[Abadoss]

CMC: Conceptual Music Competition


This competition is based on the rules of the classic TOMC (Thematic Original Music Competition).

The CMC (Conceptual Music Competition) is designed so that each participant enters a piece of music based on a set theme. The participants take the theme and interpret it as they will to come up with something that fits. Any style can work, as long as it portrays a sense of what the theme is.

Feel free to be imaginative!

Each successive theme will be chosen by the winner of the previous competition. For example, say the theme of the last competition, CMC 35, was "Apoplexy" and the winner, Steve, submitted a piece that knocked the socks off of everyone, so he won. Steve then gets to decide the theme for CMC 36.

This competition is open to registered members of the forums of
OverClocked ReMix, VGMix, VGMusic, Gaming World, Young Composers, and GameDev.



CMC 31: Dogfight
"Enemy fighters dead ahead! Get your head out of the clouds, pilot, because you're about to test your skill, reflexes, wits, and digestinal fortitude. Whether you're a WWI fighter ace or a Man-Kzin starfighter jockey dodging flak or proton torpedoes, the rules of the game are the same: get on your enemy's six and blast him out of the sky. Good luck!" -Maquis

Results!:

• Text results and critiques

There are 5 entries for this round...

Omri Lahav - "The Few"

• "Dawn breaks across the distant horizon, it's faint glow reflecting upon the surface of the ocean. Only a handful of pilots are on the deck of the carrier this morning, the rugged few who volunteered. One by one they take off, under the shroud of autumn clouds. Morning dew shaking from the wings of metal birds as they soar - venturing into enemy territory, ever deeper into the heart of danger..."

knoguud - "Flying High"

• "Well, mine's supposed to start off with the jet doing some system checks, then some routine high-alt patrol... (pretty cruisey), then the 'dogfight' (for about 17 seconds worth), then back to the cruise as if nothing happened..."

Lucas LaVoy - "Die Blimp, Die"

• "'Lieutenant look! It's enormous!'
  As the clouds finally parted he could see that his gunner was right. The assault zeppelin was many, many times bigger than any aircraft he had ever seen. He glanced back at his gunner and flashed what he hoped looked like a confident grin.
  'Just makes it a bigger target. We'll be done with this that much sooner.'
  'But sir... what people have been saying... that it's invincib-'
  'Nothing's foolproof,' he shot back, 'Besides, you were at the briefing. The Theroese have put everything they have into this monster. If we bring it down that's it, the war's over.'
  The sunlight glittered on the wings of zeppelin's escort fighters as he heard the commander's voice crackle over the radio. 'You all have your assignments. Take out the propellers immediately. Delta wing break off and engage escorts. Everyone else, engage at will!'
  As the zeppelin's heavy guns opened up he wondered if any of them would fly away from this, and grimly reminded himself that if this mission failed, getting back alive wouldn't matter for long."

Sebastian - "Battle Near the Stars"

• "My song is all about a dogfight between starfighters and to two huge battleships. At first, the ships need to get close to each other.
  The little fighters are the first to the reach each other, but the real fight begins when the two big ships get involved. An epic battle evolves, where no mercy is shown.
  At the end both ships leave the battle field heavily damaged and its not clear who won the battle."

Hieran_Del8 - "Carrier Assault"

• "A fight between opposing carriers and their fighters in space. Song begins with the fighters approaching each other from a distance, then plasma cannons start firing. Song ends with the destruction of the enemy carrier (successful bombing run).
  
  Three main motifs. The battle motif (0:04 and 4:35), the dia ire motif (1:22), the tritone jump motif (first at 0:33). There's a variation on each of the motifs appearing throughout, including a heavily modified tritone jump motif (2:32, 4:07, 5:35)."

Voting Rules!:

• Voters will be allowed to pick one first place (3 points) and any number of honorary mentions (1 point). Only one set of votes from any one voter will be accepted and a person cannot vote for any one piece more than once. Corrections to votes, from the original voter only, will be accepted, but corrections will void the previous votes. Basically, a voter can vote and correct the vote, but only the final form of that vote will be counted. Send all votes to Abadoss by PM. Please include any and all constructive critiques (not to be confused with bashing) about them with your votes as well, so that there's always a sense of growth in the artform. If you wish to remain anonymous, just state so in your PM.

