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Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

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Everything posted by Liontamer

  1. I thought the introduction of the string leads at :54 brought mud into the mix; arguably not enough to drop it to NO, but enough to pull the quality down. Gotta clean up the production here. The percussion pattern didn't vary from :01-1:41; you have to stop coasting on your core percussion patterns and employ more variation there; your not doing so legitimately undermines the dynamics and interest of your pieces. 1:40 moved over into piano. Back to the repetitive percussion pattern all the way from 2:17-3:37. Acoustic guitar at 2:16 didn't sound real but had a good tone. However, the mixing was muddy again there, so the melody kind of bled into the background. Besides the percussion repeating too much, the arrangement of "Majula" was definitely developed and was interpretive enough. This has fewer issues than Dark Souls 'E.S. Gwyn,' and if this passed, I wouldn't be mad. That said, I thought the perc pattern's repetition for 75% of the piece was just far too long without variation/development, and the mixing could use another pass for better clarity and balance. In combination, those were dealbreakers for me. It's a great first pass, Alex, but it needs tightening up to be on totally solid ground. NO (resubmit)
  2. I basically had the same timing as Justin's breakdown, but counted less of the ending flourishes for the last Aquatic section. Pretty much all the purportedly liberal use of Rusty Ruin Act 2 didn't count in my opinion either. Besides, Pete's explicitly referring to Act 1 in his notes, so I think that other Act 2 connection is a stretch. :00-:48, 1:16.75-1:24, 1:26-1:42, 2:32.5-2:53.5 92.25 seconds or 50.13% overt source usage With the source usage checking out as dominant, this was just a formality. Awesome sounds, including the Mega Man X-style orch stabs first used at 2:22. Great energy and dynamic changes, and smooth interplay between the two source themes. Really enjoyed this collab, great work guys! YES
  3. I like the track in a vacuum, but that's not what the standards are. The DnB beatwork plodded after a while and never did ANYTHING different once it started at :32. Melodically, there's not much going on with the familiar countermelodic synth pattern from the source; it's just the same thing from :00 to 1:45 with no variation, then a brief drop and the same repeating lines from 2:09 to the end. It's not that there's 0 interpretation, but this just doesn't have ENOUGH variation and development of the interpretation beyond the genre adaptation. It's produced well, sounds clean, definitely a good listen, but neither the substance nor variation was enough compared to what we normally pass. This is an easy call for a resubmission; it's not developed enough. NO (resubmit)
  4. Seems to open up OK. If you listen to the initial backing pattern under the guitar, it's actually not the same as the source tune; rather, it's more of a soundalike rhythm instead of the actual pattern from the source tune itself. So that means none of the first minute counts as source usage IMO. That said, :59-2:30 used the source enough where it was clear it was dominant in the arrangement; just pointing out the opening didn't sound like the source, IMO. :59 finally brings in the theme. It's weird, there was a lot of volume, but the soundscape felt empty anyway. The vox(-like?) line in the background sounded dry and fake, and didn't pad the background enough. The bowed string accents then added at 1:11 sound supper muddy and just get swallowed up in the background. Grungy electric guitar lead sounds decent, but again, it feels really dry and it doesn't sound like it matches the production of the other elements. Then some brass padding joins in at 1:23 and the mixing sounds very VERY muddy and indistinct, with the original guitar work at 1:39 just drowing in a sea of mud. It's dry to start, then it just gets cluttered for the rest. 1:11-2:16 was just a mixing nightmare; you can't really make anything out, there's a lot of stuff sharing the same frequencies and blurring together. That's a shame, because the arrangement itself is fine and passable, IMO; it does more than enough to expand upon the original well, so I didn't agree that it was underdeveloped. I think it took a fairly minimalist source and was expansive and varied enough in the arrangement to be a pass. It's just the really, really sloppy mixing that's making this a no-go, David. It needs a massive clean up so that the parts are balanced and aren't muddying together. You've got a strong concept here though, hopefully you can take it to the Workshop and get some feedback to raise your production game. NO (resubmit)
  5. Definitely co-signed with Nutritious and Emunator. When the percussion joined in at :24, the mixing was very muddy and indistinct, the string timing was very rigid, and the drum pattern was plodding and repetitive. I also didn't feel the tone of the drums clicked with the rest of the instrumentation. You have a workable concept here, but the this needs a lot of fine tuning to humanize the timing, vary the perc patterns, and declutter & re-balance this mixing. I disagreed with Emu about the rigid timing going away after a while; I felt it came back in full force at the key change at 3:31 (and never really went away). I agree with Emu on not digging the ending. It DID sound trite. The second-to-last note at 4:47 was just super exposed, and didn't sound smooth. Thought there'd be a nice bowed string or just the piano (with a lot of airyness), just something that transitioned from forceful to delicate for the finish. At least, that's what seemed to be telegraphed but then didn't arrive, at least for me. So yeah, it sounds like it's a ton of criticism on this track when the core arrangement idea is promising, so don't take all this the wrong way. These bros gave some actionable advice on the production. I'll be honest: to take what's here and make it passable would definitely take some work, and I'm not sure it can be done. But if you can rise above it, Alex, your all-around game will go up considerably. Hopefully you give it a shot! NO (resubmit)
  6. No need, I got it! If you want any sort of Sega rally, mobilize yo' troops! It would have said Roll.EXE, since that's a different character. Will go with the other options then. Thanks for the vote!
