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Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield

Archive: 32 posts

Hey all you Happy Gadders!

Do you remember the haunting music from the thriller 'The Exorcist'? If not, you should go out and listen to it right now. It's simply brilliant. In fact, you should check out it's original composer Mike Oldfield. The man is a twentieth century maestro.

Anyway, my level is an adaptation of the original theme, in which you listen to a continuous addition of instruments all the way to a spectacular climax of lights, acting and music. When you play this level, please leave feedback in this topic and be sure to have it returned on your level.

Here's some pics for ya:
http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/7ea834adc0c02aff41814a453c7de264edd06c08.jpg

http://i1.lbp.me/img/ft/16147b7d2e2d8e93a53e0db98b5ced53c2e2a9ee.jpg

http://i6.lbp.me/img/ft/ff60fa07b95d2e367be98f6d8018815e2102aaf4.jpg

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/0f006ec00f68e940c0b0886955c524ae8e3f2382.jpg

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/4e0f7b6115b53dc9f272eb02bf62f8ae98463556.jpg

http://i4.lbp.me/img/ft/584ddf0dce6c912f6c67d1d76d4736aa4bb49640.jpg

MAJOR UPDATE!

I know double posting is usually not done, but this update is of such magnitude that I really figured every Oldfield fan should know about it. People who have visited my thread have probably noticed that I have been working on fixing some of the issues of the level. Well, in the process of doing so, I figured: why not take it to a higher level? Why not let my imagination go wild and create something quite extraordinary? You're probably asking what I've done to my level. Well, I invite you to see for yourself. When I started with it, I never expected it to be so much work and I'm certainly not done yet. It's certainly not perfect. That's where you come in. I'd like you to play my level (or movie) and give feedback on it and I'll certainly provide feedback on your level in return.

Have fun listening and watching my recreation of Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.
http://lbp.me/v/2sznf3		2011-07-07 16:34:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

I'll check it out later today2011-07-07 16:46:00

Author:
Headman1000
Posts: 52

I started to build a pretty faithful recreation of this music in the beta, which I still have. Only did the first three minutes tho'.

Might be more interesting if you included the bassline, which in terms of LBP's Bass Guitar instrument (assuming you scored in A minor) is A2, G2, F2, E2, D3, A2, E2, A2, and harmonizes the main riff along the lines of: Am, Cmaj7/G, Fmaj7, Em, Dm, Am, Em7, Am.		2011-07-07 21:18:00

Author:
Aya042
Posts: 2870

I really enjoyed how you layed out this tune the mad organist lol. it was a sic setup and the tune was awesome. The music would fit a horror themed level perfect.2011-07-09 04:05:00

Author:
R0T_IN
Posts: 68

Nice, queuing this for random sakes even though I have absolutely NO idea what this is... Its an awesome world 2011-07-09 05:26:00

Author:
DaSackBoy
Posts: 606

Woah! Very close to the original! You might've missed a few notes so yeah I can't give you 10/10 (joke!!) I liked how the scene got more dramatic, with the camera swaying about and the changing colours. The only flaw is that the organ isnt glued to the floor, so you can 'walk' it off the edge; I uploaded a photo of it. Great effort nonetheless.

If you can, can you give feedback on my level 'calamity cavemen', you'll find it in 'my creations', thanks.		2011-07-09 11:26:00

Author:
liamdaniels
Posts: 85

Heya dood, just finished playing through this one. Thanks for the feedback on mine, by the by.

i (guardedly) liked this one. You've done a good job with the arrangement. Maybe just a touch lower and slower than the original, but by no means a sloppy job. Way, way beyond anything i could put together. i also really liked the Jammin' Sackboy and his organ (the cutscene organ is a thing of beauty).

On the downside... if you're going to leave the player with control, give them something to do, instead of just bouncing around in that little room. If you're not going to give the player control, give them something a little more to look at. Check out Zebragod's NIN videos, in particular the one for Fragile for a good example of what can be done.

