Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 4 Fly to Paradise / Bliss - 44 voice choir
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2024
- If you see yourself in this compilation, please let me know so I can tag you in the annotations.
I grabbed the videos with a Flash Video downloader extension for Firefox, v. 3.8.7. It generated mp4 files. I dragged each video file into Audacity where the wavform was generated from the video. I used the noise profile tool on a second of room noise from the take, then used the noise reduction tool to scrub out the noise. I then exported each take as 44.1khz wav files. One of them was distorted and crackly from the webcam's microphone (it was too sensitive) and needed further work, so I used Nero Wave Editor 8 on Windows to apply Declipping and Decrackle to it. After that (just one needed this), I ran a filter toolbox and rolled off frequencies above 6000 hz, then reverbed most of the core out of the sound but left the echo. Most of the other voices were fine and ready to be pulled into Logic Pro as denoised dry wav files. There were a few extraneous audio problems, one was a PA announcement that came through the school's speaker system while a girl was taping, but I just silenced that part of the track. Nothing was done as far as tuning goes, but there was one obviously wrong note (In MY Alto 2 video!!!) which I just silenced that note as well.
Once in Logic on my Mac, I began syncing the takes with Matthew Curtis's version, splicing all of the takes into each phrase to better line up the P's and S's. This doesn't affect the audio, just the timing-start-ending of each phrase. Then each audio track was quieted to between -13 and -16dB, and put in a surround reverb, about 50% wet 50% dry, predelay of about 40ms. This is what creates the awesome blend.
The videos were all processed by my Mac running Linux. I converted the mp4 files to .dv with Kino (all 720x480, uncompressed), then used Kdenlive to do all the layering, titles, effects, fades, etc. Kdenlive is free. The video layout I did in Microsoft Paint by starting a picture at 1920x1080 pixels, putting center and mid lines through it, and using the box feature to create and line up the video frames. The layout image was imported in Gimp on the Mac, where I made the background transparent. Then I overlayed each video over the green boxes that were left. You can do similar things on a Mac with Final Cut Pro. To some extent you can do video layering with iMovie, but you need to do the picture-in-picture feature, then export, reimport the export, do it again, etc. On a Windows machine, it would take more powerful software like Lightworks (free) or Sony Vegas to do this. Linux rocks as far as video editing goes. This project took about 4 days and multiple hours to do, using 3 computers (Windows, Mac, Mac running Linux), and 7 programs: Paint, Gimp, Audacity, Nero Wave Editor, Logic Pro, Kino, and Kdenlive.
I cannot watch this in any form without getting serious goosey pimples.
Wow. Thank you so much for posting this video, so we could hear an inspiring preview.
Now, what's cool is that we get to hear this (44) with over 180 times the power. I'm so excited!
"One of them was distorted and crackly from the webcam's microphone (it was too sensitive) and needed further work." And everyone in this video is thinking, "Was it mine??" Thanks for doing the work on this and for including me in the Tenor II section!
Wow. Chills. Can't wait to hear the final. I'm with Marc Gibson - God bless the techies! What an undertaking. Thank you for this great post. Lovely preview. And Thank You God for this Most Amazing composer, Eric Whitacre!! Sigh. Awaiting Bliss!
OMG! I see myself, I can see myself!!!! :D Thanks Michael for choosing my video, although it had some video lag problems.. :P
I uploaded my video a few days ago. SO excited to see the final result, but I must say hearing 44 people do it, is effing awesome and gives me chills! :D LOVE this. Can't wait to see us all together in the final production!
Hey, cool :) Thanks for including me! You can really hear the difference with 44 vs. 16. Now imagine thousands!
WOW!! I feel SO honoured to have been chosen for this demo!! Thank you Michael for the AMAZING work in producing this. The love felt is immense. =)
To the 44 singers you did a very good job!
Christie, just a note to let you know there is an old couple in Florida eho enjoys and appreciates your talent and your overall kindness and generosity of spirit. Please be encouraged and know that we care. xo
He was bringing in videos as their part was needed.
Oh believe me, I've been trying. So far not so much luck. Problem is I don't live with him so I can't catch him when he's being lazy! Gar!
It's an honour to virtually sing next to you, friend! =)
I'm so glad I'm apart of this amazing experience :)
Wow, next month will be the tenth anniversary of this demo! Came across this again and had almost forgotten about it. It would be funny/cool if we had a reunion for it.
Hope everyone in this is doing well today. Love from the Bass second on the left ❤
SuperCulby!!!
@@MichaelLiningMusic happy anniversary y’all!! 🎉
Excelent work, thank you for this wonderful preview, Michael!
May I suggest to try ad some of the soprano-soloist videos which have been posted already? :) Then we will have a closer picture of the final version of the piece.
She did, it was beautiful.
