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Night10194

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Razumen Newbie

Razumen

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I liked the concept of returning to the levels. It might as well have been the same as the nightmare world's arrival in the other three games. You'll find that you had to replay each level in all the games, just not after such a long period.

Yeah, the concept was good, but the second time around the levels should have been much more 'nightmarish' with more areas that were unaccesible the first time through. Perhap the layout could have been changed a bit as well just to keep the player on his toes.

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  • 2 weeks later...
ifirit Newbie

ifirit

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Just wanted to make a quick update before heading off to PLAY! A Video Game Symphony in Chicago. I'm getting the opportunity to meet Akira Yamaoka and there are countless questions that I've been wanting to ask him. (I'll post my questions and his responses here after I get back.)

Anyway, ...

Silent Hill: Bridge of Thread Update:

Site Update and Additional Pages Posted:

I just wanted to let you guys know that new pages have been added to the fan-fic comic based on the Silent Hill series. The comic stars David Garrett who becomes lost in Old Silent Hill after an evening out with his boyfriend that goes terribly wrong. Lead by his memories and by a drive to find his friend, David searches the abandoned town for answers that can heal his pain.

The highlight on this topic is that it uses computer animation and drawing to create the comic, which gives it a much closer feel to the game series, while still giving the appearance of a comic. There are lots of things that give this comic appeal, all of which make it definitely something you should check out.

Silent Hill: Bridge of Thread - Main Page

Silent Hill: Bridge of Thread - Archives Page

There's a couple of other things that I wanted to post, including some additional information and details about the upcoming Silent Hill 0rigins, but maybe I'll let Razumen tell you about that. (For those who watched the trailer, this marks the first official reprise of "Not Tomorrow" in an official Konami work, which is also the first game trailer to not feature original music for the game. Hmmm...)

Oh, before I forget, Konamistyle of America has re-released certain T-shirt designs from Silent Hill 3 available for the first time in the US. Order one before supplies run out.

EDIT:

Akira Yamaoka/Silent Hill Live Performance Update:

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony Concludes Premiere Performance and Interview with Akira Yamaoka:

Well, having returned from PLAY! this weekend, I have to say that that was an experience to be had and as Mary once said, "We had [a] wonderful [time] together and I wouldn't trade it for the world." The concert was terrific and the meet-&-greet, though incredibly long waited for, was the most exciting part for me for reasons I will explain below. You can read up on the event in a post in the PLAY! Thread made by SleazyC, who put everything in a good context. (If I had known I was going to be seated so close to so many people, I would have made an effort to meet more of them. Also, StarZander is going to hate me forever, but I sat directly behind Koji Kondo and spoke with him briefly, congradulating him on his performance and giving him additional words of praise and fandom.)

So, let's focus on the parts that are revelent for this thread: Akira Yamaoka. First off, the performance he gave was exceptional. As expected, the Chicago Poplands Orchestra performed accompaniment to Akira Yamaoka has he performed "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill 2. The piece was rearranged for orchestra and Akira performed all the lead guitar parts with an additional guitar accompanist. Above the stage were three monitors which showed FMVs from Silent Hill 2 during the performance (with no credit to Takayoshi Sato or SatoWorks, thank you very much). In general, the performance was simply driving, expressive and much more of a rock performance than an orchestral one. The entire audience, especially myself, exploded in cheering and clapping as Yamaoka-san picked up the main melody. It appears that all the rumors about Akira Yamaoka having a rock-star mentality were true as he broke out into the first solo and then enticing the audience to cheer and "make some noise" has he continued to play. The biggest surprise of the performance was that he also played a section of the "lost solo" from "Theme of Laura" that appeared in the first Tokyo Game Show trailer for SH2, yet did not appear on the Original Soundtrack. I cheered extra hard at that. All in all, the performance was astounding and noone in the audience did not feel the excitement. Although, the concert as a whole was very exciting and memorable as well as skillfully performed and executed, I feel that that performance was one of the greatest highlights of the concert.

