Chimpazilla Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 (edited) Contact Info: ReMixer name: djakestudio Aka: Dallen Robinson Email: Web site: djakestudio.wix.com/dallenrobinson Userid: 33233 Submission Info: Name of game(s) arranged: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Name of arrangement: Of Bunnies and Bosses Name of individual song(s) arranged: Turned Into a Rabbit!, and Boss ~BGM~ Additional game info: Already on site Original soundtrack: Already on site My comments about the mix: I liked playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as a kid and still enjoy it today so decided that music from the game would be a good first choice for me to arrange. This arrangement began as I had the theme Turned into a Rabbit! pop into my head one day and I had the thought, “That would make some cool action music!” After beginning an arrangement and getting through about the first thirty seconds of music, I realized that the one theme alone would be good but it would work better if I added another theme. Enter the Boss ~BGM~. After lots of work, I ended up with the piece as it currently stands. Some of my favorite parts of the piece are those that I wasn’t expecting. When I had about two minutes’ worth of music I hit a wall and couldn’t decide where to go next. It was then the solo piano and percussion introduction came to be and I think it sets the tone well for the piece. The ending also came somewhat unexpectedly as a result of the piano intro. Once the introduction was complete I knew I wanted to do a similar thing to end the piece but adding in the entire orchestra. The results create both a “home” to start from and “home” to return to that gives the piece not only a stratifying return to the beginning but a victorious finish. Edited June 14, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Didn't recognize any Zelda from the intro, but did recognize the rabbit theme at :52. There's definitely some uncanny valley stuff going on with the brass and string articulations, especially the strings where things sound thin and not quite realistic. For example, I thought the brass from 1:43-2:31 & 2:34-3:02 sounded pretty flat. The added vox at 2:34 was a nice touch to help mask those issues, where neither it nor the brass sounded mega-realistic, but together they masked each other's issues some. The percussion was a highlight though, and 3:03 had good airy mallet percussion to fill out the soundfield. I think the arrangement's creative and otherwise fine, and it's possible some of the other Js wouldn't have a big enough problem with the sample realism. I felt, however, that this needs one more pass on the realism of the brass, strings, and piano, in that order of importance/necessity. I'm not a musician, so I have no choice but to leave it to other judges to better articulate the production issues there, but it's a very good start, Dallen, with a solid arrangement that mainly needs some production TLC. In particular, if the brass work had more body and realism, this would be much more of an easy call. Good work so far, though! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Interesting combination - bunny and boss. They work pretty darn well together, though - the bunny theme has a certain amount of drama that you bring to the front when you incorporate it, which is pretty cool. I think the arrangement works well. As a side note: the piano in the beginning of the track seems to be a variation of the Bunny theme. It follows that same shape as the bunny source, but adds a few extra notes for the sake of interest and/or variety. I think it all checks out pretty solid. The orchestration is pretty sweet, but there are a few elements that don't ring well for me. The piano sequencing sounds a little stiff - there's little dynamic variation, and the notes all sound too quantized (save for the slowdown at the end of the intro - that was nice). I agree with Larry on the brass, as it sounds static and mechanical, as it stands. The choir sample sounds weak, especially when the vocal stabs come in. They just don't have enough power behind them to make an impact. I really like the soft mallets on the Marimba at 2:13, though - it gives a nice solid backing to the track. I forgot that you could do that with the Marimba, and you sequenced it in a pretty convincing way. I think I agree with Larry on this one - it's very close, but I think the humanization could use some more TLC. Great direction of this one, though! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think the main problem you have here is a bit of stiffness in your performances. The piano is quite robotic (as exemplified at the start of the track), and the drums are very to the grid. At 0:50 when we change up the pace, things continue with rigid sequencing. I don't mind the contrast of sounds you have going on here, even if some are more convincing than others. Your brass as Larry mentioned is probably the weakest link, which I think is made worse by the lack of humanisation. Your arrangement continues to change up as you go along which I'm a fan of and appreciate the work you've done there. I enjoyed the breakdown during the middle of the track to give things a breather, with the lighter instruments taking over - a great technique. I enjoyed the extended outro from 4:30 onwards, it was a nice way to wind down the track - most people struggle finding a way to end things but you did a good job here. TBH, I feel a pass of humanisation across this mix is really all you need here. Sure the samples could be better but they're largely passable in my opinion. Your sequencing is strong otherwise. Give this another look. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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