EASTWEST Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition Software User Guide
- June 6, 2024
- EASTWEST
Table of Contents
EASTWEST Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition Software
WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD ORCHESTRA
Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition is the highly anticipated expansion to Hollywood Orchestra, the best-selling and most awarded orchestral virtual instrument ever pro-duced. It includes brand new pristine recordings, reimagined original content, and powerful new features, all housed in our new revolutionary Opus software engine.
Our Revolutionary New Opus Software Engine
Our brand new Opus software engine replaces Play and has been years in
development. “Many improvements were made to the Play software engine over the
last decade but we suddenly had a unique opportunity,” says producer Doug
Rogers, “we were able to bring Wolfgang Kundrus in as head of software
development. He was the mastermind behind the creation of Cubase, Nuendo, and
Studio One. Then we were able to bring in Wolfgang Schneider, the creator of
Kontakt. With these two titans of music software development now on our team,
we decided it was time to develop a brand new software engine from the ground
up.
The Opus software engine is the realization of this effort. Not only is it faster, more powerful, more flexible, and better looking than Play, it comes with some incredible new features such as individual instrument downloads, customized key-switches, new effects for the mixer page, scalable retina GUI upgrades for legacy products, a powerful new script language, and many more features that allow you to completely customize the sound of each instrument. It’s one of the most exciting developments in the history of our company and will be the launching pad for many exciting new products in the future.
HOLLYWOOD ORCHESTRA OPUS EDITION
Please visit the EastWest Sounds YouTube channel for software and product walk-throughs, including those linked to directly below.
- EastWest Opus Engine Walkthrough
- EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition
- EastWest Hollywood Orchestrator
Important Note for Existing Play Users
Opus and Play are two separate software products, anything you have saved in
your projects will still load up inside the saved Play version of the plugins.
You can update your current/existing projects to Opus if you so choose, or
leave them saved within Play. After purchasing or upgrading to Opus you do not
need to use Play, however, it may be more convenient to make small adjustments
to an older composition in your DAW loading the saved Play instruments instead
of replacing them with Opus instruments. For any new composition just use
Opus.
The Powerful New Hollywood Orchestrator
Create full-scale orchestral music with complex arrangements by playing a few
sim-ple chords with one hand and shaping expression with the other. Developed
in col-laboration with Sonuscore, Hollywood Orchestrator used all the
instruments in Hol-lywood Orchestra Opus Edition to create real-time
arrangements based on your MIDI input with our innovative Scoring Engine.
With over 500 presets the can be customized, you can instantly create music in the style of Hollywood’s greatest composers. Select from Ensemble presets to quickly create rich orchestral arrangements. With Ostinato presets, you can build rhythmic tension in different meters or create moving melodic lines by only changing a few notes. With Score, classic Hollywood orchestrations become an endless source of inspiration. Create your own User presets by modifying existing presets or build your own ensembles from scratch! At the heart of Hollywood Orchestrator is our innovative Scoring Engine, which can produce results ranging from a basic string arrangement, to very complex orchestra- tions played by the full orchestra. It achieves this in a two-step process by first mod-ifying the MIDI input with a Note Selection process, then sending those note selec-tions to a powerful Step Sequencer where chords are played with the programmed rhythms. If you want to take things a step further, you can optionally activate our step sequencers. Each slot has one of them. They take whatever the note selection process outputs, and manipulates that. If you program a rhythmic pattern into the sequencers and play a C-Major chord, the sequencers will take the notes from the note selection and play the chord with that rhythm. In the Mixer section, refine the final output of each instrument by adjusting the volume, pan, equalization, reverb preset, reverb send amounts, and other reverb controls like pre-delay, length, and filters.
HOW TO INSTALL HOLLYWOOD ORCHESTRA
Thank for your purchase! To begin, download the EastWest Installation Center,
through which you will be able to download the Software, Libraries, and
activate your Licenses.
Step 1: Download and Install the Installation Center
The Installation Center can be downloaded from the ‘Software & Product
Updates’ section of the EastWest Support Center. After downloading and
installing the package, the Installation Center will open automatically. It is
found here:
- MacOS: MacHD/Applications/East West/ EW Installation Center
- Windows: C:\Program Files\East West\ EW Installation Center
When the Installation Center opens, enter the EastWest account name and
password created during registration and allow a moment while it gathers data
from your account.
If the Installation Center is already installed, log in and download the
latest version by clicking the ‘Download’ button on the update panel located
near the top the Installation Center. The installer will launch automatically,
allowing you to proceed through the prompts to update your software.
Step 2: Download and Install Opus Software and Product Support
Click the ‘Download’ button in the Opus Software panel that appears near the
top of the Installation Center. Once the downloads are complete, the installer
will launch auto-matically, allowing you to proceed through the prompts to
install Opus, EastWest’s new sample engine that powers Hollywood Orchestra.
PLEASE NOTE! Please ensure the Product Support installer has been run! If the Product Support installer does not run automatically after downloading, go to the downloads location on your computer and launch the installer from there, proceeding through the prompts to complete the installation. Proceed with the next steps to ensure EastWest Libraries are activated and installed for use within Opus.
Step 3: Activate the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition
Click the “Activate” button near the top of the Installation Center to open
the Acti-vation Assistant window, which will lead you through the activation
pro-cess. Click ‘Next’ to proceed past the Introduction tab, then select the
license(s) you want to activate in the License tab and click ‘Next’.
