Rozovian
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Posts posted by Rozovian
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If only they were proper reviews and not just quick checks.
Yeah, short sources are hard to make a longer track out of. Lots of fun though. I tried remixing Space Invaders' four notes. I know.
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I hope my comment above didn't sound like criticism, because it wasn't! I appreciate all your feedback and honestly care a lot more about production feedback than source feedback most of the time
Nah, I'm just clarifiying. Just finished 13 of these bump reviews. It's just that a proper mod review should cover everything a judge would need to cover. But I'm glad you find my rushed comments useful.
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Starts off great, but the drums really mess up the cool mood you were setting up. They're too raw, imo. 0:44's synth sounds really newby and doesn't fit the more complex soundscape you've been hinting at. Same problem 2:08, the synth doesn't quite fit. You've got these cool industrial, complex synth sounds, and then you've got these raw drums and simple synths on top. They don't mesh well.
The levels are fine. The sub is nice. The arrangement is weird, it has a kind of soundtrack feel with its disparate sections, but I don't think it's a problem. imo it flows, it works, it's actually kind'a cool. Source is a little difficult to analyze because of the arrangement, because of the original, because of my memory, because time. It's there, the question someone's gonna have to answer later is whether it's enough, and whether it's sufficiently arranged.
Figure out your sound design and get a second pair of ears on the source/arrangement. This has potential.
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10 seconds source. Maybe I can do my first proper mod review source analysis today on this track. Maybe.
Glitchy fun. Source keeps popping up, perhaps too little for ocr. Hard to say. I think it still counts as dominant so idunno. Mix is fine imo.
So it's all about whether there's enough source. I would suggest trying to rewrite the source in a different key/mode to have a variation to use. Fudge its rhythm, do whatever. get yourself a whole bunch of versions to use and pick the ones that fit best. Play them on a bass. Glitch them into the percussion. Whatever suits the track.
So yeah. I think I'd be fine with it. it doesn't quite hit larry's stopwatch, but there's no original melodies and things to take the place of the source either, so imo the source is dominant. Can't promise the judges agree.
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Maybe it's hard to recognize because the song isn't really melody focused and varies a lot very quickly!
It's also hard to notice when I don't even try to listen to that. identifying an unfamiliar source in a new arrangement takes a lot of time. I'm commenting on everything marked mod review on the past four pages on the wip board, that's about a dozen tracks. Part bump, part review, part apology. Not really time to spend learning a new source. Unfortunately.
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Not a full mod review:
No time for source comment, no source comment. Maybe later.
Really bright highs, and its not helping your filtered leads at all. Sweet groove. Track flows well. Sparse soundscape, leaving a lot of the mid register unused. The bass is rather high, too, could probably be doubled with a sine bass an octave down (but highpassed so it doesn't add unnecessary subs when the real bass is low enough).
Not ready for ocr yet.
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Super cool.
No source link, no source comment. Then again, this would be half a mod review anyway, if even that.
I was a bit concerned early on with the ringing chip sound, but thankfully it doesn't last long. great sound design.
It could be a touch louder. It doesn't feel loud. You could probably let a few leads be a touch softer while getting the drums a little loud. It's not a big deal, except the 2:36 lead is louder than the rest of the track. It's weird how this is bot not very loud, but also has some compression issues at times (eg 2:36).
Mixing needs fixing, the rest kicks ass.
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I unfortunately don't have time to learn the source and properly analyze how this deviates from it. I can tell the source is there, and if BS says it's conservative, it's probably BS... I mean, conservative.
I found myself drifting off, doing other stuff while this was playing. Nothing really stood out and yelled at me that it needed to be fixed. It's successful as background music to a nitpicking listener, good job.
Listening closer, the slow attacks and fast release of the strings bothers me as well. It works great for the piano where it's obvious it's a reverse effect, but not quite as well with the strings.
Not much else to say. Really beautiful. Fiddle with the strings some more to get their dynamics a little less reverse-y, and barring any source usage issues, you should have a track suited for ocr. Beautiful stuff.
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Bass is stupidly loud. There's a transition in the middle that could really use some work, but the rest flows quite well. Your snare is really weak and small for this soundscape. it might fit some of the softer parts, but not the loud ones. I like the tag team going on between the filtered piano and the synth opposite it, I like the sound overall, there's a lot to like. Just has some glaring problems when all the pieces come together.
Grab a few well mixed tracks in similar styles and use those for mixing references. That should help you identify and solve a lot of the problems.
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Is this ready to be submitted? Don't mark it for mod review unless you think it is. Provide a link to source when you do.