Second, as part of the show, a full color booklet was available for $20 acting as the program for the symphony. The booklet contained information on each composer present at the concert with additional information on the game and musical selection for the concert. The section on Akira Yamaoka was to two-page spread showing images from Silent Hill 2 (all previously released) which talked about his compositional history at Konami and a small bit about the Silent Hill series. (The entire biography was about a paragraph long.) Although, I didn't purchase a program, as I had quite conveniently forgotten to bring cash or my ATM card with me, I did borrow my neighbor's for a short time. (A very nice guy for doing that for me.) The images that are most prominent are: James looking at the mirror at the Rest Stop, Angela from the opening FMV, Brookhaven Nurse (aka Bubblehead Nurse) concept CG image, Creeper (SH2 version) concept drawing, the Red Pyramid Thing concept CG image, and the FMV image from the prison cell between James and Maria. (If I can come across an image of the program, I post it here for archiving.

Lastly and most importantly, the meet-&-greet session with Akira Yamaoka. Unfortunately, I was towards the end of the line (about 50 people from the end), so by the time I reached the table to meet the composers, it was well after 1am, so both parties involved were very tired and eager to get some rest. As such, the questions were limited to only recent works and the responses were very brief. My apologies to you and to myself for not showing enough tenacity to ask everything that I wanted to. However, despite that, I still feel the interview was enjoyable, because, I made Akira Yamaoka smile and draw attention to me simply by wearing my Silent Hill (film) T-shirt.

At first glance, though I had been watching him the whole time as I was progressing down the line, he notices my T-shirt and begins pointing and smiling at it as though that were the first time he has seen a fan wear one. He begins speaking in Japanese and even nudges over to Yasunori Mitsuda to look, who does in interest. Needless to say, I was completely enamored. He begins:

Akira Yamaoka: Ahh, Silent Hill! You like [that] movie?

ifirit: Yes, I absolutely loved the movie. I loved what Gans had done to the original story.

Did you really like what he did with the film as you've said in interviews?

Akira Yamaoka: Uh-huh.

ifirit: The film featured some really great adaptations of the music, if you had the chance would you be willing to work on a sequel?

Akira Yamaoka: No, I wouldn't want to work on it.

ifirit: Really?!

Akira Yamaoka: Yeah.

ifirit: You had a really great performance on stage, do you like doing that type of performance?

Akira Yamaoka: Yeah, I do.

ifirit: Are you going to be doing anything else like that soon?

Akira Yamaoka: No, I don't intend to.

ifirit: Lastly, are you currently working on Silent Hill 0rigins?

Akira Yamaoka: Yes, I am.

ifirit: Could you give me a sample?

Akira Yamaoka: No, I'm sorry I can't.

ifirit: Well, thank you anyway. And thank you for taking the time to speak with me and to meet with everyone.

Akira Yamaoka: You're welcome.

Short and bitter-sweet. Still, I am completely excited that I had the chance to meet and speak with the composer and (present) executive producer of the Silent Hill series. I'm even glad that he shook my hand, something I was not expecting him to do at all. Just the fact that I was able to make Akira Yamaoka smile and get Yasunori Mitsuda to take notice of me makes my head spin.

In addition, Michael Salvatori also commented on my shirt and talked to me about how he had seen the film, never played the series, but still enjoyed the movie despite. He asked me to explain a little bit, but I was so nervous that the co-composer for Halo was asking ME about it that I stuttered and stumbled my way through my thoughts, leaving what I'm sure was a rather poor impression. (*sigh*)

I'll post some pictures and other stuff soon, but you can go ahead and see some of them in the PLAY! Thread. (Too bad I couldn't find Nulion at the concert.)

EDIT 2:

Silent Hill 0rigins Update:

Meristation Interview with William Oertel, Producer for Silent Hill 0rigins (Translated):

An interview conducted by an online Spanish gaming magazine, Meristation, at the past E3 convention with William Oertel was posted on Friday, May 12, 2006. The interview was available only in Spanish and has not appeared in any other publications to date (likely because MGS is stealing all of the thunder away from Konami). Anyway, I've translated the article for you guys, as best I could.

