[djpretzel]

Submission 3:

Let me know if there is a problem with the links.

Song Title: Battle of the Hylian Hero
Artist: Random Hero
Game: Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link
Source Music: Palace Theme. (Main Map Theme and the Intro theme were also used sparingly)
Other Inspiration: “Battle of the Heroes” by John Williams from “Star Wars: Episode 3”
Composition Period: Sept. 05 to Dec. 23, 05
Email: cc971751@hotmail.com

This song took forever, going through several revisions and style changes. I even gave up on it for a period of about a month. It took hearing John Williams’ “Battle of the Heroes” to get the creative juices flowing again.
(The inspired parts are only minor though, a bit at the beginning and end).
I’m happy with the result. Hope you guys enjoy.

Ryan

[zircon]

Everything seems a little quiet here, especially for an orchestral song in this style. Maybe increase everything about 6db? Anyway, I can definitely hear what you were going for in regards to the arrangement. You've got some good ideas, for sure. However, they need some polish. The repetition of the same basic marcato string motif and chord progression becomes boring very quickly. You tend to rely on the strings for 'power' and energy, while most other instruments stay in the background. For a really dramatic orchestral piece, you want to have lots of different instruments working together, not just one or two. It seemed like there were really no instruments filling out the middle of the frequency range, which was disconcerting. Brasses or winds could have done a good job of that, orchestrated properly.

Your samples aren't the best but they seem to have been used well. I don't have any major complaints about the production. The main thing is simply the arrangement, and to a lesser extent, the structure; I think the piece needs more dynamics and a denser texture, as well as a more firm ending. Start with that and you'll be on the right track.

NO

[DarkeSword]

There's a huge difference between dynamics and being just plain quiet. Turn up the volume please.

The piano is totally out of place. All it's doing is doubling what you have in the strings and bells. It's useless; you're not writing a concerto! Scrap it and let the orchestra instruments handle everything.

I like the low string marcato stuff.

I agree with zircon; things got old fast with the melody and progression repeating over and over again.

I'd like to hear more out of the orchestra than just string stuff. You had some nice woodwind stuff near the very end, you should utilize that more!

You could really do a lot more with this kind of approach in terms of rhythm and meter. Try listening to "American Salute" by Morton Gould. It's a classic arrangement of the American folk song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." You can learn a lot just by listening to it.

A nice start, but there's so much more you can do. Keep at it.

NO

[Liontamer]

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/zelda2.zip - Tracks 1, 2 & 8

Though the samples didn't sound ultra-realisitic here, I thought thinks were working well, and wasn't sure where the criticisms were coming from. Everything seemed to start off pretty damn hot honestly. I liked the arrangement here, which was at least well-orchestrated in spite of the flaws.

3:29 had a somewhat sudden change in tone that I didn't think quite worked. Needs to have more of a thought out transition, though it gets somewhat less jarring on subsequent listens. Just as I said that, you switched the theme even more drastically at 3:58, I think even changing the time signature. Just too awkward.

Personally, I didn't mind the instrumentation methods here. I felt it was Ryan's place here if he really wanted to focus on the strings. But at the same time, if you're going to have other stuff come in on support such as the piano at 2:15, then give it a more prominent place within your background or forget it entirely. Nonetheless, it wasn't as big of a hit or faux pas with me.

I'm much more positive on the concept and execution of the piece than the others are. Frankly, I think some people would think we were crazy for turning this down as is, and to a certain extent I agree. While I could have stood for more interpretation rather than expansion, there were some nice interpretive elements occasionally in there, and I didn't think the source arrangement dragged at all despite being somewhat repetitive.

This is totally fine by me. I'd hate to seem like I have a mediocre orchestral standard, but I really can't see what's so lacking here. Maybe some unorthodox sound balance choices, but that's not really a problem for me.

YES

[GrayLightning]

Yeah StarWars stuff would be mixed far stronger than this one. This sounds more classical than anything with the quietness. Although the one strong dynamic build towards the end was a good one, the climax could have been stronger and bolder.

This mix has a lot of flaws, the orchestration isn't all there, but this was put together expertly and despite what it's missing in my book is as good, if not better than some of what we have in our latest 10 on the frontpage.

Flawed, but admirable. Great ideas and thoughtful execution. I wouldn't feel comfortable noing this. YES

[DarkeSword]

Originally Posted by GrayLightning

Yeah StarWars stuff would be mixed far stronger than this one. This sounds more classical than anything with the quietness. Although the one strong dynamic build towards the end was a good one, the climax could have been stronger and bolder.

This mix has a lot of flaws, the orchestration isn't all there, but this was put together expertly and despite what it's missing in my book is as good, if not better than some of what we have in our latest 10 on the frontpage.

Flawed, but admirable. Great ideas and thoughtful execution. I wouldn't feel comfortable noing this. YES

There's a difference between dynamics and just plain low mixing.

This is too quiet.

[GrayLightning]

Originally Posted by DarkeSword

There's a difference between dynamics and just plain low mixing.

This is too quiet.

Yeah I know. But I've heard a lot of classical pieces where the entire piece is not only lacking in dynamics but also very very quiet, depending on the recording/mic distance etc.

If one looks at the waveform, a majority of this mix hovers in the -22 db RMS range. A lot of classical recordings can actually be far quieter. It's not unusual for a lot of classical recordings to hover in the -30 to -40 db range.

I remember listening to one Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording where I had to raise my volume level 3-4x to even barely hear the entire thing. I want to know who they hired to master that one.

I too would have mixed this louder as I said in my vote, but, what's here doesn't bother me enough considering my above statement.

[JJT]

I'm in the LT/GL camp in this case.

This mix definetly has its flaws, but overall I think the mixer showcases a great deal of musicality and a good ear for arranging.

The piano sample stuck out to me as being pretty mechanical and lo-fi. The samples, though not spectacular, are not bad enough that they distract from the musical ideas being presented -- well this isn't true 100% of the time, but after i've finished listening, i don't find myself thinking "boy that was cheesy and synthetic," I find myself thinking "wow, that was pretty creative and well done. YES."

So in conclusion,

YES

[The Orichalcon]

Just turn the volume up if it's too quiet. I'd say this is more working on dynamics, since he's limited the mix to have the peak around 4:40 in to built up to the loudest part without risk of distortion or clipping.



As for the mix itself, conceptually it's brilliant. Great sound right the way through, great production on everything. It sounds close to being realistic, if maybe just a tad too dry for that. It is quiet, but that demon is easily slayed by turning up the volume! Take that, foul beast!

Enjoyable to listen to. A pox on the judges who said NO, this is getting a YES