So...a little of the good, a little of the not so good, and the song pushes it over to a smily. Well done, mate; and thanks again!

Good day and great creating!		2011-07-09 12:37:00

Author:
waffleking23
Posts: 535

Okay, wait a minute. I thought I fixed the organ. Well, I guess I'm gonna have to superglue it to the floor again. As for the bassline, I'll fix that tomorrow.
The same goes for those videos waffle told me about. I will be checking those tomorrow as well. I guess I'm letting the player out of control and just use cut scenes to fill up the time. Maybe some horror-themed shots.

Anyway, expect a major update tomorrow.

EDIT: I've found a way to copy the exact music straight from a MIDI-file. However, I've made the thing as it is now completely by hearing what sounds closest to the original and I have put a lot of work in it. I will try the MIDI-thing however, to see if it really is an improvement. If not, I'll stick with my own version.		2011-07-09 23:41:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

Played this level last week and was impressed. The LBP2 music making tools are somewhat limiting, how many times have you played a Rock music epic only to hear a little plinky plinky plonky tune, that does no justice to the original?
Here however, maybe due to the nature of the original music and its key or instrumental tone we have a great rendition that actually does justice to the original track. I loved the crazy figure at the crazy steam punky pipe organ, in fact I wish there was more of those cut scenes building to an even greater crescendo. When they weren't being triggered i entertained myself by trying to knock the organ of the plinth bit by bit. Good choice of track, would like to see more as electronica seems to be a viable genre for LBP2 rendition, maybe Jean Michelle Jarre, Moby, Vangelis or more Oldfield?		2011-07-11 20:10:00

Author:
EnochRoot
Posts: 533

It's going to take longer than I expected. Good news though for the die hard Oldfield fans as I just completed the first 7 and a half minutes of the original song. So not my own adaptation this time. Another major change will be the setting. I'll make a horror themed movie to accompany the music. Still keeping the organ plus organist though, so don't worry.

EDIT: Added the finale and the time of the entire song is now 13 minutes.		2011-07-13 02:15:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

MAJOR UPDATE!

I know double posting is usually not done, but this update is of such magnitude that I really figured every Oldfield fan should know about it. People who have visited my thread have probably noticed that I have been working on fixing some of the issues of the level. Well, in the process of doing so, I figured: why not take it to a higher level? Why not let my imagination go wild and create something quite extraordinary? You're probably asking what I've done to my level. Well, I invite you to see for yourself. When I started with it, I never expected it to be so much work and I'm certainly not done yet. It's certainly not perfect. That's where you come in. I'd like you to play my level (or movie) and give feedback on it and I'll certainly provide feedback on your level in return.

Have fun listening and watching my recreation of Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.		2011-07-24 23:47:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

I'd like you to play my level (or movie) and give feedback on it...

Just a couple of minor points...

Some of the music parts seem to go out of sync, most notably the bassline after the descending chord part begins.
You might want to read up on what a mandolin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin) actually is, cos it looks more like an accordian in your level.


Other than that, it's really spectacular. Great work! 		2011-07-25 17:57:00

Author:
Aya042
Posts: 2870

Checking it out now! That music is creepy and haunting!

Wow, I loved it, very well done and the way you used the lighting to go along with the bells was incredible. Awesome job.

If you have time, check out my new level, it's in my sig.		2011-07-25 18:09:00

Author:
Unknown User

Just a couple of minor points...

Some of the music parts seem to go out of sync, most notably the bassline after the descending chord part begins.
You might want to read up on what a mandolin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin) actually is, cos it looks more like an accordian in your level.


Other than that, it's really spectacular. Great work!
Haha, I really thought a mandolin was some sort of accordion. In my opinion it sounded a bit like it, so I used the Concertina instrument to do that part. It sounded quite close to the original that way, so I stuck with that instrument. I think I'm going to change it to a guitar-like instrument then.
The first point is a little harder to fix, but I'll see what I can do.		2011-07-25 18:25:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

Haha, I really thought a mandolin was some sort of accordion. In my opinion it sounded a bit like it, so I used the Concertina instrument to do that part.

