Video games often have epic music. The Encounter music from Metal Gear Solid will always be burned into my mind as something that instills urgency. Music from the Assassin's Creed series is the same, so no wonder that students from Taipei's Dongshi Middle School used the music for their flag-twirling performance.
Dongshi Middle School's Flag Team has won awards and competitions in Taiwan. The team has represented Chiayi county in all city events as well as Taipei and Taiwan in competitions and shows in Hong Kong and China.
During a competition and demonstration in May of last year, the flag team performed their routine to the music of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. The composer for the game's music, Winifred Phillips, was surprised to find her work being used as performance music.
On her blog, Phillips wrote that her jaw dropped at the sight of the amazing skill of the young flag team. Here's an excerpt:
...These kids from Taiwan are awesome. They perform huge leaps, whip across the stage in tumbling passes, stop on a dime in beautiful tableaus. Large groups of them simultaneously throw drill team rifles and huge fiery-colored flags spinning into the air and then catch them precisely in time with the music...
...The world just keeps getting smaller and smaller, folks. It boggles my mind. So, congratulations, East Stone Achievement in Music Flag Team! If you're reading this (in an awkward automated translation), know that I did a vigorous fist pump when you caught those flags, and sometimes said, "Oh yeah!" Or as you might say, 噢是啊！
It's always cool to see elements from video games being taken and used in real world scenarios. Who would've thought that these kids would use the music from Liberation for their performance, and that the soundtrack composer would coincidentally come across their video on YouTube!
It's a small world indeed.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberations OST [Youtube]
2013東石國中樂旗隊成果發表會【淬鍊】旗隊表演 [Youtube]
Thanks for the tip, @Winphillips!
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Eric is a Beijing based writer and all around FAT man. You can contact him @FatAsianTechie@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @FatAsianTechie