Meristation.com - [E3] Entrevista a William Oertel, productor de SH: Origins

[E3] Interview with William Oertel, Producer for Silent Hill 0rigins

The terror will take us back to the evil town. We spoke with William Oertel, producer for the new arrival on the PSP from Silent Hill, who revealed to us lots of things that as of now are unreleased. [The game] uncovers all the origins about Silent Hill...

-----------------------------------

By: Albert Gil Morera

During the current E3, we were given the opportunity to interview William Oertel, producer for Silent Hill 0rigins, who has given us the initial information referring to the premiere [title] in the saga on the Sony portable.

Meristation: Is Team Silent behind this Silent Hill 0rigins?

William Oertel: The game is not directly being developed by Team Silent, since it is being developed in Los Angeles, but I can assure you Akira Yamaoka's team is supervising the evolution of the game.

Meristation: And how is the music? Is Akira Yamaoka the composer for the soundtrack?

William Oertel: Yes, in fact, Akira has actually already composed themes for the game.

Meristation: The first rumors aimed at Silent Hill for the PSP were of a remake of the first game, for the PSone. Why did you finally opt for a prequel for the series?

William Oertel: While the intention was to transfer the first game to the PSP, we saw that we had to change many things: controls, cameras, graphics... the result that we wanted barely seemed anything like what we left with. Besides, it made no sense to tell a history that the whole world already knew, so this motivated our decision to create a prequel to the series, to understand more details that happened in Silent Hill.

Meristation: Does it have any relationship to the film?

William Oertel: Not directly. The game will be a prequel to "Silent Hill [1]," so a large part of the winks* will be from the first title. Nevertheless, we will also include references to the other three titles in the series.

Meristation: How is the playability? What changes were made to make the gameplay separate from the previous games?

William Oertel: Silent Hill 0rigins will be quite different from the other games, although always respecting the basic pilliars [of gameplay] from the series. The control, that has been obsolete from the previous titles, has experienced a complete make-over, being a lot more intuitive and simple. The camera is placed just behind the person, in a way very similar to Resident Evil 4. Otherwise, as the player will see, despite the changes it will be an authentic Silent Hill.

Meristation: Will we visit familiar places in Silent Hill?

William Oertel: Yes, in fact we have sufficiently advanced the designs for the hospital and other sites that have already appeared in the previous Silent Hill [games].

Meristation: When will the game arrive?

William Oertel: At the beginning of the next year, if no last minute delays arise.

Meristation: Is there a possibility that we will see the game converted for the PS2 or another platform in the furture?

Wiliiam Oertel: Hmmm... the truth is that I had not planned it, but if the game succeeds well financially, it's not a possibility to rule out. Anything's possible.

Meristation: Finally, can you tell us anything about Silent Hill 5?

William Oertel: Haha, would you believe that you are the first one to ask me that? I'm very sorry, I'm not permitted to say anything at the moment, although I can confirm that this Silent Hill 0rigins is the first of many other news that have been prepared for the future. (*laughs*)

Meristation: I understand... Well, that is all for the moment, thank you very much for assisting us, and [good] luck with the development of the game!

William Oertel: Many thanks to you, and I hope to see you again soon!

Apparently, SH0 is being produced independently from Team Silent and will not include any active development role other than supervising the direction that the American team takes it. This can be either good or bad news depending on those involved, particularly Scott Ciencin, writer for the Silent Hill comic series, known for descimating the series' reputation by reducing it to simple elements of gore and foul language.

As previously confirmed by other gaming news networks, Akira Yamaoka is working on the musical soundtrack for the game, however no indication was given on sound effects, voice-over sessions or ambient music. I expect that Konami Digital Entertainment of America's team will be handling these seemingly minor affairs. No indication if Zero Limit Productions will be providing voice talent for this game either. (I really hope that they can bring back Liz Mamorsky and Jarion Monroe for this game.)

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BocoDragon Newbie

BocoDragon

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My apologies to you and to myself for not showing enough tenacity to ask everything that I wanted to. However, despite that, I still feel the interview was enjoyable, because, I made Akira Yamaoka smile and draw attention to me simply by wearing my Silent Hill (film) T-shirt.