Well, there's a complete list of all the instruments used here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubular_bells#Personnel).

If it sounds like a sustained instrument, it's because the (paired) strings are being plucked continuously...

Its small size and higher pitch make mandolin notes decay faster than larger stringed instruments like guitar, which encourages the use of tremolo (rapid picking of one or more pairs of strings) to create sustained notes or chords. The mandolin's paired strings facilitate this technique: the plectrum (pick) strikes each of a pair of strings alternately, providing a more full and continuous sound than a single string would.		2011-07-25 18:51:00

Author:
Aya042
Posts: 2870

Great song, I can tell you spent a lot of time making it. Besides of a great job with cameras. Nicely done 2011-07-26 01:38:00

Author:
TUL10
Posts: 61

I'm not going to lie, that was VERY cool. The music was great, and the cinematic you paired with it was very detailed and beautiful. I especially liked the part with the bookcases -- I definitely wasn't expecting them to start moving in and out with the music! This level is extremely original and creative, and I see virtually no flaw with it. The one thing I would recommend is perhaps shorten the pipe sequence a bit (where the camera is moving down the line of pipes) -- this kind of feels like it's drawn out longer than it needs to be, but it is a really neat effect. I can see some people finishing the level there, because they think that's it.

Overall, it's an amazing level, and I would happily recommend it to any music/cinematic lover. It's a 10/10 in my books, and something I'll definitely show to my friends!

P.S. - I left a reply to your post on my level thread. Could you read it? There's something I need a little more info on. Thanks!		2011-07-26 03:46:00

Author:
Gawdl3y
Posts: 45

Great level! I really enjoyed it, and the music was fantastic!

To be I've never heard the original song, nor have I even heard of a tubular bell . But this level kind of reminded me of Audial Visuals by fyshokid with a darker mood.
You definately have talent music and I hope you continue working with the sequencer in LBP2!

I dont have much to change except that when your going around the intruments it seems somewhat slow paced. Maybe add some flashing lights in the background during the scene, but thats not something thats absolutely neccesary.
Also during the intrument part, possible add some emotions to the musician sackbots?

Yay and a heart 		2011-07-26 03:52:00

Author:
Crazed Creator
Posts: 177

I'm not going to lie, that was VERY cool. The music was great, and the cinematic you paired with it was very detailed and beautiful. I especially liked the part with the bookcases -- I definitely wasn't expecting them to start moving in and out with the music! This level is extremely original and creative, and I see virtually no flaw with it. The one thing I would recommend is perhaps shorten the pipe sequence a bit (where the camera is moving down the line of pipes) -- this kind of feels like it's drawn out longer than it needs to be, but it is a really neat effect. I can see some people finishing the level there, because they think that's it.

Overall, it's an amazing level, and I would happily recommend it to any music/cinematic lover. It's a 10/10 in my books, and something I'll definitely show to my friends!

P.S. - I left a reply to your post on my level thread. Could you read it? There's something I need a little more info on. Thanks!
Thanks a lot for your feedback, guys. Unfortunately I can't shorten the pipe bit as it's supposed to move along with the guitar music, but I was thinking of increasing the initial speed of the pipes, to make it seem like they go faster. That way, it should give less of a dragging feeling.

I have to admit though that the original song was even longer than this (about 25 minutes), but my thermometer is currently going through the roof and I didn't want to add a level link, as that would just spoil the mood. I did want to add the finale though, as it's just frigging epic. Most of the changes I'll make are going to be in that part.


Great level! I really enjoyed it, and the music was fantastic!

To be I've never heard the original song, nor have I even heard of a tubular bell . But this level kind of reminded me of Audial Visuals by fyshokid with a darker mood.
You definately have talent music and I hope you continue working with the sequencer in LBP2!

I dont have much to change except that when your going around the intruments it seems somewhat slow paced. Maybe add some flashing lights in the background during the scene, but thats not something thats absolutely neccesary.
Also during the intrument part, possible add some emotions to the musician sackbots?