• To be eligible to vote, you must be a registered member of at least one of the participating forums, prior to the beginning of the voting period. In your PM or e-mail, please indicate which forum you are a member of and your username.

• The voting period will last from the moment the entries are posted in the thread to the Saturday of that week. The voting period for this round ends October 24, so be sure to spend some time really listening to the pieces.

• Any participant in the competition can vote, but not for their own pieces. However, in an effort to encourage voting among participants, any participant who votes will have 2 points added to his/her voting score (unless the participant chooses to be anonymous).

Official Rules!:

1. Each piece must be originally composed for this competition. Arrangements and remixes will not be accepted. (Pieces composed by the participant prior to the competition will not be accepted.)
2. Each piece must be 2:00 or longer and match the competition theme.
3. Only one entry per person. Collaborations will be allowed, but each collaborator may not submit any other pieces. (This also means that a person cannot collaborate on two or more different pieces at the same time.)
4. A link to the entry piece must be e-mailed or PMed to Abadoss prior to the deadline set for each competition. DO NOT POST THE LINK IN THE THREAD! However, feel free to post in the WIP:Other forum.
5. Important: Each file must be labeled accordingly: Composer_Name_-_Composition_Title_CMC#.mp3
   (For example, if Gabby Haines submits a piece called "Hope's Despair" to CMC 36, then her filename would be: Gabby_Haines_-_Hopes_Despair_CMC36.mp3)
6. MP3 file format is required. Know that even OGG will need to be converted into MP3. (If someone is unable to do so themselves, Abadoss would be willing and able to do it for them.)
7. Entries should be accompanied by a description and/or story to help listeners understand what the piece is about. (Not required, though.)
8. All entries must be submitted by Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 11:59 PM - PST, GMT-8.

You can find the competition threads for each forum listed below:

• OverClocked ReMix: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25556
• VGMix: http://www.vgmix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2190
• VGMusic: http://www.vgmusic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12539
• Gaming World: http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=80075.0
• Young Composers: http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/...ght-21997.html
• GameDev: http://www.gamedev.net/community/for...opic_id=548357

Good luck and have fun! :D

Previous CMCs: http://www.abadoss.net/CMC.htm

[godsp3d]

Wow, this one should be fun!

*wonders when boxed [academic] copy of FL Studio will come in...*

[Maquis]

*looks at theme description*

Er, how did "stomach fortitude" turn into "digestinal fortitude"? I mean, as portmanteaus go, that one's pretty slick, I'm just wondering... ;)

EDIT: Actually, now that I look at it, several things have changed from my original prompt. Is there a reason for that?

Enemy fighters dead ahead! Get your head out of the clouds, pilot, because you're about to test your skill, reflexes, wits, and stomach fortitude. Whether you're a WWI fighter ace or a Man-Kzin starfighter jockey, whether you're dodging flak or proton torpedoes, the rules of the game are the same: get on your enemy's six and blast him out of the sky. Good luck!

[Abadoss]

Just minor editing for grammar and effectiveness.

[Abadoss]

How's everyone doing with your pieces?

[godsp3d]

Originally Posted by Abadoss

How's everyone doing with your pieces?

Well, perhaps I'd just like to say hello.

I'm a college student (CS / Psych major) with little remixing experience but a lot of love for OCR. I JUST bought fruity loops and will be picking it up from the post office tomorrow (lol) - maybe i will or maybe I won't submit anything this round, as I do homework and try to figure out how to use FL Studio, but the CMC is such a cool concept to me I'm sure I'll turn out something eventually :)

Keep writing! I actually listen to this stuff

godsp3d

[Abadoss]

Well, we've got two so far. More coming in I hope?

[Abadoss]

Tonight's the last chance to get your piece in! Good luck!

[Abadoss]

The entries are posted! Time for you to vote!

[Abadoss]

The results are in! Stay tuned for the next round!