"...How about it? Wouldn't this effect be better?" Ollie swiftly opened the door, seamlessly transitioning back to the band members.
His enthusiastic words seamlessly synced with the rhythm, ensuring he didn't disrupt the band's progress.
Ronan, seated at the end of the bed, didn't immediately respond.
Instead, he raised his hand, gesturing for silence, and focused on listening to Cliff and Maxim's performance.
Cliff played the electric guitar, Maxim handled the bass, and Ronan kept his hands poised over the keyboard, suspended in the air without striking a note.
His head tilted slightly as he listened attentively, his intense expression indicating deep contemplation. Alice's visit didn't distract him from his thoughts.
Ollie, unperturbed by Ronan's silence, fell silent and proceeded to the other bed, where he picked up his snare drum.
The cramped motel room couldn't accommodate a full drum kit, so Ollie had brought two small drums as substitutes.
Casting a quick glance at Cliff and Maxim, Ollie said, "...let's do it again, starting from the first eight beats. I'll join in from the fourth eight beats."
Without further explanation, they swiftly fell into their routine.
Fatigue from staying up all night didn't affect their concentration, but their slightly bloodshot eyes bore witness to the events of the previous night—a night filled with creativity and sparks.
The late-night discussions by candlelight had put them in a state of selflessness. Even the presence of Alice couldn't disrupt the intense focus in the room.
As Alice entered the room, her camera captured the busy, compact scene within.
Although numerous questions swirled in Alice's mind, she struggled to keep pace with the rapid developments. Instead, she sensed the atmosphere in the room and wisely refrained from speaking.
She quietly closed the door, positioned herself behind it in a blind spot, and attempted to avoid disturbing their work. With her camera, she silently recorded the unfolding scene.
Alice contemplated how to frame and compose the shot. However, considering her movements might disrupt the process, she generated several ideas but discarded them all.
Ultimately, she decided to stand still and capture the moment as it unfolded.
The melody was evolving into a song.
If the singing Alice had heard the previous night was raw, sincere, and emotionally resonant, this gradually forming song was complete, rich, and authentic.
It featured instrumental performances without lyrics, yet the image of Ronan sitting by the pool, singing his heart out, automatically materialized in Alice's mind.
It remained simple but was now capable of evoking genuine emotions.
This process transformed the mundane into something magical, a spectacle Alice couldn't afford to miss. In documentaries, the story often took precedence over composition.
Moreover, this process was still ongoing. The four band members shared ideas and made intricate adjustments, discussing after nearly every performance or rehearsal. They constantly refined their work, with all four actively participating.
Ronan, Ollie, and Maxim all had equal say and regularly expressed their opinions, urging one another to improve. Even when Ollie and Maxim made valid points, Ronan persisted in voicing his thoughts. It resembled a process of learning and growth.
Alice cherished moments like this. Despite the motel room's lack of aesthetics and the absence of time for adjusting lighting and angles, the camera still managed to capture the beauty of focused work.
The rough and cluttered environment served to make the scene appear even more authentic.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Alice's presence had been forgotten. Even Ollie, who had initially welcomed her at the door, had entirely lost track of her.
The band members remained engrossed in their work, fully immersed in the moment.
After a night of relentless effort, the arrangement work for "Innate" was nearing completion.
The clash of ideas and thoughts had triggered a continuous burst of inspiration, rendering the passage of time meaningless. Even the pangs of hunger went unnoticed.
Ronan had ultimately convinced his bandmates with his concept, albeit with some concessions.
They decided to use an electric guitar rather than an acoustic one as the starting point, allowing them to achieve Ronan's desired effect while addressing Ollie's concerns.
Throughout the night, they had perfected the concept and ironed out the details. Now, they were prepared to move on to the next phase: writing the corresponding melodies for each instrument.
Each instrument had a distinct melody score, and the more instruments involved, the clearer the scoring needed to be. This was essential to ensure a rich, clear, and three-dimensional layering of sounds.
They had spent the entire night perfecting their work, finally completing the composition and arrangement of the entire song.
The next step was to practice the coordination of the instruments, focusing on strength, rhythm, volume, and emotional expression.
"Playing the melody through the instrument while ensuring it harmonizes and becomes a unified whole."
This was the essence of the band's live performance and required rigorous rehearsal and fine-tuning.
Despite their strong chemistry, rehearsing a brand new track demanded time, which they were currently lacking.