OCR04595 - *YES* Final Fantasy 8 "The Definition of Lunacy"

[Liontamer]

FYI, this is the arrangement that directly inspired the arrangement-of-an-arrangement put forward by the directors for the second album mixflood. Part of the vote is determining if the two versions stand apart enough from one another. -LT

New Link

*ADDENDUM: This resub I had mastered myself with some pointers from Zack...also tried to lean more into the Williams/Zimmer vibe/feel of the film-score orchestration for textures, tonal / cleaning EQs and compression, an added piano flare @ 2:36 and the new ending. This end-product is complete with every single piece of critique from the Judges and #Workshop server on Discord actioned; that is inclusive of talking to people in private. My hope is people recognize it as more than just a "sound upgrade" from the original, be it from the SeeDs album or the first submission--this is with every fiber of my current abilities poured into this and about a good 3 days' worth of consistent tweaking and fine-tuning (and probably insomnia) in the hopes it pushes this beyond the bar / expectations.... Cheers and to good fortune on round 2 (technically 3), lol.

Original Link

Contact Information:

• Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (& Zack Parrish)
• Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú
• Your Email Address: 
• Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.newgrounds.com/
• Your User ID # on our forums: 37001

Submission Information:

• Name of Game(s) Arranged: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
• Name of Arrangement: "The Definition of Lunacy"
• Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'Tears of the Moon' (and inserts from 'Intruders' & 'Blue Sky')
• Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): 

1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 18 (Disc 3) - Tears of the Moon; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube |

FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 13 (Disc 2) - Intruders; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube & FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 4 (Disc 3) - Blue Sky; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube

• Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):

1. https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII:_Original_Soundtrack

• Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:

This song began as a premise of filling out content for the 5th, last hour album of SeeDs of Pandora... and I fully believe it became something more than that.

Lucas Guimaraes came to me with a proposal on Discord DMs if I wanted to help out with his and Zack Parrish's idea to expand on the original 69 songs, to beat the OCR record of "longest/biggest album/project done" on the site. His reasoning? I can throw out something pretty decent in a very short span of time. I found that a compliment to be proud of, considering he seemed well-pleased with what I had managed with his own project in the works. And--irony notwithstanding--*this* song ended up being almost kin to that one.

I asked him: "what sources *haven't been* covered yet from the FF8 OST?"

He had three answers;

Intruders. Blue Sky. Tears of the Moon.

I immediately went onto YouTube to listen to these sources, and laughed. Not because they were bad, but they were incredibly short. Maybe 20-30 second snippets, two of which were made for cutscenes/dialogue-inserts (Tears and Sky), and one being mostly done in-between the sneaking segments and montages of the game (Intruders)... but was comprised of nothing but bassline and a couple of string plucks. Once again, I found myself with very small, very short source material... that I somehow needed to make into a full arrangement. He did say, "you don't have to", to which I replied: "challenge accepted", and immediately went to work.

Few hours down the line, few additions made, few cuts to the sources... and we had something. This one in particular, I wanted to do a different bend to the genre. Still along the lines of the one I did for Lucas' project (futuristic/cyberpunk synthwave a la something from Blade Runner or The Terminator), but with a unique spin. And then I once again revisited the OST for TRON: Legacy... and it hit me.

*Orchestral* Synthwave, with heavy aspects of the big budget Film Score feel. It was something I never tried before, and being a huge fan of Ursine Vulpine (Frederick Lloyd)'s work with Annaca for film and tv, I thought it would marry quite well to the vibe of the three sources, seeing as they come from Final Fantasy VIII's prolific cutscenes. The biggest inspiration for this take/remix is the cover of "Wicked Game" by Ursine Vulpine. My hope is--in the end--that others will think the same. I'm really proud of this one, and think it comes out full of passion and strength in using (what I felt) were the key, recognizable bits of each source to swell into the film score-inspired opus I set out to create...

A big shout out and thank you to Zack Parrish for helping me give this the icing on the cake it needed (he did the metal guitar work and provided the 'beating heart', very cinematic drum samples! Those additions gave the piece so much edge and life, and I cannot thank him enough for those!) Also a shout out to Lucas (ThirdKoopa) for believing in me, my work, and giving me an opportunity to submit more to this lovely album (and let those last unclaimed tracks see the light of day!) Please enjoy the bonus track(s), from all of us who participated in this 11th hour 5th disc...  

