*NO* Tomb Raider & Tomb Raider Anniversary 'Lara Croft & The Path of the Tiger'

ReMixer Name: AngelCityOutlaw

User ID: 45057 (I think)

Games Remixed: Tomb Raider Anniversary, Tomb Raider

Arrangement Name: Lara Croft & The Path Of The Tiger

Name of Song(s) ReMixed: Tomb Raider Main Theme

Here's the sources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpMiAwDovRM

ReMix Link:

So, after I beat Tomb Raider Anniversary, I started reading the absolutely killer TR comic series by Top Cow. I had just finished reading "The Trap" storyline, which follows Lara's Adventures in Tibet. Being a criminal mastermind, I got this crazy plan: Why not take the Tomb Raider theme and put a chinese spin on it? So, the goal was to give this an adventure movie type feel. I was primarily influenced by the Anniversary version of the theme, because while the song has many different parts, you can still pick out the main melody somewhere in most all of them without it getting too repetitive. I kinda tried to go with a similar idea, but at the same time use parts from the first Tomb Raider because it has some memorable parts aside from just the main melody. Actually, Anniversary is a remake of the first game I think so it's like I'm remixing two different games that are actually the same game....whoa.

Lara Croft would basically be the perfect woman if she was real. Think about it, She's hot, British, adventurous, smart, and has an unlimited supply of money. What more could ya want?

Fingers crossed that this will make it and even if it doesn't, a big thanks to Archangel, Gar23, and Devastus for their great feedback in the WIP Forums. Tomb Raider is a series that's special to me. When I was kid, my Aunt bought me Tomb Raider II. I was too stupid to figure out how to get out of the pit at the start of the first level, but I still had hours of fun doing flips and shooting at tigers. When the tigers were dead, I shot at nothing.

In total, this will be my third submission to OCR....the last two failed.

Do you love me YET OCR!?

This guy hates OCR judges.

NO

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Opening is really nice, and there use of the orchestral elements is tastefully done. Love the horn use at 1:06 is a great touch. Ethnic instruments are also used very well. At 1:13 the higher elements could come down a bit so as not to fight with the melody. The 1:26 transition is pretty awkward, gotta say, and the higher string elements are still a little too loud. I like the soundscape overall, just needs some level adjustments. The next transition is much better, and the flow works pretty well. Nice build up to the silence, and then back into the main theme. It's a little cliche, but it works.

Not feeling the fade-out at all, and I really wish you'd put a more solid ending in there. As is, the fade's pretty quick, and doesn't feel natural. Curious what the other judges think, but I might want to call that conditional if they agree. The rest is done well, and while some minor adjustments would help, I think it's good to go as is (pending the ending).

YES (maybe conditional)

I agree with Deia about those high staccato notes being too loud, and the articulations/sequencing was really stiff. the worst example are those repeated notes at 1:33, and again at 1:43. sounds completely unnatural and fake. the velocities and note timings need to be edited slightly in order to make it sound a little more fluid, and you might be able to change the articulations on individual notes if your using a fancy enough sampler or plugin.

the overall soundscape had a sparseness to it, but aside from those string stabs, the instrumentation here was treated pretty nicely and felt cohesive and natural. the arrangement was pretty solid, and the tunes nicely adapted to the new instrumentation, the section at 1:26 in particular was excellent imo. not bothered about the fadeout, it sounded just as awkward and unnatural as every straight-up fadeout, so no effect on my vote there. however, I do think those string stabs are a tad bit atrocious, and one more pass at 'em (just lowering their overall gain and humanizing the sequencing) would satisfy me. for now however, I unfortunately have to go

NO(resub)

Source usage ended up being easy to timestamp: :03.75-:33, :54-:57.5, 1:13-2:05, 2:53.5-3:25 = 116.25 seconds

No question of using the source tune enough; it's significantly over 50%, but I had to double check.

Seemed to open strong, albeit a pure cover with the Eastern instrumentation. Finally picked up at :34. I could see why the strings were a bit of a bother. They're distant-sounding and the attacks were ending up sounding fake to a discerning ear, though serviceable. Most casual listeners wouldn't mind, and I don't think they were a huge deadbreaker.

I see where halc's coming from on the arrangement, but I wasn't as impressed, so my criticisms are coming from a different angle. The backing harp writing was pretty similar in structure and tone with the original, so the level of interpretation felt lacking for extended periods of time (e.g. 1:13-2:05). I mean, that original harp line is awesome. If you're going to copy it with weaker but very similar instrumentation, it'll still sound good, but anyone can do that.

The fade-out didn't bother me substantially, but it did sound like the volume came down a bit too fast.

The original sections flowed well and pieced together nicely with the arrangement. None of the transitions bothered me either. If there were a way to make the harp portions more interpretive, that would rock and make this a more solid call. As is, I'm feeling a weak NO, but it's a NO nonetheless. That said, this is clearly pointing in the right direction, and may make it. Good luck with the rest of the vote!

I lie somewhere in between halc and Larry on this one. The string stabs bother me only when they're playing the highest notes. The sample you're using just doesn't have a natural articulation in such high octaves. The riff at 1:43 is the worst offender.

I like the arrangement here, it may not necessarily be an improvement on the source, but it has a firm grasp on what made the original theme so great and utilizes those great melodies well. There's some aspects that take this above and beyond the source, though, such as the drum programming or the adaptation for a more energetic style. Despite some weaker samples and and an overall-thin soundscape, I feel like this is a worthy take on the source that can stand on its own merits.

I'm cool with this!

YES

I listened to Angel's arrangement before the source tune as I've been doing lately, and I was disappointed that it was similar in instrumentation and mood during the harp sections. Larry was really right on the nose with that criticism. This is especially problematic to me because the original is arranged and produced so nicely, and this doesn't quite measure up.

I think when you take that in conjunction with some production problems (the repeated string stabs being the biggest offender) I can't pass this. I like the ideas you've added but I think you need to go a little further, and tightening up the realism will help too.

NO (resubmit)

I definitely feel this is close, and has some cool stuff going on. The instrumentation used was great, and I think that with some minor humanization tweaks, this will be on the front page sooner rather than later. I agree with some of the judges that the ending is a bit abrupt, and the harp sections could be a little further personalized. It's very close, so please se this one through!

No, please resubmit

The production is holding this track back. The lead flute is mixed way too shrill. For what is essentially a very natural instrumentation, the parts tend to mixed too bright and thin. The strings are also used somewhat unnaturally: you write faster parts for the strings than the articulation allows, creating a very unnatural sound.

The arrangement is pretty cool, but the transitions are somewhat jarring and lack continuity.

NO