Heavensward Music Contest (NA) - Discussion Thread

Please feel free to use this thread to discuss the Heavensward Music Contest and practice submitting your entries.

The full contest details and rules can be found here.

When you are ready to make your entry, please do so by posting in the entry thread.

I had a couple questions about the contest. It was clear in the rules that people living in Quebec were excluded from the contest and I wanted to know why. If I post an entry and I'm from Quebec, what will happen? I really wanted to give this a try and I am a huge fan of the whole final fantasy's music.

Can we also be provided with a sheet music or a midi file, or are we expected to arrange it by ears?

Thanks you in advance.

Just to be clear, does the video have to show you physically present while playing the instrument? If so, does it have to be full body captured or can it be limited to just showing your hands and the instrument? I was thinking of playing this on my Saxophone, but if I really don't want to show myself...

I just want to be clear about when performing "Night in the Brume" (the "entry.") Is it the first minute of the song?

Is there any way to get some kind of sheet music for Night in the Brume? That would be really helpful as I am having a hard time working it out by ear. Thank you.

Yes! Is there any sheet music? Do you want the beginning with the chords or the other part with the harpsichord melody? There's so much to this song!

I second the request for sheet music. I would love to participate, but the piece is to (beautifully) complex to figure out in its entirety, then arrange, rehearse and perform by the entry deadline.

So far I'be got a little bit of the song by ear, but I'm a beginner at piano and must spend a long time learning the song. I would love some sheet music, too! Sorry about spelling g, posting on phone.

Sorry to double-post, I can't find an edit button. The instructions talk about using game footage. Is that mandarory?

I too would like some sheet music. I'm quite new to arranging and having some "blueprints" would assist me greatly.

This is my favorite song in the game! I still feel tears swelling up whenever I enter Ishgard by night °-°
Do well with this, guys! ;)

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Originally Posted by Pakonitan

Just to be clear, does the video have to show you physically present while playing the instrument? If so, does it have to be full body captured or can it be limited to just showing your hands and the instrument? I was thinking of playing this on my Saxophone, but if I really don't want to show myself...

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Seconding this.
Would it count if I showed my hands playing the piano and, say, a piece of paper with my username clearly written on it lying somewhere during the entirety of the video?

What about digital music production? Is this allowed if so how would we go about the video? Thanks.

I don't want to show my face, either. I'll probably just find a way to record my hands.

I second (or whatever number we're on) that request for sheet music! It's been a long time since I've touched my flute, and there's no way I could do this without.

Also would like to know the response on how much you have to be "in" the video - as I also wouldn't want to show my face, probably.

Hello, everyone!

I'd like to take a moment to answer some of the questions that have been asked so far! So without further ado...

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Q: Do you have to show your face in the video?

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A: There is no requirement that your face be shown during the performance, so you are free to either hide or not show your face. Please be sure to show the instrument or set up that you're using for your performance!

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Q: Can you provide the sheet music for the song?

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A: While we understand the difficulty of playing a song without sheet music, we would like for you all to listen to the music carefully and play it by ear. As the contest rules state "You are free to choose how you would like to perform, arrange, and conclude your arrangement of the song." The goal is not about making the song as accurate to the original as possible, but about seeing how you interpret it and make it your own!

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Q: Is digital music allowed or does it have to be played/performed using real instruments?

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A: There is no requirement that it must be performed using real instruments. That said, the audio source which you use for the digital music must be original and created by you (you may not use outside music as a base or other samples to build from). With that said, for the video, you could consider recording yourself creating or playing back the digital piece.

We're all looking forward to hearing your entries!

Thank you, Tony

Thanks for responding. Not really fond of showing any part of me in a video... but idk, maybe I'll cosplay in my white mage costume if I feel up to it...

Requirements for sweepstakes/contests in Quebec taken from

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Originally Posted by Dustytome

Requirements for sweepstakes/contests in Quebec taken from

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Sorry, won't let me edit. A quick google search brings up: http://contests.about.com/od/sweepst...idinQuebec.htm
It seems your local government has made it a pain in the butt and companies just aren't willing to cut through all that nonsense just to give out freebies.

Thank you Dustytome, now I understand -_-

I have a submission I'd like to make, but I'm more an arranger than a performer so it's a digital piece. I don't have access to a good means of video recording and I've tried several screen recorders and all have failed my purposes. Is a video of the software playing back absolutely necessary? Would a still image work?

I just used a screen recording of my software playing back the arrangement. I hope that this is acceptable...
If not, then it would be a shame because I can't edit my entry :(

I was hoping to use a screen recorder, but each one I try fails my standards of audio quality. As a result, I was going to attempt to record the software playback and splice the audio from the fully exported/rendered arrangement, but I haven't had success on that front either but I can't seem to work with the videos saved using various screen recorders; my video rendering software can't seem to work with them. For this, this is more about the music and less the video, and I really don't want to be excluded from this contest because I'm not particularly sufficient at video work. I don't want just record the audio as is because it will dilute the quality and I want it to sound perfect.

Greetings,

We have an update regarding the sheet music. While we previously mentioned that we would like participants to play the song by ear, we have been receiving more requests from players for sheet music. Using these requests, we went back and discussed if it would be possible to release the sheet music. We are pleased to say that this will become available for a limited time from tomorrow, March 9th, until the date deadline for the entries. (We'll update this thread once the music sheet becomes available.)

