Horse Racing Fantasy Community

The first revision

Ok, so the first edition of SECRETARIAT SUPERHORSE (as all these revisions were originally named; their names were only changed later, after subsequent drafts were released) was crude. After releasing it I felt that I had the lowest level of skill to at least release a video that would appeal to the most die-hard fans of the horse, and nothing more. After all, the quality of the footage was terrible, and while the music that fits that horse like a glove (Prelude and Main title to Superman The Movie) was present, it was also not organized as tightly as it needed to be to more accurately tell the story of the race. That was not yet a conscious goal of mine, and in this second draft, if you will, I took the first step toward forming that idea.

After watching and criticizing the first installment, I decided that I needed to find some kind of musical signature, a quick explosion, to mark the start of the race. In the first video I simply began with the Prelude (the music that's heard when the curtain opens in Superman The Movie), which simply does not fit with the break of the 1973 Belmont or any other race, for that matter. After pouring through the entire score (a not unpleasant experience; what great music!) I identified approximately six or seven cues that would properly convey the excitement of the start of this, the most watched horse race in all of history. The cue I chose was from the track that John Williams named "Growing Up". In the film Williams uses it to perfection to compliment the amazing images of a teenage Clark Kent racing a train on the plains of Kansas. The reason that track is such a jewel comes from the way Williams manages to somehow musically represent a locomotive, with it's churning pistons and raw power. For my purposes I thought that not only could it be used as a wonderful beat to accompany the start of the race, but also could work beautifully for a short section of the beginning of the race, as Sham and SECRETARIAT joined in battle over the first 3/4 of a mile (more detail on this in a later installment). I admit that I cut away much too soon from "Growing Up" back to the prelude, which then segues to the main title, but remember that at the time I had not yet formed any kind of organized plan; I was flying by the seat of my pants, knowing that as long as I did something, my editing skills would improve.

And they did. In addition to adding musical representation to the start of the race (something that has now become a staple of all of my videos), I made tremendous strides in smoothing out the musical cuts that are necessary when working with the Supes main title. Allow me to explain: The '73 Belmont 2:24 of pure magic, whereas the Supes main title is much longer, roughly 5:25. Therefore, several time cuts had to be made. In order to understand which cuts I eventually settled on, it's imperative to understand the way the theme is constructed. As a reference, take a listen to this, the concert version of the main title:
I have labels for all the sections of the Supes theme, and I share them with you now only so you can understand what I will mention later. After the "opening fanfare" (:00-:27) you'll notice that the theme takes on the quality of the ignition and lift-off sequence of a rocket. The "build-up" sequence (:27-34) is when the engine is revved up, the "ignition sequence" (:34-42) is when they're fired, and that leads to the "blastoff theme" (:42-1:14), when the rocket actually lifts off. Then we have the "bridge to the march" (1:14-2:04), the familiar "Superman march" (2:04-2:21) which you'll instantly recognize, the "Lois Lane/love theme" (2:21-2:58), the "bridge to the coronation theme" (2:58-3:18), the "coronation theme" (3:18-3:38), the "bridge to the finale" (3:38-4:07), "the finale" (4:07-4:14), and concluding with "the crash" (4:14-4:22).

Because Williams divided up the theme neatly into the aforementioned sections, it made my task of cutting out the parts that either weren't appropriate or simply too long to fit into my video. I knew that I definitely wanted the build-up, ignition sequence, blastoff, Superman march, coronation, and the finale because they reflect the otherworldly performance SECRETARIAT displayed in the Belmont. I also knew that I couldn't use the bridge to march/Lois Lane love themes (didn't fit), and the bridge to coronation/bridge to finale/crash themes (all too long).

The cuts in the first video were very clunky and heavy-handed (in other words, they're noticeable, which comes from a lack of smoothness). Some of the cuts in this second draft were, too, but others were much more polished, which reflects a vast improvement over the first draft in terms of subtlety. I still did not have a good-quality copy of the race, so there was no improvement in imagery at all, though I did add the Superman logo into the mix. So without further babbling, here is the first revision (2nd total video) of what would become The SECRETARIAT Project:

The third draft is next; several new elements were introduced in that one, so make sure and tune in!

gfn02