Randy Thornton
Member
The WHY Series
Episode I:
THE PHANTOM TRANSITION
I was in the middle of writing a long dissertation on the varied techniques and formats used in recording for the attractions compared to the common techniques and formats used in average studio recordings for CD ? just to give a clear understanding that the materials I usually work with were never designed to be used on a record. But the ghost of James Michener appeared at my shoulder, looked at my tome, and said, ?Bit wordy don?t you think?? So I?m going to try to cut to the chase.
THE SEAS WITH NEMO AND FRIENDS.
As you may have noticed over the years, I try to include the entire loops of all the attractions I represent on the Official Albums. You actually hear more of the music on these releases than you would if you were to ride the attraction. The music in the attraction is designed that way ? so you don?t hear where the music begins or ends or loops, because you?re never in the scene long enough to notice. For the albums, I try to make it musical. And usually, there is a beginning and an end (or at least something that I can use to make a transition from one scene to another).
In the case of ?Big Blue World?, I ran into a problem. Though all the score was easy to assemble, as the music bed itself transitioned nicely, the elements I received for the song were mixed with the vocal. Seeing that the audio is piped through the omnimover, and there are no open rooms where you pass singing AudioAnimatronics (where their vocal is separated and channeled to a speaker near the character), it made sense that these tracks are mixed together ? for that?s how it will be on the attraction. Even mixed elements such as this aren?t usually problematic. The issue I faced here, however, was that Nemo is singing in all the scenes, and each scene he comes across a new group of background singers who join him. The main problem was that the song includes a ?pick-up? phrase. For example: ?In a?? is a 2 eighth note ?pick-up? before the down beat of ??Big Blue World?, and though Nemo is the only constant track, it is a different performance for each loop, and being a child, the vocalist isn?t spot on every time ? he?s quite loose. So, though it makes musical sense to have the ?background singers? appear out of nowhere when the loop restarts, Nemo?s vocal on the incoming loop didn?t mesh with his out going performance. I tried editing him on the ?pick-up? but (with the vocals tied) suddenly the ?background vocals changes for no apparent reason and not in a musical way. Not only that, with Nemo?s child performance, he wasn?t always in sync with the other singers. That made the edit impossible. I tired 4 or 5 different approaches and they all stank beyond reason. I really didn?t know what I was going to do. I could have gone the easy route and just used one loop and be done, but that?s not what I do (or try not to do). So, I went searching on the internet and found a ride-thru video of the attraction shot shortly after it opened. As I watched, I noticed the transitions. Now when you?re on the attraction and the omnimover moves you through the scenes, your movement acts like a natural crossfade ? as you move away from one, it fades away while you move to the next and it fades in. You don?t hear the full loop, but the transition is much more palatable. However, in a conventional listening environment (your home stereo) things fading in and out like that, and with the unsyncable lead vocal, my test edit with this approach didn?t work either. But I noticed when the loop came up full (from the previous transition in the video), it worked. So, I edited these mixed elements of the song to match what I heard on the video as hard edits (as opposed to crossfade) and it worked. I did try several other edits, but they weren?t as seamless. So actually, the ?Big Blue World? segment of this track is more like the attraction than I usually do. It does happen that the transition is in the middle of the verse, and though it may be a bit jarring to those who are extremely familiar with the entire loop, it is the least obtrusive transition of all the things I tried.
I?m very much of a linear thinker. I like to have a solid beginning and definite ending. For as long as I can remember, I?ve never liked songs that fade out (which is part of the reason I like Beethoven so much. That man new how to end a piece). But loops, by their nature, are mostly designed to have no beginning or ending ? it?s just perpetual. Sometimes I?ve been able to make an ending out of them, sometimes not. Again, this was not to be on ?Big Blue World?. There was no ending, and with the ?pick-up? phrasing, I had no choice but to fade.
THE THREE CABALLEROS
What I had for this were a music only bed and a music and vocal mix. Again, focusing on the musicality (and my desire for solid beginning) I used the music bed to start the track, then transitioned into the song for a loop, insert the music bed to give some breathing room (as the vocal sections are identical) and use the vocal mix loop again. Then I transition once more to the music bed and end. What you hear at the end is the actual end of the recording for the loop ? just the musicians stopping after a take. To me, it sounded like a good way to end. So though that little bit is actually edited out of the attraction, it served as a good way to put an end to an endless loop.
I don?t make these decisions lightly. I try every possible way I can think of to make something work for the album. But ultimately, it comes down to a judgment call. Which may even be to not include a track. I tried for several years to make the original Rio Del Tiempo work (?cause Trent asked me for it). But I just couldn?t. As it is, there are a few minor things on the album that bug me, but I know that I tried everything possible to make it as good as it can be. It?s just these things weren?t designed for what I?m using them for.
Well, that about wraps up this episode. And yes this is the shorter version. Keep in mind that 'natural crossfade? metaphor I used earlier, as this plays an important part in my decision making process in the ?Splash Mountain? tracks which I will describe in the next episode ? The Why Series Episode II: ATTACK OF THE VOCALS.
Once again, if I may, I didn?t write this to change anyone?s opinion and I don?t expect you to agree with the decisions I?ve made. I just wanted to let you know why I made some of the choices I have, and what circumstances influenced them.
