Native Instruments introduces real-time scoring tool

Native Instruments (NI) has released Thrill, a new instrument that enables the introduction of live scores to films, games, sound installations or theatre productions.

According to Native Instruments, "Thrill is the first instrument to combine the epic power of an orchestra with the chilling depth of expert sound design, house them within a simple performance-driven interface, and place them into the hands of a single player."

NI claims that by using Thrill, a single person could perform the string tone clusters from The Shining, as Jack Torrance rampages around Overlook Hotel, or an aspiring young filmmaker could single-handedly play all of Arrival’s bass drones in one take, for example.

The all-original 30 GB sound library is taken from 963 source sounds, including orchestral recordings and hybrid sound-design based on ambiences, custom-built instruments, voices, pitched metal, synthesized drones, and more.

Central to Thrill is an X-Y control for modulating effects and morphing between sounds. This control offers composers and sound designers the ability to design and play complex cinematic textures and builds in real time. Designed to be simple and intuitive to use, the control blends between sound sources, effects, the number of sonic layers, general intensity, and more, depending on the preset being used. This X-Y modulator lends itself to trackpad, tablet, or even smartphone control (via TouchOSC).

Created in collaboration with Uli Baronowsky of Galaxy Instruments, Thrill also comes with the most powerful tone cluster designer ever offered in a virtual instrument, NI says. Tone clusters are a special kind of chord, containing at least three adjacent notes, and are one of the staple tools for generating fear and tension in any audience. Thrill comes with 250+ diverse and editable cluster sound and voicing presets, using the many types of pitched sounds in the Thrill library, such as strings and horns. Tone clusters can also be built from scratch, with up to eight independently editable and modulatable voices.

Thrill runs in Native Instruments Kontakt 5 and the free Kontakt 5 Player. It is available at the NI Online Shop for €299 / $299 / £239 / ¥ 37 800 / AU$ 439.

http://www.native-instruments.com