ACCLAIMED COMPOSER ‘REEL-IZES’ YAMAHA TECHNOLOGY

—David Schwartz Uses 02R Mixers and Disklavier Piano for Film and TV Projects—

BUENA  PARK, CA—As one of the most in-demand composers for television and film, David Schwartz’s screen debut began with the smash hit show Northern Exposure.  For the seven seasons that followed, he composed the score for every episode. The Emmy award-winning show earned a 1996 GRAMMY nomination in the category of Best Instrumental Composition for its memorable theme song, and also garnered four BMI Awards. Schwartz recently received a 2002 Emmy nomination for his theme to Wolf Lake.

TV Tuner David Schwartz.

Over the last decade, Schwartz has scored Maximum Bob, Leap of Faith, Beggars & Choosers, The Ellen Show, Everything's Relative, The John Larroquette Show, Beverly Hills 90210 and Murder in Small Town X.  His film and telefilm credits include Magic in the Water, My Little Assassin, Deadman's Revenge, and the VH-1 hit, Two Of Us, based on a fictional post-Beatles reunion of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

A student of the Visual School of Arts in New York and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Schwartz uses four Yamaha 02R Digital Recording Consoles at his studio, David Schwartz Music, Inc. in Pacific Palisades (CA), where he writes, composes and produces scores.

“The 02R is a well-designed console,” says Schwartz. “It’s a very high tech product that lets me not have to think about technology. In addition, the 02Rs facilitated the change from analog to digital at our facility without a hitch. These mixers work, and they enable me to switch gears without losing any creativity.”

The Yamaha 02R is a fully automated 40-channel digital console, with both real-time and snapshot recall, compressors and gates on every input and output, onboard digital effects, and digital inputs and outputs. The 02R has become the console of choice for music production and audio-for-picture applications, and many projects that Schwartz is called upon to create.

“When I compose, I mix simultaneously using two 02Rs and Pro Tools,” he explains. “I’ve found the 02R snapshots and real-time automation are a big help for mixdown. I always have a rough mix of the MIDI sounds ready, and that enables a director or producer to come in and hear the mix as I’m writing, so they can get an idea of how the final project will sound.”

Schwartz also notes that the 02Rs are time-savers, allowing him to work on two TV shows simultaneously, with the ability to switch from one project to another easily. “I can be composing for a film and two or three TV series at the same time,” he explains. “The 02R scene memory feature is indispensable for me, as it allows me to switch cues or whole projects instantly.”

In addition to the 02R, Schwartz uses the Yamaha Disklavier Pro Series DC5 piano, a MIDI-controllable piano which enables the pianist to record and recreate the most minute nuances of a performance with its advanced servo mechanism technology. Each detail of the artist’s fingering and pedaling, including upward and downward key movement, is tracked with absolute precision and stored on a standard floppy disc.

“My DC5 Pro has the tone, evenness and playability that makes it an incredible studio tool and a wonderful piano,” Schwartz adds. “I often play the piano parts on a MIDI controller while writing and editing, and then play those back thru the Disklavier when we start to record. When using session pianists, we’ll record the piano using both microphones and MIDI simultaneously, just in case of picture changes, etc. Composing on the DC5 is ‘just press record and go’—no mics, and no disconnection from the creative process.”

Known in some circles as “d.Fly,” Schwartz’s most recent project is the film score for You Stupid Man starring Milla Jovovich, Denise Richards and William Baldwin, scheduled for release in theatres in November.

For more information, contact Yamaha Corporation of America, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone 714-522-9011, email info@yamaha.com; visit www.yamaha.com or www.yamaha.com/proaudio.

Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products, customer-driven support products and computer-based products targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.