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#601 | |||
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,110
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However: Quote:
Speaking of PD, though, there is a line that I wanted to bring up as something to potentially change if there are good ideas: Beren's "Those daring to love can walk unscathed through strife". His actual line here is more about loyalty: those who are faithful can stand unafraid on the edge [of a precipice]. But Finrod's next line is just too important, and this one took the hit for rhyming purposes. Although... Now that I think about it, Beren is sort of consistent with his "love is the meaning of life" theme, and it makes perfect internal sense for him to keep singing that tune. And you know what? Maybe it actually works well this way, it goes back to the two different themes interplaying between Wind and Truth. Beren needs to keep the Love Conquers All theme going. Finrod surrendered to fate's hand and is dealing with greater philosophical questions. Yes. I have just talked myself out of thinking that this line was a rubbish filler. ![]() Quote:
I am gonna have to watch the movie musical now and see what you mean about the stage play elements. It occurred to me that the play has better Russian grammar than most large screen productions. ![]() "We don't want any children who might be here to go home and try these things out for themselves. I am, of course, talking about reading books," - The Real Star Of The Show, to Sam Gamgee, probably.
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#602 | |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,110
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Still no news on the Zong front - the last while I've been pushing hard on Dawn to try and meet my self-imposed deadline of finishing before New Year's. I really want to have 2022 written on the cover. And I only have a couple chapters left to edit, I am almost there! Now, I've already nagged a small handful of people into promising to read it at some point, but it would make me really really happy if you gave it a read sometime - you are the only one who would appreciate this the most, with the occasional Zong cross-references and Script parallels... and the whole thing started on this thread. It's a book with its pros and cons, it's certainly not perfect (and least of all the translation... I like to think that I found my rhythm by Ch4 though), but I am of the firm opinion that even if you don't like it you will at least find it interesting - there is enough in there of canon and unpredictable fan-creation, adventure and philosophy, tragedy and humour and snark to have at least a piece for everyone's liking. Every wonder why songs rhyme? Or why swear words exist? Well, wonder no more, for you have a Middle-earthian explanation waiting in store for you. What impressed me the most was how well the book integrates all of its altfic plots back into canonical streams; most of the threads are woven in very well, and there are barely any loose ends, every alt addition gets its closure. I was thinking very much about this book when I posted the thread on fanfics, and I think this one qualifies a pass by your definition.
![]() ![]() But in the meantime, since all you've known of Dawn so far were the two most boring chapters in the entire work written with the poorest translation skill you'll see in the whole thing - literally the worst sample to use as a selling point - here is a "teaser-trailer" snippet, slightly abridged for spoilers: Quote:
Hope you have a fantastic holiday time, and that you're all feeling well after the last wave of colds!
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#603 | |
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,642
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![]() hS
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Have you burned the ships that could bear you back again? ~Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#604 | |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,110
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![]() If you don't feel like rereading the first two chapters, here is a quick summary: Beren is hounded out of Dorthonion, where he was hiding in an old woman's hut in the mountains, and crosses Nan Dungortheb. He staggers out into Neldoreth following Luthien's singing and dancing. She recognizes that he is a Man and gives him lembas. Beren slowly recovers physically, but he bears an unusual ailment - he cannot make any sound, and cannot remember any events occurring before he woke in the witch's hut. The Elves keep him in the forest under watch, but Luthien pleads with her father that he ought to be healed. She goes to Beren herself to work her healing magic, and Beren regains his speech on seeing her again. Unbeknownst to her, Beren fell in love with her from the first glance, and her brief stay with him is a little awkward for them both - but she gets to know both Beren and mortals in general a lot closer. Luthien succeeds in recovering his memory: Beren discovered from Merdigan the traitor that Sauron will march on Hithlum come next spring. He meant to bring these news to the Elven kingdoms in the south, but was captured and tortured before he could leave the country. He was rescued by Treebeard and carried to the witch's hut where she worked on his wounds. Beren and Luthien's relationship comes to a head, however, when they realize they are both in love with each other. Torn between his love and his guilt at binding Luthien to him, Beren chooses to stick by Finrod's advice to Andreth and Aegnor that Elves and mortals should not marry. Luthien leaves him. However, Beren cannot find peace, and one night he escapes his guards and finds Luthien. Both confess that they love each other in spite of all the arguments, say their wedding vows, and share a bed. To their ill luck, they are discovered by Daeron, who is furious. They run away and seek harbour in Celeborn and Galadriel's estate, from where they come to Menegroth in a presentable fashion rather than as prisoners. Thingol sends Beren to get a Silmaril, and Beren vows that one will lay in his hand the next time he sets foot in Doriath. Daeron and Celeborn escort him out of Doriath by the shortest possible way - southwards towards the Dwarf Road. Daeron is predictably enraged and has nothing good to wish the mortal. Celeborn, however, was impressed by Beren's wisdom and fortitude and wishes him well. Melian warns Thingol that his decision entangled Doriath in a greater doom: either he or Luthien will die depending on the outcome of Beren's Quest.
