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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsWoW Moviewatch: Emerald Dream
by Michael Gray 
Apr 12th 2010 at 12:00PM
Emerald Dream is a pretty interesting music video, and I think it definitely grows the "belf rap" genre by leaps and bounds. The music is refreshingly original, although I'm sure as soon as I say that someone will point out that I don't recognize the original version. Even if that's the case, the lyrics and beat were both intriguing. I felt like the overall narrative was much stronger than most music videos, and it definitely raises the bar for these performers.
The video was obviously beautiful. I think if we were to ever see the Emerald Dream archetypified in the game, this must be how it will look. My hat's off to the machinimators who created this video.
Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.Filed under: WoW Moviewatch
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
puni Apr 12th 2010 2:45PM
"Emerald Dream is a pretty interesting music video"
I always jump to the second paragraph to see if the movie is GOOD or BAD, before clicking the Flashblocked vid. If it's GOOD, the guy has *no* problem saying so, and I check it out. If it's BAD, he always finds clever ways of not using the B word.
"... a pretty interesting music video." C'mon, now you're not even trying. That's like saying "A for Effort", or the guy "clearly has a promising future".
Bryan Dare Apr 12th 2010 2:52PM
Did... did someone lace my pizza with acid?!?? o_O
Trippy.
Zuckerdachs Apr 12th 2010 3:08PM
Because I know all the negative criticism's got to be tough for Gigi, I'll go out on a limb and say that I was impressed with this. I'm not usually a fan of her videos because of personal music tastes, but this video is very creative both visually and in its lyrical content. Ysera's voicing is fantastic, and I watched it through a second time for her bits, particularly at the end.
Phoenix Psaltery Apr 12th 2010 3:43PM
Well done, both visually and musically but entirely too long.
Omegan01 Apr 12th 2010 3:47PM
"The music is refreshingly original, although I'm sure as soon as I say that someone will point out that I don't recognize the original version."
I know this kind of thing gets said a lot (and it's usually overblown), but I'm seriously astonished you didn't recognize the Nutcracker Suite. This isn't some obscure heavy metal from the 80s that fanboys will recognize and no one else will catch, this music is iconic. Even if you didn't know the name I'm really surprised you didn't pick up on the kind of music that gets played every Christmas.
"Emerald Dream is a pretty interesting music video, and I think it definitely grows the "belf rap" genre by leaps and bounds."
...seriously? Does this even mean anything substantial other than a nice sound bite? EXPLAIN, man!
Anyway, regarding the machinima itself, I must first say that I'm ambivalent to Gigi's voice. I don't run screaming the moment I see her name attachd to something, but I don't give it five stars right off the bat either. I think Gigi's weakness isn't her voice at all, it's the lyrics she chooses.
Let me explain what I mean by that. There's a reason the vast majority of rap songs use fairly simple lyics, and no, it doesn't have anything to do with rappers being stupid, or uneducated, or cheap. The reason is that when you're dealing with a steady backbeat and a constant flow, it's easier to keep that beat going when you're using smaller, sharper words:
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
Try to read that without getting a beat going in your head.
Gigi's problem here, and the problem with the vid as a result, is that she keeps throwing in bigger, more complex lyrics that cause her to rush the words to keep to the beat. As a result there's a disconnect between the music and lyrics, and the video suffers as a result.
I agree with the complaint that the sound effects overwhlem the vocals at times. That's irritating, and it shouldn't be happening.
I'm not a fan of the dragon's speech at the end either. It doesn't feel like it adds anything to the video, except for time to pad things out.
Speaking of time, this is my biggest gripe: this video's six minutes long, but almost half of it (the first fifty seconds and the last minute and a half) AREN'T ACTUALLY PART OF THE SONG! It's just credits, advertisements, and the snow leopard ad. Cut out all the extraneous crap (including the dragon's speech) and this song is less than three minutes long. Not a point in its favor.
One thing I do have to say in the vid's favor - the visuals are REALLY well done. Seriously. It's a beautiful song to watch. I just wish there was more of it.
Omegan01 Apr 12th 2010 3:51PM
Rereading my post, I think I came across a bit snooty and harsher than I intended. I want to say I did like it, and it got me to sit and watch all the way to the end (something that some machinima fails entirely at doing). I don't think it was bad at all, just that it's a vid with some flaws that I think can be ironed out. Obviously that's my opinion and anyone's free to argue with me on it.