Wow! Very lovely voice demo! I got chills a few times, I only wish I could've been a part of it! :D
i have nothing against your skills on editing or putting together this video! i think you did an amazing job at it! my point was for the comparisons between the final piece with electronica, and the acapella versions. this was never written to be acapella. we were always supposed to be background to the soloists. and in my set up (which isn't that good, but it doesn't suck either) the dubstep doesn't bury the choir, it enhances the whole feel of the piece. maybe some peoples balances are off?
WoW! Incredible. Wish I had uploaded my video before June 5. Amaziiiinnnggg!
This is beautiful. I love hearing the raw voices and even though I love the final output too, I'm always going to favour the sound of unaccompanied part singing. I'd love to have been in an acoustic virtual choir video. Hopefully next time.
Ahhhh! So glad I sent my vid in. This sounds great! :)
Omg, so epic. This gave me chills, I'm so excited for the finished product! *SQUEEEEE*
Thank you for posting this. VC4 is nice, but It is pretty much impossible to pick out the individual parts. I had hoped the final video would have featured the choir voices more prominently. It's nice to be able to hear what the choir sounds like.
Awesome! Can't wait for the full version.
I can't wait for it to happen!when is it supposed to be out?
This is my first Virtual Choir experience. I love it! But I hope someday the Virtual choir will expand and include choral pieces other than Whitacre's. Like Lauridsen's
" O Magnum Mysterium"
And If there is a VC 5 for Whitacre, can it please be Seal Lullaby?
Just submitted my video! So excited!
OMG, this is incredible!
Amazing! I have a question - how did you do a karaoke or something that could hear each singer when he/she is singing? Or maybe did you do another way to each singer? Thank you!
Hey, that's me!
(Bass section, second from left)
I might be missing it, but as good as the music is, I love watching all the people making the effort to sing as one super grand choir-family. Can I get on DVDs of the video and music versions?
I just recognised the girl in the middle of the first sopranos, Christy Lyn - we did the Anuna summer school in Dublin together a few weeks ago.
It's quite alright, I think I might've been a little late in order to be a part of it anyways haha. And yes I did! :)
awesome! i do think the entire thing needs more sop 1 and 2 to balance out the baritones. the baritones, by the very timber of their voices, are already very audible even with just a few of them.
wonderful, bravo!
замечательно !!
Haha I'm in this!! Thank you so much!
It's amazing how I didn't stick out even though I was doing a different shade of the vowel "ah" in "paradise". The blend is surprisingly good!
This is beautiful :')
Very good!!!
Sounds good... but it would nice to get some VC members to put together a group version of O Magnum in addition to this one man project. I'm no expert in video editing per se, but have some connections...
(TT~TT) so damn pretty .....gave me goose bumps
Hello Michael, "sorry" that I must say this, but this one I found it nearly better than the original mix... it is much closer to something like lux aurumqe... I like a cappella versions.
...Ok I'm the bass last row on the right... ;-)
Hey, did you ever convince your brother to join? Or were there not enough of these:
:D
I've heard both versions now and I gotta say the techno track on the other one over powers the singers. I find it to be a distraction. I'm glad someone made an all acoustic version.
I like both VC4 final and this one :)
thanks :)
DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
could have heard the same thing listening to all the practice tracks. i think you all are missing the point if what eric intended for this piece. it was never meant to be like vc 1 2 or 3. it was always supppsed to have an electronic aspect in it because it's based on bliss from paradise lost. not to say this isn't beautiful, but those who are saying this is better than the final vc4 clearly don't "get it".
Here's an interesting thought.....for these few minutes, each one of these people's heartbeats were all in sync, or fairly close to it. (obviously not when they made their individual videos, but in this video)....
Dat bass.
Hearing the 'rawness' and the finished VC4 product, I guess the conversation went like this ( A: We have to launch it tomorrow B: But the thousands of voices are not quite blending right. Too much variations in the timbre. A: Just use the voices to carry the tune and accent the main electronic track and the soloists to keep it smooth and make it fly. B: This makes me remember about some doe-eyed japanese valkyrie anime in the 90's......)
The reason that I said very good a lot on here it's because it's very good the singers did a good job and everyone is on que I think this is going to turn out very good
im just wondering how the whole thing would sound like with dance beats.
I have heard both pieces several time this day, the 44 voices off this version sounds like more persons than all 5.900 singers together.... sorry to say this but I mean the "effect" of this huge background choir is not really audible in the final version, you can create a sound like that with a choir off 50 people also.
wai michael I am you Big fan so awsome i would like to participate in others theme gretting
Second Tenor 1 from the left.
What's with the green squares? Invisible singers?
Hey! Looks folks! It's a VC video that you can actually see yourself in (if you're in it, I'm not)!
im in Alto 1, the third from the left...
As usual tenor section is smallest section in the whole choir...this must be universal tenors are a in demand but are few and far between
In Alto 1, third square from the left
Very good!!!
Very good!