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#605 |
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,642
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Hello again, and, er... happy new year?
![]() I'm afraid my reading of "Dawn" rather stalled out when work picked up. Last I remember I was about to start the "Sauron" chapter - oh, that's right, but it wasn't a comments link! Any chance you could fix that so I can ramble away to my heart's content again? Hmm, speaking of Hearts... we switched over to British Summer Time today, which means we're a little bit more awake this evening than normal. That meant Celebestel and I finally both had the energy to pull up Heart and get her recording. So, finally, finally, and with my sincere apologies for the delay: Heart - Amarie solo version - audio Heart - duet (rough) I need to rerecord at least some of my lines (I think I had a sore throat when I did them), but at least you get the feel. I know we discussed swapping the lines around to make more sense of the geography, but I don't think we ever found an arrangement that really worked. The problem is it was written as a solo! I think the "Libretto arrangement" works if we treat Finrod's words as a memory of the First Dawn, which did come out of the west. But I'm interested to hear your thoughts. Video will come when we're sure of the arrangement (and I've rerecorded my bits). hS
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Have you burned the ships that could bear you back again? ~Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#606 | ||
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,110
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![]() I have been rather reticent myself with regard to my Tolkien projects. I felt like I had so much creative energy to spare after Dawn was done, but then something RL happened to wipe that all off the board, and I've really struggled to find any motivation to write music. My attempts to pick away at the Zong have been very feeble. Fortunately, just recently I feel like that front finally gave in on Hate, I have been writing something that's actually presentable. Unfortunately, this also happens the time I need to prepare for a giant exam and end-of-year project, so it's slow going - but I might have the Feanorian part finished in another couple weeks. Quote:
![]() No, seriously, this is gorgeous - especially the duet. I wavered about duet vs solo, it was hard to judge because obviously we haven't had any duets to compare with, and I was dubious about it - but this duet is absolutely gorgeous! I think it actually works better than the solo musically, Finrod kinda highlights Amarie's lines and it makes for a brighter whole. I am 100% sold on the duet concept. And you guys sing very well together. ^.^ Without looking at the text and overthinking it again, I thought the lyrics worked the way they are now. I do recall that we decided Finrod was singing about the first ever sunrise at the end of the Helcaraxe. We were talking about swapping some of the lines around to make them more appropriate - but it was never a perfect fit, as you say, and musically I think this works well. I say we keep it if you're happy with it. And I didn't notice your voice being off at all, I thought it sounded fine. ![]()
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera Last edited by Galadriel55; 03-27-2023 at 09:50 AM. |
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#607 |
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,642
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I've re-recorded my parts for "Heart" and made a start on the video; I'll post it when it's done.
Last month the videos associated with my old Youtube account were finally deleted, so I've had to start re-uploading everything. At present, we have the following videos online, mostly without subtitles: 01 - Galadriel's Lament 02 - Oath of Feanor 03 - Meeting in Neldoreth 04 - Doriath Duet 05 - Appeal 06 - Amarie 10 - Dream 13 - Sauron's Minions 15 - Sons of Feanor That means 07 (Renunciation), 08 (Quarrel), 09 (Melian's Aria), 11 (The Camp), 14 (The Duel of Song), 17 (Captivity), and 19 (Wind) need re-uploading, while 12 (Heart), 16 (Hate), 18 (Prison Duet), 20 (Truth), 21 (Showdown of Lúthien and Sauron), and 22 (Ballad of Galadriel) remain to be created. Heart is inches from done, you've sketched the Prison Duet, and now you're working on Hate - we really are getting towards the end! (Oh, and I see I did the background for the Showdown too - I'd forgotten that, but I like it.) Actually, speaking of the artwork... I'm happy with the backgrounds, but are there any characters you think I need to redo? This moment, when everything is being fiddled with anyway, is the perfect time to work on that, and the art is old enough that I'm willing to go back to them if you think they need it. And while we're at it: were there any songs you'd reworked? I know we discussed a few, but a quick glance doesn't show me any files I need to work on. EDIT: Crimson the night has passed over mountains undying... hS
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Have you burned the ships that could bear you back again? ~Finrod: The Rock Opera Last edited by Huinesoron; 03-28-2023 at 10:46 AM. |
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#608 | |||
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,110
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Beauty!
