1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 174



Only Noblemtl

174. I’d Do Anything For You (6)

The power of the 47 people who reunited was truly amazing.

Siyoon took Stella’s place. Although it was a chorus part, it was the first official recording.

This recording was directed by The Age of Rock engineer Tommy Adams in the control room so that everyone could focus on the song. He is a quiet person with few words, so it seems like he is more suited to the studio than the club. I should seriously ask him if he would be interested in moving to Bethel and taking charge of the studio.

Since the choir consisted of an overwhelmingly male cast, the roles were arranged in the following order: soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass. Roger Tyler was the only male among the female soprato parts.

Rob Halford, who was quite capable as a soprano, took on the tenor part with Bao. Michael Jackson, who had not yet reached his voice, also performed well in the tenor group.

“It’s a beautiful song about two people pledging their love. Please sing it while thinking of someone you love.”

This time, Freddie Mercury was in charge of arranging the choir and conducting the harmony. From left, it was soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass.

The part I worked on the most was the chorus, which was the highlight of the song. It was the wedding scene between the two people.

– Our love was much stronger than anything

(Our love is stronger than anything else.)

– Of those who were older than we―

(More than the love of those older than us―)

-Of many far wiser than we―

(More than the love of those wiser than us―)

When Annie, who plays the role of Belle, sings,

-And neither the angels in heaven above,

(So ​​the angels in heaven,)

– Nor the demons down under the sea,

(And the devils under the sea,)

– Can ever dissever my soul from your soul.

(I can’t separate my soul from yours.)

Andrew, who played the role of the prince, continued to sing,

– I would do anything for you.

(I would do anything for you.)

– And I would do anything for you.

(And I will do anything for you.)

– Oh, I would do anything for you.

(Oh, really, I would do anything for you.)

The last verse swearing love was sung by everyone together.

It took four days for each person to learn and record the four-part harmony, and two days to record the simultaneous choir. The 47 people sang and sang and sang until they were satisfied. The recordings of multiple takes were stacked on multitrack, and they will boast a rich choir that would not be the envy of hundreds of people.

And as the song neared its end, the hazy lingering feeling was the orchestra’s part.

And Gerard’s narration will be layered over that aftertaste.

– I would do anything for you.

(I would do anything for you.)

– My darling, my darling, my life and my bride.

(My love, my love, my life, my bride.)

After finishing recording the chorus and chorus, Tommy played the narration track and cheers erupted from all over.

“Wow······ No matter how many times I hear Grandpa Gerard’s voice, it’s still a premium voice.”

Annie wrapped her arms around her shoulders, feeling goosebumps.

“James, how did you come up with the idea of ​​quoting Poe? You really transformed a tragic poem into a declaration of love. It’s so beautiful.”

Angela knew what the lyrics I wrote for the chorus were about.

This is Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, Annabel Lee. Poe was a novelist and poet whom I respected. In particular, ‘Annabel Lee’, which my teacher recited to me when I was very young, was a poem that I loved so much that it is still engraved in my heart.

This poem is an elegy written by Poe in mourning for the loss of his wife, and is known as his last poem. The last line of the poem is a pledge of love to his dead wife, sent from her grave by the sea, where the sound of waves can be heard.

That part felt just like Mr. Gerard Williams’ heart. As expected, Annabel Lee, sung in his voice, touched everyone’s heartstrings.

The original poem was a sad elegy, but I took out some parts of the poem and changed it into a love vow.

Just imagining the finished version combined with an orchestra sent shivers down my spine.

* * *

The CW Entertainment Auditorium.

– I would do anything for you.

(I would do anything for you.)

– My darling, my darling, my life and my bride.

(My love, my love, my life, my bride.)

Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!

After hearing the completed song, everyone stood up and cheered and applauded for each other.

Today is the day when everyone gathers together for a final meeting before starting filming. The 46 artists who participated in the performance and recording of the song, 120 orchestra members, director Robert Smith, the video team, the sound team, and the main characters Kevin and Stella all gathered in the company’s main auditorium.

As the moderator of this meeting, I stood on the podium and looked at everyone’s faces. There were faces of admiration, faces of cheering, faces of emotion, faces of joy······.

And a face that keeps shedding tears. A face that is wiping away her tears and comforting her next to her.

It was Stella and Kevin.

“Thank you so much for your warm response. Thanks to you all, we were able to create such a wonderful song. Now, I will tell you about the music video filming schedule.”

The on-site photos that Robert had taken were projected onto a screen.

“This is a castle outside of Wisconsin. There’s a lot of snow right now, so we’re going to shoot the beast scene first. Then, when spring comes, we’re going to clean up the castle and make the garden beautiful. Then we’re going to shoot the intro and chorus scenes. So, before winter ends….”

The beast scene that we will film first does not require many actors. It is mostly Jack and Stella’s acting, and the scene where our band plays is all there. We will go with a small group of elite actors and finish filming and come back.

