Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Psycho Bells - an Homage to Bernard Herrmann

Just for fun, here's my take on "Jingle Bells" through the eyes of Bernard Herrmann.



Help support our deranged Christmas and buy the song through the link below!

Psycho Bells - Psycho Bells - Single

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

"Christmas With My Shiksa" - A Holiday Love Song

Every year, E and I try to write a funny Christmas song.  Well, this year we have not yet been able so we are recycling this ditty from two years ago.


We did it just for fun and to make our friends smile.

Lyric:

Verse
Christmas time, it comes but once a year
Department stores and turkey farmers cheer
Being Jewish, by persuasion
Immunized, to its contagion
As a chosen one I thought I 'nought to fear.

Then came something truly, unexpected
A beauty Darwin naturally selected
Through a haze of sprayed on snow
'Neath the plastic, mistletoe
Changed my humbug ways and now my heart's infected.

Chorus
Oh how, I love Christmas with my Shiksa
For she, is the Shiksa that I love
Without her, it ain't the same
On the birth  of, what's 'is name
She's my candy cane, my sweet, my turtledove.

And if you were, perchance, to meet my Shiksa
You'd cry, "Hark the Herald," she's with him
But there are those that know the joys
Of well raised nice Jewish boys
Trump the candy canes and Christmas seraphim.

Verse
She finds my Hebrew customs hard to read.
Yes we are, a fabulously complicated breed
At reading backwards, right to left
Her skills might be a tad bereft
But her ???????????????????
Are fine indeed.

But when, I wonder, does my Shiksa love me
My mother says, "Oye vey, what's not to love?"
Without her it ain't the same
On the birth of, what's His name?
She's my latka, challah, my knish, my turtle dove...

Bridge
She says that she finds my good looks boyish
But I think she's just being "goyish"
For what can this gentle gentile, see in me?
It might be cultural infraction, an opposite attraction.
But there's room for both, between the Christmas tree


Chorus
Oh how, I love Christmas with my Shiksa
For she, is the Shiksa that I love
Without my Shiksa, it's just not the same
On the birth  of, what's 'is name?

Coda
When religion is the cause
For being ignored by Santa Clause
If this musical detritus, gives you chronic tinsilitus!
If this song's left you mesmerized, just wait 'til it's been Klezmerized
And if you find this song satyric, know my Shiksa wrote the lyric

For she's my candy cane, my sweet, my one true love!

Oye!

Christmas With My Shiksa - Christmas With My Shiksa - Single

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Ultimate Tempo Map - Remixing The Legendary Choir Anúna

The Ultimate Tempo Map - Remixing The Legendary Choir Anúna


The last time we were in Dublin, Eímear introduced me to her old friend Michael McGlynn, founder and composer for the magnificent Irish choir, Anúna (old, not in age, of course - they have just known each other a long time).

For those of you who aren't aware, the music Michael performs with Anúna, their unique sonority, and his wholly original compositions are simply stunning.  The first time Eímear played their recordings for me, I felt an instant connection.

Here's their website:  Check it out for yourself:  Anúna Website 

As often happens in Ireland, over a few lovely drinks at one of Dublin's great new restaurants, a plan was hatched:  As I am often called upon to make "Trailer Versions"of existing music - after it's been licensed for a film - wouldn't it be fun to create a few "Trailer Remixes" of Anúna's recordings?  Just for the laugh, and maybe a future license?

To my pleasure, Michael agreed and I set to work determining which cues from his vast recordings would be appropriate (10+ CDs and counting).

For my first attempt, I chose Michael's composition, "Dúlaman."  Here's the choir's version:



So how does one even start to create such a remix?  You need a tempo map!

Let's consider how Anúna performs and records:  
  • No click track (no two beats are the same)
  • One take
  • No overdubs
  • Straight to two track mix
Their long-time intrepid engineer, Brian Masterson, has a unique series of techniques he uses to capture the depth of the choir, with little or no bells and whistles - It just "is."

Hmmm... this isn't going to be easy...

Create a Tempo and Meter Map

Before I can add a single element to a remix, I need to have a tempo and meter map that exactly matches the recording down to the sample.  

