And TOR Wemrys' song is finished, just in time for his birthday! Next up will be Shay's and featuring live violin performance!
Ah, this was an experience. Mat and I have delved into a new style for our orchestral pieces, sticking to a cohesive sound rather than having the song change up mid-piece. We've improved on our writing for the music, a lot more complex techniques to make the most out of a more intimate sound. We didn't use a full orchestra - that is, we used strings, percussion, woodwinds and the like but for the brass? Only one. French horn. This is done to kind of make it into an inner voice or feeling for the character and to give a sense of loneliness, longing, nobility...
The song was for the character I originally met Wem's RPer on, his Star Wars version of Wemrys. And as such I wanted the song to sound very Star Warsy. Here's an excerpt from my Enjin wall explaining that process:
That was when posting the WIP, which you can hear right here: https://app.box.com/s/adg7j9p9ykleqgv0mttmuckmp11mjkky
But here's the full, complete deal and a detailed analysis of the process/thoughts/inspirations.
Happy birthday, Wem!
[youtube]7vrFvSbEP3s[/youtube]
Ah, this was an experience. Mat and I have delved into a new style for our orchestral pieces, sticking to a cohesive sound rather than having the song change up mid-piece. We've improved on our writing for the music, a lot more complex techniques to make the most out of a more intimate sound. We didn't use a full orchestra - that is, we used strings, percussion, woodwinds and the like but for the brass? Only one. French horn. This is done to kind of make it into an inner voice or feeling for the character and to give a sense of loneliness, longing, nobility...
The song was for the character I originally met Wem's RPer on, his Star Wars version of Wemrys. And as such I wanted the song to sound very Star Warsy. Here's an excerpt from my Enjin wall explaining that process:
Quote:This song has been a long time coming. This was the first character I ran into this RPer on by chance in the Promanade. My character was rescued by Book but Book got herself captured in the process and so Llinos went out to find help...the first person she runs into (by happy accident) was her former padawan, Wemrys. What were the odds? It's great when stories start out like that. I got to know this character and as RPers we got to develop our characters in ways we might never have. It's great when you find writers who just get your writing style and want to develop with you.
Making this song was...at first difficult. When I thought of Wemrys, I thought of Star Warsy things. It HAD to sound Star Wars. This RPer helped encourage me to get into the lore and when we first RPed we did a lot of Jedi related stuff - our two characters had their own views on the Code and the Force and bonded over their equal conviction to their cause. Binary Sunset keeps playing in my head when I think about those past RPs of Llinos asking Wemrys for advice on what a Jedi Knight does when they feel hesitation, when it becomes hard to 'know what's best' when everyone has their own ideas and experiences. The character revealed himself to be akin in philosophy to Qui-Gon, and so of course that theme, Qui-Gon's Funeral, from Episode One (which has a FANTASTIC soundtrack) lingers too. As does the Dantooine theme from KOTOR, because that's where the character is from. Jedi Steps, Finn's Confession...ugh. I had, at first, just wanted to make a medley of sorts and weave these themes.
So we bought the sheet music for The Force Awakens. For weeks we arranged our orchestral template so we might be able to improve our efficiency and structure our sound to have more of that 'classic Hollywood feel.' To make it Star Wars. We then followed the sheet music, learning how John Williams layers his lines of music, how he leaves certain parts bare for intimate woodwind solos or for celesta or piano. We performed the Jedi Steps with the intention of layering other themes over it later. It taught us sooooo much about how to write like John Williams. But then we finished and we thought....
It got away from us. The point of Wemrys Quintus. Wemrys wasn't a medley of moments in Star Wars nor was he this big and grandiose thing. We scraped it. Well, we kept the recording we made (because it was awesome) but we opened up a new project to start over, reading over the material he sent us again. All of the entries and Wemrys stories are small, personal moments where he masks the raw thoughts that might bubble to the surface without that control. He's a lone sentinel, but he doesn't crave that loneliness, he yearns to know what it is he's fighting for.
But the Jedi Steps project we worked on helped us to change our style, make our style more complex yet intimate (we really, really do improve with every song), and it did help us find our ideal orchestral template so future projects will go smoother. It helped us find that good blend of John Williams-ish sound while melding it with our own. So it is Star Wars but it is also Wemrys Quintus. And KeKo.
That was when posting the WIP, which you can hear right here: https://app.box.com/s/adg7j9p9ykleqgv0mttmuckmp11mjkky
But here's the full, complete deal and a detailed analysis of the process/thoughts/inspirations.
Happy birthday, Wem!
[youtube]7vrFvSbEP3s[/youtube]