Yay and a heart
Well, nothing's stopping you from looking this song up on YouTube, right? I gurantee you, it's epic. Especially when you think all of the instruments were played by one (!) man. It was all composed, written and played by one man. Never heard of this level by fyshiokid, but I'll check it out. Furthermore, the addition of the instruments is supposed to be slow. But I suppose I can move the camera around a bit when the different people are playing the instruments to make it feel more lively. That is, if the thermometer allows it to happen. 		2011-07-26 15:00:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

It's already on my list to play!!!! I'm sure I'm goig to love, I will leave a feadback after playing it!

PS: Sorry if there are any grammar error, but english is not my main language!		2011-07-26 18:53:00

Author:
Unknown User

Wow. This was very cool music level. There was many very good ideas and music was good too. I just can't imagion saying anything very negative about this great music level so, I just say it was very well done, only few parts were little boring to watch, but it was great anyway. 2011-07-29 08:44:00

Author:
Lakera-13
Posts: 85

I played it and thought it was great. I havn't heard the acctual piece but your level gave me an idea. I like all the lights going in time with the song although it would be cool to see them all at once too. I would say that it dragged on for a bit though and even though it showed me you put it a lot of effort I couldnt sit through it all. A masterpiece anyway, keep up the good work.2011-07-29 19:55:00

Author:
craigmond
Posts: 2426

So, it wasn't exactly my genre of music but I did sit through it all. That was an excellent composition and very well put together. The movie to go along with it was great as well. I can tell you spent a lot of time composing this and working on the visuals to match it. The lighting effects were fun to watch although there was never a huge finale of crazy mega-light-soloing or anything. Still, it was all very nice to watch and listen to. You did great.2011-07-30 12:03:00

Author:
melomaniac
Posts: 51

Update 07-30-11:

- Added three eyes, opening at the third attack organ strike
- Fixed the lighting at the Hallway section
- Replaced the accordion by a mandolin
- Added guitar movement at the finale
- Improved lighting		2011-07-30 21:54:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

Thank you for your feedback on my level, even though it was a bit harsh, but hey, I can take it.

In return I am providing you with feedback on yours.

I have listened to parts of this song, but I never knew it was 25 minutes long. Mike is a pure genius to construct a near 30 minute musical piece all by himself.

I found your film compelling. Most of the music sequences were on key. If I were to nitpick as I watched, I could see a few slightly off, like that matters though. Some parts of the scene seemed to drag a little and I became bored. The flowing pipes part was one.

Overall, it was a solidly designed film. Everything was timed good and seemed to flow smoothly.

Great work. Keep it up.

Thank you for creating and sharing this level.		2011-07-31 01:21:00

Author:
Garak101
Posts: 101

Very cool. I've never really seen a movie/music level like this one before. It was very unique and well made. A couple parts in there seemed a little monotonous, but for such a long level, thats understandable. Loved it! from me.2011-07-31 01:58:00

Author:
ShamgarBlade
Posts: 1010

First off I would like to say congratulations on making it up the ranks into LBPC Cool levels... But also congratulations on making a movie/music level to be proud of.

When you first asked me to have a look at your level after leaving great feedback for me I admit I was intrigued as I have known of Mike Oldfield for a number of years - Back in the day when Compact Disk was a new concept; the first disk I went out to purchase was Crisis by Mike Oldfield.

But you far exceeded my expectations in sound, vision and... emotion (how was this ever created within LBP)

I have dabbled in music creation over the years and love the technology side, but as a hobby only. So I know only too well how intricately you must have worked on this masterpiece placing down each individual note, tweaking each individual note and working with a very limited bank of sounds with a very basic and cumbersome piece of music software. Excellent work... you must have the patience of a saint...