Prissa Apr 12th 2010 6:01PM
I think you make a very valid point regarding the words chosen to rap to.
I've often noticed in Gigi's videos that she loses the beat. This one not so much.
In this video I didn't feel like I was listening to rap, I felt like it was a narrative. As such I think Gigi's found a bit of a niche for herself. The video reminded me a lot of Alice in Wonderland (I'm fairly sure that was the point anyway) and the opening lines where she was talking to the druid just set the whole scene like she was reading us a story.
Gigi you have a good voice for this! I know you obviously like the traditional rap genre as that's how you started out and what you keep making, but this twist on it is really good and not something I've seen from anyone else. There are lots of boring old rappers out there. You could be the one with a bit of class ;)
On another note, if the other vocalists actually took over the melody line at any point, I didn't notice. Either all the voices are similar, or the way the song was arranged brought them together marvelously. So I'm sorry I can't credit the others for any of their rapping or singing skills, I'm sorry, I do feel bad about that :(
doit Apr 12th 2010 11:04PM
I agree with Omegan and Prissa, her voice is fine but she has absolutely no flow.
Bloodvein Apr 12th 2010 4:11PM
I want to thank everybody for their wonderful comments! ^_^ ... well almost everybody. =P It is cute though seeing the same trolls spewing their same filth on every video I see on here. Now, before you say, "we have a right to our opinion and to not like this video" I agree that you do, however; we have a right to not like your opinion and comment about it as well.
LOL @ comments saying, "boohoo credits too long". Let me try and break this down for you. First off, there are TONS of people that enjoy watching credits, which; is why I spent so much time making them. Secondly, it's at the END of the video so if you don't like it, don't watch it. lol....
Omegan01 Apr 12th 2010 4:21PM
I don't think it's particularly unreasonable for people to see a six-minute duration and expect a six-minute video.
Omegan01 Apr 12th 2010 4:21PM
I don't think it's particularly unreasonable for people to see a six-minute duration and expect a six-minute video.
Omegan01 Apr 12th 2010 4:23PM
I don't think it's particularly unreasonable for people to see a six-minute run time on the video player and expect ot see a six-minute video or something close to it.
shotiechan Apr 13th 2010 11:31AM
It's almost cute watching you stick your fingers in your ears and ignore the "bad" comments and only pay attention to the good ones.
If you were wise, you'd take heart and listen to it all, and improve, not just ignore and badmouth the people with negative things to say. Actually listen to them, and see what you can improve upon, instead of just "lol haters" and wallowing in the praise.
Good artists listen to the praise and ignore the rest.
Amazing artists take it all in, and grow.
Bloodvein Apr 13th 2010 3:58PM
@shotiechan rofl, I will pay attention to "Constructive Criticism", not some form of pathetic troling. Also, you must not be very good at comprehending what I wrote. Thanx for watching the video anyhow. =]
Drakkenfyre Apr 12th 2010 5:07PM
If you don't recognize The Nutcracker Suite, have you ever seen a Christmas movie? It's used in like every Christmas movie, ever.
Lemons Apr 12th 2010 5:11PM
I liked the machinima, except Gigi is in it.
The fact that she keeps being allowed to sing just baffles me.
Blondies Apr 12th 2010 6:07PM
as far as I heard, no singing from Gigi in there.
shotiechan Apr 13th 2010 11:27AM
Yeah, I'm often boggled why people defend her so vigorously, she can rhyme, sure, but she actually lacks the talent for singing, yet insists on continuing to do so.
She's alright when she raps, instead of actually trying to sing, because no actual vocal range is required for that. I saw one video of hers and she was just trying WAY too hard to hit notes way out of her vocal range, and it was painful to listen to. :( It's like no one actually tells the girl what her singing capabilities are.
She's suited fine for making machinima but singing is better left for other people.
It also irks me for some reason how much she brags about how much she loves PVP. It wasn't even relevant to this video, but she was good and sure to include a clip of herself at the tail end with a tacky tramp-stampish "PVP GIRL". WTH?
Spitt Apr 12th 2010 7:18PM
There used to be a model edit, I think it was by Demonkunga, which would turn the barrens into the Emerald Dream
BigBadGooz Apr 12th 2010 8:28PM
Plenty of alice in wounderland references in there I'm refering to the old cartoon version. But why did they have the damn trisher cat reference if you think about it a cat that speaks half truthes and for shits and giggles sends you down the path most crazy would be something I would avoid.