![]() I will add Heart and all the other links to the top post. And going through that post, looks like we also had links for the Quenya Nainie, the live actions for Oath and Renunciation, and a straight run of the first 4 songs (which as I recall still had old visuals and is probably scrap anyways except for historic value because the art is different and because Doriat Duet will need to be redone). Quote:
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- Lament: re-sing, possibly music tweaks. Volume rebalance (Finrod sounds way louder than her). - Doriath Duet: I would do a complete makeover, if you allow it. Totally change the music. Faster tempo. Melian really needs re-singing. This was an "early draft" which I wrote to be realistically playable by me and not to optimize its musical potential on the computer, and all of this really shows. - Appeal: this one I actually did tweak! But can't promise to not tweak again. It's the last stanza that's bugging me. This is just the "Appeal proper" section of it, without the intro. They are separate files which I just slapped on to each other, with no particular measurement for the gap in between. If you need the intro audio too, can record that separately. - Amarie/Ballad: there are a couple notes which I wish I made more forceful and minor little things here and there, and I sometimes threaten to revisit it, but really I'm quite happy to leave it as is. I really love the way you made that song. - The Feanorian Comedic Relief gives me pure joy right now. And Melian's Aria/Dream/Camp seem alright too. No plans to meddle unless you have requests. - Minions: only if you think we should change something there. I am not completely certain about that song, it was a style judgement call which I don't know if I did rightly or wrongly, and happy to change music or singing if you feel it needs adjustment. - Duel: I want to redo the music to also bring it up to par with the newer and fancier songs. I was still trying to write that one realistic, rather than what sounds best on the computer. I promise not to change the length or the tempo, just the instruments. - Sons: I might redo Luthien's singing in this one. It's surprisingly poor quality of a record. I might just redo it with a different mic. - Captivity: I adore Sauron and ElfChoir. Elf choir should probably be a bit quieter though, the Elves are singing rather vigorously right now for people on their last breath. ![]() - Wind: if I change anything, it's the flowiness of the intro, to make it less bangy. Of all these things, I only feel strongly about Duet and Duel. The rest are presentable as is. Are there any that you would like to see tweaked or even fully reworked?
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#609 | ||
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,642
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![]() Current Luthien and Beren (just because I had them to hand). ![]() NeoDigital Luthien & Beren, done over the course of about 2-3 hours this morning. This is the same shading style I've used for the "slideshow" sections (eg the intro), and therefore different from the backdrops. They're not perfect, but I think they come out looking better than the drawn versions - and because I have the drawings, I can put them together relatively quickly. What do you think? hS
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Have you burned the ships that could bear you back again? ~Finrod: The Rock Opera |
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#610 |
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,642
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Some more of the NeoDigital drawings:
![]() ![]() I've actually made intentional changes to these; I've shortened Finrod's overly-long head and removed his necklace (it didn't really seem to add anything), and taken down Amarie's weird-looking waving arm. The nice thing about working digitally is that I can just do that - in pencil, if I've coloured something I'm stuck with it. My thought is to put together a 3-song run of Dream-Camp-Heart to test out the new style, see whether it's a dead end. Edit: I've also drawn Celegorm but Curufin got a bit weird looking, I'll go back to them. For now, as threatened, I've put together the run which we've just completed ; and in true Dawn style, I've called it Brethil. I think it works better. The various things on screen look more cohesive now, even if they aren't precisely the same style. (I should note that replacing portraits in the video maker is trivially easy - I literally just had to replace the source files in their folder and re-export. The thing that took the time was salvaging the mess I'd made of Camp when I started the video for Heart, but even that wasn't too bad.) hS
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Have you burned the ships that could bear you back again? ~Finrod: The Rock Opera Last edited by Huinesoron; Yesterday at 03:08 PM. Reason: Brethil |
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