derako

This isn't a remix of the 3rd movement. It's a piece that has a lot of Kefka theme to it but breaks away from the "Last Battle" so to speak. We wanted to bring out the craziness and unpredictability of Kefka's character while at the same time keeping the "epic" feel and taking references from classical venues. On a personal note, thanks for the kind words. I'll get through this just fine (i think)

I wanted to let you all know that I haven't been able to work on the movement too much lately. The reason for this is because my wife has decided to divorse me. It's a big mess and it's very painful. I'm going to be trying to work on the movement as much as I can but I can't guarantee that it will be done soon. Please bare with me and I will get it done. Thank you for your support. -Derek-

I like this one. Lots of progression building and counterpoint make this a feast for the ears. Very impressive use of samples, the brass especially. One note is the reverb issue.. for the size of the orchestra you are trying to convey, more reverb or convolution would have been a good choice. But overall very nice job.

I recognize them lol... :idea:

Hello! I'm excited to bring you our first demo. This covers the first 5:00 minutes of the piece. I challenge anyone to list any of the 9 classical references. Some of the instruments aren't sampled yet including: snare drum, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, and choir. So their still in softsynth form for now. Enjoy!! Sprachdemo01

Well I do have one worry and that is the length of the piece. It's 7:20 which is very long and it will be very challenging to get the mp3 below the size limit. Also if we do get it below I'm also worried that the sound quality won't be up to standards because of all the mp3 compression. One idea I had is that OCR may let us host the file for them. It would be a direct download from my site but I don't know if they would allow that. But it's an idea. Anyone else have any suggestions?

I've been working on the brass and have finished the trumpet, horn, and trombones... now I'm on to the tuba and woodwinds next. Just wanted to keep you all informed of my progress. It also keeps me accountable to working on it regularly. -Derek-

Yes it is

The official title will be "Also sprach Kefka"

Man this movement is crazingly awesome. Even though this doesn't follow the last battle of Kefka I'm hoping that the judges still approve it. I just got the strings wrapped up. Moving onto Brass and Woodwinds.

Hello all. Regarding the Cantata it's been a year and a half since we last worked on anything. SO Jeremy's and my new years resolution is to complete the 3rd movement. It hasn't been officially titled yet. If you have any questions about it fire away. Happy New Year everyone! -Derek- EDIT: Also Sprach Kefka is finished FINALLY!!! Download it below Also Sprach Kefka

Congratulations you guys!! Laura and I are very happy for the both of you! :razz:

Thanks for the comment. The slap stick sound is actually the taiko drum. It's a patch that has the drummer hitting the sides of the drum. Jeremy and I thought it would add dramatic effect.

I just submitted the resub. I hope they like this better. Click on the link to listen Devotion & Deception Resub

EDIT! Well maybe I spoke too soon. I have just finished up the 1st half of the resub and it does sound better. I changed a few things like the clarinet and made the strings sound more full at times. I pollished off with a nice layer of reverb and it adds a lot of depth. SO! I hope that this time the judges approve. -Derek-

I don't think it's ashame at all. I think the first half sounds very good as it is. It's almost like people have forgotten what a small chamber ensemble sounds like close mic'd. Also the timpani was one of the loudest instruments in my opinion. I set the volume so high on the timpani in the begining of mixing that it almost dround out everything else. So I decreased the volume ever so slightly.

Thanks. To be honest so did I but the judges didn't appreciate the first part so I'm re-doing it. It will also give me change to change a couple of things that I noticed after production so it's for the better. But thanks nonetheless. -Derek-

Hello all, I wanted to update as I'm almost finished with the first half edits. It was a complete overhaul basically. Also since I'm working full time again I haven't been able to work on it as often as I would've liked so it may be just a little longer before we submit it again. Take care and be well. -Derek-

Yes I suppose the dry small sounding ensemble didn't work out as well as we had hoped. You'd be unsettled if you knew how long it took me to get it to sound THAT good. But actually remixing it will give me an opportunity to improve on a couple areas that needed some help. Just adding reverb will make a big difference in the quality of the samples in the 1st half. The biggest change we're making is in the strings in the 1st. We're going to make them more ensemble like instead of solo strings. I'm still going to keep some of the solo elements there for dramatic effect but overall I think everyone will be happy with the result. Then everyone who listens to it won't fast forward through the 1st part hopefully

I got word today that our piece was denied on OCR which really bothers me but I understand their judgements. I'm going to take their adivce and try to fix or remix the first part to their liking and to Jeremy's liking. Hopefully after that we'll get er' posted. -Derek-

Damn... I never even knew this song existed which is kind of embarrassing seeing as I've been a member for over 2 years now. (one of the years under a different alias) Beauty - in every sense of the word. Coupled with the fact that I'm a syncopated rhythm buff and I love jazz, this song really appeals to me. Bravo! -Derek-

Good effort, however, I have relative pitch.. so I guess you already know how I reacted to the piece. Nevertheless good effort. -Derek-

We wanted to surprise everyone with the whole piece so I'm glad you listened to the whole thing and enjoyed it. Jeremy wanted the piece to start like the original but then get more different over time so if people just listen to the first couple of minutes they're really cheating themselves... Even though I feel the first half is awesome in it's own right. It also was the most challenging part of the piece since the instruments were close mic'd and intimite sounding. Not much room for mistakes in sample quality there.

I'm a big fan of smooth jazz so I enjoyed this. Very nice work.

I also updated the first post on the 1st page of this thread but I'm also posting a another here so it gets up on the board for everyone to see. Please use this link to download Devotion & Deception! http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15710&highlight=devotion