Nice groove. The mixing is all over the place, which is probably the biggest problem I can hear. Sort out your levels and you should have a good mix. The arrangement is quite repetitive, even for something that's built on a groove like this. You could look up posted remixes that are also built on a groove and figure out how they kept things interesting. I have a feeling this is rather conservative, but no source link, no source comment.
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My main beef with this track would be that the mixing can't quite decide what's lead and what's backing. Beyond that, a single listen doesn't reveal any big issues. The source(s) are there, track flows well, it's pretty good.
Just sort out the mixing and update it for a proper mod review.
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Feels a little empty at times. The guitars are focused on a low range, while the leads are way further up. There's a bit hole in the track that you should probably fill, the question is just with what. The standard suggestion is pads, but some creative octave doubling of the leads might also work, as could a higher guitar. I'm wondering if the guitar really needs to be that crunchy, if less distortion and instead and EQ boost to it's mids/highs would sound better. Its worth experimenting with.
The piano chords in the intro sound really mechanical. The sound is also rather phasey and weird, but that could be on purpose. It's a little detracting, but I could also see it fit the sound you're going for.
Strings are lagging behind a little, typical problem with legato samples trying to play anything but pad-like chords. If you have some other string articulations, you could try those, or layer them together for something with a faster attack.
Arrangement flows really well, really enjoyable stuff here. Infinity Mijinion is undoubtedly there, not sure about the other source and I'm trying to cover a lot of mod reviews we've missed so I'll just bump this for someone else to cover the source usage better if you have any concerns about that.
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I'm not feeling the sound design, not all of it anyway. You've got a cool rhythm guitar thingy, but it feels like it should be doubled and hardpanned like a rhythm guitar would. Some of your leads and the snare are a bit too loud. Something to get some lows/mids over to the sides. Some of the leads are a bit whiny, too, though I have no idea how to deal with that, or to what extent it's really a problem.
Has a bit of a rushed feel to it, tempo-wise. Feels like it's a few bpm over what it ought to be. The rhyhtm guitar and the drums just feel like the whole track is a bit too fast for its own good.
I recognize Cold Man just fine throughout its appearances here. The other source I'm not familiar with, so I'll leave that for later/another mod.
Flows well. Should sound great with some minor edits.
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Resubbed, you say?
Sorry no mods came to review it, I guess we all took too long summer vacations. I'm a little concerned about the leads and bass drowning out the drums, and I'm not a fan of the dynamically flat leads or the panning/stereo delay thing on the hihat. The sound palette works well.
I expected this to make use of the second Zero theme as well, since this source is quite short. I think you did a good job keeping it going and moving without getting old, though.
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Bumping this so it doesn't disappear without a mod review, if you still want it. Two sources, long track, no big obvious problems... Sounds great, but I'm sure we can find things wrong with it.
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Hey man. Mod Review is for when you think a song is done and could be submitted to ocremix. This song is not done and shouldn't be submitted to ocremix. Not for a while anyway. When it's ready, give it a bump, include a link to the source, and mark it for mod review again.
(you can change the thread prefix if you click edit, then go advanced)
Some quick comments: Intro is pretty, just quiet. The rest of the track sounds like it's got good sounds, just not mixed well. It's really muddy and messy. There's two high-frequency things in the left channel and nothing in the right channel, it makes me think my speakers (or ears) are failing. It's also very short; while there's no lower limit for how long a remix must be, it's got to be a complete song in itself, and sufficiently remixed/personalized/arranged for ocr, and that's hard to get across in a short track.
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The rule is that you can't post it there if you're not a posted remixer, but you've got posted remixers on the album, and _you_ aren't posting it there, _I_ am moving it there. If my mod powers extends that far. (spoiler: they do)
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Improve your listening skills. Comment on people's wips. Be constructive, be useful, be helpful. Write effectively. Read judges' decisions and listen to those remixes while you read. Apply what you learn to your own works. Get noticed by staff... in a good way.
In other words: learn to listen, learn to communicate.
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Posting this here for archival purposes for when I'm rich and famous and have left OCR for greener pastures because who'd want to stick around here anyway, besides NEEEEERDS.
Rozovian
Real name: Ad G
Location: Finland
Occupation: TBD
Preferred method of contact: PM
Also reachable by: AIM, Skype, email
Five OSTs I recommend: Seiken Densetsu 3, Halo 3 ODST, Bastion, Super Metroid, Mirror's Edge
About me:
I complain about the compression in your mix, and leave figuring out source usage to the other mods. And I have a beard.
