Rozovian

As I understand it, the bottleneck is the actual posting. OCR already has had several ppl on the inbox, and the panel seems to have new blood every few months. Trusting with the actual posting is another thing, but I don't think djp has any problem trusting ocr's veteran staff. It's more about breaking the conventions.

The way I understand it, the action of posting isn't the problem - it's the conventions of writing the writeup, specifically that djp is the one that writes it and leaving tracks on the front page for long enough to be seen that can cause delays. - That djp needs to personally post a writeup isn't entirely unlike how this site worked before the judges' panel, when djp would evaluate the submissions himself. It's not necessary. Other staff members may well have site-related things they could put in a writeup. A "mixpost manager" can screen writeups for things that don't belong in writeups/should be kept under wraps/blatant lies/whatever, and this mixpost manager could have the tools to do the actual posting, leaving the opportunity for djp to just write a writeup and hand it to the mixpost manager if he's short on time, or for the mixpost manager to post whatever, whenever. - It can be worked around even without other staff's writeups. If djp can put less time-critical site/life/blog stuff in a writeups tbp document shared with the mixpost manager, those could be posted at any time. - The site growing and the number of mixes tbp growing would eventually destroy the front page ideal, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. The aforementioned batch idea can replace individual mixes posted on the front page, instead listing batches (or a random selection of mixes from the batches, or whatever). - I don't really discover mixes from the front page anyway. I download them in unsorted batches, sometimes ten, sometimes thirty tracks at a time. I discover new cool tunes through just listening to this year's mixes, or the last 25 additions to my library, or other smart playlists in itunes. While the front page thing is cool, I don't know how big a deal it really is. The front page thing does suggest to ppl to review the track while it's fresh, but with comments available on facebook and youtube as well as our reviews forum, I don't think that's as big a deal as it used to be. Some thoughts of mine.

Yeah, but unfortunately this is unsustainable in the long run, there's some backlog of mixes tbp, and it certainly wouldn't work if ocr keeps growing. Dunno the numbers on submissions, but I reckon they've increased as the site has gotten more attention, as I assume the amount of ocr-level regulars have. The only suggestion I have for this would be to release the tracks in batches, as themed releases. Mixflood from album x, a couple of Pendulum-style mixes, some 80s synth rock/electronic stuff, vocals, orchestral, jazz, collabs, competition mixes, n00bfl00d, oldtimers' new mixes, Zelda, Kikuta, DoD, Finnish-made games, whatever. That way each batch can hold one (or more) miniblog post(s) and the rest have a writeup about just the music. The bloggable writeups could be tagged so they're easier to find if you wanna read about the site. The batches could probably be collected somewhere, with links to each track per batch so ppl who've been gone for a while can find the tracks they don't have and not have to wait for a torrent. Having a list of the batches somewhere would make it easier for ppl to pick up where they left last time they were here getting mixes. Dunno how big the actual backlog of mixes tbp is and how much is the usual overhead, but that's my idea, at least a thought for when it's needed. I would also suggest to get our regular submitters first accepted mix posted asap, as that's the time when their growth is the most obvious. During the months the mix was in the queue and the panel, the remixer's skills developed, and that same mix could already sound bad to them; it doesn't reflect their skill level as closely as for a more developed remixer. it also feels great to see your mix posted and to read the reviews on it, and all of this is a great motivator for more remixing.

Just so we're clear on something, variation isn't ocr's only requirement, the arrangement has to be your own, too. That doesn't mean that you can't build on an existing arrangement (it's pretty difficult to make it even resemble the original if you don't), but if you wanna submit it to ocr, it's gotta be more arranged than a cover. Good start so far. When it comes to harp, you might be better off looking for any plucked string instruments that resemble the sound of a harp, and then using writing and sound design techniques to make it more harplike. The timing of the string sustains areisa big deal in how harps are played, and is how hard the strings are plucked. If you find a zither or dulcimer (or other similar instrument) soundfont with a lot of velocity layers, or can make the filter very velocity-sensitive, you should be able to pull it off. Likewise flute, you can take a half-crap sample and just use it creatively, with filtering and modulating the amplitude (and/or _subtly_ the pitch). I do think flute instruments are easier to find than harps, but you should know that it's more the performance (or illusion thereof) than the instrument itself.

I have some details on my music history in my remixing guide (see sig), but I've basically been screwing with computer music since I found a tracker for mac, in 2002. Eventually, it even sounded like music. For anyone that doesn't know about it yet, post your remixes on the remix feedback board, learn that you're doing stuff wrong, learn to tell what others do wrong, learn to tell what you're doing wrong, learn to avoid it, make better music. also lol neblix' post.

Yeah it's convenient, but it also comes with the price of discouraging feedback. I don't think a hard rule is the answer. The novices should be here first and foremost to learn, and should be asking their star for feedback. If that feedback comes via the star looking at or editing the project file, that's cool, it's an added benefit for the little extra trouble of having to ask rather than having to communicate more direct feedback. It may be a bit of an unfair advantage, but as the first goal is the learning and competing comes second, I don't think it's a problem. Besides, even if FL is pretty popular on Win, and most Macs have a version of GB, you're probably gonna be paired up with someone who doesn't share DAWs at some point anyway. As for rules, I don't think we actually need to add/change much. Being aware of the problems we've had so far means we know better how to handle them.

