Liontamer

Original Decision Remixer name: Bluelighter Real Name: Guillaume SAUMANDE ID forum: 30998 Game & Songs: Astérix (Game Boy) – Helvetia & Title Screen & Secret Level Composer: Alberto Jose Gonzalez Helvetia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4S2vXj5quc Title Screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE0PnZAI7s Secret Level: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0UXZ7J1AVc Comment: Hi! With these themes, I wanted to get something sunny, exotic and funny One year after the first version, I make a new attempt on this mix. My first post was based only on Helvetia’s theme. I’ve had on it major critics on the arrangement, too close to the original. In this version, I’ve completely rethought the first arrangement, by including two other sources: Title Screen (that well marry with Helvetia's Theme IMO) and a little of the Secret Level. In this version, I’ve worked to get a better orchestration, but keeping the first spirit: rhythm of circus music; exotic consonances with marimba and pizz; and still an accent on clavichords. I've after applied a small correction (trumpets at 1'27); new version posted the 13rd of october. I believed it was possible to bring some minor retouches in some cases. They were in staccato in the first version and didn’t stand out enough IMO. Now, I find the result better. All sounds are made by Finale, except drums and marimba done by FL. So, for the next time, I understand I’ve better to contact directly a judge than posting a new time to OCR. Sorry for the inconvenience. Tell me if this update can be considered. Hope you like this arrangement Guillaume

Alright, Vinnie, that sounds like the right call. You definitively gave it a good go with the WAV, but if there's no sequencing/source files to work with, it just limited what you could do to spruce it up. Derek, especially nowadays, it's not often we pull back a direct post nomination, so we're sorry the outcome changed. We do include a disclaimer when direct post nominations are sent out, but we still don't mean to wrongly get anyone's hopes up or piss anyone off through a retraction. As the panel's collectively said, the arrangement quality is clearly there, but the lack of realism in the sound really undermines that arrangement quality and we're looking for reasonable execution on both the arrangement and production levels. Seriously, do consider what other avenues you may have to turn out a fuller, more realistic-sounding performance of this piece, including asking for help in the Music Composition & Production or Recruit & Collaborate forums, as it's a great arrangement that just needs another level of TLC. If someone reads this thread, and realizes this arrangement is clearly a pass, they may be more inclined to offer their help.

After opening up very conservatively until 1:04, the arrangement ended up (finally) ended up doing something different with the tempo and dynamics to stand apart from the original. At 2:06, it went back to the original tempo but with some further additive writing to help give it it's own interpretation until the slowdown and finish at 3:09. I would have loved to have heard this go in more interpretive direction, and I'm not sure I could give it a YES on the arrangement even if the sound quality and realism of the piano sample was on point. It does do some things to stand apart from the original, but that's mostly in the middle, and for only about 60 seconds. About 2/3rds of this sounded pretty cover-ish with the same tempo, time signature and overall mood, and merely adapted to piano, so I didn't really get a sense of it standing apart from the original. Coupled with the piano realism issues that Deia, OA & Palp pointed out, I'm definitely not on board yet and need to hear an improved version before I could pass this. Maybe no one co-signs with me on the arrangement needing some additional levels of interpretation, but the sound quality and humanization of the piano both need work. Palp's right that it doesn't compare favorably to any recent piano piece we have. NO

Source usage: :45.25-2:15.5, 2:48-2:54, 3:11-3:17, 3:32-3:38, 3:46.25-5:15 - way over the line Cool arrangement approach. Definitely agreed with Emu on how the approach isn't meant to be dramatic twists and turns. This piece has got great energy, a solid arrangement, and cool production. The middle section basically does its own thing, bookended by the other two sections working extensively with the source. During that middle, it sounded like Alex used a J-E-N-O-V-A cameo from 2:48-2:54, 3:11-3:17 & 3:32-3:38 (which I'll count, even if it wasn't intentional, since the notes were dead on). The tempo's pretty steady, but this ended up evolving nicely and doing a great job of giving off a retro-futuristic vibe, like something you'd hear in a dark, 80's vision of the future, kind of like Blade Runner. Maybe Tron too (wouldn't know, haven't seen it). Good stuff, Alex! YES

As far as the SNES instrumentation being outside the scope of the site, that's more for Dave to decide, though there are certainly more production options available compared to the 2A03. I don't have any inherent problem with going this route, though I'd say for this piece, if you assumed it would be a pass on the arrangement, I'd argue the sound quality (in this case, realism) of the instruments would need to be improved. But we take everything on a case-by-case basis. Getting to the substance though, I love the arrangement here in the SPC700 style of the SNES, and I don't mean to dismiss any of the modifications. But at it's core, it holds pretty fast to the original's structure, tempo and mood, as a demake-style cover, with the aim being to replicate the original fairly faithfully and adapt to this instrument set. Whether of not the instrument set was strictly from the SNES ends up being a moot point, since the arrangement is too conservative overall for our standards here. That doesn't diminish from how cool this arrangement is, William, but it does fall outside the scope of what we're looking for on account of being too straightforward of a cover. NO

What's the gameplan now, i.e. would anyone like to help lift this up further or can get the actual source files to this from Derek? Vinnie, you wanna try to spice this up further?