The Location window will give you the option to activate your license on your
computer (called a machine-based license) or to a registered iLok security
key. Make sure your iLok security key is plugged in if that’s your preferred
option.
iLOK USERS: If you have an iLok account but you have not connected it to your
EastWest account, an Activation Assis- tant will help link the two accounts.
This only needs to be done once.
Step 4: Download Hollywood
Orchestra Opus Edition
Each of the 7 libraries that make up the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition will
appear in the ‘New Downloads’ section of the Installation Center, as well as
the Hollywood Orchestrator, EastWest’s powerful new scoring engine.
- Hollywood Orchestrator
- Hollywood Orchestra Strings
- Hollywood Orchestra Brass
- Hollywood Orchestra Percussion
- Hollywood Harp
- Hollywood Solo Violin
- Hollywood Solo Cello
[ NEW: Scoring Engine ]
[ NEW: 18 Violins and Ensemble ]
[ NEW: 2 Trumpets and 2 Trombones ]
Hollywood Orchestra Woodwinds [ NEW: 3 Flutes, 3 Clarinets, 3 Bassoons ]
PLEASE NOTE! The amount of drive space required to install an EastWest
Library from the Installation Center is just over double the actual size of
the library. If you are working with a limited amount of drive space, start
with the largest libraries as they will require the most free space to
install. If you want to change the installation path to a drive that has
adequate space, add a new ‘Default’ location by following the ‘Installation
Path’ instructions below.
Setup the Installation Path
Create a folder on your computer using the Finder (MacOS) or File Explorer
(Windows) called ‘EastWest Libraries’ (or something similar) that will serve
as the Library Directory where libraries are downloaded to.
In the EW Installation Center, click the Main Menu and choose ‘Library Directories…’, Next, click the ‘Add’ button and add in the desired location. Next, make the location the default location to download libraries to by clicking the ‘Default’ check-box at the bottom of the options window (it will show a ‘< – Default’ next to it once set).
Instructions For Existing Users
If the Installation Center detects an existing installation of Hollywood
Orchesta, it will only install the new expansion content, not the entire
library. A new Opus Instru ments set will also be installed, alongside the
existing Instruments set (which can be used simultaneously). The expansion
content for this collection of libraries requires approximately 132 gigabytes
(GB) of drive space for the Opus Edition Diamond, 15 gigabytes (GB) of drive
space for the Opus Edition Gold, and 31 (GB) of drive space for the Opus Edi-
tion Gold X (only available for ComposerCloud X subscribers). Click the
download button within the product panel to immediately begin download-ing the
expansion content into the existing Hollywood Orchestra install directory.
Instructions For New Users
If you’re a new user, or there are no existing installations of Hollywood
Orchestra detected, begin by deciding on a good place to install Hollywood
Orchestra Opus Edition. This collection of libraries requires approximately
944 gigabytes (GB) of drive space for the Opus Edition, 130 gigabytes (GB) of
drive space for the Opus Edition Gold, and 242 (GB) of drive space for the
Opus Edition Gold X (only avail-able for ComposerCloud X subscribers).
Click the download button within the product panel to prompt a message that
asks you to locate the desired installation directory. Navigate to the desired
location and click ‘Open’. You will be asked if this is the preferred
‘Default’ location for future installations.
PLEASE NOTE! Umlauts , diacritics ( etc.) and any non-roman charac-ters
can result in the file path not being properly read. This can result in an
error after the installation, when the library is in use. Please remove these
umlauts and diacritics from your file path!
The Download Process
The download process will now begin, with a blue bar displaying its progress.
Click the “X” button to pause the download process, and click “Resume” to
continue the download where it was left off.
PLEASE NOTE! The Installation Center will cycle through 100% twice. Once
for the initial download of the files, and a second time for the unpacking and
installation of the library.
Activated and Ready For Use
When a product is installed and ready to use, a check-mark is displayed.
Step 5: Update Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition
If an instrument and/or sample update becomes available for any of the 7
libraries in the the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, or the Hollywood
Orchestrator, it will appear in the Installation Center with the downward
arrow icon above the word ‘Update’. Simply click the ‘Update’ icon to download
and install the latest update.
SUPPORT AND DOCUMENTATION
Visit EastWest’s Support Center for Software and Product Updates, FAQs,
Library and Software Manuals, and Getting Started guides.
Live Chat
EastWest’s Support Center offers Live Chat, the fastest way to reach a Support
Team Member to help resolve any technical issues you may be having.
Click on the red “Chat Now” box that appears in the lower-right corner. Fill
in your name and email address, then click “Start the Chat”, or if an agent is
not available click “Leave a Message” by explaining your issue, and a Support
Agent will respond as soon as they’re available.
Online Resources
Visit us online for newsletters, trailers, walkthroughs, and more.
- YouTube: check out our tutorials, walkthroughs, and trailers. https://www.youtube.com/user/EWQLTutorials
- Facebook: get the latest EW announcements, and join the community discussion. https://www.facebook.com/eastwestsound
Library and Software Manuals
EASTWEST LIBRARY MANUALS can be accessed in the Browse page of Opus, by
clicking on the
LIBRARY MANUAL BUTTON found near the top-right corner of the Description
Box.
The OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL can be accessed by clicking on the SETTINGS MENU BUTTON and selecting the HELP OPTION found near the bottom of the menu.