We would like to thank all of you who have already submitted your entries by playing by ear! Since we're posting the sheet music, if you would like to submit another entry, we'll consider the new entry valid as well.

Also, even if you may not have experience in playing an instrument, you're more than welcome to sing, or hum the tunes, so we would like for everyone to give it a try! :)

We'll be looking forward to seeing your awesome entries!

Greetings,

We are happy to announce the sheet music for the song "Night in the Brume" is now available here. The sheet music shows the melody and the chords for this song.

With the availability of the sheet music we've updated the contest details page. We also received a comment from Sound Director Soken "Go ahead and cook this song anyway you want!", so you can perform as is, or make further arrangements to this to add your own flavor!

To accommodate this change, we will be extending the entry deadline by two weeks. We'll follow up with the new deadline date on the contest page, and through Lodestone topics, so please keep an eye out for it!

Again, we would like to thank all of you who have already submitted your entries by playing by ear! Since we have posted the sheet music, if you would like to submit another entry, we'll consider the new entry valid as well.

Good luck!

I'm having difficulty getting a video to record with good audio. Would I be able to submit a video of the song playing with a still image of the software with which I wrote the piece? I know the contest asks for a video, but I don't want to sacrifice sound quality for video, not when the music is much more important to me.

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Originally Posted by Namou

I'm having difficulty getting a video to record with good audio. Would I be able to submit a video of the song playing with a still image of the software with which I wrote the piece? I know the contest asks for a video, but I don't want to sacrifice sound quality for video, not when the music is much more important to me.

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Please disregard this request. I was able to find a workable solution.

Looking forward to the submissions on this one.

I have a question regarding contest entries, if I may! Unfortunately, I can't play any musical instruments, so all I can do is sing. Is it possible to perform acapella for the contest??

It was stated somewhere that acapella is accepted.

Greetings!

In case you haven't seen the announcement on the Lodestone, we recently added the sheet music for "Night in the Brume," and in consideration of this we've also extended the contest deadline.

Contest entry period:
Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 12:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) to Wednesday, April 11, 2016 at 1:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

To accommodate this change, the winner announcement date will also be shifted.
We will be showcasing the finalists and selecting the winners during Nico Nico Chokaigi 2016 on April 29 & 30, and we will make the full winner announcement on the forums on May 2.

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Originally Posted by Zhexos

A: There is no requirement that it must be performed using real instruments. That said, the audio source which you use for the digital music must be original and created by you (you may not use outside music as a base or other samples to build from). With that said, for the video, you could consider recording yourself creating or playing back the digital piece.

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So does that mean we can't use sound effects from a website? ;n;

So I found out just barely a week ago that my video is not 720p as I thought it would be when I transferred it from my phone to my computer. If I were to try and convert it, would that be considered breaking the rules?

The first thing I want to say is - thank you for this contest, this opportunity and this composition!
This piece is incredible to me because of it's structure - it's a multi-movement work condensed into one track.

The tag line of this competition is "perform your own rendition of the song". The song is over 5 minutes long - so why impose a 2:30 time limit?

I don't think we're going to see much more than the opening theme varied with such a short time limit. Perhaps the limit was put in place for fear of judging duration - but you've got less than 10 entries... For a nearly 2 month long deadline for submission - it seems a bit ridiculous to limit the submission duration to 2:30 - especially so given that the base piece we're to be re-working is over 5 minutes itself..

To the community team, I implore you to consider removing the time limit altogether or if a limit MUST be set to set it to something like 10 minutes so that we can truly be creative, and be given the ability to show the composer what we can really do with his piece.

You can't be overly creative in 2:30 since the main theme is nearly half of that time to begin with. There are more than 5 distinct movements/sections in this work - if you want to see anyone work them, you've got to allow us composers/arrangers the time to do so!

Hope so see response to this.. it's going to be a long month of 2:30 sound bites of the same opening theme otherwise.. Thank you!

Is Night in the Brume just a part of that sample video? or is it the entire track?
Reason I'm asking is I see a lot of contestants remixing mainly the first minute of the song, and not so much the parts that come after.

Thank you ;)

I am also curious as to how rigid of a rule the 2:30 time limit is. I've been composing my arrangement to fit it but it would be nice to have more time develop the theme. I'm sure that's part of the challenge of the contest, if anything. It's probably put in place to save Soken's time as he has to judge every single entry from all regions this is being held in.

On a side note, I'd like to ask for clarification regarding some of the fine print: It says "
Square Enix shall not accept and may delete submissions that: (a) deviate from the established theme;"

Does this mean we're not allowed to also incorporate other Heavensward themes/melodies in the arrangement, or was it a more broad rule referring to non-FF themes?

I see the due date is Wednesday, April 11, 2016.
However the 11th is on a Monday, so I'm confused as to when submissions are due.
Could somebody please clarify this? Thank you.

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Originally Posted by CHOKKOmimi

I see the due date is Wednesday, April 11, 2016.
However the 11th is on a Monday, so I'm confused as to when submissions are due.
Could somebody please clarify this? Thank you.

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Heh, I'm surprised no one else noticed sooner. This is just my guess but I'm more inclined to believe that the date is correct and the Wednesday is the typo. They released the sheet music on the 11th, and that's when they amended the date, so it would make sense that that give a month from that point.