Gario Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Remixer name: Bluelighter Real Name: Guillaume SAUMANDE ID forum: 30998 Game & Songs: ff10 & Twilight, The Deceased Laugh Interpreter: Guillaume SAUMANDE (piano) Composer: Junya Nakano, Nobuo UEMATSU (only for the first arpeggios) Last Decision: http://ocremix.org/community/topic/34380-no-final-fantasy-10-the-dream-is-clearing-resub/#comment-700195 *NO* Final Fantasy 10 'The Dream Is Clearing' *RESUB* ocremix.org Original DecisionRemixer name: BluelighterReal Name: Guillaume SAUMANDEMail: ID forum: 30998Game & Songs: ff10 & Twilight, The Deceased LaughInterpr... Links: Twilight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OwyN2VfloQ Final Fantasy X Music - Twilight www.youtube.com "Twilight" from Final Fantasy X. The Deceased Laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XEyt3E5xTk 84-The Deceased Laugh-FFX OST www.youtube.com 84-The Deceased Laugh-FFX OST Hi OCR! Seven years ago, I've made a first version of this arrangement: "Twilight" and "The Deceased Laugh" in piano. My first attempts was made on an acoustic piano and after on an electric piano but with analog recording. Without concluding result… This time, I've recorded this in numeric with an FP80. I feel now the quality is better In response to precedent decision, I've reworked the middle part of the arrangement. The source "Twilight" was interesting to arrange. Junya made an impressive work on this: only 13 harmonies (deep in the beginning and high in the 2nde half), but what harmonies! This piece is so strange, so disconcerting! I was a big fan when I discovered this in piano^^ But it really missed a melodic thread to get sthg cohesive. The precedent version integrated only the arpeggios of The Deceased Laugh. The middle section matched to the 2nde half of "Twilight". At part 4, I've replaced it by the melodic line of "The Deceased Laugh". Part 5 is a little improvisation on some harmonies of "Twilight". There is here a semblance of melody in complete dissonance with the bass. Added to the odd time signature (in 6/8 + 6/8 + 6/8 + 5/8), it greatly contributes to the unease we can feel in this part. With this piece, I hoped get sthg disturbing, frightening! In the original game, "Twilight" appears when the main character has a nightmare, hence the title. New breakdown: 0'00 : dissonant arpeggios (a little influenced by the movie "The Ninth Gate" to announce the following) -> NEW PART 0'20 : arpeggios; one based on "The Deceased Laugh", and continue on the first 4 harmonies of "Twilight" 1'04 : twilight -> hesitating rhythm (notably before change of harmonies) 2'47 : "The Deceased Laugh" the melody adapted to sound with the harmonies of "Twilight" -> NEW PART 3'35 : "Twilight" based on harmonies 0'46 -> 1'00 and 1'24 -> 1'44 -> NEW PART 4'20 : "Twilight" 1'40 -> 2'30 (high version at 4'16 ->4'40) 4'44 : arpeggios on the first 4 harmonies of "Twilight", the culminating point of the piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 I didn't hear the original version of this, but other than the recording/mixing comments from last time--although it's really quiet for most of its length--the criticisms from then still hold up with this new version. Taking a source that's just pads and using its chord progression to create something that isn't just pads is too far of a stretch to call source usage. There's still very little direction in most of the first half. The segment Larry thought "was performed too loosely and with too much dissonance" can still be described so. The new sections are indeed an improvement, for the most part, but it's not enough. 2:47-3:35 was pretty good, though long-winded. 3:35-4:20 was performed very loosely again, and isn't clearly tied in to the source. This is a real challenge you've set for yourself here, with two minimal sources and a liberal approach to interpretation. I'm not 100% convinced it can be made to work at all, and even if it can, it's going to be tough. I definitely don't think it's there yet. It still needs more source connection, slightly smoother performance (although here, you should definitely err on the side of too loose rather than too precise), and more constrained dynamics. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 Alright, so I'll say the good first - I actually really enjoy this track - like, a lot. The atmosphere of it is really gripping, and those dissonances are really tastefully used (even the crashing at the end, believe it or not). Admittedly you use what's provided, but I felt it made sense given how you presented it here, and it's a clear contrast to what's normally on OCR. The performance doesn't feel stiff to me, especially with those three-against-four rhythms at 3:34 - 4:21. Very well done; if this were a stand alone piece, I would actually say it's great. All of that being said, there are some issues with pacing and source recognition that I can't ignore. First, there are some very long, plodding sections that really could be trimmed with little lost in the translation. 0:21 - 1:04 could be cut in half (only repeating the arps twice rather than four times), and 1:04 - 2:47 should cut at least four harmony changes out completely (the 12 harmony changes creates an awkward hyper meter that kills the pacing). The other sections are proportioned relatively well, but those two parts really slow the track down unbearably. The issue of source recognition is tricky on something like this. I'm not against utilizing harmony as a connection, but know that this connection isn't enough to make the source recognizeable in its own right. Sections where you utilize texture from one source with the harmonies of the other works great (like at 0:21), and incorporating the limited melody helps a great deal (like at 2:47), so be sure to make more connections throughout the track other than harmonic ones. I think it's possible to make a really solid arrangement from this, and I think the idea is spectacular. However, I don't think it fits the site requirement of making the source recognizeable quite yet, and the pacing is undoubtably slow in some portions. Fix the pacing, make the source connection using other elements in your more harmonic-only sections and I think you'll have a decent shot. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 I didn't have issues with source recognition at first, I can hear both sources where they're used for the most part in the first 3 to 4 minutes. The issue here really is with the twilight parts and how long they last, and how plodding they feel. There's really not much going on from 1:00 until almost the 3rd minute. After that when both sources are weaved together, it makes it very hard to relate to the original other than mood. I think that cutting on the plodding section and changing the second half of the arrangement to somewhat make the source more recognizable to what's going on would get it closer to what we're looking for. As Mindwanderer pointed out this is quite a challenge. The twilight source is just a series of long-winded harmonies and that's not really a lot to build upon something recognizable to the listeners, but maybe this could work with more obvious referencial material. Your artistic vision for the track is something to consider too, as I believe this track outside of the context of an OCReMix is fine, so it's up to you to take this points into account. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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