Interview with BliZiHizake
Name: Blake Perdue
Songs: Door to the End of Time
BliZiHizake recently cut his teeth on the remixing scene with Set Sail, an OCRemix of Gangplank Galleon from DCK2. Let's get his take on the project:
1. When did you first play / why do you like Chrono Trigger?
I first played it about 6 years ago, when I was in 4th grade. Unfortunately, I played it on a crappy cyrix on a ZSNES emulator. Yeah, I'm an emulator noob, and not one of the original SNES Chrono Trigger owners. Me being a super DBZ fan back then, played it because I was told that it was made by Akira Toriyama. Turns out Akira Toriyama only illustrated the characters, but I didn't care by the time I played the game.
One of the main reasons was the battle system. When I first got into a battle, it didn't go into a separate screen like any other RPG back then, but it showed the characters enter stances and actually do moves. I was amazed, blown away, etc. The only RPG I've ever owned on SNES legitamitely was Lufia I. I hated that game back then (I deeply appreciate the opportunity to have owned it now however) and Chrono Trigger was something totally different.
I ended up wanting to know more about the story and stuff, and the music and worlds really set up the perfect atmosphere for me.
2. What do you use to mix?
I've used FL to do all my music stuff, ever since the days when it was called Fruity Loops. I'm glad they changed the name.
3. When you first came on the scene, did you intend to become a remixer?
Yes. When I first discovered OCReMix.org or remix.overclocked.org, it was the best. site. evar. I am a music and videogame geek so when I saw that it had submission guidelines, I was inspired.
4. How has Gates at the End of Time evolved from your first WIP?
The first Gates wip truly outright sucked. The intro was bland, and it was only like a minute short. However, a lot of people pointed me to some nice free soundfonts, and I've stuck with mostly the same ones used in Set Sail. I've also been reading up on EQ and reverb techniques for wind and string instruments. It's not like the finished product will be extremely awesome, as I still consider myself a beginner with only 5 years of "experience".
5. Sorry to go off topic, but any chance of "Lost in Your Dreams" being completed someday? The first WIP is great!
Most likely. I love Chrono Cross music. A lot. I <3 Yasunori Mitsuda. However, I think I'm gonna start a new wip but using the same melody because I love that melody because I've sort of lost inspiration with that one. And I think the project file was also wiped. I'm glad people like it (?).
6. Have anything planned for remixing after the project?
Actually, I'm planning to work on a sequel remix to Set Sail, this time incorporating DKC2's title screen spin of Rib Jig. I've started on it, but it's not very good, drowning in the lost pages of the WIP forum.
This is the first time I'm actually being seriously interviewed for musical stuff. I feel sort of special, and probably should since I'm part of a project that is so awesome and has so many creative, talented, and dedicated people (mainly Claado Shou, who's been running this job at optimal performance during a time of transition into the military).
~7. Any special notes on Door to the End of Time, or any problems that you had to overcome?
Door to the End of Time was a pretty fun song to work on. The fact that it took me almost a year to finish because of my laziness (and school) would indicate otherwise. However, I was driven by the thought that Claado Shou was working on Chrono Symphonic just as much as any of us and that this project had(and still does)huge potential to be a great project.
One of the problems I had was thinking of a way to make the End of Time theme interesting for the duration of 5:30, which was my specific time frame for the particular scene in Claado's script. I guess I pulled it off, and any ReMixer or arranger will tell you that it's not hard, but I guess it is to me because I don't know. But whether I did make Door to the End of Time interesting for 5:30 is fully the listener's opinion.
8. Plan to work in another project?
It's possible that I might be in another project. It depends what sort of feedback I receive on Door to the End of Time and on my contribution to the project itself. I am not sure what game I'd be interested in doing a project remix for, however. And I'd prefer it to be another "orchestral" project, since I enjoy doing orchestral. (FREE SAMPLE LLO)
9. How's it feel being part of a Chrono OCR site project now that it's complete?
I'm really proud to be associated with a great bunch of people. Everybody was really nice as far as I know. Also the fact that Chrono symphonic might possibly be the best project on OCReMix. It would be nice to have my game making music rolemodels Nobuo and Yasunori take notice of the CS member's endeavors, including Compyfox, who has spent a large portion of his free time mastering all our stuff to make the project top notch.
10. Anything you'd like to say to Chrono fans?
I hope Chrono Symphonic has done justice to the original Chrono Trigger music for you Chrono fans.
Author Comments on Tracks
Door to the End of Time - Well, I guess I wasn't really sticking to the script as much as I was supposed to. I was actually trying to create a mood that Crono & everybody else may have felt during their first trip to the End of Time. It would start off with a mood of uncertainty, then grandiose discovery of their whereabouts, then onward to what lies within the premises. This part consists of reflection on how each portal present within the End of Time can actually transport them instantly to places they may have missed and/or thought they'd never see again. This finally leads into the "we’ll do something about it" mood and eventually the time of reckoning, leaving the End of Time and setting off.