Jorge Rivera-Herrans

January Choice Video (1 of 2) - 2019 Iliad Aphrodite vs Athena

Hello my friends! This is the second of two January Choice Videos! This video is a 2019 draft of Aphrodite versus Athena from before I was writing EPIC as an Odyssey musical... in fact, I think this was before I even decided on the name EPIC!

For anybody who doesn't know, before EPIC, I had written a group of songs (around 7) for a musical that I intended to be like EPIC except act one would be about the Iliad and act two would be about the Odyssey. This ended up not working because there was too much plot to put into two acts without skimming through events and making characters that are not very fleshed out. I then chose to focus on The Odyssey and write EPIC. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cringe at these older songs, but at the same time, I try to let them be a reminder of how much I have learned about songwriting over the years.

This song, which was called "God Games," was very inspired by Epic Rap Battles of History and Hamilton. At the time, I just wanted to have a lot of shock value, hence why every other line between Aphrodite and Athena is a diss. Oh, how time flies. xD

January Early Access Video - Marketing for Circe Saga

Hello my friends! This month early access video is about marketing for The Circe Saga! Here we have a cinematic snippet from one of the songs, as well as the reference video for an upcoming animatic!

The first snippet video involving Circe was made with Talya Sindel's permission! :D Keep in mind that for Patreon I'm not always able to include other vocalists' voices in early access vids!

In order for you to get the most out of your Patreon subscription, please refrain from sharing this video outside of Patreon. These clips only remain early access so long as people don't leak them! :D I will be posting parts of this video on January 29th or later!

January Choice Videos Poll

Hello my friends! Here are the choice video suggestions I received for this month! If there are any additional suggestions after posting this, I shall add them to the comments and each like for that comment will count as a vote!

December Choice Video (2 of 2) - Song 40 Snippet

HELLO MY FRIENDS!!! Here's the second of two December Choice Videos!!! This is a snippet of Song 40 (and probably the last snippet of this song I'm able to show for a while LOL).

This song is incredibly difficult on all fronts. For one, it's hard to perform, as it's a major emotional and vulnerable moment for Odysseus, as Penelope asks him what kinds of things he did that made him become "not the man she fell in love with."

Musically, it's difficult because of the way it switches in and out of triplets. The second verse hints at past events in the show with its motifs, and then goes into triplets in the second chorus (it's especially apparent in the piano and guitar) as Odysseus is showing his true, ruthless self to Penelope.

I really like the music in this song. :) I love the soaring violas and electric guitar and cello and all these instruments coming together in this moment as Odysseus holds his heart in his hands in hopes that Penelope will embrace it.

December Choice Video (1 of 2) - Circe Saga Update

Hello my friends! Here's an update on The Circe Saga! In this video, I talk about re-recordings, vocal editing, mixing and mastering, and more!

Poseidon Cut Song: In Vain (Draft 1)

Hello my friends! Here is the early access video for December! This video is Poseidon's cut Act 2 song, "In Vain," (Draft 1). Last month, I showed you Draft 2, and I wanted to go even further this month and show you how vastly different each draft of the same moment in a story can be!

My biggest problem with this draft was simply that Poseidon was not scary enough. He's trying SO HARD and putting SO MUCH EFFORT that it feels like he's giving Odysseus a lot of the power in the situation. Compare this to Get in the Water, where Poseidon says much less, and in the process, is much more intimidating.

There were some cool ideas in this draft, though. For example, the usage of triplets in the "nobody where did your friends go" section is always fun for me. But I will always choose the slow, tense build of Get in the Water to demonstrate how terrifying Poseidon can be.

Another thing I was going for in this draft was that while Poseidon is going ham on Odysseus verbally, Poseidon was also starting to glow and power himself up in order to perform his God Move: Shatter the Ocean. But more on that another day. :)

December Choice Videos Poll

Hello my friends! Here are the suggestions I received for this month's choice videos!

November Early Access Video - CUT SONG Snippet "In Vain"

Hello my friends!!! Here is the November Early Access Video! This is draft 2 of Poseidon's cut song "In Vain."

This was Song 34 before "Get in the Water" existed. While the music is exciting, with its triplets in the strings, drums, and piano, I ended up scrapping it and trying again because I didn't find Poseidon intimidating enough. It felt to me more like Poseidon was whining to Odysseus rather than holding all the power in the situation. I was also headed the wrong direction musically, as I kept trying to make a song that was like Ruthlessness, but wasn't Ruthlessness, and every attempt just didn't feel as good to me. 