But that is not where it ends; the visuals you have added only add to bring even more life to this prized piece of work. The way the light dances around the screen keeping your brain engaged with the music; its all timed to perfection... It never gets tired, it never gets old. You are constantly changing what is happening visually, it takes you somewhere else; its very hypnotic... Then just before the spoken part back come those eyes... Perfect! was this a happy mistake? Did you realise at the time of placing them down that you just gave this whole piece life? An entity, a living creature of sound and vision.

A great addition having your little sack'hippies' playing their instruments. It really brings the whole piece back around to its close and makes the viewer realise that; yes you are actually watching something created within LBP...

Fantastic job well done. I urge anyone who is remotely interested in LBP creation to take a look at this masterpiece and take yourself of on a fantastic journey.


If I have to give you constructive feedback then I would say that I did not very much care for the motor sound of turning cogs; these are pretty close to where the screen starts going into a whiteout. I found them a bit of a distraction. I also felt that the Sack'hippies' guitars were a bit 'too' wild, maybe tone down the rotation? By no means are these bad things, I just found them a small distraction on a fantastic voyage. I was also on the edge of my seat waiting for the crescendo of bells - they seemed a bit muted? Making sure all those individual sounds coming together at the finale and not remaining clear could very well be a symptom of the very advanced music software you had at your disposal...
2011-07-31 10:06:00

Author:
stuk71
Posts: 86

Thanks guys for all the surprisingly positive comments. I have done everything in my power to place all the music into this level without my thermometer overheating. That means the pipe part may be a little bit dragging and other parts may be a bit slow, but it also means I could add a finale, without which, the music would've just died out without an epic crescendo. I didn't want that so I added the band at the end of the level.

Here's a little behind the scenes look of how I made this level (just because I felt like writing this):


TUBULAR BELLS - HOW IT'S MADE


THE MUSIC

I don't know if there are many people who have followed the evolution of this music, because it all used to be a much simpler, kind of fun level. It hada a crazy organist playing a piece of music resembling Tubular Bells, adding up different instruments to a great crescendo. I think I'll republish that again too some time, so you can see and hear the difference.

http://i9.lbp.me/img/ft/089729915185af3095a9aff729e6758c970e4c33.jpg
It looked something like this

After that I took some great advice from waffleking who mentioned other music videos (most notably from Nine Inch Nails) in which the visual part played a much bigger part. That made me start with a clean slate and that's where I decided to sequence the entire Tubular Bells song. Originally it would've contained only 4 minutes of the original song, but I couldn't find a nice ending there, so I sought a little further on.

Eventually it became seven minutes, ending right before the pipe bit. I went to listen to that part again and it was so epic, I figured it couldn't be left out. I spent another couple of days to sequence that part and then I listened to the whole piece of music again. That finale contained the actual tubular bells, whereas they weren't present in my piece of music (now being around 11 minutes!). The finale was done fairly quickly, because that was the only piece of music that did fit into the four notes per music box, so I could copy and paste that a couple of times, adding up to a total of about 15 minutes (never bothered counting).

DID YOU KNOW?: The two parts of the main riff in the beginning of the song don't fit into the four notes of one music box. Extending it to the size of 8 notes didn't work either (I had four dots to spare every time) so I had to enter the notes in 20 different music boxes of four notes, which I could then copy and past a couple of times!

The music alone took me about a week to finish, working on it about 10 hours a day. The scenery and visuals actually took up less of my time, as I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted when I started.


THE CASTLE

http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/7ea834adc0c02aff41814a453c7de264edd06c08.jpg

Well, I did after building the castle, the idea of which never occurred to me until I accidentally started building it. Originally I had a plan of a Sackboy entering the castle and being scared by monsters every time the organ struck (back when I had only sequenced the first four minutes), but somehow I eventually stepped down from that idea. That was the reason I made the castle doors so they could be opened. It's very hard to see in the dark, but if you take a closer look you can actually see doors shoving open before the two red eyes open up. About the eyes, well, those too stemmed from the initial Sackboy horror idea. I planned for Sackboy to be drawn to the music closer and closer and, at the organ strike, the scene was supposed to cut immediately to the red eyes being opened. I never managed to make that happen, due to some problems with sequencers and movie cameras set to cut (they hate me). Now that I think about I think I could've fixed it, but that doesn't matter now.

