Illumination Theory (Radio Edit) (Unofficial)

[dparrott]

8 minutes!  It would be better if I had the stems, but I did what I could.  Gets to the middle and ends of the song sooner.

https://www.filedropper.com/dreamtheater-illuminationtheoryradioedit

Click the grey button, not the green one.  Get it now before it's taken down. 

[Zook]

Your edits shouldn't sound worse than the official ones. Just sayin'.

[dparrott]

What do you mean?

[Zook]

I didn't think your edit was very good. There was a good transition during the solos, but the other edits were too abrupt and jarring. Keep trying though. One day you could be an editing master like me.

[Ravenfoul]

I don't think a song of that length is editable to the point of being good unfortunately, but of course I haven't actually listened to it so I can't judge yours specifically.

[kirksnosehair]

I like this edit, although I think Zook has a point with some of the edits being abrupt.


BUT, with that said, both Zook and I are listening to this as people who have heard the original enough to recognize where every single edit actually occurs.


It would be interesting to hear an opinion from someone who's never heard the song before.

[dparrott]

The edits sound OK to me.  I tried to keep a logical flow to the song without butchering it too much.  Oh well, it was an attempt.  Maybe someone else can do better. 

I don't think it's any worse than the radio edit of Home.  That's too short IMO.

[KevShmev]

Less than a minute in, ugh.  That edit around the 29-second mark was too jarring and sounded completely unnatural. 

The radio edit of Home has some painfully awful jarring edits as well.

[Beowulf]

Even though i'm somewhat familiar with the song (I don't have it memorized or anything yet), i didn't think it was bad at all.  The 29-second mark, in particular, didn't seem jarring to me at all. 

just sayin.....

[dparrott]

re edit at 0:29...yea I guess I could have left the next part in. 

[dparrott]

If it's just a matter of jarring edits, let me know where those are and I'll redo it.

[?]

I don't think it's any worse than the radio edit of Home.  That's too short IMO.

That's why it's called a radio edit...

[Shadow2222]

I thought this kind of stuff couldn't be shared since it is official material? Maybe I'm wrong...

[TheGreatPretender]

Your edits shouldn't sound worse than the official ones.

Nothing is worse than the official Take The Time and Constant Motion edits.

[dparrott]

I don't think it's any worse than the radio edit of Home.  That's too short IMO.

That's why it's called a radio edit...

Well, yea, but the intro could be extended a few more bars I think.

[TheGreatPretender]

I thought this kind of stuff couldn't be shared since it is official material? Maybe I'm wrong...

Because it's altered and edited, I believe it's allowed.

[wolfking]

Does this song really need to be edited?  I think not.

[dparrott]

Of course it doesn't *need* to, but there's a lot of instrumental in there. 

[wolfking]

Of course it doesn't *need* to, but there's a lot of instrumental in there.

I don't see what the problem is with that.  Personally though I never found the instrumental sections to be too lengthy.  The whole thing is perfect IMO.

[Perpetual Change]

Does this song really need to be edited?  I think not.

This.

Plus, 8 minutes isn't really a radio edit.

Get it down to 3:30, then we'll talk 

[wolfking]

I thought this kind of stuff couldn't be shared since it is official material? Maybe I'm wrong...

This too.

[dparrott]

Does this song really need to be edited?  I think not.

This.

Plus, 8 minutes isn't really a radio edit.

Get it down to 3:30, then we'll talk 

Heh yea right. 

This is shorter than OTBOA and a little longer than TEI. 

[Nearmyth]

Of course it doesn't *need* to, but there's a lot of instrumental in there.

I don't see what the problem is with that.  Personally though I never found the instrumental sections to be too lengthy.  The whole thing is perfect IMO.

Can a guy not edit some music for fun?  I personally think it's pretty interesting to do stuff like this, of course the song doesn't need to be edited.

[Zook]

I edit songs for fun all the time, but I try to make them sound fluent and believable. Kirk has a point that a newcomer may not be able to tell, but the edits are so abrupt that the newcomer might just think the band doesn't know how to write music. I don't think I'm being harsh with my criticism, but if I am I'm sorry. The OP should take the criticisms positively and strive for better. Now, on another certain message board he wont get the same criticisms or criticisms at all.