There are countless programs out there that can interpret recordings and do an adequate job of tempo mapping when the song is the latest Bieber crooning, but when music gets really rubato, or, as it is in the case of Dúlaman, the tempo is around 190, no two beats are the same, and the meter changes just about every bar, they fail miserably.  The tempo map has to be created manually - a bar, or even a beat at a time.

Having started this type of work long before the technology existed to do it for me, I developed three methods that I use to match tempo to existing recordings, one of which I used on Dúlaman.  They are:
  1. "Tap Tempo" in Digital Performer, then manually drag the beats against the timeline
  2. "Hack and Slash Locked Audio" in Logic.
  3. "Identify Beats" in ProTools, then manually drag tempos against the timeline
I used "Identify Beats" in ProTools, as it is the best method when the music is truly complicated.

"Identify Beats" in ProTools

In this technique, after I have dictated the desired meter, 7/8, and basic tempo 1/4 = 190, I use a combination of the "Tab to Transient" command and the "Identify Beats" command to have ProTools interpret the exact tempo and create my tempo map.  

I then listen to the click against the track to see if it feels right and adjust the identified beats by dragging them in the timeline.  Here it is, step by step:

Enable "Tab to Transient"

To enable "Tab to Transient," I click on the icon, second from the left at the bottom of the tool selector so that it is highlighted as below.


Many of you know, when this icon is enabled, every time you press the "Tab" key on your computer, the curser will find the next impact transient within the audio file where you have placed the cursor (in theory - it isn't a perfect technique!).

Tab to the First Transient, and Slice the Audio

As in the image below, after I have established the basic tempo (1/4th note 190) and the basic meter (7/8) I then tab to the first transient, the first note of the song.


Side note:  ProTools timelines hate working in anything other than 1/4 note clicks!  Even though I could hear this song was a combination of 1/8 note meters, I would never tempo map that way.

Align the Audio to the Timeline

Slicing the audio file at the selected transient (by using either Command E, or the "Alpha B" keystroke), I then align the audio file with the downbeat of bar 1.




OK - a moment of personal admission of stupidity:  I struggled for ages with the first bar because I had not interpreted the meter correctly.  Usually, I can transcribe just about anything, but this was kicking my behind a bit so I cheated.  I Googled the sheet music and found it online (buy it here).

Here's the real notation for the first bar.  There's a pickup note!
Identify Beats and Lock them to the Timeline

Now that it is clear the first note is actually beat 7 of bar 1, I move the audio accordingly.  I then park the cursor at the beginning of the audio file and press "Command I."  Notice, the add Bar/Beat Marker opens preloaded with the correct position, 1/7/000.  

Pressing "OK" locks this moment to the timeline (provided the track is locked to Samples, not Ticks).

Tab to Next Identifiable Beat

I then tab through the transients (by pressing "Tab") until I reach the next easily identifiable beat, usually the downbeat of a bar.  In this case, I have tabbed to what I hear is the downbeat of bar three.

Pressing "Command I," the identify beat window opens again.  



Notice, when the window opens, it indicates the current position of the cursor, in this case 2/6/311, and the current meter, 7/8.

I then type in the desired location, 3/1/000, and the desired meter, 6/8 and press OK.


Notice how the tempo and meter line now indicate the changing tempo and meter.


Lather, Rince, Repeat

We repeat this process, over and over again, for every bar, until we get to the end of the piece and the timeline looks something like the one below.  Notice all the tempo and meter changes.


Export the "Tempo Map" for Logic

As my students know, I use ProTools for all my audio editing, mixing, recording, and delivery, but I actually do all my sequencing in Logic (I also use Sibelius for printing).

In order to translate all this work to Logic, I first create a "dummy midi track"in ProTools consisting of quarter notes, that runs the length of the song.  I then export this track from ProTools as a single track midi file.

I then open the midi file in Logic, and as you see below, all the tempo and meter changes are there.



Export the Audio File for Logic

Finally, I select the edited audio region in the ProTools audio bin, and I export the audio region as a single audio file.


Remember - we have trimmed the audio file to the exact moment that occurs at bar one, beat seven.  As long as we place this audio file in the same position in Logic, the tempo map should line up for the entire song - at least it should.

Now the fun begins, actually creating my arrangement.  I'll save that for another blog, in the meantime, here's the remix I created.  Enjoy!
                                                                                                                  
Listen to:  CSG Remix of Anúna's Dúlaman by Michael McGlynn

And of course, please check out the rest of Anúna's magnificent catalog through the links below.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Try to Find Balance...

