Yutong Zeng - Breaking the Whispers
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Abstract
This thesis presents my Culminating Experience: a hybrid orchestral rescore of the pivotal late-game cinematic sequence from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, tracing Cloud’s transition into the dreamscape following his farewell with Aerith and his subsequent descent back into the real world. The study explores the integration of music and sound within multiple subconscious spaces and narratives of psychological alienation. This cinematic sequence presents highly complex narrative dimensions, weaving together Aerith’s protective guardianship, Sephiroth’s psychological contamination, and Cloud’s ultimate awakening and resistance. To address this, the project constructs an aesthetic framework centered on a large-scale traditional symphonic orchestra, introducing rigorous instrumental motifs to carry the dramatic emotional tension. Concurrently, at the threshold where Cloud initially enters the dreamscape and consciousness intersects, the score constraints the integration of a floating ambient pad from Spectrasonics Omnisphere with binaural friction textures, thereby externalizing the genesis of psychological alienation. The composition incorporates the avant-garde, dark orchestral orchestration aesthetics of Alexandre Desplat and Bear McCreary[ Bear McCreary, composer, The Cloverfield Paradox: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Sparks & Shadows, 2018), audio recording.], while deeply neutralizing Nobuo Uematsu’s iconic harmonic design from the Final Fantasy series[ Alexandre Desplat, composer, Godzilla: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (WaterTower Music, 2014), audio recording.]. Utilizing the original orchestral score Breaking the Whispers and corresponding acoustic dynamic automation, this paper provides a detailed analysis of how pure orchestral orchestration, complex voice-leading textures, and subtle timbral contrasts shape the spatial displacement of consciousness and the character's internal cognitive struggle. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that within contemporary AAA games and multimedia storytelling, a hybrid orchestral score can achieve immersive world-building through the precise synchronization of polyphonic leitmotifs and psychoacoustic sound design.
Publication Date
7-1-2026
Campus
Valencia (Spain) Campus
Keywords
rescore; ff7; composition; video game music
Recommended Citation
Zeng, Yutong, "Yutong Zeng - Breaking the Whispers" (2026). Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games. 354.
https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-scoring/354