 

#

 

Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to the new key signature as Ab major/F minor):

* "Tears of the Moon" = 00:00-00:31 (including arpeggio)
* "Intruders" A = 00:00-00:20 (bell percs in source changed to bass plucks in remix)
* "Intruders" B = 00:00-00:12 (synthy plucks/pizzicato strings in source changed to bells in remix)
* "Blue Sky" A = 00:02-00:07 (harp plucks in source changed to grand piano keys in remix)
* "Blue Sky" B = 00:17-00:20 (flute in source changed to soft piano arp in remix)
* "Blue Sky" C = 00:23-00:30 (low string synth in source changed to small celli section in remix)
* "Blue Sky" D = 00:30-00:34 (harp arpeggio in source changed to bell arpeggio in remix)
* "Blue Sky" E = 00:40-00:48 (strings repeated pattern in source changed to synth horn in remix)

Source Breakdown:

* 00:00-01:12 = remix begins with "Intruders" A, highlighting the beginning with quaint synthy bass plucks, and denoting the remix's half-synthwave nature
* 00:09-02:24 = "Tears of the Moon" arpeggio played as a synth harpsichord can be heard 'approaching' from a distance, in the background
* 00:33-01:15 = "Blue Sky" A is played by low piano synth
* 00:44-00:48 = "Blue Sky" B is played by a warm EP synth, briefly, almost whimsically leading up to the major meat of the piece (violins playing accompaniment chords)
* 01:12-01:57 = string sections and various pianos play "Tears of the Moon", with additional live guitar and synth violins to strengthen the piece and give it a solid base with cinematic drums
* 02:00-02:24 = violins play more of "Tears", accented by "Intruders" B as bell-hits, denoting the on-coming switch in pace and vibe in the remix
* 02:25-02:48 = we have a 'break' in the remix, away from the main sources, but staccato celli play "Blue Sky" C as backing with the ambience pads
* 02:49-03:36 = 'build-up'/'Interlude' continues, primarily with violin accompaniment; @ 03:27, "Blue Sky" E begins the crescendo back to the main verse/chorus structure of "Tears", and this is capped by "Blue Sky" D giving this section a glorious send-off via beautiful bell arpeggio
* 03:37-05:00 = rest of the song is "Tears", supported by rhythm guitars and an added melody played via Kontakt Hypha key synths and LABS choir

[MindWanderer]

Well, there's no question about this being similar to The Definition of Insanity, because they're nothing alike.  The breakdown was helpful; these are weird sources, but you've made something wonderfully creative with them.

This has a great sound to it, although it seems a bit crunchy in a way that I'm not 100% sure is intentional. Bass and drums are often a little too loud, where they're sitting above the melody, but the melody is usually audible; 2:23-2:46 is the one big exception, where the piano(?) melody is far too quiet.  And in the guitar section after that, the soundscape keeps getting louder while the guitar stays at the same absolute loudness, which results in it getting drowned out starting at 3:11. And honestly the violin section at 3:36-3:59 could stand to be rebalanced as well.

I really like the composition and sound design here. On that front it's a highlight, for sure. But I think I have to ask that it be rebalanced before putting it on the front page.

NO (please resubmit)

Edit 11/30: This is better. There's still a lot of that crunchiness, but it's been tuned down. The specific balance issues I called out have all been addressed. The only thing I don't really like is that there's a really wide dynamic range now: I had to keep turning my volume down lower and lower as the track went on because it got louder and louder, and by the time I got to where 4:02-4:23 was at a comfortable listening volume, the first 1:34 was too quiet to make out clearly. But I wouldn't call that a dealbreaking issue.

YES

Edited November 30, 2023 by MindWanderer

[prophetik music]

i love that every modern FF game has a track like "intruders", right down to the choked triangle.

intro is patient. there's a lot more in the right ear than the left until maybe 0:24. the big toms are also super boomy and have what sounds like a ton of distortion to them - it's not super clear if that's intentional. we get some more normal drums at 0:48 and it's still crunchy, and it's still imbalanced between the two ears.

there's some melodic content in the pianos at 1:12, but we finally get a real lead instrument at 1:36 when the guitar comes in. there's a big break at 2:00 after this, and then we get a moody, intense build at 2:25. this is really rumbly and didn't sound clear for a solid 15 seconds.

the guitar that comes in at 2:47 is well-played. it however doesn't really change in volume so it eventually gets drowned out. 3:36 is also hard to hear what's 'important' and what's 'background', and it's still really hard-panned in an uncomfortable way.

the rhythm guitar that comes in at 4:00 is extremely treble-heavy and sounds truly bad. there's just a lot going on and it's hard to hear what's what in that section. there's an outro that starts at 4:24 or so and then it's done without a real settling tone or chord.

the mastering here isn't very consistent. i think the remix itself is fine, albeit not as varied as past remixes by these two. there's just a lot of mud and a lot of elements that are not volumized appropriately. the hard panning throughout is a serious turnoff too, that'd have been enough for me to say no by itself. this needs a significant EQ and volume pass, and all panning to be reduced by half if not more.

