Rob Arbittier: I'm basically a composer, producer and musician. With my business partner Gary Adante, I run a project studio where for a number of years we've been producing material ranging from music for TV and radio ads, through songs for various artists, to film soundtracks. Our company is called Noisy Neighbors.

ON: So who have you actually worked with?

Rob Arbittier: I have album credits for Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson ­ that's just a few of the more well known people.

ON: I see you work with PCs rather than Apple Macs, which is pretty unusual in US 'pro' studio circles. How come?

Rob Arbittier: It was really through my work with Stevie Wonder that I was 'introduced' to the PC. Because our working systems had to be compatible, I got myself a PC with Cubase which was the software that Stevie was already using. For Stevie, the PC was a practical choice because he has to be able to perform every function using the computer keyboard. And because the system basically worked for me, I stayed with it. Right now I have 6 PCs in my studio ­ all with Pentium II processors and the maximum RAM configuration. I use them for running Cubase, for audio and sample editing,and for archiving the huge sound library I'm constantly building up for my EMU sampler. I also keep one machine for running ReBirth, and one for Reality ­ the software synthesizer from Seer Systems.
Basically I like to trigger all the MIDI-compatible instruments, plus the software synth, directly from the computer, right up to the mastering stage. This allows me to make detailed last minute changes to an arrangement. If you've already got your individual instruments down as audio tracks, and your client wants to make changes, it means a whole load of extra editing work, which I try to avoid. And I really believe it sounds 'fresher' too.

ON: So, now to the Godzilla project. What was your actual brief?

Rob Arbittier: For each of the three trailers, the director had the idea of hiding the fact that it was actually to do with Godzilla, until the very end. The trailers contained no material that could give a clue as to the title. Musically, this meant generating a gradual build up of tension right up to the appearance of the Godzilla logo. The trailers themselves were created along similar lines, and my brief was essentially to go from nothing to 'all Hell breaks loose' in two and a half minutes.
Once I'd developed a basic motif for a 'Godzilla theme', I then used this material as a basis for building up the dramatic arrangements.

ON: So does this motif have any particular significance?

Rob Arbittier: Basically all three trailers start off with harmless, everyday situations, and turn into scenes of terrifying danger. So I had the idea of hinting at this danger, subliminally, from the outset. As I was experimenting with a short staccato motif, my partner Gary said 'That sounds like of morse code!' and at that moment I thought of the actual SOS signal. ­ three short, three long and three short taps, 'DaDaDa ­ DAAT DAAT DAAT ­ DaDaDA'. I had my main rhythmic idea!
It's found in all three trailers and is presented in its full-blown form just as the 'Size Does Matter' logo appears.

ON: So how did you actually do the work? How do you get this huge, powerful piece for full orchestra, perfectly synchronized to the movie, from this basic musical idea?

Rob Arbittier: OK, well I almost always begin with a piano sound ­ something that covers a wide tonal spectrum. Then I sync my sequencer up to the video and start playing. This is mostly improvisation, out of which actual musical ideas emerge. With the second trailer for example there's this little melody which I keep varying throughout. It's very light and playful, but with a little touch of minor tonality that gives a subconscious hint of what's to come.
But just before it becomes really obvious that something's wrong, I end the section with the 'industry-standard scary chord', following which the orchestra kicks in and all hell breaks loose! I decided not just to use synths and samplers as I needed a really 'big' sound. So I did the basic arrangement of the whole score in my studio, with the sequencer sync'd up to the video. From this I created a full score for 80-piece orchestra, bought myself a DIN-A3 printer, printed everything out, then took the parts, the video with timecode and a Cubase over to the Todd-AO Scoring Stage herein Hollywood.
There the orchestra had been assembled and was ready to go. Using a large projection screen, the musicians were able to follow the actual movie scenes. At the same time, through their headphones, all 80 players could hear a 'click' generated by Cubase. It was important that the playing was absolutely 'tight', especially in certain places, so using a click was really the only way.

ON: How long did you actually spend with the orchestra?

Rob Arbittier: Hmm -grins- ­ it was really quite amazing. We gave them the 'dots', started the click, and off they went. The first play through was a complete disaster! They played it again, and I sort of heaved a sigh of relief. The third playing however was definitely 'the one'. I'd actually booked the orchestra for 2 hours, but after just 30 minutes it was in the bag! Unfortunately we still had to pay for the whole session. That's why session musicians own some of the best cars in Hollywood! -laughs-

ON: In the trailers you can also hear synths and samplers. How did you put it all together?

Rob Arbittier: Using computers and software, it's actually quite easy. Because you can combine all the various instruments - the synths, samplers and orchestra - in Cubase, and synchronize this to video,using a click, I was able to import the orchestral recording into Cubase and combine this with my synth and sampler arrangement. The orchestra gave the whole mix a feeling of space and dynamic,with the electronic instruments providing extra 'punch' at the appropriate places.

ON: Amazing! ­ so how long does it normally take to complete a project of this size?

Rob Arbittier: That depends on how many changes the director wants to make. Sometimes, while I'm actually in the middle of composing, I get new clips. That can make a difference to the timing, so of course I then have to make changes to my arrangement - some bits might have to be lengthened, and others shortened. These days though, thanks to the sequencer, you can do this right up to the last minute, cutting, moving and copying both the orchestral and MIDI material at the same time.
With the second trailer for example I had exactly one week to produce the final mix from the time I received the first video clip - and that included recording the orchestra!

ON: I can imagine that, unlike some people, you're not exactly sad to see the end of the good old analog days?

Rob Arbittier: My God, no! Three or four years ago, high quality projects of this magnitude and time span were practically unthinkable without huge budget and manpower resources. Digital technology on the other hand lets you work better, and faster. I'm completely happy with it, and follow the latest developments with great interest.

ON: So what's next Rob?

Rob Arbittier: Gary and I are currently working on another big project, but I'm not really allowed to say anything about it at the moment.

ON: OK, I appreciate that. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.

Rob Arbittier: You're welcome. Maybe when the new projects's finished, we can talk again.