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I think you're overcomplicating it (and the formatting is random).
If I'm reading you correctly, it's a competition where you make conservative remixes that elaborate on the source but retain the feel of the original. You're going into all kinds of details about sound effects, live instruments, ratios of source content, having drums and a lot of other stuff that's situational and/or superfluous. Try to strip down the amount of info people need for this.
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Track update received. So little left...
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Meteo's new versions are in, and they're great. Anyone else have any updates/revisions/redos/updates/bribes/wavs?
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I'm gonna be an ass and suggest you fiddle with the synths yourself. It's actually not that hard.
A lot of these examples are just old synths. Old synths tend to be simple synths, not a lot of morphing or a dozen oscillators and affects. You could probably make most of the sounds in just FM8 and only customize them on the Easy/Morph tab. Just dig in the Classic Poly Lead subtype of that and your other Native Instruments synths. Their preset sorting isn't the best, but you can find those appropriately retro synth sounding stuff under that category and a few others.
Also, fiddling with Fm8 can produce some spectacular sounds.
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I was about 11.
Aren't you still about 11?
I started some time in my mid teens, but didn't get any proper software for it until a few years later. I think I can say I've been doing more than just screwing with it for the past 10 years, though I should have accomplished more imo.
It takes about 2 years going from total newb to making some pretty decent stuff. You're not done just because you're past that little threshold though, you have to learn something, make something every day. Anyone with that level of dedication will get some great stuff done. I'm not there yet.
Choosing an arrangement?
in Music Composition & Production
Posted
I cut the source into little bits, and use those bits in new ways. Best examples of how that's worked out are Eye of the Storm or Dragonfood, both being based on very simple melodies and both ending up with a brand new arrangement. EotS reuses the three-note pattern from the source in different ways, you can hear one take on it starting on the beat and another just before. Dragonfood takes what's effectively a four-note pattern and messes with its rhythm in a lot of different time signatures.
Once you have your little melody bits, start messing them up. Screw with rhythm, mode, everything. If a melody begins on the notes of a chord - try it on a different chord. The intro to the SMB theme works well as an example. Works fine on an E major chord, but I could just as well rewrite the melody with the notes of a minor chord. It'll automatically change the mood.
After a while of messing with melodies like this, I'll have a few bars based on the original but in a new mood. Repeat the process with a different part of the source to write a few bars of a different part of the new arrangement, and then just figure out how the bridge the two. Once they're bridged, see if there's anything to add in between, source references or something.
I can take the theme form Halo, and make an arpeggio from the first three notes, in whatever time signature I want. Then I add the melody on top of it. If I want to, I can alter the melody a bit. Underneath those two, I add chords and bass. These can be different from the original. All I need is a few parts, based on source, to piece together into a new arrangement.
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I can divide the main Halo motif into separate little melodies and use them separately. It divides quite well into four parts. Say I use the first for a verse/build-up kind of thing, and the second for a chorus. The third is so similar to the first that it doesn't matter much, but the fourth can be used for a different part. There, I've got three parts.. Now to piece them together into an arrangement.
Where do I want to go with it? First of all, I've got my buildup part, so whatever intro I have should lead into that. Long, dj-friendly intro? Big booming intro featuring the chorus melody and then going straight into a break and buildup? Some instrumental noodling before the drums come in? Just fade in?
Then I've got my chorus. The buildup should naturally lead into this part. If the idea is indeed for the verse part to serve as a buildup, then some filter and other effects should slowly open, and additional instruments should come in. Just before the chorus part, I would add a reverse crash, snare roll, or just drop out the bass and bass drum. I'm thinking of some kind of dance style here, a different genre could have a drum fill or something else lead into the chorus.
Then what? Well, I can go to the verse/buildup thing again, I can keep playing the chorus, but in a more subdued way, or I can go to a third part. Maybe I want to go to the buildup part again, but then to the third part before the second chorus. I can make the ending based on any of the parts I already have, it just has to wind down after the chorus. Now I know where to go. This example ended up being: intro-A-B-A-C-B-ending. That's an arrangement.
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Though when I'm actually doing this, I tend to not be this analytical about it. I just decide that I want a new part, and start screwing with the source until I've come up with something, and then use that. I often end up with a lot of small parts all referencing different parts of the source, or even other tracks if I think it'd make sense, both musically and thematically. Whatever my sources, the idea is always to take a melody, a part of the source and make it work in whatever context I want. Sometimes this changes the context. Sometimes it changes the melody.