So I eventually went the other route... instead of making Poseidon's Act 2 song this huge anthem the whole time, I made "Get in the Water" a suspenseful song with a slow, tense build up that leads to an explosion of sound. I had Poseidon say less words, speak more slowly and confidently, and let more pauses sink in. Think of the first time we hear "now get in the water," how little music there is in that moment, just the triplet ocean waves, compared to this cut song that is blasting the whole orchestra so often. Nonetheless, writing this cut song was an integral part of the process, and was a blast to make. :)

November Choice Video (2 of 2) - How I Met Each Cast Member

Hello friends! This is the second of two November Choice videos!!! This one is about how I met each of the cast members of EPIC, and some of my first interactions with them!!!

This video made me realize how EPIC has SO MANY cast members!!! LOL! I was making this video and kept being like "OH WAIT, THERE'S STILL THIS PERSON!" Hahahaha :)

Can't wait for you guys to meet the vocalists I haven't revealed yet!! :D

November Choice Video (1 of 2) - Calypso vs Hermes

Hello my friends!! Here is the first of two November Choice videos! This is a snippet from the cut song Belong to You, and it shows Calypso confronting Hermes in order to stop him from releasing Odysseus.

This Hermes section was written before Dangerous and Wouldn't You Like existed. Originally, Hermes's appearances were limited to a quick, spoken rhythm section in the second half of Puppeteer, and this section in Belong to You. I later would scrap this moment between Calypso, Odysseus, and Hermes because I felt it undid some of the subtlety and character development we see in the final section of Love in Paradise (which I have not shown y'all yet) and because I felt I was missing an opportunity to make Hermes more memorable. So, I ended up writing Not Sorry for Loving You, where Calypso mentions Hermes very briefly, and the scene focuses more on Odysseus and Calypso. Then, I went ahead and wrote Dangerous to have more fun with Hermes, and that sparked me to remove Hermes's section from Puppeteer and instead write Wouldn't You Like.

The orchestration of Belong to You was very fun to make. Verse 1 having hand pans and steel drums for Calypso, Verse 2 modulating the key downwards by a half step and then switching to a nylon stringed guitar for Odysseus, and then the 3rd chunk of the song having fun sound effects, a lyre, choral vocals, and a mixture of the instruments from verses 1 and 2, make this song have a very diverse toolset.

The intention of this scene was to have a tragic ending for Calypso, but the idea of Hermes speed blitzing her to release Odysseus came out much more comical than I intended, and it did feel a little weird trying to create a short action scene with Calypso. I am happy with the decision to scrap this song and Appetite, as it led to the creation of Not Sorry for Loving You (which is one of the songs I am most proud of having written ever), Dangerous, and Wouldn't You Like.

This video was made with the permission of Barbara Wangui as Calypso. Please keep in mind that usually I am unable to use other vocalists' voices in Patreon videos, and that this was a fortunate exception. :)

November Choice Videos Poll

Hello friends! Here are the video suggestions I received for this month's movie poll!

October Early Access Video - Monster climax

Hello my friends! Here is this month's early access video! This is a clip of the climax of Monster, the Act 1 closer!

I recently got to revisit the orchestration of this song and add some electric guitars to this section, and I'm really happy with how it came out! The chord strums on MONSTEEEER really give it that extra oomph!

What I love in an Act 1 closer is a clear turning point, and I tried to depict that here. At this point, Odysseus has had enough of losing those close to him, and decides he must do whatever it takes to get home.

I love that for just this one moment, Odysseus adopts Poseidon's lyrical and melodic motif, foreshadowing what's to come in Act 2 and also showing us the change in his philosophical beliefs regarding ruthlessness.

Enjoy!!

October Choice Video (2 of 2) - Cut Songs

Hello friends! Here is the second October Choice Video! The prompt for this video was:

"Which song did you really, and I mean REALLY not want to cut, but had to anyway?"

This was a fun one as I got to go back and look for some of my favorite cut songs. For the first song, I love the beat and vocal melody, but I think ultimately  Not Sorry For Loving You and Dangerous do what I need in that section of the story.

The second song was wayyyy before I ever got to Warrior of the Mind and Ruthlessness, so it was a fun song but I hadn't quite found the sound for Athena yet, nor Poseidon.