 

 

NO

edit: intro is still balanced a little right-heavy. there's still a lot of crunch but it's more obvious that it's intentional. 2:25 is still really rumbly but has obviously had a lot of rolloff, so that may be an artifact of my headphones. guitar at 2:47 is better balanced, and 3:36 is way more balanced than before. 4:00's rhythm guitar is now almost inaudible but it's certainly nowhere near as bad as before, so that's good. there's some sounds that sound like audio artifacts in the outro, but they're consistent, so i'm assuming they're not unintentional. the lack of an ending chord is addressed by the detuning.

this is above the bar now. thank you for making revisions.

YES

Edited December 1, 2023 by prophetik music

[Liontamer]

:00-1:55.5, 1:56.75-2:00, 2:08.75-2:12.25, 2:20.5-2:23.75, 3:01.75-3:07.5, 3:20.5-3:23.5, 3:32.75-3:34.25, 3:35.75-3:55, 3:56.75-4:19.75, 4:23.75-4:24.75, 4:26.75-4:36.5, 4:38.75-4:42.5 = 192.75 seconds or 64.25% overt source usage

Loved the sound design from the start; opens with a booming presense, industrial overtones, and lots of impact. Soundscape gets cramped and crunchy, but I'm OK with it, as I can make out the part-wrtiting well enough. Guitar at 1:35 was also a nice touch.

Bowed strings from 2:00-2:24 were way too exposed. A little earlier on, they also didn't sound good, but were more of a background player, so it wasn't nearly as noticable. Piano chords at 2:24 also felt kind of blocky. Cello from 2:38-2:43 was quiet, but also very fake/mechanical sounding. Those were all smaller things going on that weren't tanking this, just would have been nice to address. 2:23 did take a turn where the soundscape started getting crunchy and distorted until 2:48.

Very subtle thing, but from 2:00-2:24, there was a subtle grinding noise in the background that I really appreciated; the way it was quietly placed and how it was positioned in the soundfield is something 99% of listeners wouldn't have noticed, but it caught my ear and was a nice touch. Nice energy from the guitar coming back at 2:47. The bell arpeggio at 3:34 was indeed "beautiful", as described.

Thanks a lot for the source usage breakdown, which was helpful. Very clever and creative references to the three source tunes throughout, and a very dynamic arrangement. These NOs are the definition of lunacy. I could see complaining about some crunchiness (I pointed out the same thing), but it adds character and I can make out the individual parts well enough. None of the panning bothered me, and I'm usually someone that get fixated on that. Asking for another pass at the mixing misses the forest for the trees. This arrangement's strong, the sound design is creative, these production flaws are minor; I don't want to reject something like this where significantly more is right than wrong.

YES

EDIT (11/24): Just noting that I've heard the updated version and appreciate the revisions. Piano at 2:24's still too blocky. To me, getting rid of the crunch now makes it too squeaky clean. I was fine with the first version, so my vote remains the same.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Liontamer
added updated comments

[DarkSim]

I love it when there's a detailed source breakdown, especially for multiple sources. Thanks for that! Despite that though, the only connection I could make in my brain was with Daft Punk's "Get Lucky"! It seems you transposed the key right into that one.

Anyhow, this is right up my alley. I just love the brooding atmosphere, and the texture of those industrial sounds, particularly the tubular bass and scratchy, gated distortion. The arpeggio from Tears of the Moon dances over the top of this dirtiness like sparks on a production line. Beautiful stuff.

There are a couple of times where you experiment with some unorthodox sounding notes in the melody (1:43 on guitar, 3:43 on piano), which at first I wasn't sure about, but actually I like that it adds another edge to the track.

I've listened to a ton of dark synthwave tracks, but the way you've integrated some orchestral elements into this gives it another dimension. Pretty much the only thing I'm disappointed with here is the ending. The track just seems to stop without a particularly satisfying resolution. Overall though, awesome work!

YES

[Emunator]

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