[Ben]

R U S H PRODUCTIONS →
During my first trek through this enchanting world, the concept I could even attempt to recreate its beautiful storyline into other forms of multimedia never crossed my mind. Because of such enlivening experiences, my art, be it drawing, writing, and voice acting have all further developed. When I found out about the art of digital audio production, I decided I would give it my best shot to breathe new life into this silent movie where it seemed honorable. Why Final Fantasy IX? There was so much I fell in love with: the colorful, cinematic backdrops, the cozy towns and lush cityscapes, Uematsu's brilliant compositions, the magic spells, job classes, and summons that paid homage to what encompasses Final Fantasy, but MOST of all the characters. The cast was so well premeditated, even the minor characters turned out three dimensional. You can't help but fall in love with Ruby, Doctor Tot, and Part-time Worker Mary. A great foundation is what makes a great structure, and they were the pillars that cradled this tightly woven fairytale. What makes a good book isn’t how proudly it stands on the shelf; it's about the people you share it with.

Which is why I would like to dedicate this piece to every actor and actress who has lent their voices and input into my productions. The ones from long ago, the ones who have been recast, and all of the fresh faces. You've become a supportive group of friends and family that I trust and truly care for. Thank you for helping to will my creativeness into existence and believing in my dreams. I wish you all the best in your own endeavors.

SYNOPSIS → ( SPOILER ALERT! )
Attempting to halt Kuja's ambitions, Zidane, Dagger, and company embark upon the mysterious world of Terra and are led to the village of Bran Bal. Seeking answers, Zidane learns of the shocking truths behind his origin. Dagger becomes concerned, and Eiko forms a search party. After Garland verifies Mikoto's words, Zidane is brainwashed.

CAST → ( in order of appearance in 'C' )
Zidane → Ben Hales
Dagger → Erica Mendez
Eiko → Joly Quindiagan
Steiner → Jared Lee
Freya → Jenna Sharpe
Vivi → Danielle McRae
Quina → Lucien Dodge
Amarant → Phillip Sacramento
Moorock → Mindy Owen

MEDIA →
ACT I → DOWNLOAD or STREAM! ( 31 MB | 34:30 mins )
Part 'A' → DOWNLOAD or STREAM! ( 06 MB | 08:10 mins ) - 'Welcome to Terra.'
Part 'B' → DOWNLOAD or STREAM! ( 24 MB | 26:30 mins ) - 'A house is not a home.'

ACT II →
Part 'C' → DOWNLOAD or STREAM! ( 06 MB | 06:50 mins ) - 'You are not alone.'
Part 'D' → Coming 2010

For your listening pleasure the first act seamlessly unifies ‘A’ and ‘B’. I recommend downloading it over the individual parts intended for listeners with low-speed internet connection. Final Fantasy IX is copyright Square Enix. All materials presented, including, but not limited to, the design, text, graphics, screen shots, media, files, and the selection and arrangement thereof are copyright 2003-2009 RUSH Productions (Ben Hales, Alexander Santoro), all rights reserved. Thank you for your support and enjoy!

[Erica]

Omg... I just woke up like 10 minutes ago... Don't expect any intelligent comments from me, hahaha.

Arthur - Yay for crew members!!
Priss - Sailor Erin is my hero, hahaha
Jared J Lee - Omg... You're Steiner all the way =O
Bebi - ADORABLE EIKO! AAAAAAH CUTE!!
Ben - My sexay monkey boi!! =O
Rika - OMG! U NEED TEH ACTING LEZZONZ!! PLZKTHX
Chichiri - Omg... you don't sound abnormally cute for once!! YAY!
Malipitan - Awesome getting sucking into the teleportion gate grunts =O
Maverick - See above
Rikka - See above
Maeko - Haha, your Vivi is just too cute.
Lucien - Omg... I love you. Enough said.
Sapphira - Mikotoooo! She like my favorite character in the game XD Nice job!
Aowyn - GENOMES ARE HAWT
Yoshi - See above

Nice job Ben. I'm glad to see this is finally out...

OMFG! MY MOM MADE WAFFLES!! o_O;

[Ben]

*harts u* Yeah, I did post this early! I prolly shoulda waited til the afternoon, when all the normal va's come out of their cacoons.. but I COULDN'T! ;)

[Chinomi]

Chichiri - Omg... you don't sound abnormally cute for once!! YAY!