That last one is the most recent of these 3 cut songs; I did however feel I was bringing focus into a moral dilemma we already dive into earlier and more effectively in the show. I'm much happier with Telemachus's reunion with Ody in I Can't Help but Wonder instead. :D

October Choice Video (1 of 2) - Anime/Videogame inspirations in EPIC!

Hello my friends! Here is the first of two October choice videos!! The prompt for this one was:

"Which characters from anime and video games inspired your take on each of the characters in EPIC?"

This was a very fun question to answer as it brought me back to a lot of the earlier days of the writing process for EPIC!

Did any of these inspirations surprise you? Did you see any of them coming? What other characters in video games and anime does EPIC remind you of? Let me know in the comments! :)

October Choice Videos Poll

Hello friends! Here are the suggestions I received for this month's choice videos!

September Early Access Video - How the music of Song 40 demonstrates Odysseus's transformation

Hello friends! Thank you so much on your patience on this video! I wanted to make more progress on song 40 before making this.

I am so happy with how Song 40 is coming out. The orchestration and the way it supports the themes of the show fit together in a way that makes me very happy. :)

Fun fact: you can also hear that electric guitar in Just a Man, right after "But WHEN"

September Choice Video (2 of 2) - Storm new snippet

Hello friends! Here is the second September Choice Video! This is a new snippet of Song 10: Storm!

This moment is fun for me because it's one of those crazy Odysseus plan moments, which I always enjoy writing.

This moment in the show is also a reminder to the audience to not really focus too much on real world physics in EPIC. There are times where characters reach speeds that break the sound barrier, times where characters display superhuman levels of strength, and parts where characters survive insane attacks and circumstances that would otherwise kill normal humans. It's fun, Greek myth level and anime level action. :)

Musically, there are a couple fun things in here. For one, the trumpet can be heard throughout the majority of this song, signaling for our show's big baddy. Also, a whimsical flute plays the melody that begins Keep Your Friends Close.

Also, the line where Perimedes jumps in is supposed to be said by 2 soldiers, Perimedes and Elpenor. :) This is one of their few named lines haha.

September Choice Video (1 of 2) - General Update

Hello my friends!

Thank you for your patience on these videos. I wanted to make a bit more progress on Song 40 before making this video. :)

In this update, we talk about casting, callbacks, Song 40, and next releases!

I'm excited to talk more about song 40 soon. I'm very happy with how it's coming out.

September Choice Videos Poll

Hello friends! Here are the suggestions I received for this month's choice videos!

August Early Access Video: The Callback Process

Hello friends! Here is the August Early Access video! This video is about the callback process in EPIC auditions!

This video was made with the permission of the amazing Ayron Alexander! :)

This video covers the essentials of the callback process, but it can get even more in depth! At it's best, there are many conversations between myself and the actor, and those conversations help us find aspects of the character that help make their portrayal feel more real!

I hope that this video is also an empowering reminder that auditioning for literally any of the roles in EPIC (even the closed ones) helps your chances of being cast! Steven (Polites) originally wanted to audition for Hermes! Luke (Zeus) wanted to audition for Poseidon! Talya (Circe) originally auditioned for Penelope and Zeus! And Anna (Penelope) originally auditioned for Calypso and Ares! The reason why this helps is because even if you're not the right fit for a specific character, I might see semblances of another character in your performance! I'm always on the lookout!

Once the actor and I get to the demo stage, the conversations keep on happening and we keep on developing the sound and performance until we have what eventually becomes the thing we show y'all! :D

Thanks so much to Ayron for letting me use your audition videos as an example!

Ayron is so incredibly kind and talented and smart and SO fun to work with! 

August Choice Video (2 of 2) - EPIC Songs to Sing and Dance to!

Hi friends! Here is the second August Choice Video! The prompt for this one was: 

"Which songs are your favorite to perform/sing? Which ones make you want to get up and dance around your room?"

The answer? HERMES.

Anyways, this was a fun video to make because it's a mixture of trying to analyze what makes certain songs catchy while also just having fun liking songs. :)

What about you guys? Which EPIC songs do you like singing to the most? Which do you like dancing to the most? 

August Choice Video (1 of 2) - Song 40 General Update

Hello friends! Here is the first of two August Choice Videos! This is a general update for Song 40!

For song 40, I wanted to capture the feeling of one of those old timey love songs, but in the way that would make sense in the world of EPIC. I'm still figuring out the structure of the song, especially how to give Odysseus initiative in the first verse but still give Penelope a chance to get the first chorus, so I'll keep at it!

