Recording Scores In Prague

Recording film scores in Prague has been, one of the best kept secrets in the film, television and video gaming industries. The high costs recording a score in the U.S. regarless of recording with union or non-union musicians, has led to creative ways to realize a top knotch score. Most composers go the electronic route settling for the inferior sound of sampled live instruments and keep well within the budget. This route benefits the composer's wallet the most and leaves the film with a score that any reputable distributer detect and shy away from. However, a few composers have also been exploring the orchestras of Eastern Europe. Prague has become the city of choice. Why? The amazing musical tradition and state of the art facilities with a price tag that costs usually 40% less than recording a film score domestically.

Michael Patterson is not the only composer to record scores in Prague. Don Davis (The Matrix), Graeme Revell (The Insider), Angelo Badalamenti (Mulholland Drive), Accademy Award Winner Jan Kaczmarek (Finding Neverland), Marcelo Zarvos (The Good Shepard) have all recorded scores in Prague.

Recording a score in Prague is 40% less than recording in the U.S. A quote can be calculated based on the number of minutes of music and the size of the orchestra. Obviously there is a difference in cost between a 20 minute score played by a small string orchestra and an 80 minute score played by a 100 piece orchestra.

The city of Prague has a number of concert halls and recording studios. The best hall with a recording studio is the world renown Rudolfinum. Located on the banks of the Vltava River it is the "Carnegy Hall of Eastern Europe" and has a state of the art recording facility. Approximately 20 minutes for the center of town is ICN polyart Studios the studio of the Czech National Symphony. ICN allows the flexibility of a recording studio, perfect for recording the orchestra with soloists.

It's naive to think that a film maker and dishonest for a composer to imply that sampled instruments can 'trick' the audience. It simply is not the truth. For many viewers and the film and music communities at large can easily idenify the artificial quality of sampled orchestral instruments. If a film maker expects to have their film compete in the market place or even to compete in the festival circuit one has to