Latigo Point, 3-4', South, South West 
What does this have to do with composing music?




Those who know me, know that a close 3rd after my love for my family and music, is my passion for surfing.  

I woke up this morning to a beautiful West, South West Swell - the first in weeks.  I am allowing myself just 1/2 an hour to write about it this morning before paddling out.  Let me know if you find any egregious typos as I am so excited to get into the water that I am not even going to edit what I write.  Fingers are flying in anticipation!

When Eímear and I moved to our little Malibu apartment (2007), we had no idea we were moving into a community of creative surf addicts off a semi private world class break, we just wanted to see what it was like to live in a shoebox on the beach.

The day we moved in, I met my friend Darren while sitting in the hot tub - yes, very Malibu.  After our introductions he asked the question, "Are you are you here year round?"  After determining I was not a transient, he asked, "Do you surf?"  

replied, "I tried to when I was in college, but was never able to really get the hang of it."

Darren took this as a challenge, declaring, "Well, you can't live here unless you surf."  With that he forced me to paddle out with him the next morning.  He put me on a board he calls "Caltrans" because it's as big as a bus.  He waited for the perfect moment; pushed me into the wave; I caught it, stood up; and was hooked!

Although I have not been surfing in weeks due to travel and weather, ever since that day Darren forced me into the water, I have done my best to surf every day, if just for 1/2 an hour.  It's my only real exercise program.

I truly believe surfing has saved my life.

Composing for films and TV shows has increasingly become a profession of the walking dead.  This is what happens when you take wonderfully creative people, who love the art of creating music so much that they will forgo just about everything in their life just for the privilege of getting paid to compose music.  They sacrifice their health and sanity against ridiculous deadlines and shrinking budgets.

Don't get me wrong, I believe it is absolutely a privilege to get paid to create music.  I cherish that every day!  I dream about music at night.  I am haunted by the themes I have yet to write.

But I won't die for it anymore...

On October 27, 1975, we lost a great talent in Oliver Nelson.  Nelson, at the time had a dream gig composing and orchestrating for the hit show, "The Six Million Dollar Man."  As is often the case, according to legend, because of the production schedule, Oliver had to work 36 hours straight and then conduct the recording session.  He died that night - at just 43 years old.

I also remember the day I heard that Miles Goodman had died -  August 16th, 1996.  He was one of my favorite composers.

The day before he died, I remember seeing him on the cover of one of the music magazines being lauded for both his film work and his new found career as an award winning Jazz composer/producer.  At 46 years old, he was on top of the world - 40+ films, TV, and absolutely everything to look forward to...

I remember looking at his photo on the cover and saying to myself, "Man, if I could only have a career like that..."

With all due respect to his great talent, I no longer want Miles' career - not at that cost.

I could go on, and on about the friends and talents that we have lost prematurely to the "film-score reaper," but I only have 5 minutes left to blog, and a huge set just came in - shaking the sand.  Dude!  It's looking Gnarley!

So to all my composing students and friends out there, I implore you to find something that you love, that gets you out of your chair and makes your body move.  The music can wait.

Here's a little surf/music video I made celebrating my friends and my new found passion:


And this is how I talk...



Peace...









Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Beware of Duplicating Your Titles, A Cautionary Tale

I learned an interesting lesson about performance royalties and publishing last week that I want to share with my friends and students.  The lesson is:

Make certain your cues have unique names!

Clarification:

When I say your titles need to be "unique," I don't mean that they have to be completely original   - which would be impossible - just make sure you have never used the title before.

Let me explain.

Way back in the 90's, I wrote the theme and music for an NBC series called, "The Jeff Foxworthy Show."  Just for fun, here's that theme:


There were 24 episodes and countless cues on that show.  I had a blast exercising my "redneck muscle" like only a jew from Chicago, with no previous country music experience, can exercise.

For the sake of this story, you also need to know that for every cue I composed for the show, I had a split publishing deal with the producers, Brillstein - Grey Entertainment.  Therefore, the cue sheets all listed both my publishing company and their company as publisher to the music.