;D

*downloads*

[Ben]

Originally Posted by Chichiri Miko

;D

*downloads*

tru dat :roll:

[Chinomi]

WOW!
Mixing was GRAND! that's better than great doncha know ^_~
I don't have time to do a full review at the moment but I will don't worry =D
I know I never do this Ben... but.... *RAPEZ0RZ*
XD!

P.S.) I sound so bloody freaky when i whisper those things O_o "Terrrraaaaa" holy F--

[Jenna]

I enjoyed it!

THE MIXING

Excellent sound effects and mixing Ben. Everything was at the right level, nothing too loud/soft or anything. Not much else to say really, I am not suprised this took you a long time to do, it is of a high standard.

THE VA'S

I did find it a little difficult to tell who was who at first, but the text file helped and I am sure as more episodes are released it will be easier. I can't comment on everyone beacuse either a) I could not pick out who was playing who or b) you only had one line or something

Good sound quality from everybody, no bad bg noise or anything and nobody whom I thought 'you sucked', everyone was solid.

Ben - I think you show a lot of talent, but then I have always thought that about you . I like the fact that you sound natural and not too 'cartoony' or forced. You so sound like Zidane looks.

Steiner/Jared - Interesting interpretation, I think it works though.

Dagger/Erica - From what I did hear you sound good, suitably feminine and high and easy on the ears as most people like female FF characters to be. I think you sound very like Sapphy actually, or she sounds like you... either one

Eiko - Also Suitably cute but again, not much to go on in this episode really cos you had like 3 lines or something. I can imagine Eiko having your voice though.

Lupin - I cannot for the life of me remember which character Garland is ops: but I liked the voice you used

Genomy people - You sound like genomy people... so yey!

I look forward to hearing more from some of the other people in the cast, which looks like a damn fine line up to me!

[Ben]

Chichiri < Er, anything for my narrator..? heh :}

Jenna < I'm so glad you got to listen to this before you head out, and what's more I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it. Your poor 56k! ;)

[Erica]

Originally Posted by Jenna

I think you sound very like Sapphy actually, or she sounds like you... either one :)

Oh, I was wondering if someone would notice that actually >D *cough cough* I actually tried to sound like Sapphy *blush* She's like the most awesome Garnet ever! It was kinda weird that she was cast in this production as well though, since we kinda sound alike in it XD

My fault! Oops! I'm an imposter =O

[Sapphira]

ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME, YO!

Mixing: Oh boy... you've just blown me away. I can really tell you took your time and put your best effort into the mixing here. This is an example of what every project should aspire to be. Very nice work, Ben... keep it up!

SFX: They blended very well and none of them sounded phony. My only complaint is the footsteps... while they were well mixed, I have a short attention span and thought that they were too drawn out. I have played the game, duh... haha, and I know thats how the scene actually is. But my impression with audio is that keeping things short and sweet is best. Other than that, GOOD JOB! I especially liked the ripped sfx.

Cast: Overall, I though the cast did a really awesome job. There were a few people who managed to get lost in all the movement of this clip, which was slightly disappointing, because I kinda feel like I missed some of it. :\

Arthur - I liked the cartoon-like inflections in your voice during your appearance. Very cool!

Priss - Very nice job, your voice fit the character very nicely.

Jared - I always imagined Steiner would have a deeper, more 'rusty' (haha, whoa) voice. But this one worked too.

Bebi - A very cute Eiko! One of my favorite voices in this. ^^

Ben - I like your Zidane. Your performance was very real and believable, perhaps the main reason I loved it so much. Nice work!

Rika - I HAVE A CLONE!!!! :OOOO Except that you are way better than I am. I thought that at one point in the rp, our voices clashed a little... but Dagger is one of my fave FF heroines, and I loved you as her! I'm impressed! ^^

Chichiri - GREAT narrator voice! I loved it!

Malipitan - To be honest, I couldn't single you out in this.

Maverick - See above.

Rikka - ARG, See above.

Maeko - Though you only had a short "Ahh", it was perfection. 'Nuff said.

Lucien - For some reason, this voice didn't work for me. The performance was spot on, but the voice wasn't... Garland - to me, anyway - always gave off an ancient, almost god-like presence. The voice didn't sound ancient enough, I guess... and was too breathy at times, which was distracting to me. Needs some work, but like I said before... the performance was spot on. ^^

Sapphira - Ugh. I just.... *STRANGLES SELF*

Aowyn & Yoshi - Two of my favorites in this... the lack of emotion in your voices really stood out to me and made your characters sound so real. Awesome!