It will take quite some time to refurbish the castle once spring comes, so after we finish filming this time, we plan to send the art team to clean the inside of the castle and take care of the interior.

“And after the castle remodeling is done, we’re going to film the wedding scene. As you all know, the couple is planning to get married in Korea in May. But I think there are a lot of people in the U.S. who helped us out. So I want the last wedding scene to be a real wedding while filming. So I’m going to invite everyone here, the Kings family, Bethel Farm family, people who helped out in Wisconsin, and even acquaintances in England. We’re planning to have a grand party at the castle after filming is done.”

As soon as I finished speaking, everyone stood up and applauded Kevin and Stella.

* * *

A large body, a lion-like face, two large horns on top of its head, sharp fangs, and furry hands and feet.

But strangely sad eyes······.

The makeup team made Jack into a perfect beast.

“Wow, your makeup skills are no joke. I want to try it too.”

Annie felt curious as she touched Jack’s face.

“Inma, Jack spent hours putting on his makeup. You’re not going to be able to stand it anymore and you’re going to beat him up.”

After Jack finished his makeup, he stood up from his chair. Annie had to look up for a long time.

“Wow, Jack. How did you grow so tall?”

“Haha. I’m a little short. But I have to look taller than Stella.”

Jack wore animal feet specially made by the makeup team as shoes. If it had been a simple high-heeled shoe, it would have been difficult to keep his balance, but the lion-like feet had a large surface area in contact with the ground. Jack quickly adapted.

“James, this is what it feels like to be tall. When you look down from above, everyone looks different.”

“Jack, I want to try those on too!”

“Oh, Inma. Don’t interfere with the filming. Go over there and eat some bread quietly.”

I put a piece of bread in the mouth of the reckless Annie.

Jack quickly got the OK thanks to the acting he had practiced on his own. He finished filming all his solo shots in a few hours.

“Okay, now it’s time for the scene where Belle enters the castle. Stella, are you ready?”

Sister Stella came out wearing a sky blue one-piece dress with a white blouse underneath. Her shiny dark brown hair was neatly braided.

Stella, who has a lot of experience filming CFs, naturally played Belle in front of the camera without getting nervous. Since she is a vocalist, the scene where she lip-synced to Annie’s song was not awkward at all.

“Cut, good.”

All of the ongoing filming took place inside the castle. The on-site staff kept the fireplace lit and prepared food in the kitchen, which had been cleaned before filming began. This was to save as much time as possible.

The next day’s filming was of Beauty and the Beast dancing in the hall. This scene was a highlight scene that was used as a poster in future animations and movies.

The original plan was to feature only Beauty and the Beast, but an idea came to me when I saw Kevin, who came to the set with his sister Stella. After discussing it with Robert, I decided to film the scene where the Beast and Belle dance again in the Prince version.

If the scenes of the beast and the prince dancing with Belle were repeated in alternating directions, it would create a much more fantastical scene.

“Ah······I’m so nervous.”

“Hyung, don’t be nervous. Just think of it as dancing with Stella. She’ll lead you well.”

Then Stella came out wearing a yellow dress with lots of lace. It was a bright color like the moon in the dark hall.

“Hey, Youngmi······.”

“Is it weird?”

“No, it’s so beautiful······.”

Sister Stella shyly covered her mouth with one hand and smiled, then held out her other hand to her brother.

“Okay, then, let’s go for now. Ready, action!”

As the music started, several cameras moved along the circular rail. Then, Sister Stella smiled brightly and took Brother Kevin’s hand and started dancing the waltz.

“Cut. Kevin, let me go back and try again.”

Even after that, my brother continued to make NGs.

“Gona, I think it would be better to just not include this scene······.”

“Brother, just rest for a moment.”

I went to Robert and told him to empty the hall, leaving only a minimal staff. I also dimmed the lights and set it so that only the two of them could be seen.

Now the two of them will not be easily seen by cameras or other people around them.

“Hey, what do you think? Can’t you see anyone?”

“Oh, I see.”

“Hyung, let’s film this a few more times. If it doesn’t work out then, I’ll boldly skip this scene.”

Even though I said that, I was determined to film it somehow, because this scene was the second most important scene after the ending.

“Director, please play this album.”

“Oh, this is just a classic waltz, right?”

“Yes. I think it’s because our music is so grand and grandiose in scale that it makes you a bit more nervous. This song has the same BPM, so please play it this way. It’ll sync perfectly when we edit.”

“Aha, this is the way! I see.”

The lighting director darkened the surroundings, leaving only the two people standing in the center holding hands brightly lit.

As soft music flowed, Sister Stella took Brother Kevin’s hand and led him gently. With no one around, Brother’s footsteps became much more natural than before. His expression also began to smile more and more.

The two of them stepped lightly to the rhythm of the waltz. They wrapped their arms around each other’s waists and spun around, moving gracefully through the wide hall. The lights followed their footsteps quietly and silently.

The winter night deepens like that.

The prince and Belle slowly walked into their own magical time, and the golden chandeliers reflected from the ceiling whispered words of love.