[DarkeSword]

Originally Posted by Big Giant Circles

Hey Mr. Sword,

This message is in regard to my recently rejected submission, "Beginning of the End of the Beginning" for the game "Final Fantasy Adventure."

First of all, I really appreciate your constructive comments on my remix. I'll have to admit that at the time I submitted the mix, I didn't think anything could really be done better. Thanks for the advice (from you and the other judges as well) as I think I've tweaked a good tune into (hopefully) a great one.

The purpose of this PM is not quite to declare my resubmission, but rather to get your personal opinion of what may potentially be my official resubmission. I read the advice from the judges multiple times, and as far as I can tell, I have tweaked, modified, mixed, and fixed the mentioned quirks with my remix. You can access it here:

Allow me to point out a few specifics, if you don't care to read them :). I condensed the intro, as I was leaning toward the idea that it might be a little too drawn out, even before that was mentioned, so no problem there. In regard to your comments about the reverb, I adjusted/removed any that "dirtied-up" the spectrum, as far as I can tell. (Thanks for pointing that out). I did make the drums a little "stronger and more impactful" as well. I brought out the bass line as well, because I myself am especially fond of its syncopation and energy.

Here's my hangup: in an effort to appease Vig, whose rejection was based on the arrangement "not being strong enough", I did rearrange a wee bit, and I need your opionion particularly on the piano part at 2:20. You see, I took 2 tracks from the game and merged them together. The piano solo is the 2nd half of the 1st track. I tend to be very cinematic in my mind when I'm thinking out music and arranging/composing, and I kept thinking back to the game. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the story line, and I won't waste your time explainging it to you, but the main theme of my remix is supposed to be your typical intense boss-battle music. The final villian you fight in this game used to be an ally of the main character. I keep envisioning in my mind a fiery duel between the two, going back and forth between the two sides as to who will be victorious. As the fight transitions, I picture the cinematography slowing down, and cutting out all sound, as a brief flashback runs through the hero's mind (hence the muffled, far-away effect i gave to the piano) and then fades as he is yanked back into full awareness of the raging battle. Kind of "the lull before the storm". (So dramatic, I know, lol)

Anyway, my hangup is this: do you think piano solo enhances the mix, or does it throw it off completely? I've listened to it enough to turn my ears blue, and I still can't decide.

If you feel this mix is ready to be called my official resubmission, by all means, throw it out before the panel. If the piano solo really is a major hangup, it can be remedied fairly painlessly. I just wanted to get your input first.

I apologize for the long message, but I really do appreciate all you (and the OCR team) do, including your own personal mixes.

~Jimmy a.k.a. Big Giant Circles

*By the way, I'd like to rename the mix "Begin the End of the Beginning". If that is too long, then "The End of the Beginning" will do fine as well.

Old decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=41999

Wasn't sure whether to drag that other thread out of Decisions or just make a new one, so I decided to just make a new one.

I liked the initial submission, and any issues I had with it were resolved. This mix has a great beat, cool sounds, and is very fun. Reminds me a bit of Willed Assault by Ziwtra. Good stuff from BGC.

YES

[Protricity]

Typically resubmissions warrant a new thread.

[DarkeSword]

Originally Posted by Protricity

Typically resubmissions warrant a new thread.

Yeah I figured; it's just that his was rejected so recently that I wasn't sure. Oh well.

voteplz fgt

[Liontamer]

3:07-3:20 was noticeably cluttered as two tracks merged, but other than that, solid work. The intro got condensed so it didn't meander around so much, some nice ambiance and subtle support additions were apparent throughout the track, and the beatwork was thickened up yet scaled back noticeably. A very nice revision that takes care of many of the issues. I would have preferred the segue into the piano at 2:19 to start crisp and gradually move into the more muffled/far-away sound, which I thought would have fit more comfortably with the imagery Circles elaborated on in his note to DS, but I didn't mind the sound of the piano since Jim had a good reason to make it that way. Excellent stuff, and I'm so glad you took some time out to check out the suggestions we had and use those to present a more balanced product. Everything works together much better, and I'm glad you came back, bro.
YES

I'm gonna have to get on the podium for a minute, because I had to say something about how glad I was to get this resubmission. People who have been rejected, most notably old-school mixers, have tended to vilify the judges out of pride/tenure on OCR/reputation instead of taking an fair look at their material and seeing what could be improved. It's not a new issue, of course; it happens periodically. But it's much better when people like Big Giant Circles take a more objective look at a rejected submission instead of seeing people like FFmusic Dj (a friend of mine) and especially Alexander Prievert (who literally got 4 borderline NOs) start immaturely posting & complaining about the website, the judges, or DJP when they could improve and refine their efforts. No one here's trying to shoehorn or homogenize anyone's work; if people would be willing to address the technical and/or structural issues with their rejected submissions and resubmit, I feel that the community, fans, and especially artists all benefit from the acceptance of a stronger piece of music. BGC has a resubmission that he can look back on in time and personally feel more comfortable about, and that's one important goal the panel collectively wants when a mix from either an established mixer or a borderline mix is rejected.

[Malcos]

Oh this is much better, I like the piano bit, it adds more dynamic movement to the mix. Definitely a yes.

YES

As I said last night on IRC, I want every mixer to look/ (sound?) their best, that's part of what we do. If we don't think that a particular mix does a remixer justice, we will say so, it benefits everyone. Just wanted to echo what Liontamer said really.

[Protricity]

Song is way overcompressed. Both on high volume and headphones it makes the song sounds extremely cluttered and annoying. Drums are too loud, lead is too weak and quiet. Compression kills the flow, and destroys the lead.

2 repeats and a piano section. While I appreciate the style of the song, it only progresses a bit. Not a big deal, but this song could use more direction rather than original + drums * repeat.

Borderline NO. If the compression issue was fixed, it'd be a borderline yes. Lead is just too weak, drums too overbearing. Beyond that, I think the original melody wasn't really brought out too well in the beginning. The original chords and dynamics are basically lost in this minimal representation of chimes and square waves.

NO

[Vig]

an improvement, but what prot says is true, there's overcompression and clutter. the drums are too loud, the lead and piano are too quiet.

could be an easy yes, but i want the sound fixed. NO

[Liontamer]

Not to treat this like a mere WIP, but please hold off on any further votes on this one until late Friday at the most. Doesn't look like that should be a problem, but wanted to throw in the disclaimer regardless. Big Giant Circles is fairly new with FL Studio, so there will be one final update by him to attempt to address Prot & Vig's lead/drums balance issues if possible.


The lead's been brought out a bit more along with the piano break being louder and there are some very minor changes in the percussion. It may not necessarily satisfy Prot & Vig's NOs, but I feel this was an improvement. All the comments and criticisms I made in my decision (including the time references for this mix) remain the same.

[GrayLightning]

I'm voting on the new edited version submitted. I haven't heard the prior versions.

This reminds me strongly of Japanese synth compositions in the late 80s and early 90s. Very enjoyable, nice instrumentation, interesting combination of sounds. Really my only gripe here is some sections sound really cluttered.

It is nice to see more diversity with mixers doing synth work outside traditional techno/trance styles that we see so often in the panel.

Unique, enjoyable, and definitely passable. YES.