[News] ayumi hamasaki 21st anniversary -POWER of A^3- DVD/BD Release

[AJFmzk]

Just went though my copy of the blu-ray really quick, just a few seconds of each song and it sounds like they did a great job with the editing. Judging from the way the vocals sound nicely corrected and not super robotic, I'd guess they used melodyne or something very similar since it sounds like they kept the dynamics and wave curves pretty close to what they were live, but obviously mixed properly to make the overall dynamics more consistent. They definitely worked with the live tracks since her voice sounds hoarse and tired, but they cleaned them up as much as possible without them sounding really weirdly and obviously edited.
I haven't watched the whole show yet so there could be editing problems, but from a quick look everything looks and sounds pretty good.

[attractive nausea]

Originally Posted by AJFmzk

Just went though my copy of the blu-ray really quick, just a few seconds of each song and it sounds like they did a great job with the editing. Judging from the way the vocals sound nicely corrected and not super robotic, I'd guess they used melodyne or something very similar since it sounds like they kept the dynamics and wave curves pretty close to what they were live, but obviously mixed properly to make the overall dynamics more consistent. They definitely worked with the live tracks since her voice sounds hoarse and tired, but they cleaned them up as much as possible without them sounding really weirdly and obviously edited.
I haven't watched the whole show yet so there could be editing problems, but from a quick look everything looks and sounds pretty good.

I wonder why they didn't just take her voice from the 6th april and copy/pasted it on the 7th april video footage lol I know it's not that easy to do but it could have been better than keeping a tired voice.

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by attractive nausea

I wonder why they didn't just take her voice from the 6th april and copy/pasted it on the 7th april video footage lol I know it's not that easy to do but it could have been better than keeping a tired voice.

Right, they never do this. They could've done this with vocally failed CDLs as well.

[hidekirby]

Originally Posted by attractive nausea

I wonder why they didn't just take her voice from the 6th april and copy/pasted it on the 7th april video footage lol I know it's not that easy to do but it could have been better than keeping a tired voice.

Because it wouldn't work properly. It is not that simple, it would be a nightmare to even try.

It's much more easier to correct her voice. Moreover her voice from the previous show should also be corrected so...

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by hidekirby

Because it wouldn't work properly. It is not that simple, it would be a nightmare to even try.

It's much more easier to correct her voice. Moreover her voice from the previous show should also be corrected so...

It's definitely possible. When they released video of Stade de France concert of Mylène Farmer they used audio from previously released live CD recorded at a different venue for most songs. They couldn't use the original audio only for the ballads, because they were sung differently with emotions and all.

[hidekirby]

Originally Posted by Chris85

It's definitely possible. When they released video of Stade de France concert of Mylène Farmer they used audio from previously released live CD recorded at a different venue for most songs. They couldn't use the original audio only for the ballads, because they were sung differently with emotions and all.

Of course It's definitely possible... but it's A LOT of editing work. In Ayu's case I think they did what's best (I mean it's not like her voice performances were great nowadays).

[AJFmzk]

Originally Posted by attractive nausea

I wonder why they didn't just take her voice from the 6th april and copy/pasted it on the 7th april video footage lol I know it's not that easy to do but it could have been better than keeping a tired voice.

I think they actually did do that for a few small pieces of some songs, for example part of me and maybe FLOWER. But they can't just copy and paste wholesale, it wouldn't look right and you can't cut away to dancers or audience every single time it's a discrepancy, it would be really obvious and really bad. In fact, it was super obvious they cut away to audience to fix her mistake in microphone. Editing the 04.07 vocals was definitely the right choice. I guess the better choice would've been to just use the 04.06 show as a whole, especially since we already got a live and edited broadcast of 04.07, that would've been more interesting. But it really is a lot of work to properly mix and master, just think how many mic inputs that was, between Ayu, Yongae, Timmy, the choir, Bonten and A-Strings. You have to EQ, compress, level etc for everything, and pitch correct Ayu on top of everything else without making her sound robotic like CDL2015-2016 or having bleed on the vocal track making the instrumentals sound weird. It would be a lot of extra work if you were to try to put the 06 audio with the 07 visual. They would have to stretch or compress the timing of her vocals to match the discrepancies or make obvious cut aways. I think they made the right compromise here, using little snippets of 06 to fill in gaps with lyric error, or more dramatic off pitch stuff that wasn't as bad on 06. I suspect they did this for FLOWER, because it sounded amazing, but maybe they just did a great job with the editing. It's hard to tell the difference since we didn't get a broadcast of 06.