  7. When Joel's vocals kick off at :14, I felt they sounded too clean/dry and also crowded out the instrumental part with the "Lost Colony" theme. Not really feeling the way that was mixed; seems too treble-heavy. It's not a problem vis-a-vis the standards, because I can hear the VGM loudly enough, but another pass at the mixing could be good. One reason for that is because from :59-1:30 it was even harder to hear "Lost Colony" due to how far it was pushed into the back; it was so quiet until 1:30, you could argue it didn't factor into the arrangement. At 2:05, I see where Redg was coming from, because I was waiting for something more creative and varied to happen with the sound design of the instrumental portions and that never really happened. That said, the overall presentation is solid, and the themes combined well with Scrap Brain from the Master System incorporated into the lyrics. YES
  8. Email admin@ocremix.org, that's always good!
  9. When the guitar came in at :17, it sounded SUUUUUUUUUUUPER lo-fi/distant and the production didn't make much sense compared to the clean (too clean) bowed strings where the sample's lack of realism was exposed. Dustin with the melt-up vocals for the ladies at :36, sounding great here (with the Auto-Tune touches of course). I loved the accents of the bowed string writing around the 1:00 mark; arguably too subtle for that part as well as the volume of the piano accents, but it clicks enough. Nice quick touch of melodic personalization around 3:07 with the guitar. The mixing/production nag on me a little, but certainly nowhere near enough to prevent us from passing this. Smart lyrics along with talented, heartfelt vocal delivery. I'd argue the ending was too quick and offered an opportunity for a longer, MORE TENDER instrumental close, but I'm just picking nits at that point. Nice job, man! YES
  10. This is my first time hearing this as well. The core pattern at the foundation of this does sound super close, but there was enough personalization in the other writing to put this above the line arrangement-wise. Also a fan of the swung rhythms at 1:32, nice touch! The second half's intensity really kept the arrangement interesting throughout. Infectious stuff here! YES
  11. They've done that. http://streetfighterxtekken.wikia.com/wiki/Bad_Box_Art_Mega_Man
  12. Friday, March 6 to Sunday, March 8 Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, MA http://east.paxsite.com Throw the tea in the sea, it's time for PAX EAST! OCR ventures back to BAHSTIN to attend the 6th annual PAX East! It's our 15th anniversary this year, so join the festivities with us! 1st PANEL! OC ReMix: 15th Anniversary Video Game Music Celebration! Bumblebee Theatre Friday, March 6th, 10:30AM Panelists: djpretzel Arrow DarkeSword DragonAvenger José the Bronx Rican Liontamer OA rnn 2nd PANEL! The Universality of Video Game Music Arachnid Theatre Saturday, March 7th, 2PM Panelists: Patrick Kulikowski Alyssa Menes Amanda Lepre Brett Elston Larry Oji (Liontamer) Shota Nakama Upon request, hugs.
  13. What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.
  14. DragoniteSpam was kind enough to record the main panel Q&A session and the "How to be a Pro Composer" panel. You can virtually be there! - OC ReMix Q&A - How to be a Pro Composer (presented by OC ReMix) [audio a bit difficult to hear at times, but generally OK]
  15. That was actually organized by k-wix, but it wasn't an OCR project. But we do list it in the database because we some ReMixes from the album were submitted and posted.
  16. We're actually in the middle of working on this. For now, it's incomplete, not integrated into the site's formal search options, and no longer being updated on the forums, but we have partial tags used on the forums covering all those things you mentioned. http://ocremix.org/forums/tags.php
  17. I'm keeping track of the totals as they come in. There's a 3-way tie for 14th place, so this is looking fun! The difference between 9th place and not making it at all is only 5 points. MOAR VOTES, keep 'em coming!
  18. Had to cancel at the last minute, but there's always next year.
  19. What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.
  20. My bad, you didn't even do nothin' in this track. ALL CREDIT TO OA! (Kidding, I stand corrected. What a team-up!)
  21. What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.
  22. What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.
  23. Fixed. But fingers crossed it can be resolved soon.
  24. I wish you guys would just give him what he's asking for instead of trying to give orchestral examples. For example, "Ancient Stones" would have been OK, but then it gets very loud around 1:15. "The Streets of Whiterun" is also good at the start and the end, but around 1:50 (if not by 1:20), I'd argue the additional part-writing makes the track too full and attention-grabbing (for spa BGM) until 2:30. Guys, it's difficult, but not THIS difficult. He's looking for very passive, low-key music; texturally, it shouldn't get too full at any point or have big changes in volume; it's supposed to be for a spa setting. I will come back to this later today and see if I can find something for you. There are some potentially usable tracks like , but I don't know if you'd find it too short/repetitive.EDIT: (possibly too dark)
  25. Not necessarily. In some cases, it's a matter of preference, and some people don't do apostrophe-S at the end of proper nouns/names that sound like plural words. http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp If you'd verbally say "Risky Boots's boat", do apostrophe-S, but if you'd verbally say "Risky Boots' boat" without the extra syllable, then forgo the S after the apostrophe. In this case, I'd lean away from apostrophe-S because I wouldn't say it that way, but it's not a huge deal either way, and it could reasonably be said either way.
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