Yeah, this is a great start, and I actually didn't mind the approach de-emphasizing the melody, as the source tune structure and writing was still pretty apparent. I thought this was pretty close. The opening was definitely hot with some basic but good rhythmic changes to the source. 1:24's section had the blandest, most generic sounding synths of the entire track without some creative processing and effects to flesh the sound out and make it sound like a good amount of effort and creativity was invested. Leading up to 1:40's transition, this quick section felt pretty aimless and off-key with the rest of the song. Tighten this up. There's some subtle dynamic changes here from section to section, but the textures were ultimately pretty basic. The slow, constant tempo left the basic textures here sounding pretty exposed, and also made it seem like the track dragged and was repetitive, even though no group of sounds stayed in place for more than maybe 40 seconds or so. I think DA and OA are on point here: this sounds like a very strong base, but the second half lost steam, and I also though that one brief dropoff from 1:26-1:40 was sloppy and the low point of the piece. If you can create a bit more dynamic contrast with some new ideas, that could lift it up to a YES. It's definitely something you can improve, CJ, so give it a shot! Good potential here! NO (resubmit)

Gar, your idea needs at least a few proofs of concept to show a substantive example of this kind of analysis you're aiming for, and how thorough it would be. Sounds like it has potential though. It's worth noting that this sounds like analysis that, when essentially completed, probably should be merged into respective Review threads, since thought out analysis of ReMixes does belong there alongside non-analytical reviews. Music Composition & Production makes sense for the homebase of this project though.

The piano sequencing was the weakest bit, but otherwise loved the variations and dynamics here. Nice job bookending this with the focus on strings, though IMO the resolution at the very end didn't quite work. I'm making it short and sweet while I'm multitasking, but this was a great exploration of the credits theme here for sure. Keep 'em coming! YES

There's a light pop at 1:14, just noting. Yeah, the depth Vinnie was able to give to the soundscape was a significant step up as far as the sound quality. I wouldn't be angry if this version passed. That said, I'm with Emu that the most unrealistically sequenced areas still stick out like a sore thumb. It's still below the bar of realism should make it as far as sequenced piano, as anything with speed or forcefulness here is immediately sounds very fake. I hate to be the bad guy on a direct post candidate that was pulled back, but the touchups on the WAV can't fix significant problems with the sequencing and lack of realism. We don't need million dollar samples OR grand piano recordings, but this still needs a step up. Still a NO.

Yeah, he didn't read it. The standards-related issue was the incorporation of a non-VGM song, and that was the only issue on that level.

Don't have much to say other in following up the others other than nice job giving this a unique style and really making it your own, Forrest. Lots of great creativity and ear candy here. Some people will hate this, and I'll hate them BACK. Welcome aboard! YES

Yep. We'll fix it up with the next update along with some other minor tagging corrections and other higher encodings. Andy, djpretzel already compiled a detailed list of the revisions: http://ocremix.org/info/Torrent_Update_v20121012 For now, those aren't in the plans. We'll see how many WAVs I can pull together over time.

The piano sample in the opening was a bit thin and exposed. The plucked string samples are a Blue Magic trademark at this point, but the quality & realism could really stand to be stepped up by now; not meant to be a shot at Damon, far from it, but IMO they lack of realism was too exposed. I thought the rhythmic alterations here were an interesting concept, though on the first listen, the direction felt VERY scattershot and unfocused. Once I listened to it a second time and was familiar with the structure, that uneasiness went away and I could clearly hear how everything clicked. Great source tune choice, and a cool spin on it for sure. YES