I really like the idea for the chorus, though I can't put my finger on what song the vocal melody reminds me of. If you happen to hear it, please lemme know in the comments! :D

August Choice Videos Poll

Hello friends! Here are the suggestions I received for this month!!!

July Choice Video (2 of 2) - Ideas for Stage/Film Adaptation

Hello my friends!!! Here is the second July Choice Video!!! In this one, I talk about how I envision stage/film productions of EPIC!!!

For copyright purposes, I need to be careful on Patreon with what pictures I use to demonstrate my thoughts, so be sure to check out the mood board in the Your Choice Videos chat on the EPIC Discord for more stuff that inspires me!!! :)

July Choice Video 1 of 2: Songs I am most excited to release!

Hi friends! Here is the first of two July Choice Videos. The prompt was: "Is there a particular song and/or saga that you’re most excited to release?"

I just noticed all of these songs are in Act 2. XD

For Act 1, I'm most excited for all of The Circe Saga, and Monster at the end of Act 1. :)

Looking back at some of these videos reminds me of how much of a journey it's been to write EPIC. Thank you all so much for sticking around. I wish I had more words to show how much you all mean to me and how much you keep me going. Thank you thank you thank you.

July Choice Videos Poll

Hello friends! Here are the video suggestions I received for this month's choice videos!!! :D

July Early Access Video - Song 39 Verse 2

Hello friends! Here is the July Early Access video! This is a performance snippet of verse 2 (Odysseus's verse) of "I Can't Help But Wonder," where Odysseus finally reunites with Telemachus.

In writing for each Telemachus and Odysseus I wanted to focus on one sort of "feeling" or "statement" for each of them that all of their lyrics revolve around. For Telemachus, it was "All I've ever wanted was to meet you" and for Odysseus it is "so much time has passed," highlighting all the years of Telemachus's life that Odysseus missed out on.

I've noticed in my listen-throughs that this song feels especially effective right after listening to all of Song 38- King, since King is so intense and action packed.

In order for you guys to get the most out of your Patreon membership, please don't share this video outside of Patreon. This video is meant to be exclusive to you guys for at least a week and that can't happen if this video leaks. :) I'll be posting this video on TikTok on either Friday, July 14th, or later.

June Choice Video (2 of 2) - The Underworld Snippet

Hello friends! Here is the second of two June choice videos! This is a snippet from Song 18: The Underworld! I really enjoyed making this song: part of the beat involves these creepy inhale and exhale noises (yes, as in breathing). There are also sounds that resemble shattered glass in the beat too.

In this song we really want Odysseus to be forced to look at his Act 1 losses. There's no escaping it for him in this song because The Underworld forces it into his mind. This, coupled with the bad news from Tiresias, leads us to Odysseus's big realization in his Act 1 closer, "Monster."

In order for you guys to get the most out of your Patreon membership, please don't share this video outside of Patreon. This video is meant to be exclusive to you guys for at least a week and that can't happen if this video leaks. :) I'll be posting this video on TikTok on either Friday, July 6th, or later.

June Choice Video (1 of 2) - Any changes in Sagas 1 and 2?

Hello friends! This is the first of two June Choice videos! The prompt for this one was:

“Are there any moments where you wished you'd changed something in the first 2 sagas but couldn't since they've already been released?”

This was a fun video to make because in finding a bunch of old clips from earlier drafts of EPIC, I was reminded of how far we as a community have come since this project started. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your support throughout the years. Thank you for every comment, like, share, patreon subscription, discord hangout, everything. :)

Early Access Video - How I made the music for Penelope

Hello friends! Here's how I made the music for Penelope! I might do a Part 2 in the future of this. :))

I really enjoy the music of Penelope because to me it feels so precious like the love Odysseus and Penelope share. Something I think is cool: similar to Penelope, Circe is also backed by string ensemble, however Circe's strings are usually staccato (shorter, quicker notes) while Penelope's strings are more often legato (longer lasting notes). :D

Fun Fact: Did you know that part of the melody for the vocal line in this song originated from a first draft cut lotus eater song I made over 3 years ago? I kid you not, I was like "this is way too pretty for this moment, I need to rewrite this for someone else in the show." xD I am SO glad I kept it for Penelope.

In order for you guys to get the most out of your Patron membership, please don't share this video outside of Patreon. This video is meant to be exclusive to you guys for at least a week and that can't happen if this video leaks. :) I'll be posting this video on TikTok on either Saturday, July 1st, or later.