OCR04611 - *YES* Final Fantasy 8 "Set the Stage on Fire"

[Liontamer]

Title: Set the Stage on Fire

Source: The Stage is Set (FF8)

0:08 to 0:39 - Reference main motif from source but drawn out in a bell like tone in the background.

0:40 to 0:43 - References main motif from source for one bar build up.

0:44 to 1:15 - References horn melody / harmony from source.

1:17 to 1:47 - References main motif from source.

1:48 to 2:19 - Motif in background while horn melody from source played on guitar.

2:20 to 2:35 - Motif playing still, alternate melody played by blocksine in bg, also from source.

2:36 to 3:08 - Motif still playing with another melody from the source playing.

3:12 to 3:27 - Melody on music box from source

3:28 to 3:42 - Melody on music box continues, guitar and synth strings play another motif from the source material.

3:44 to 4:01 - Build up of main motif with various instruments.

4:01 to end - Music box plays main melody again from source

 

[MindWanderer]

When this was submitted for the album, I complained about some distortion and the quality of the violins. The violins sound fine now. I do still hear some pumping coming from overcompression, but it's not too bad.

Otherwise, this is a great cinematic arrangement. Engaging dynamic progression. Seems like it would work well in a sci-fi epic. Works for me.

YES

[prophetik music]

the intro is appropriately creepy between the detuned music box and the distorted synths. there's a great build into 0:44 where the main melodic material shows up. 1:17 drops off and we get more of the marcato melodic material from the beginning of the source. there's a nice piano arpeggiation behind this that fades in and out, and sets the stage for a half-time section led by guitars at 1:47. the sweeping, sustained theme is just perfect for such an active background.

there's a big transition at 2:21 with some significant pumping from the main compressor (it's even visible in the waveform). this part shifts the marcato intro melodic material to some lower strings doubled with choir, which is kind of muddy but sounds great the few times there's a thinner soundscape. this builds up with more of the musicbox stuff into another drop, and the track builds for another 20s until the ending big hit. 

there's some pumping but that's really my only complaint. the rest of this is just great pacing and scaling. nice work.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer]

At :44, the textures's too muddy, IMO, but certainly nothing seriously dinging the piece, especially in light of the tremendous arrangement ideas, really ratcheting up the energy level of the theme.

Loved the padding from 1:15-1:47 that added a nice warmth and contemplative tension to this section. There's also some sadness in the strings from 1:48-2:19, which I appreciated. They sounded similar to a favorite of mine from the FF7 album, The Orichalcon & bustatunez' "Rare Square". Great adaptation of this theme into something that sounds like a stress-filled cinematic cue; this is maybe the part where things look bleak, immediately followed by the hero sucking it up and trudging on, so I got some good imagery here.

Loved the synth and vox-like line doubling the melody from 2:36-2:45. Nitpick: the thin electric guitar tone then added in at 2:51 sounded underwhelming; the corny-sounding delay and the way the guitar was panned hard had it sounding thinner than it should have; more resonance/depth to that sound would have improved the final section. Awesome dropoff section at 3:12; great lead sound, and the all of the industrial & electronic sounds underneath; nice screeching sound from 3:21-3:28 as well, some good sound design there.

Loads of dynamics here, and just a strongly expanded fleshing out of "The Stage Is Set". Probably Zack's best example from this album of why he deserves some film scoring gigs. A nice ride here!

YES

[Chimpazilla]

The texture feels muddy at 0:44 due to the wide saw lead playing over a soundscape of elements all playing in a similar range.  I'm not a fan of those wide leads but it works well enough here.  This arrangement is full of varied textures and instruments.  And Damage drums!  They sound great.  I agree with Larry, that hard-panned thin guitar is unfortunate but it plays briefly.  I love the music box when it appears.  This does sound like a cinematic cue and tells its story well.  The mastering is on the heavy side but never crosses the line into overcompressed for me.

YES