Also if they did end up switching out the entire soundtrack for a different day, I'd feel somewhat cheated, since they put 04.07 on all the promotion and packaging. I remember when people were suspecting she did it for CAROLS and or momentum in CDL2013-14, using vocals from a totally different year. I don't know if it's true, but it feels a little like I've been cheated if it's true. It's one thing to edit, it's another thing to replace. At least in my eyes. There's something to be said about quality, for sure, but I personally prefer as authentic as possible, even if it's imperfect, as long as it's not ear-bleeding bad. I don't mind pitch corrected live vocals that make it listenable without cringing (for example in Brillante and FLOWER, I think they did a good job) but I don't like re-records or noticeable swap outs.

Originally Posted by holy_arrow

Where is Engerize performance guys ??? It isn't included in the DVD, is it ?

It's on the TeamAyu website, I can confirm at the least for the global-fc one. There's a popup banner at the bottom of the site with a link to "Special Movie Energize" You have to log in to be able to access the video page. I think it's there only for a limited time, but I think someone from here ripped it and put in the downloads section.

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by AJFmzk

Also if they did end up switching out the entire soundtrack for a different day, I'd feel somewhat cheated, since they put 04.07 on all the promotion and packaging.

Ayu is someone who doesn't mind lip-syncing several songs per concert, so replacing vocals for DVD isn't more serious cheating than that IMO. Pitch-correction is a form of cheating as well, so why not cheat a little bit more?
Also she barely improvises, so some songs won't suffer from replacing vocals at all, the lip movements should be fine.

[AJFmzk]

Originally Posted by Chris85

Ayu is someone who doesn't mind lip-syncing several songs per concert, so replacing vocals for DVD isn't more serious cheating than that IMO. Pitch-correction is a form of cheating as well, so why not cheat a little bit more?
Also she barely improvises, so some songs won't suffer from replacing vocals at all, the lip movements should be fine.

Fair point about the live lip syncing, and yes I do feel somewhat cheated when it's a live show for there to be lip syncing. Is it better to lip-sync one or two songs and have a better overall live vocal for the rest...maybe, but it bothers me. I understand her reasons for doing it, whether it's to save vocal strength or to keep up with the dancing, but I think I disagree with the tactic, tho maybe it's a little unfair to judge when I'm not playing large venue tours 3-5x per year. It's just the principle of it that bothers me.

I agree that some songs would be fine, and they might be able to get away with replacing some whole songs. They replaced some of the wrong lyrics in part of me with what I assume is from 06. The audio sounds fine, the cut aways seemed a little awkward to me, since it feels more natural to focus on her in some of those moments. And if they do it to the whole show it'll become very obvious. Maybe most people won't look too closely and won't realize it. That's totally fine. I often ruin movies for myself because I used to work in the industry and I can't stop analyzing and finding flaws or something else to take me out of the moment. I can only speak for myself when I say I don't like it and it feels like product swapping. The pitch correction is technically cheating too, but unfortunately Ayu does need it if she's selling the concerts, you can't have Brillante sounding the way it did live on the dvd, I do still live in reality and sometimes it's a necessity.

Originally Posted by hidekirby

In a day yes... If you want an awful result.
Believe me it's really not that simple! AJFmzk explainded it pretty well. (thanks!)

Thank you. I have some experience in professional audio engineering and mixing, so I do have an idea of what I'm talking about. In the past I've spent days tweaking a single song if not longer. Granted I'm not a seasoned professional at it, I am very new to it, but my mix was well received by the mastering engineer who has worked on big name records so I feel comfortable enough to at least offer my take on it. Again, I am no means a super expert at it, but I have some work experience in the field.

Originally Posted by hidekirby

It is easier and less obvious to lip sync than replacing an entire audio. Even if she doesn't improvise (like at all) you'll notice something is off and doesn't work. Move the sound by 2 frames and it's off. Unless they spend weeks on editing with obvious cuts / weird angles.

If you're lip-synching live you have to practice it in front of a mirror or camera until you get it exactly right. If you want to "reverse engineer lip-sync" with a different audio track, you'll have to take the time to finesse it properly just like practicing for live lip-syncing or it won't look right. Can it be done convincingly? It sure can, but it takes a lot of time and focus and money.

[RealLight]

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