After I couldn't pull off the sudden eye opening effect I stepped off from the whole Sackboy strolling scenario and fiddled with the lighting a bit. It worked out really well and brought the scene to life a bit. As the music got more and more intense, so did the lighting. Well, that was the idea. Because I used Toggles on my music sequencer the lighting never behaved the way I wanted to. Toggles don't care for timing and switch on whenever they want to, it seems. So, I dragged the Toggles a bit back and forth to make the timing just right. But I soon noticed that it did matter what point on the music sequencer you used as a starting point. When I started the sequence from the beginning the timing of the Togglers was all messed up again. That's where I realized that in order to playtest my level, I had to start the sequence from the start every single freakin' time. Especially when I needed to fiddle a bit with some things at the end of the level, I had to resit the whole thing all over again.


THE HALLWAY

http://i1.lbp.me/img/ft/16147b7d2e2d8e93a53e0db98b5ced53c2e2a9ee.jpg

At one time I figured every castle needed a hallway when entering, so I created the hallway with all the pipes and lights and things. I didn't have the pipes and lights in the beginning though. I just had some torches flickering on and off, but that made the scene look really, really dull. So I started adding some pipes (tubes) and some lights that I creatively managed to place inside the pipes to get a bit of a lantern effect. This is also where I used a randomizer to switch on those lanterns, but I soon noticed I had the toggle problem again and the randomizer kind of got its own will (I'm telling ya, those randomizers are evil!). I still had no clue I could use something other than a toggler, but hey, people learn from mistakes.


THE LIBRARY

http://i9.lbp.me/img/ft/cf9fe28fb9a9130ce654cbe3bbc6b63c688c9e8c.jpg

After the hallway I first wanted to place a courtyard (which kind of makes sense in a castle), but instead went with a library, because the mood of the music was still dark. It really didn't make any sense to me to put a lighter area right before the bit where the music lightens up a bit in terms of mood. This is also where the torches made their comeback, as they would minimally light the shelves, which have never been touched the last couple of centuries. The white lanterns were also originally set to random, but for some reason they tended to start long before the guitar part was supposed to start, no matter where I placed the toggle switch. It was really strange and I still don't understand why that ever happened. I guess it had something to do with the number of togglers already on my music sequencer, hwich was so high the sequencer decided to neglect a couple of togglers.

The idea of the shelves moving back and forth got to me right when I started building the library. It was a bit of a magical place already, so moving shelves kind of fit into that framework. This was the first and last time the toggler and the randomizers actually did what they were told to and I was incredibly happy when I found that out. They weren't so useless after all. After the cymbal clash, both the scene and the music start lighting up and the shelves start moving. I added some cogs there to make you realize that things are actually in motion, they started moving and the library came to life, which really became the theme of the level througout the creation process. The whole castle, long abandoned, comes back to life.

The scene rises and rises as the music becomes more and more euphoric. The lighting reaches a blindingly intense highlight and then after the glockenspiel strikes thrice...


THE DESCENT

http://i6.lbp.me/img/ft/ff60fa07b95d2e367be98f6d8018815e2102aaf4.jpg

You're being sent back into the pits of darkness as the awesome guitar part kicks in. You keep falling and falling into a scene which becomes darker and darker every moment. I just seemed right for me to make it like this, but in the beginning it wasn't even similar to what it looks like right now. I just had some straight pipes lined side by side with some Y-shaped ones to break the monotony. That's when I figured: wait a minute. You're descending into the heart of the castle, right? This could be the source of the castle's power. So there I added some power source thingy's that feed the pipes. Now you know where all the power throughout the castle comes from. It's all transported from the heart via those pipes. Anyway, the scene and music gets darker and darker, the electric guitar disappears and a threatening base guitar part remains, as you hit rock bottom.