At first glance, though I had been watching him the whole time as I was progressing down the line, he notices my T-shirt and begins pointing and smiling at it as though that were the first time he has seen a fan wear one. He begins speaking in Japanese and even nudges over to Yasunori Mitsuda to look, who does in interest. Needless to say, I was completely enamored.

8O

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  • 3 weeks later...
ifirit Newbie

ifirit

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I was wondering about something, ifirit. Have you ever found any conceptual art from the Silent Hill movie?

Unfortunately, at the moment there is no official pre-production work available, which includes concept art and designs. According to my information, gathered from interviews, articles, journals and other sources, it seems that Gans conceptualized the entire visual aspect of the film solely from memory and his vision. This means that he gathered all the necessary team members, artists and staff based on their ability to follow his direction, meaning that he had no visual aids to guide his vision or to use as a basis for the other artists to follow. Even some of the artists themselves were at times confused about what to create due to the lack of references, as one member of the CG team sought out help from fans to provide visual references to create what Gans kept refusing as an incorrect design.

However, I did say "at the moment." Although Gans himself did not create any visual references or aids for the film, the artisans underneath him did. Patrick Tatopoulos created many concept designs to verify with Gans on the look of the monsters, which he often does for many of his films and projects. Wendy Partirdge also has designs created before the final look of Rose's clothing was set. Of course as you remember, Rose had over 100 costume changes throughout the entire film.

Patrick Tatopoulos currently maintains two websites for his projects and his company. He uses the company website to display finalized versions of his work as his portfolio and as a measure of what his team is capable of. His personal site displays all of his work, not just from his company, which includes concept art, progression reports and other pre-production materials. He has only recently gotten around to posting his work from Underworld: Evolution (his previous film), so it may take some time before he posts anything from Silent Hill. Check out the sites periodically to see when Patrick Tatopoulos posts his concepts.

Unfortunately, I cannot find a personal website for Wendy Partridge, so I cannot determine whether or not she has posted her concepts from the film. If I do find anything, I will inform you guys. In the meantime, feel free to check out this interview (Warning: Link contains Film Spoilers) with Evan Jacobs, visual effects supervisor for Silent Hill and supervisor for Mr. X Inc. visual effects studio. These sites are also behind on posting their latest works on their sites, so don't expect anything soon on Silent Hill. The interview, however, shows some behind the scenes material of the film before and after CG effects and visuals. The interview, posted on Deathfall talks about the process that went into the development of the atmosphere and background design from the technical end. What's most interesting about the article is that it shows a side-by-side comparison of before and after CG effects footage of the film.

You can also check on the other two visual effects production companies that worked on Silent Hill (C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures in Canada and BUF visual studios in France) in the future to see production material from the film, but I wouldn't expect to see anything in the near future. Don't worry, I'll keep you guys posted if anything comes up.

Until then you guys can check out from fan-created pre-production materials, courtesy of the members of the Silent Hill Forum.

Silent Hill Fan-created Storyboards

Silent Hill Fan-created DVD cover

Silent Hill Fan-created Red Pyramid Statuette

Silent Hill Fan-created Grey Child Statuette

Silent Hill Fan-created Red Pyramid PEZ dispensers (Okay, this one has nothing to do with the actual film, but it was made in response to the idea of marketing schemes for the film.)

Silent Hill Film Update:

Silent Hill DVD Announced + Cover and Details:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has finally announced the release date for the DVD, August 22, 2006. The film will be released in both wide-screen and full-screen formats both with 5.1 surround-sound audio. The DVDs will include a variety of special features, but no extended version. Retail price is expected to be $28.95. Blu-ray and UMD versions are also expected to be released. Check the thread linked below for additional details.