Flash forward to this last BMI Statement, where I see that one of my recent library cues was licensed to a program called "NFL on Fox."  The cue was called "Eve of Battle" - a quasi generic title that I have actually used a few times - to my own detriment, I have learned.

Turns out, while I was composing for "The Jeff Foxworthy Show," I also named one of the anonymous cues in one of the scenes, "Eve of Battle" - and promptly, I forgot about that.

So what happens?

The new "Eve of Battle" appears on "NFL on Fox," and despite the fact that the cue sheet properly credits only my publishing company with ownership, the computer system at BMI sees:

  • The title, "Eve of Battle"
  • My name as composer 
  • My publishing company as publisher
And...  
  • The system assumes that it should add Brillstein-Grey Entertainment to the cue sheet as an additional publisher.
From BMI's point of view, this action of adding Brillstein-Grey to my cue makes perfect sense.  Imagine how many times a song with a specific songwriter and publisher split gets listed on a cue sheet, and either a writer or publisher is left off by accident.  Of course BMI has software that looks for this and corrects the error - even if there isn't really an error.

I had now created a real mess for myself.  In an effort to clear things up, I sent a few e-mails and had a phone call with the ever vigilant Ray Yee of BMI.  Upon explaining my error, he told me how to fix the problem:

First, register a new title for the cue with the correct publishing credit.
Next, contact the producer of "NFL on Fox" and tell them of the new title.
Finally:  Beg the producer to use the new title in the future - hoping they use it again, and again, and again...

And what of the "One that got away?"  The cue that already aired and was paid incorrectly?

Well, I could insist on having a corrected cue sheet filed with the new title and the correct publishing split,  but the truth is, the amount of money lost was completely insignificant when compared to the value of the relationship with the producer, and the time it would take to have someone create the updated sheet.  In his case, I decided to just let it go.



Saturday, October 27, 2012

Composing for Picture Using Point of View

"Point of View” (POV) is one of the single most valuable elements music can add to a scene, and knowing exactly how to manipulate point of view is one of the film composer's most valuable tools.  Like a giant yellow highlighting pen, using POV, the music can lead the audience to empathize, despise, fear, love, laugh …  it’s all there at the composer’s direction.

Therefore, in this blog posting I will discuss the basic concept of  POV as it relates to music in film, it’s two basic “flavors,” and how as a composer, you can best utilize  “POV” to create authoritative underscore.

First, let’s introduce the two most basic flavors of musical POV.  They are:
  1. First Person:  The music reflects the actions and emotions of the characters in the story.
  2. Omniscient:  The music is written such that it foretells the future, or is leading the audience's emotions or perspective.
First Person

One of the most exercised and obvious musical POV is “First Person.” This is when the music takes the POV of the character that we are actually watching on the screen.  Let’s take, as example, this brilliant scene from David Raksin’s classic score for the film “Laura.”



Click here to view Scene from Laura

I was lucky enough to have David as a mentor and teacher.  I remember him saying in regards to this scene  (I am paraphrasing as the passage of time has modified his exact words).
“I look for that moment when it was no longer enough to just hear the actor’s words, or watch them act.  I look for that moment when the emotions and thoughts are so heightened that you can hear the music they create – the music that I need to write from that character’s heart.  
That’s how I scored this scene:  The music is mirroring the hardened detective’s emotional journey as he first fights his growing infatuation with his subject, but then slowly falls in love with the portrait of the suspected murder victim. That’s where the music comes from in the scene.”
With this in mind, watch the scene again.   Knowing Raksin's  intention, we can easily identify how the music follows the character's every emotional ebb and flow.  Notice how, for example, when the character examines Laura’s personal belongings and the portrait, the meandering theme in the bass clarinet evolves into the main love theme as the detective's heart softens.

In hindsight, this technique seems obvious – but as David explains in his book “The Bad and the Beautiful,” at the time that he composed the music, the producer did not understand the role music would play in the scene and he had to fight to keep this pivotal moment in the movie.

Omniscient

Any time the music leads the drama, foreshadows impending doom, or makes the hairs stand on the back of your neck, chances are, it’s because the music is coming from an omniscient POV – the music is evidencing that it knows something we don’t.  It's telling us how we should feel about what we are watching.