Many thanks,
Randy Thornton
Episode I:
THE PHANTOM TRANSITION
I was in the middle of writing a long dissertation on the varied techniques and formats used in recording for the attractions compared to the common techniques and formats used in average studio recordings for CD ? just to give a clear understanding that the materials I usually work with were never designed to be used on a record. But the ghost of James Michener appeared at my shoulder, looked at my tome, and said, ?Bit wordy don?t you think?? So I?m going to try to cut to the chase.
THE SEAS WITH NEMO AND FRIENDS.
As you may have noticed over the years, I try to include the entire loops of all the attractions I represent on the Official Albums. You actually hear more of the music on these releases than you would if you were to ride the attraction. The music in the attraction is designed that way ? so you don?t hear where the music begins or ends or loops, because you?re never in the scene long enough to notice. For the albums, I try to make it musical. And usually, there is a beginning and an end (or at least something that I can use to make a transition from one scene to another).
In the case of ?Big Blue World?, I ran into a problem. Though all the score was easy to assemble, as the music bed itself transitioned nicely, the elements I received for the song were mixed with the vocal. Seeing that the audio is piped through the omnimover, and there are no open rooms where you pass singing AudioAnimatronics (where their vocal is separated and channeled to a speaker near the character), it made sense that these tracks are mixed together ? for that?s how it will be on the attraction. Even mixed elements such as this aren?t usually problematic. The issue I faced here, however, was that Nemo is singing in all the scenes, and each scene he comes across a new group of background singers who join him. The main problem was that the song includes a ?pick-up? phrase. For example: ?In a?? is a 2 eighth note ?pick-up? before the down beat of ??Big Blue World?, and though Nemo is the only constant track, it is a different performance for each loop, and being a child, the vocalist isn?t spot on every time ? he?s quite loose. So, though it makes musical sense to have the ?background singers? appear out of nowhere when the loop restarts, Nemo?s vocal on the incoming loop didn?t mesh with his out going performance. I tried editing him on the ?pick-up? but (with the vocals tied) suddenly the ?background vocals changes for no apparent reason and not in a musical way. Not only that, with Nemo?s child performance, he wasn?t always in sync with the other singers. That made the edit impossible. I tired 4 or 5 different approaches and they all stank beyond reason. I really didn?t know what I was going to do. I could have gone the easy route and just used one loop and be done, but that?s not what I do (or try not to do). So, I went searching on the internet and found a ride-thru video of the attraction shot shortly after it opened. As I watched, I noticed the transitions. Now when you?re on the attraction and the omnimover moves you through the scenes, your movement acts like a natural crossfade ? as you move away from one, it fades away while you move to the next and it fades in. You don?t hear the full loop, but the transition is much more palatable. However, in a conventional listening environment (your home stereo) things fading in and out like that, and with the unsyncable lead vocal, my test edit with this approach didn?t work either. But I noticed when the loop came up full (from the previous transition in the video), it worked. So, I edited these mixed elements of the song to match what I heard on the video as hard edits (as opposed to crossfade) and it worked. I did try several other edits, but they weren?t as seamless. So actually, the ?Big Blue World? segment of this track is more like the attraction than I usually do. It does happen that the transition is in the middle of the verse, and though it may be a bit jarring to those who are extremely familiar with the entire loop, it is the least obtrusive transition of all the things I tried.
I?m very much of a linear thinker. I like to have a solid beginning and definite ending. For as long as I can remember, I?ve never liked songs that fade out (which is part of the reason I like Beethoven so much. That man new how to end a piece). But loops, by their nature, are mostly designed to have no beginning or ending ? it?s just perpetual. Sometimes I?ve been able to make an ending out of them, sometimes not. Again, this was not to be on ?Big Blue World?. There was no ending, and with the ?pick-up? phrasing, I had no choice but to fade.
THE THREE CABALLEROS
What I had for this were a music only bed and a music and vocal mix. Again, focusing on the musicality (and my desire for solid beginning) I used the music bed to start the track, then transitioned into the song for a loop, insert the music bed to give some breathing room (as the vocal sections are identical) and use the vocal mix loop again. Then I transition once more to the music bed and end. What you hear at the end is the actual end of the recording for the loop ? just the musicians stopping after a take. To me, it sounded like a good way to end. So though that little bit is actually edited out of the attraction, it served as a good way to put an end to an endless loop.
I don?t make these decisions lightly. I try every possible way I can think of to make something work for the album. But ultimately, it comes down to a judgment call. Which may even be to not include a track. I tried for several years to make the original Rio Del Tiempo work (?cause Trent asked me for it). But I just couldn?t. As it is, there are a few minor things on the album that bug me, but I know that I tried everything possible to make it as good as it can be. It?s just these things weren?t designed for what I?m using them for.
Well, that about wraps up this episode. And yes this is the shorter version. Keep in mind that 'natural crossfade? metaphor I used earlier, as this plays an important part in my decision making process in the ?Splash Mountain? tracks which I will describe in the next episode ? The Why Series Episode II: ATTACK OF THE VOCALS.
Once again, if I may, I didn?t write this to change anyone?s opinion and I don?t expect you to agree with the decisions I?ve made. I just wanted to let you know why I made some of the choices I have, and what circumstances influenced them.
Many thanks,
Randy Thornton
