit]

Notification gang? Also shout out to a brotha making it in film score 👌🏾💪🏾.

[@NeZversSounds]

I just found out about you thanks to Image-line shout-out. I really enjoy what I'm seeing! Just wondering, if you have Xfer serum vst too?

[@radugrosu9445]

This is one of your best tutorials, the ott on the master blew my mind

[@masteringmelodies769]

Same hear! What a friggin difference considering it's a free plugin. The faaaaack! O.o

[@IgorFerreiraMusic]

OTT WHAT?? Pure sorcery..

[@jingleskhanaudioproductions]

yes one must analyse tracks like Alex does

[@ioanniszxr6242]

We want more videos like this... maybe if you try to rewrite thomas bergesen-creation of earth which is a track with a electric piano and an epic powerfull choir

[@AlexMoukala]

One of my favorites! Though I'm not sure it'd make total sense to rewrite tracks with those ethnic solo vocals which I could get nowhere.

[@ioanniszxr6242]

@@AlexMoukala you can try it without the ethnic vocals. It is still an interesting track to analyse

[@SamiJLaine]

Ott on the master is the way to go! =)

[@subinmuriyad2543]

Bro super

[@smilinghawk6090]

Great Video! Just wanted to let you know that your trailer course affiliate link is somehow expired

[@PanosSavvidis]

The E part is more epic than the C part! Same instruments but different melody. The combination of the melody, the bass and the ostinato is the reason of the success of this track.

[@june1952]

This man sounding like a boss using Fruity Limiter

[@iggydisalvo]

Hello, may I ask where do you find the track by track file?

[@quarternote1242]

Next up, midi mock-up of Impossible by TSFH 😜😜

[@BluemountScore]

I'm in!

[@julko28]

@Zwykły Użytkownik musescore. On the other hand he does it prety much by ear

[@YugenMusicOfficial]

You should refrain from being so critical of your own educational prowess, often an aspiring artist would much prefer to learn from someone such as yourself over a lesson plan class as its more comfortable and less intimidating. This often produces much better experience in my view and your very good at what you do.

[@sicarius9156]

Great Video! I fail miserably at trying to copy tsfh. Btw who uses nexus in 2019?! ;)

[@YasuoMidOnly]

I used that so much haha

[@Gilardize]

dude pls try to make orchestra edm, perhaps it could be amazing 🤪

[@mareDBS]

With OTT it sound tinner to me :-/

[@dahon7981]

Can you share some sample with their effect in flp file? like some exsample in 3:18

[@arranmcn]

you make it look soooo easy :(

[@CapREX77]

I love 5:38

[@AWildPotato-kp6ub]

3:03 best part of the video

[@RichardBoyer]

Where do you get those track ???

[@maciejzotowski480]

Hey Alex! I must say I'm not impressed. I'm seeking my jaw under the table and I still cannot find it ;) You're great, thank you! I have to say - it's your fault, that I began to write my ideas... It's "a little not perfect" (not to say it's a kind of not funny joke), but I learned a lot from you and it's only a beginning of my learning...

[@Evangelionism]

*3:19* briefly reminds me of *In My Spirit* (Evangelion).

[@SilverWolf941]

Hey can you make a video on the types of time signature Two Steps From Hell/Hans Zimmer use?

[@AlexMoukala]

I might be wrong as I haven't listened to them in a bit, but I don't remember crazy time signatures in their tracks. Mostly 4/4, 3/4 and 5/4

[@Arrgmnts]

PLEAAASE DOES SOMEOME KNOW WHICH SOFTWARE THOMAS USES

[@Skelldr]

Niiice :)

[@user-ls8kk2iu2t]

Alex can u remake something from transformers movies in the future (from part 2 preferably)?

[@jmxl5431]

How do you find 2WEIs Cover of Gangstas Paradise?

[@kuntilanakmasukyutub3626]

AMD A9 HERE!

[@suzieqkrohn8313]

Is there anyone who could tell be whether this music from TSFH is done at 432 Hz or 440 Hz? What are their instruments tuned to. From what I understand, is that possibly 60+ years ago or so the standard used to be 432 and it was changed to 440 Hz. Need some thoughts on this.

[@pushqrdx]

as they always say if it sounds good do it,

[@chaddercheesy]

Why'd the 'Two Steps From Hell - None Shall Live' go Private?

[@AlexMoukala]

Will reupload it on my Alex Moukala Music channel soon!

[@ayoubrahaoui6079]

Aquaman trailer and trollhunters season 2 episode 13 endscene music

[@sadheeshkumar7302]

Hi Alex, listen to KGF movie music. It is amazing dude🤓

[@bilcifer666]

anyone have a suggestion as far as packs for trailer hits etc?

[@Thuen88]

Ava Instinct or Keepforrest Devistator

[@ExodusArias]

o.O SO TSFH music is very basic, just very layered and intrinsically textured.

[@AlexMoukala]

Have you heard Impossible or "That's a Wrap"?

[@ExodusArias]

@@AlexMoukala That's a Wrap is one of my absolute favorite tracks from Thomas Bergersen. The man is a genius. I was inspired to create my own version but failed completely. Well by failed I mean I never even started it. It's not as easy as it seems. :P

[@johnzachariahg]

So when’s Petscop 2

[@Ometen]

Not gonna lie that ott on the master does a decent job but somehow it just feels wrong :D

[@ayoubrahaoui6079]

Did I Hurd a little bit auto tune on your voice?

[@kinkaku9]

what is a bram?

[@jonnyc212121]

When you talk as fast as Eminem's raps

[@zachary963]

Personally kinda hate what OTT brings lol. It’s too much compression for me. But I get why folks like it.

[@MatbiangShadap]

Alex please check out my composition and point out all the weakness..

[@user-vh8vk7rc8q]

i learn epic music compose. You please help me 🙂😪

[@nirshadchowthee7180]

Hmm, I honestly think you scooped the mids way too much with OTT.

[@rafsandomierz5313]

Probably KZbin bad compression couldn't handle a awesom *ness* of this track.

[@nirshadchowthee7180]

@@rafsandomierz5313 I don't think it has anything to do with KZbin's audio compression.

[@ayoubrahaoui6079]

Did I Hurd a little bit auto tune on your voice?