As it is during the main title to the classic horror film, "The Shining," this arrangement by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind of Hector Berlioz's Dies Irae music is letting us know that despite what we are watching, all is not well in the world - we need to be fearful.  The hairs are standing at complete attention on the back of the neck.  This type of execution of omniscient POV is very typical in a horror film.



OK - I am going to step outside the fourth wall for a moment.  I can do that - this is my blog.

While searching for the example of the main title from "The Shining," I came across the alternate version that follows:  "The Shining Opening Credits With Happier Music."  I found it to be yet another wonderful example of an omniscient POV in film music - and it made me crack up.




I now return you to our regular blog posting...

Here's an example of an omniscient POV, outside of the horror genre.  It's one of my favorite scenes from the classic Maurice Jarre score to the film, "Laurence of Arabia."



While you watch the scene, ask yourself, "Who's POV is this music?"  On the screen, we just see two guys riding camels across the desert.  Nothing is really happening; no epic dialog, nor an epic battle nor a great emotional reveal - but the music is absolutely as grand and stately as it could possibly be.  Why is it this way?

In this scene, using the POV of an omniscient force, the music is declaring the epic nature of the of the story, the vastness of the setting, and the grandeur of the character of Laurence.  Just as it was in the horror film, this omniscient force is saying, no matter what it is that you are watching, there are much greater forces at work.

Using POV to Create Effective Underscore

We have already discussed both first person and omniscient POV as its two most basic forms.  Now let's see how they can work together.

For me, creating truly effective underscore for a scene means sculpting every note to the picture as it is being written.  It’s that grand difference between taking your favorite CD and dropping it against the image because it forms a pretty backdrop, and really dictating how every phrase, chord change, and cadence molds the audience’s experience of the film.  


For this reason, the first question I always ask when approaching a scene is, “Who’s point of view should the music take in order to best present the plot and story?  And how and when should that perspective shift based on the action.

Here's a wonderful example from the film, "Life is Beautiful" (spoiler alert, if you have not seen the film, you should not read any further!).  





In this scene, Nicola Piovani's score first takes the point of view of the little boy (1:54).  In the little boys mind, after working so hard to play the game well, he has won.  True to the promises of his father, his tank has been delivered - first prize.  It's a joyous moment!


Written in first person, the music, reminiscent of a triumphant circus march, is a heartbreaking juxtaposition to what we know as the audience;  The boy's father died saving his son from the horror of the concentration camp by creating the game.  This is a moment of supreme sadness worthy of Barber's "Adagio."


Then, at 2:53, just before the narration begins, the music shifts to the omniscient POV.  It's now reflecting the bitter sweet nature of our knowledge of how the child's experience has been colored by the passage of time.


One final note: 



The choice of silence as, "No Point of View."

Watch the scene once again.  Notice that almost two full minutes pass before the music begins.  Why is this so important?  The genius behind this silence is that for these two minutes, the music takes no point of view.   The audience, for that time, is left holding it's breath, not knowing how to feel;  Not knowing what is really going to happen.  If a note of music were played there, it would inform the audience too early.


And just at the moment that the tension could be pushed no further, the music releases it with the first hits of the snare drum.  And by that time, as the tension is released, the joy we hear in the music has become that much more tragic.


Yeah, I cried too...


It's now 2015 and I just added this additional example of point of view to the blog.  Check it out:

Composing using point of view, Part 2


Like this post?  Check out my other music tech posts!










          


Four Must Have Books for the Aspiring Composer.
   





    

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Video Synchronization, Logic Pro and the "Tempo Change Trick"


Years ago, trying to synchronize your audio workstation to video required video-tape machines, a SMPTE reader, midi machine control, and the patience of Job when everything inevitably went horribly wrong.


Today, all you need is your sequencer and a QuickTime movie - but that still doesn't mean there aren't some technical issues to address and overcome - especially in Logic Pro.

In this posting I am going to outline the most basic ways to deal with Logic Pro and synchronization to a feature film, specifically by using tempo changes as anchors.

First: Determine the video frame rates, sample rates, and movie start.

To do this you will need QuickTime Pro.  QuickTime Pro is the best investment ever and for many of the things I will say in this blog, you will need to have that upgrade.  You can get it here:


Once you have purchased QuickTime Pro, open the video to be scored and go to the inspector window ("Command I" key command).  You should see something like this: 


This is the inspector window from a movie I scored recently entitled The Occupants (aka "Blood Relative").