Blue Magic Damon Campbell Website: User ID: 4656 Submission Info: Chrono Cross Song of Ruin part 2 Chronopolis Original song Youtube link: http://youtu.be/OFT6Ox4Wiyc Hey everyone! This is one of my older remixes that I never really bothered to submit before. I was kinda disappointed with the EQing and I decided to wait until I'm a little bit better at mastering before I tried to submit it. I wanted to wait until I got some reviews on my WIP from the mods before I sent it in, but there's not too much action going on in the WIP forums, so I'll just use my own judgement. Its been a long time since I last played CC, but there were a few tunes from the game that really stood out to me and stuck with me throughout the years. So, I'm attempting to create a series of remixes of those particular tracks to pay homage to the creators of this awesome game and soundtrack. Honestly, I'm not even sure what genre this remix would even fit in. I kinda came up with the concept on the fly by mixing a few different styles together. It was more of an experiment than anything, and I was really hesitant on submitting it since I've been having difficulties with my previous submissions. I decided to stick it up on YouTube and Soundcloud to see how people feel about it and I got some pretty positive feedback, so I decided to tweak a few things here and there and send it in. Here goes nothing... Thanks, Damon

Something about the way this is executed just isn't quite clicking, IMO. Which is a shame, because it's clearly a very clever intertwined combination of these 3 themes. It's crazy, because I like the choice of throwback sounds, but after a promising intro, something in the execution was just really, really flat and unexpressive, especially once things kicked up at 1:46. It's certainly difficult to articulate, and I feel like Palpable would probably say what I'd LIKE to say in the best way, with DarkeSword also being able to just call what's not clicking here in four sentences of less. Just some other quick notes, 3:14's section got a bit buzzy and cluttered somehow; not sure what happened there. The Schala lead also sounded flat. I liked the finish at 4:40 though with a much cooler Super Metroid lead, which DID sound more expressive. I'm going to wait for some other points of view to come in on this one; it's a very interesting arrangement approach, but it's just not working for me, and I don't want to say NO until some outside perspective on what's potentially not gelling here. EDIT (11/9): See, what did I tell you? Palp nailed it; I wasn't able to articulate the lack of detail in the sequencing or the repetitiveness of the percussion writing. He's explained the drawbacks well and in detail, Paris, so work on those larger issues, make sure the weaving of the themes clicks completely, and give this another go. It may not pass, but it sincerely worth a shot. NO (resubmit)

Little help? - LT Remixer Name: MasterParis Real Name: Paris Stalker Website: www.facebook.com/ParisMusic www.soundcloud.com/par-5-1 User ID: 46763 Games Arranged: Mega Man II, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger Name of Arrangement: The Brinstar Bubbles In Schala's Mind Name of Individual Songs Arranged: Bubble Man's Theme, Upper Brinstar, Schala's Theme Comments: I know these songs haven't exactly been short of remixes individually, "Not another Schala's Theme!" is probably one of the things that go through people's minds. I love these games and their music, but I had to do something different to make a ReMix of any of them stand out on their own merits. After spending a lot of time deliberating what goes together, I managed to get these three songs all on one beautiful scale, after I suddenly realised how well Upper Brinstar's bass and strings go with Bubble Man's underlying melody. Schala's theme was just a natural fit after spending a whole day singing various other songs with these two in my head trying to find the final key. Hopefully everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it! ------------------------------------------------- - Schala's Themehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFDwzQyPRhQ - Brinstar - Plant Overgrowth Area http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G8XQ89risA - Bubble Man Stage

Great source tune choice! The mixing was a bit muddy, and the beat/clap patterns were pretty vanilla and a bit empty-sounding, which both dampened the intended energy here. I recognize that clap pattern as used in DarkeSword's Sonic Adventure 'The Twinkle Park Classic', though it hasn't aged well. The synth lead at :08 was a bit shrill, but as far as positioning, it should have been more upfront compared to the beats/claps. The background string sequencing introduced at 1:24 sounded slightly behind the beat, but it wasn't exposed it a way where that promimently stood out. The sound of it was on the fake/potentially exposed side, but it served a good purpose where it was. There were only brief dropoffs of the beats from 1:19-1:38 & 2:10-2:18; otherwise, they were kind of on auto-pilot and not really energetic enough to withstand the repetition. Some further creative dynamic contrast throughout the piece would have kept things fresher. The switchup at 2:57 was SO MUCH COOLER as far as the instrumentation ideas. The piano sample lacked realism, but otherwise this sounded like a much cooler, more cohesive direction to take the theme, and made for a nice finish. There's potential here, but right now the beats are bland and coasting and the mixing feels like more of the higher frequencies are muted. The arrangement definitely goes in the right direction as far as interpreting the theme, but there's something lacking in the dynamics and mixing so far. Hopefully the other Js can give more targeted feedback that could strengthen this. Personally, I think it would take a significant amount of work to pull this up where it needs to be, but it's very promising for a newcomer, and shows good potential for the future. I hope you won't be discouraged, Shelbi, and will continue learning and improving your music. NO

Remixer name: xTrickyWolfy Real Name: Shelbi Winstead Website: http://www.youtube.com/user/xTrickyWolfy?feature=mhee http://ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=49772 Name of the game: Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic Heroes Name of arrangement: Hanging at the Castle Name of individual song: Hang Castle Link to original song: How it was made: The program used to make this track is Mixcraft 5. The song is the bgm for "Hang Castle", from the game Sonic Heroes for the Gamecube. The instruments and different tracks were recorded on the program using an Alesis Q49 Midi Keyboard. I learned this song by ear and has always been one of my favorite video game tracks of all time. I wanted to give it a unique upbeat mood because I don't believe it has been done before. It gives Hang Castle a different feel that soothes me. Maybe others will like it as well.

