Video
Game
Music

Silent Hill 2 - Born From a Wish

Platforms: PS2
Year: 2016

Number of Files: 14
Total Filesize: 67 MB
Date Added: May 22nd, 2024
Album type: Arrangement

Description

Description
This is the full CST for the Born From a Wish scenario of Silent Hill 2. Please read below for a full
explanation of what this is, why I did it, and how I did it.
1.) What this is
A 14 track album consisting of ambient pieces throughout the Silent Hill 2 Born From a Wish
scenario. This includes the background music of the cutscenes found in the scenario. I spent
around 3 months putting this album together, so I hope you enjoy it!

2.) Why I did this
Even though this includes all 14 existing pieces of the scenario, this album was actually only ever
about the cutscene music. The cutscene music was why I started this project in the first place.

3.) The Cutscene Music Problem
Basically, the music from the BFaW cutscenes can't be ripped or separated from the dialogue that
plays in the cutscene. It doesn't matter what you do to try and isolate the music, you can't,
because all audio in the cutscenes are part of the same file (unlike in the main scenario which, as
far as I know, aren't). This is the reason that there doesn't exist isolated cutscene music for BFaW,
because it doesn't exist at all (unless Akira Yamaoka still has it). Up until this point, the only way to
hear the Yamaoka tracks of the cutscenes was to put up with also listening to Maria or Ernest
talking during the cutscene. Not anymore.

4.) How I Isolated the Music
Editing the cutscene audio. What I realized is that the cutscenes in the scenario play out just long
enough so that parts of the tracks may repeat. What this means is that, in one instance if Maria or
Ernest are talking over a segment, later on they might not be. So what I did was cut up each
cutscene into "dialogue" and "no dialogue" segments, and using those "no dialogue" segments,
replicate the original composition as best as I could. This was far more difficult than it sounds, and
the first time I attempted to do this a year ago I gave up because of how complex it was. I tried
again starting in February (with booze and determination) and this is the result.

5.) The Ernest Meetings
The three Ernest meetings were where the challenge was. With both characters having continuous
conversation, the room for usable audio was really limited (sometimes a second or less usable
material). The end result for both 1st and 3rd Ernest meetings were near total replications of the
original compositions. The 2nd Ernest meeting is the one that I was unable to fully replicate (the
reason for this being that for about half of the track there were many unique notes and chimes
that did not exist anywhere outside the one time they occurred, and Ernest and Maria were too
busy talking over them, making it impossible to replicate those parts). Therefore, the 2nd Ernest
meeting's track is an arrangement different from Yamaoka's original composition, but only
because I couldn't replicate the original composition.

6.) The Rest of It
The cutscene at the beginning, as well as the two after the 3rd Ernest meeting, didn't require
much work. The other ambient tracks were simple recordings from the game with no major
editing required. The bulk of the work was the 3 Ernest cutscenes.

7.) For the Fans
Yea sure, it drove me nuts that I couldn't listen to these tracks without dumb Maria or Ernest
yapping over them. But mainly, this album was for the other fans of Silent Hill 2 and Yamaoka's
music. I've seen many times people wish they could hear the tracks in the cutscenes without the
dialogue. This is for you guys.

jam6i






Track Notes

01 - Awakening
This is found in the scenario's opening cutscene, where Maria is alone in the Heaven's Night
dressing room.

For this cutscene, Maria had long pauses between her dialogue, making capturing usable material
for the track relatively easy.

02 - Heaven's Night
This is found throughout the explorable rooms of Heaven's Night in the BFaW scenario.

This is different from the main game OST. The track plays a small portion of the track on a loop. In
this video I let the track loop once.

03 - Silent Heaven
This is found throughout the streets between Heaven's Night and the Baldwin mansion.

This was a simple recording from source. No editing was required for this track.

04 - Doppelgängers
In a number of locations in the Baldwin mansion, there are two versions of the same track. This
version is best known as the version that plays before entering the Baldwin mansion

No major editing for this track.

05 - Spirits of the Mist
This track plays in the background of the cutscene of Maria's first meeting with Ernest Baldwin.
Because of the dialogue between two characters, this is the first track of the album that required
massive editing to mask the dialogue.

The end result is probably around 95% accurate (meaning: consistent) with the original Yamaoka
composition. Of all the cutscene tracks for this album, this was the hardest one to edit together
and the one I spent the most time on.



06 - November Flight (Theme of Amy)
This track plays in the background of the cutscene of Maria's second meeting with Ernest Baldwin.
Because of the dialogue between the two characters, this is the second track of the album that
required massive editing to mask the dialogue.

This track in particular was impossible to fully recreate with editing. The reason for this is the fact
that about half of the track consists of unique chimes and tones that only exist during the single
times they each occur, and for the fact that Maria and Ernest talk over all of it.

I could only use the material I could salvage, and that, sadly, did not include what is arguably the
best parts of the track.

That being said, I did the best I could to recreate the track. This is a new arrangement of the
composition and is not the arrangement of the original composition.

Not for a lack of trying. It is simply impossible to replicate the original with how little usable
material there is.

07 - Ashes
This track plays in one of the hallways of Blue Creek Apartments, and is one layer of the "Ashes
and Ghost" track from the SH2 OST. For that reason, I named it half of that track, "Ashes".

08 - Ghost
This track plays in one hall of the Blue Creek Apartments. It is one layer of the "Ashes and Ghost"
track from the SH2 OST, so I named it "Ghost".

09 - A Study of Room 203
This track is a combination of three unique ambient segments that can occur depending on where
Maria is standing in room 203.

1.) The first segment plays when Maria is standing anywhere in the living room area or near the
front door.
2.) The second segment plays when Maria is standing in the small hallway.
3.) The third segment plays when Maria is standing in the rear bedroom, preferably near the
window.

As a side note: if Maria is standing in either the kitchen or bathroom, no ambient sound plays.

The track title for this was inspired by a favorite painting of mine, Francis Bacon's "Three Studies
for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion", since it consists of three distinct pieces.

10 - Double-goers
This track plays in various locations in the 2nd half of the Baldwin mansion. This is the 2nd version
of the same main track, and this one is more subdued in tone than the 1st version.

The track title is the literal translation of "Doppelgangers" so it's meant to carry the theme of
"different but the same" (similar to the Mary/Maria duality).

11 - Reflections of a Memory (Theme of Ernest)
This is the track that plays during the 3rd Ernest encounter, and is the third track of the album that
required massive editing to remove dialogue (although, of the three major Ernest tracks, this one
required the least amount of editing).

The end result is a mostly 95% accurate recreation of the original composition.

12 - Morning Calm
This track plays during the cutscene after the final Ernest reveal, where Maria examines the empty
room.

This track did not require much editing, simply a little looping of the existing track.

13 - Born From a Wish
This track plays in the final cutscene as Maria makes her way to Rosewater Park.

The only editing I did was the removal of Maria's footsteps, some minor other audio removal, and
the final line from Maria of "James..." while the end of the track plays.

14 - Love Psalm
It plays during the credits.

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Silent Hill 2: Born From a Wish (PS2, Xbox, Windows) (gamerip) (2001)	Conker: Live & Reloaded (Bonus tracks) (2005)	THE WORKS ~Chiyomaru Shikura Music Collection~ 8.0 (2014)	Kirby of the Stars ~Story of the Fountain of Dreams~ (1994)	Ryo Mizutsuki Vocal Collection 1 (2012)	SMEE Vocal Collection: My Premium Style (2019)

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