The important characteristics to note are the sample rate (48.000 KHZ) and the FPS (23.98 "Frames Per Second").

Now that we know this, open your logic session and goto: File / Project Settings / Synchronization:


The following window will open (Keep note of how you got here as you will need this window again soon).



In the window above, I have already selected the correct frame rate of 23.976 FPS (as close as we get to 23.98).

Next, we goto:  Project Settings / Audio, by clicking on the button that says "Audio."  In this case, I have selected the sample rate of 48.000, to match the movie.


Finally, click on the Project Settings / Video button on the right.


We need to edit the movie start time (currently set to 00:00:00:00) in this window to match the movie's actual start time.  To determine the movie starting frame number, open the move and goto the first frame.  In this case, the first frame of the movie is 00:59:58:00 - exactly two seconds before the beginning of picture (If there is no SMPTE number, just use 1:00:00:00:00).


We edit the video project setting to match.



Pitfall number one to avoid:  Logic does not like negative measure numbers and as a matter of fact, can not "think" earlier than measure negative 9 !  If you have too much pre-role before the start of the music, you will have synchronization problems, specifically when importing audio from the movie (I will create a specific blog entry just to address this later).


This start time of two seconds before picture is not chosen at random.  Given the option, you should choose this number as it helps you avoid a few this inherent problem of synchronizing in Logic.  In this case, I personally used QuickTime Pro's editing feature to trim the beginning of the video to match this frame number - the original start was 30 seconds earlier.

Once these settings are all correct, we are ready to open the movie and add it to the session.  In Logic 9, you find this command here:  File / Open Movie.  In earlier versions, this window is found under "Options."


Open the movie.  The movie should scroll properly with your Logic session counter and stay in sync - within the statistical rounding error of one frame - wherever you locate to.

Next we have to determine where the music will actually start, and how we want to organize our cues within the score.  There are two main ways of doing this, both of which have their positive and negative aspects.

Method 1:  Multiple cues in one session

Method 2:  One session per cue

I will adress both of these methods in a future blog, but for now, let's assume for the sake of instruction, that you are only creating one cue, and that cue starts at 01:05:00:31:20.  This is where we want measure one to occur.  There are two ways to do this.  

First is to go back to our synchronization window and tell Logic that "Bar Position 1.1.1.1 plays at 01:05:31:20.00, as I have done below.


Once this number is selected, as you can see in the window below, all the counters should match up; Measure 1 occurs as dictated.


The Tempo Change Trick:

As an alternative, I recommend using the tempo window to synchronize your video, which opens up a whole host of synchronization features that I have not seen cataloged anywhere.

Here's the secret:  Tempo changes in Logic are really "anchors in time" relative to the movie.  You can use them to move the sequence around.

As in this instance, instead of using the synchronization settings window, once we have properly imported the movie, we can set the cue start by opening the tempo window and typing in our desired starting point into the tempo change at measure 1.  This anchors the entire sequence to that frame number, relative to the stationary movie.



Here is where this process of using the tempo window for synchronization really shows it's value - when you are trying to hit a specific moment in the action on a specific beat.   

As in the picture below, we see the cut to the front gate of the mansion occurs at 01:05:40:12.  Looking at the counter in Logic, we see at our tempo of 120 BPM, this moment occurs just before the downbeat of measure 6, i.e., 5.4.2.108.



Musically, we really want the cut to occur at exactly measure 6.  Using this concept of tempo changes as anchors, here is how we make this happen.

First, in the tempo window, we create a tempo change at the downbeat of measure 6.



We then change the location of measure 6 by manually entering our desired frame 01:05:40:19.



After the desired frame number is entered, you will notice that Logic has automatically changed the tempo in measure one from 120 to 120.2315, to place measure 6 at the exact desired moment.




Yes, I know there is another, much more complicated window you can use to do the same thing, "The Tempo Operations" window (below), but in my experience I have found it cumbersome and not as accurate as using tempo changes.  I avoid this window whenever possible.



I will be getting much deeper into video synchronization using tempo changes in a future blog, in the meantime, I trust what I have shared here will get you started.

Like this post?  Check out some of my other music tech posts:










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