I don't think it's possible, but I might try for the 3:30 edit of IT... Just for fun, you know... Cause I have no life.

[wolfking]

Of course it doesn't *need* to, but there's a lot of instrumental in there.

I don't see what the problem is with that.  Personally though I never found the instrumental sections to be too lengthy.  The whole thing is perfect IMO.

Can a guy not edit some music for fun?  I personally think it's pretty interesting to do stuff like this, of course the song doesn't need to be edited.

That's fair I guess, I've done it to songs too but only if I feel there's sections that bring the song down and the song could improve from the edit.  IT needs nothing taken away from it.

EDIT: I just listened to the edit and IMO, it's pretty bad I'm sorry to say.  The edits at 0:29, 2:42 and 2:56 and 3:59 were so abrupt and obvious.  The edits during the solos were a little better but still off.

[wolfking]

I edit songs for fun all the time, but I try to make them sound fluent and believable. Kirk has a point that a newcomer may not be able to tell, but the edits are so abrupt that the newcomer might just think the band doesn't know how to write music. I don't think I'm being harsh with my criticism, but if I am I'm sorry. The OP should take the criticisms positively and strive for better. Now, on another certain message board he wont get the same criticisms or criticisms at all.

Missed this, but yeah pretty much.

[Perpetual Change]

Does this song really need to be edited?  I think not.

This.

Plus, 8 minutes isn't really a radio edit.

Get it down to 3:30, then we'll talk 

Heh yea right. 

This is shorter than OTBOA and a little longer than TEI.

How many times have you heard those songs on the radio?

[wolfking]

Does this song really need to be edited?  I think not.

This.

Plus, 8 minutes isn't really a radio edit.

Get it down to 3:30, then we'll talk 

Heh yea right. 

This is shorter than OTBOA and a little longer than TEI.

How many times have you heard those songs on the radio?

None, because they are too long.

[seasonsinthesky]

I edit songs for fun all the time, but I try to make them sound fluent and believable. Kirk has a point that a newcomer may not be able to tell, but the edits are so abrupt that the newcomer might just think the band doesn't know how to write music. I don't think I'm being harsh with my criticism, but if I am I'm sorry. The OP should take the criticisms positively and strive for better. Now, on another certain message board he wont get the same criticisms or criticisms at all.

I don't think it's possible, but I might try for the 3:30 edit of IT... Just for fun, you know... Cause I have no life.

same, i have a treasure trove full of alternate edits and so on — the thing i enjoy about it (besides honing my skills!) is that i get a much better appreciation for the songs, even though that seems counterintuitive. for example, i used to completely hate every second of TMOL, but once i made a few different edited versions, i realized there are a lot of parts i really like, and the song structure is extremely interesting. same thing happened with LNF, so i feel like i really gained a much better perspective on some of the songs even if i'll probably never listen to the full length versions; the whole thing is easier to appreciate and enjoy now.

[KevShmev]

Does this song really need to be edited?   

Nope.  Another problem with editing this song is it sounds like the band is incapable of staying with an idea for more than a short bit, since the edit has a little bit of each section, which works against it, so it is like musical ADD.

I mean, kudos to the OP for giving it a try, but there is almost no way anyone could edit this down to 8 minutes plus and make it not sound like a trainwreck of an edit.

[dparrott]

Wow, I have a lot to learn about abrupt edits.  They didn't seem so bad to me.

[jakepriest]

I'm sorry but that was really painful to listen to. 

[wolfking]

Wow, I have a lot to learn about abrupt edits.  They didn't seem so bad to me.

That's the problem, they should sound flawless, and edits should sound flowing and not make the listener think that something has been chopped out.  'didn't seem to bad' doesn't cut it mate, sorry.

[Zook]

Not to toot my own horn, but my Youtube page has some song edits that might give you an idea of how to make your own edits flow better. Are they perfect? No, (maybe the Nemesea song ) but I do think they're better than some of the official DT single edits like Take the Time *shudders*.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Zook85/videos

[wolfking]

Not to toot my own horn, but my Youtube page has some song edits that might give you an idea of how to make your own edits flow better. Are they perfect? No, (maybe the Nemesea song ) but I do think they're better than some of the official DT single edits like Take the Time *shudders*.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Zook85/videos

I'll check this out later man out of work.