Starts out pretty conservatively, but quickly adds some original instrumentation at :06. Really love how Zas personalizes the instrumentation at :19. The structure remains the same as the original, but Zas really makes the sound his own, employing loads of instrument variations, herbs and spices. The soundscape was noticeably cluttered/messy from 1:26-1:46, IMO, which was unfortunate. The old-timey muted trumpets at 2:04 were precious, there's no other way to say it. I thought the volume was a bit much compared to my control track, but it wasn't a huge deal, though the swell at 3:21 seemed to clip like a motherfucker. I wouldn't mind some other opinions on the mixing and levels just to verify or smack down my concerns there, but they were minor in the big picture. Ideally, I'd love to see those things touched up, but the call's pretty obvious to me. Lovin' it. YES

This one's a project track from Zas's Seven Years solo album. - LT http://zazmusic.bandcamp.com/track/i-cant-goron-ill-goron Remixer Name: Zas Name of Arrangement: i can't go on (i'll goron) Name of Individual Songs: Goron City (Ocarina of Time) Thanks for your consideration. As always you can leave the links up. ---------------------------------------

The opening didn't actually sound like Bubble Man, and the lyrics initially don't as well; nothing wrong with an original intro; just noting it. I like the overall sound to start, though the vocals immediately sounded too muddy and the timing, while not horrible or anything, was disjointed and behind the beat. I like the tone of the guitar though, and I like what you're going for with the overall sound. Source finally kicked in at :44. Nice handling of the melody vocals at 1:13. The airyness they have sounds sweet, but again, the vocals still sound too muddy and need to sound sharper. You'll need to EQ them so that they're not competing in the same frequency range as the guitars. Hopefully, a musician J can give you detailed advice. The arrangement was sounding a bit repetitive at 1:57; nothing that was a red flag, but there could have been some variation employed in that verse. The dropoff at 2:13 could have been an interesting transition towards the finish, but I felt the bass cameos of the other themes (2:21-2:35) were messy and out of left field with no synnergy; they merely broke the flow of the song without adding anything. Perhaps ice that and throw in a straightforward cameo of the beginning of the Bubble Man theme in. This is in a really good place to get some tweaks and pass. 1) Clean up the mixing so the vocals aren't bleeding into the other instrumentation. 2) Improve of get rid of the bassline stuff from 2:21-2:35, it just sounds out of place. 3) This one was the most minor issue for me, but tighten up the timing some as well. It may bother others more. Otherwise, the arrangement was a pretty solid pass aside from the hiccup at the end. Now the mixing just needs to be tightened up some for the win. Really sounding cool so far, Paragon! I know just getting it evaluated it has taken a while, so hopefully you still have the source files intact, but this is VERY promising and I hope you'll go for tweaking this! NO (resubmit)

Good evening! Got a submission for you. This is a Mega Man 2 rock song featuring synthesized vocals using the Vocaloid software. It was originally a Dwelling of Duels entry, but the mixing has been improved with some outside assistance (who wants to remain nameless, and who encouraged me to submit it to you). I originally wanted to make a wah-heavy "disco-rock" type of song, but somehow I would up making a bouncy little happy grunge number instead. The lyrics are just generic love song tripe which I translated into Japanese (and I don't speak Japanese, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the translation), so I'm not including them. They really shouldn't be the focus. Artist name: Paragon feat. Hatsune Miku (if you don't want to credit a fictional character with a performance, I understand -- just credit it to Paragon) Song title: This Love is Involuntary Game: Mega Man 2 Source song: Bubble Man's stage (along with bonus snippets of other MM2 songs in the bass interludes) Thanks! ---------------------------------------------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G8XQ89risA

Can't help but get a proud papa bear kind of feel listening to this. :'-) I'm certainly not djpretzel, but having been an OCR fan for 10 years and a judge for 8, hearing the skill and grace of the collaboration between Mansoor and Sabrina just fills me with a sense of pride for both them and how far this community has come. It's amazing to hear the diversity and talent of artists like these on a regular basis. Beautiful work.

Sheer elegance.