My thermometer only had two more stripes left and I had big plans for my next scene. I decided it was time to optimize my logic. It's only at this point that I realized I could use sequencers instead of those horrid togglers. Sequencers were very nice to me. They did exactly what you expected from them and even took up a lot less thermometer space (wireless ftw!). Sequencers on music sequencers work wonders and I can happily recommend them to anyone wanting to synchronize lighting to music pieces. You just need to keep a sharp eye on the time you want your sequencer to run. Anyway, with about one extra thermo stripe, I figured I could finally finish this thing.


THE PRELUDE

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/0f006ec00f68e940c0b0886955c524ae8e3f2382.jpg

To make this all fit into one level I needed to skip a section of about 10 minutes from the end of the guitar part. I also needed to drastically shorten to the addition of instruments before the band starts playing. In the actual that takes up about four minutes on its own. Plus, a lot of instruments are played there that are not present in LBP 2. Also, I couldn't think up of anyhting fancy in terms of visuals to fill up the time. The holgrams switching on and off were actually the first lights I managed to perfectly synchronize to the music and I was pretty proud of the result. In addition, this part was the first part where the music actually fit into frame, allowing me to copy and paste it (yay!).

Originally, I had a living steampunk organ (the one from my first version of the level and the one on the logo) standing between the two eyes in this scene, but it took up too much of the thermometer, probably because of the different materials I used there. I considered changing the materials, but then the thing just wouldn't look the same. So anyway, the two eyes remaining were just some leftovers from the organ idea. But I do think they worked out pretty well.


THE FINALE

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/4e0f7b6115b53dc9f272eb02bf62f8ae98463556.jpg

This part may be the most interesting part yet, because it turned out pretty much the way I intended to. It starts with the subtitles saying: Grand piano. As you may know, Mike Oldifeld did reintroduce all of the major instruments right at the end of the song. He did that by simply saying the name, after which the instrument would be played. Because of all these introductions I figured it would be fitting if I showed the viewer the actual instruments being played. It would also raise the idea that the castle was not as uninhabited as you may have thought and that all of the music actually originated from this stage.

The grand piano itself was pretty difficult to create, because I was virtually unable to make the diagonal lid. I decided to decorate it a bit with some pipes and add a little pianist Sackbot playing the instrument. The reed and pipe organ is the exact same organ I used in my previous version of the level and has the same mad organist playing it. The glockenspiel was a little more difficult to pull of and in fact, I'm still not completely satisfied with it. It was very difficult to create the illusion that it was triangular shaped, but I managed to do it by creating a small descending corner so it seems the material gets thinner and thinner further along the way.

The guitars themselves were not so difficult to design (I actually used paperclips for the strings) and I got them working fairly quickly. I dressed up my Sackbots to resemble a couple of hippies (from back in Mike Oldfield's days) and made them act by wildly waving their arms around. The mandolin used to resemble an accordion for previously mentioned reasons and I replaced by an actual mandolin later. Now, the tubular bells themselves were actually pretty easy to make. It's the one who plays them where it gets really difficult. I ended up using the Night staff with an airvent attached to it to make it look like a hammer and I have to say, that worked out pretty well.

Letting the sackbots act on the music was not an easy task and I think it took me three days to get it right, give or take a couple of days.The acting sequence needed to start EXACTLY when the music started, so imagine this. Every time you act something there's a countdown of three seconds. The music on my computer had a countdown of 0 seconds. The sequence instantly started once I clicked the mouse. So, when I pressed X and the countdown started, I needed to, while holding the controller in my hand click the play button on my pc and immediately start acting. If you don't think that's pretty tricky to pull off, then well -insert nasty comment here-.