Silent Hill Forum - Official DVD Release! - Details + Cover Art

EDIT: The article originally appeared on DVDActive.com and has included all the details including news about the Blu-ray version, which is also set to be released on August 22, 2006 for $38.95. (A little high for a movie disc, if you ask me, but I suppose not terrible considering that the technology is still in its infancy.) The official special features to be added to the DVD and Blu-ray versions include:

- Audio Director Commentary

- English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround-Sound Audio

- Deleted & Extended Scenes

- Featurettes: 6 Part Production Diary

  • ++ Silent Hill Origins
    ++ Casting Silent Hill
    ++ Building Silent Hill
    ++ Stars and Stunts
    ++ Constructing the Creepy Creatures from the Film
    ++ Creature Choreography

Please note that these are the initial reports, although many fans are expecting much more out of the special DVD release, there's only so much room that can fit onto a DVD and the film itself is going to take up a lot of room on it's own. If Sony truly plans to give fans everything that they ask for, I'll suggest that they release the film on a two-disc set (one for the feature and the other for the special features).

Still, the biggest change fans want right now is on the DVD cover art, which, by-the-way, has revived the Silent Hill poster contest among the fans for the DVD cover. So, if you feel that you've got a better idea for the DVD cover, feel free to post it here, or email it to Sony Pictures directly.

DVDActive.com - News - Releases - Silent Hill (US DVD R1 | BR R1)

Official Film Soundtrack Confirmed:

Despite the fact that Jeff Danna had previously announced that he was unsure about releasing an official soundtrack from the film, this month he has now confirmed that he will be releasing the official soundtrack later this year. Specific details about the soundtrack are unknown at this moment, but Jeff Danna has said that he will not be including all the tracks from the film, but only the most prominent ones. I'll have to retrace my sources, as I've lost them for the moment. But, we can all finally breathe easier knowning that there will be an official film soundtrack.

Silent Hill Premiere Report and Footage:

The premiere was quite a long time ago, but I finally found footage from that event. This video has been provided by GameTrailers.com hosted on YouTube.com. Enjoy.

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill Premiere (.wmv file / 32.3 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill Premiere (.mov file / 30.8 MB)

GameTrailers.com - Silent Hill Premiere (.mp4 file / 18.4 MB)

YouTube - Silent Hill Premiere

EDIT 2:

Horror.com - Exclusive Footage:

This article which was post on Horror.com on May 1, 2006 has somehow slipped out of the mainstream for a while. I'm surprised at this since the article includes video footage from the film's premiere along with a cast interview and 3 raw files of behind-the-scenes footage. Truly something that should have been on everyone's list of must-see events. (And, yes, I am aware that they caption Kim Coates' character as "Henry Townsend." It's a mistake on the production staff part, likely due to a misguided team member going off a rumor.) Anyway, enjoy this one, too.

Horror.com - Silent Hill - Exclusive Footage

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StarZander Newbie

StarZander

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Oh yeah, I saw the movie last week, on the Swedish premiere. It was average. They could have made several things better, and I laughed at some things that probably wasn't meant to be laughed at, but it was still a very satisfactory game movie. Best one yet, imo.

I think they should have portayed Pyramid Head a bit more. Now he was just like any other monster, although more gruesome. When Rose was going down to see the demon, I though PH would be there. But no. When Alessa was going to kill all the churchpeople, I thought she would call out PH to do her dirtywork. But no. I thought we would get so see a bigger fight with PH. But no. I just wanted more PH.

I liked the way they ended the movie. It could have ended with them just driving into the mist, and then roll the credits, but when they were driving home, I suspected something was wrong, because of all the mist, so I kept hoping it wouldn't have a "happily ever after"-ending, with Rose and Sharon reuniting with Christopher. I liked what they did there, a lot.

Also, they skipped Samael completely, and set Alessa as the "God" instead of the mohter of God. They should have kept the original story on that part.

I'm pretty happy though, that they won't be making another film. They got everything they could out of the games, without ruining them.

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Aetherius Newbie

Aetherius

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Hopefully a soundtrack will be coming for this movie. I've got all SH soundtracks but a movie soundtrack would top off my SH CD collection ;)

Any news on this?

I wouldn't recommend buying it.

It'd be like buying a 'the worst of silent hill, in 5 different versions each, plus You're not here' album.

Or rather...you've already got the soundtrack, it's just spread across your 4 game OSTs. Don't waste your money.

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