Yeah, Arcy and I had some trouble getting starting. I didn't want to take the reins and pick a source just to get things started, since Arcy would be the primary arranger and therefor had to have a source he could work with. Had we gotten started sooner, we would have had time to talk about eq technique and stuff like that. On the flip side, we both had GarageBand, so we could work with the project files directly. That's something not all teams will have. Arcy has my first mix pass with level and eq changes that he can compare to the version he sent me as well as study the settings I used. There's also the comparison of the levels and mixing of that and the final version, but there's a lot more I could have conveyed. We could definitely have done better in the teaching/learning department. I did ask, earlier in our correspondence, what he wanted from me, but that got left by the wayside when we realized we didn't have much time. That it took almost a week to get started definitely made it harder, and the 10 hour difference wasn't working out that well either. I've done all right dealing with ppl over the 7 or so hours to the east coast, and no problem within the european time zones, but perhaps 10 hour differences should be avoided, especially now that ppl are back to work/school. I would also recommend not being invisible on whatever IM your team decides to use. TL;DR: + same program - time zone difference and other communication problems - delay getting started As far as the pilot round goes, I think these difficulties lead up to a good thing. We've identified some problems that can occur with matchups and within teams and gauged the time allotted and know that those two weeks are both needed for what's really a pretty involved collab.

It is. Now it's actually funky. For additional funk, you can do more with syncopation. You can have not just the drums, but also the chord ostinato stagger in the same way, skipping the last note and beginning on the syncopated beat, pausing until the second note... basically following the drums. Any and all instruments _can_ do this. Cool stuff.

Beautiful guitar sound, beautiful take on it overall. Too repetitive and probably too conservative for ocr, but you've undoubtedly got the chops for getting something posted here. I keep getting bothered by every off-sync video bit, like the drums and one of the claps.

Nice writing. Simple sound.

Aside from the drums, your instrumentation is vanilla, and aside from the drums, the mixing is pretty vanilla as well. I can imagine this with strong staccato cellos instead of these slow legato samples, so I can hear the idea behind this... but you need those stronger samples for it. There's probably soundfonts and other freebies out there that can do it, and you can always layer some other samples to get the same effect if you can't find the correct samples. The static wub rhythm doesn't quite lend itself to interesting dubstep today. There's also some direct writing problems, like the lack of punctuation at 1:22 or the ill-timed transition from the choral part to the strings part at 0:28. Piano humanization and other touches wouldn't hurt either. Structurally, it works ok until around 2 minutes in, when you run out of ideas and just repeat what you had before. It's fine to revisit and recycle previous parts, but an almost verbatim repeat with just a piano layer added isn't quite enough to warrant the repeat imo. It doesn't really bring anything new to the mix at that point. You've got a good start here, good drums, decent mixing, some good ideas in the writing, just gotta get those to shine and get rid of the stuff that doesn't work and you'll have a pretty good track. Also, welcome to ocr.

Piano sounds really mechanical. Longer notes, sustain pedal, reverb/delay, something. Also humanization, but for a track like this that's a lesser concern than the sound itself. The groove kicks ass tho.

Eggshaker and syncopation all over the place. I was expecting a bass or a thicker lead or something at 0:44 when the snare comes in. Nope. Instead, it keeps sounding empty. Disasterpiece had a big warm pad in there, and longer release on his bells/vibes/whatever. First half sounds too empty. It seems to work as an intro, but not for half the track. I feel like I could skip from 0:44 to 2:32, which is more than half the track. There's parts in there, like the pizzicato building that might fit elsewhere in a new arrangement... So yeah, the arrangement doesn't work. There's some really cool ideas in here, you just need to either place them in a different order and add stuff, or simply add stuff to the arrangement you've got.

You might wanna accentuate the change at 0:38, it's not subtle enough to just go by, and its not drastic enough to work. It just sounds like something weird happened to the rhythm. Length/repetition is problably a problem here. It doesn't have enough wow factor to hold interest, and the groove is subdued enough to not carry the track on its own, either. At least me, and at least not for the entire length of it. The guitar sound is a bit... idunno, lacking. Feels like it should have more mids. Actually, the whole track could use some more mids. Source is there, tho my ears aren't quite cooperating right now, so I don't dare say either way about whether it's enough. The arrangements feels conservative tho, but as it's building on a groove rather than on melodies the judges might feel like it's like the case with chord progressions - that it doesn't count as source. Can't say for sure, tho. Nice mood, nice groove, nice track. I'm a bit concerned about the length/repetition issue, but if you already got feedback fromthe judges and fixed it since, this should be in a pretty good shape.

Wait whut? Is this becoming unts unts? The acoustic guitar is way too loud compared to the unts unts. It might work as an intro, but it's now there for about half the track. The bass drum is a little weak, you could side-chain it to some of the other instruments for a little more oomph and headroom at the same time. Most instances of the melody is verbatim, which for a short source like this ends up sounding repetitive. Naturally, using the melody verbatim isn't wrong, nor is repeating an element, but if you could find ways of subtly changing it (eg changing how the first part of the melody moves into the second, they both start the same so there's some room to change things up without really losing anything). So no, this isn't ocr material at this point. You've got some nice guitar stuff in here, and the unts unts is cool as well, you just gotta find the right places for them.