And this is how it turned out:

http://i4.lbp.me/img/ft/584ddf0dce6c912f6c67d1d76d4736aa4bb49640.jpg

So that's how I did it. Quite a list now I look back, but it did take me about two weeks to get this all done. And then we're talking about 10 hours a day of work, so that's about 140 hours. That's how long it takes to make a music level to be proud of.		2011-07-31 18:34:00

Author:
DoodVogeltje
Posts: 81

So, let's just start by saying I had no idea what I was getting into. I had not heard of Tubular Bells, let alone Mike Oldfield. And because I had time to kill before being able to actually dive into the level this evening, I did some research. Apparently this guy is officially a Big Deal. Considering myself an amateur music buff, I was a bit taken aback. Had I heard the name before? Virgin Records?! Surely I'd seen the Exorcist, but for some reason the music wasn't coming to mind... What was the deal?

And it was then I realized the issue: this musician, like so many other Europeans, Asians, Africans and other icons from across the globe, had never graced my ears. It's an unfortunate side-effect of American culture: our media tends to be very one-sided, where we purvey our culture/music/art across the world yet we in the general population embrace and receive little in return. It's a shame, really. Sure, there's the occasional English rock band that'll cross the divide and top charts in both the UK and US, but it's not as common as it should be. (But you can take back the Spice Girls, to be fair. )

But all cutural differences aside, I popped this level up in the queue and give it a look-see-listen. First thoughts: impressive! Having heard only snippets of the original, it seems like you've nailed the challenge of a 15/8 time signature and gotten a complex piece of music to work in the sequencer! Wikipedia labels the song as "Progressive Rock", which without the original I can not speak to it's categorization (in fact, it also cites that the song borrows from multiple genres, but I digress.) To me, this song is minimalism at its heart but in a late-60s/early 70s modern rock/new age form. Do I hear very subtle hints in this track from later(?) UK bands such as Genesis? (my list of mid-70s UK progressive rock band is rather short, pardon me.)

The instruments seemed a good fit, the progression of the song went well, and I felt my ears wandering each time to hear the new counter-melody, while straining to keep my other ear on the accompanying rhythms underneath.

The visuals seemed to provide a nice, dark and vaguely symbolic accompaniment to the song. The explanations above seem to explain well enough after the fact, and I like how you included your thought process in the thread. Made following up here a bit more worthwhile. I'm not a huge fan of "music videos" a la LBP2, but this one seemed to do a good enough job at moving along without distracting too much from the actual music itself.

Overall, well done!

Feel free to visit my thread (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=60878-Music-by-schm0-v2.0) and give a listen/provide feedback to my original tracks if you like.		2011-07-31 18:50:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

The two parts of the main riff in the beginning of the song don't fit into the four notes of one music box. Extending it to the size of 8 notes didn't work either (I had four dots to spare every time) so I had to enter the notes in 20 different music boxes of four notes, which I could then copy and past a couple of times!

That's because the beginning of the piece uses a 15/8 time signature*, which is pretty unusual (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_works_in_unusual_time_signatures).

On my version, I used two different parts for each iteration - both contained exactly the same notes, but one was offset by half a bar. Then I just overlapped the parts.


* Technically it isn't quite. Each iteration is scored as two bars, one in 7/8 and one in 8/8.		2011-07-31 19:07:00

Author:
Aya042
Posts: 2870

Checked this out last night as F4F.

I can't say it's particularly something I'd ordinarily play and it was rather long. Perhaps signifiy that some way in the description? I had a quick skim and think you said it's about 15 minutes long? Personally I find that a long time where no player input is needed, so a little indication would have been nice. I didn't know the time when I started watching so wasn't entirely sure how long it did last.

With that out of the way, the production in the level is incredible, the music is brilliant and must have taken forever! I did particularly like the flowing section visually, the effects were very impressive and it definitely had a Windows Media Player vibe to it but taylored towards a horror theme, which I liked. The visuals were varied enough to keep you entertained and very creative. As far as music videos go, this is by far the best I've seen. Great job!		2011-08-02 17:57:00

Author:
Xaif
Posts: 365

Well that was different. Very bizzare lol, and original, my favourite part was with the pipes behind the xray glass or whatever it is, it didn't look like lbp. The music was great and the overall style was very creative.2011-08-07 15:51:00

Author:
gigglecrab
Posts: 232


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