Assorted thoughts: No source links? Oh great, voice clips. Your choice of instrumentation right after the voice clip is fantastic tho. The mids feel a bit empty, maybe a touch of EQ on the master would solve that? The track picks up a little randomly, and not for long either. When most of the track has been a slow groove without any hints of it picking up like that, it feels a bit out of the left field. Dunno how best to solve that. I'm more concerned with that than with the arrangement overall, tho I've done a fair share of meandering tracks myself so I might not be the best to judge. Beautiful track in any case.

No source link, no source comment. Bells are too shrill. Guitar could use a little more bite (somewhere in the highs, just don't add too much). Snare seems like it could use a little more mids/punch, not sure exactly what frequency but one of its lower harmonics or the fundamental. Again, not too much. String staccatos seem weak, maybe adding some an octave down would help. You're overusing that laugh effect. Mostly nitpicks. Length might be a problem, and I have no idea about the source usage, but aside from that it seems like an ocr-level track. Cool track, nice work.

Right from the start, it feels like there's gonna be some mixing issues. Half way through, I'm thinking it's got more repetition issues than mixing issues, tho the compression and bright snare reverb still bothers me. At this point, almost 6 minutes of this doesn't seem like it's gonna work. Source usage is in the green, tho. The whole thing sound empty. I get that it might be what you're going for, but mostly percussive instrumentation and very little sustained stuff makes it sound empty. The lack of mid-range stuff compounds the problem. A soft mid-range pad far back in the mix would even things out. I get the hard compressed sound is intentional, but the combination of a long, dominant, bright snare and a big side-chained kick needs a stronger instrumentation to back it up. The drums really aren't interesting enough to stand on their own, and right now they're the focus of the mixing. The bass is about on the same level, but this isn't groovy enough to support the rest of the mix, certainly not for this length. I'd tone down the snare and bring out the melodies some more, but I don't know what direction best fits what you wanna do with the track. Mixing and length/repetition issues. I do think it's ocr-material, just not quite yet.

Fun intro. The instrumentation is a bit soft, but you're not putting a lot of force into your voice either, so they match. Your second voice (0:30) and many of your smaller insert voices are a too soft, they're hard to hear, while the main voice might be a bit too loud in the mix. The rap works better than the singing, which has both performance and intonation issues. It can be masked with vocoders and other effects, but the performance still feels weak in the more heavily vocoded parts. It's either repetitive and gets stuck in my head, or it's catchy and... gets stuck in my head. I'm leaning towards the latter. I'm having trouble hearing the sources. I'm not that familiar with Sonic sources besides the oft-remixed ones, so I'm gonna leave the question of source open to those more familiar with them. Where are you, other mods? Structurally I don't really find any big problems with it. The last chorus could be superfluous, tho I could be biased by the aforementioned issues with the singing. Hard to say if it's a good fit for ocr, but I don't think it's worth subbing just yet.

I think it belongs in this subforum. I also think a better thread title (Edit->Go Advanced) would be good. As for the music, a quick skippy listen reveals it's not horrible, but not very interesting either. The sound design is simple and functional, but wouldn't wow anyone. The writing is likewise simple and functional. You're in a good place to improve, you're past the basics and are making some enjoyable music. Now comes the hard part - improving further.

The obvious problem with stems being that we can't actually go and screw with the settings of the source samples/patches, but it might help with the mixing side of things.

Concerning "out", how about timing? The timing of when an instrument exits. Line it up with when a new instrument enters so its exit is masked by this new attention-grabbing thing. Concerning "in", how about screwing with the envelopes? If you want to reduce the attack of an instrument, consider that you're screwing with the wrong envelope. Maybe you should be screwing with the amplitude envelope instead of the filter envelope. Maybe you shouldn't be screwing with attack and release, but with sustain and/or decay. All that is easy in synths. As for samples, maybe you should start them after the transient, or open them up in an audio editor and adjust it there. afaik, old game samples weren't particularly dynamic, so they wouldn't have the transients that modern stuff has.

If I'm understanding the question correctly, it's timbre and levels first, and effects second. You use compressors and eq and stuff to adjust the sounds so they go well together in the mix, but you first and foremost pick/tweak sounds that sound good together.

Usa had some plans for the website, and I have a few ideas I wanna make sure gets in there somewhere. Beyond that, I don't have a problem using OCR's template and don't care that much about who actually does it as long as it ends up looking good, and BS knows how. We'll see what we do. I don't expect the website to be a big problem and it's certainly not a concern at this point. And yes pu_, I want your track.

It's probably got something to do with your inner rhythm, at least the one you use for moving your body when running. Do you notice the same difference in tempo when you aren't running, comparing them to the same tracks while at your computer? It could also have something to do with whatever endorphins and adrenaline your body produces while running screwing with your experience of time. Run with a metronome.