[Potential New York City Meetup - Two Gentlemen of Lebowski]

Finally got everyone who was interested to agree on it... and they were vapor.

However, I'll still arrange to be in the area for some kind of meeting, I'll just miss the awesome of the show.

[The OverClocked Plaid Muffins - Kirby Super Star - Ska Buffet - ACCEPTED!]

I think I'm more excited about this than I am anything else I've heard in progress for a while. I'm not as big on ska, so most feedback I could give wouldn't be all that constructive. I would, however, like to hear the bass slightly louder.

[What are you listening to?]

The Wedding song from Little Big Planet. Makes me wish I spoke better Spanish.

[Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Arcade Stick]

I suppose there are still plenty of cool characters left on the Capcom side.

[Potential New York City Meetup - Two Gentlemen of Lebowski]

No worries, I won't. I know how quickly these things are moving/how quickly tickets can disappear.

[Potential New York City Meetup - Two Gentlemen of Lebowski]

I'm still verifying the people of mine. I should know by tomorrow.

[Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Arcade Stick]

I'd like to think that this game will sell well, even if only because of the popularity of the previous Vs. Capcom games. No one in the US knows what the hell Tatsunoko is, but that doesn't mean that they don't want to kick the crap out of their characters.

The stick sounds awesome, by the way. Might get one now.

[New AAI:Miles Edgeworth Great Revival Hard Rock Remix...]

No, you don't have to learn how to rewrite any stuff.

You need to learn how to write YOUR OWN stuff.

This, to a degree. Things like counterpoint melodies and harmonies (sometimes even things as simple as changing the time signature) can make any mix new. You don't need to rewrite melodies, you just need to work around them in a way that brings them new life.

For example, with this piece, consider having a rhythm instrument in the pitch you already have. Don't make it play melody except when a specific harmony is called for, instead consider a melody that falls under it in the way that a chord would. Or consider crunchy, rhythmic chords as a background. There's a number of ways to approach it. Then raise the main melody in both pitch and volume (slightly) and find new ways to work within what's there. This is a problem that a lot of people (myself included) have when they start out.

The production values in this also need to go up significantly, it hurts what's there. Play with some frequencies to wash away the mud in the guitar sounds, use different drum samples. Consider reworking the composition. They would help greatly, and you'll feel accomplished after.

[Potential New York City Meetup - Two Gentlemen of Lebowski]

Not sure. I'm getting a few people together on my end, the original movie was pretty big with my friends. I'll post back as soon as I know what's going on with them.

[Potential New York City Meetup - Two Gentlemen of Lebowski]

That actually looks hysterical. I'll probably go.

[American McGee's Alice Jabberwock Remix]

Wow love the ambiance here. Major ambiance buff

Yeah the guitars def. need an upgrade haha. The build up to it was like...zomg what's coming up next!!!??? Then cruddy guitars. Made me almost cry - such an injustice T_T

I know the pains of being forced to use low-fi samples lol. Anyways, I rly hope you can improve them guitars, cuz I think that composition wise this is solid. In fact, I didn't really expect any1 would have the guts to tackle an Alice track, most people would sooner attempt to remix StarCraft haha. Keep up the good work and hopefully this will get posted one day.

Thanks for the kind words. I attempt mostly obscure/forgotten games, they're just more fun for me. I'm still working on finding a USB ->1/4 inch or a jack for it. After that I'll have a new version.

[3 tracks at once! - Duke Nukem II, Castlevania: Bloodlines and Batman]

CASTLEVANIA: BLOODLINES TRACK

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION

[x] Too conservative - sticks too close to the source

[ ] Too liberal - not enough connections to the source (too much original writing)

[ ] Too much direct sampling from original game audio

[ ] Borrows heavily from non-source material (eg. a theme from a movie)

PRODUCTION

[ ] Too loud

[ ] Too quiet

[ ] Low-quality samples

[ ] Unrealistic sequencing

[ ] Generic/cliche sound choices

[ ] Drums have no energy

[ ] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics)

[ ] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range)

PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts)

[ ] Timing not tight enough

[ ] Wrong notes, general sloppiness

[ ] Poorly recorded

[ ] Bad intonation

STRUCTURE

[ ] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow")

[x] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough)

[ ] Pace too plodding

[x] Too repetitive

[x] Too short

[ ] Abrupt ending

PERSONAL COMMENTS

Song is very relaxing. It just doesn't feel like it's doing very much. I know you didn't intend them as "remixes" per say, but I kind of see this song as something that can do so much more. It's lacking some of the energy that Castlevania music tends to have. The keyboard melody is keeping some there, but for the most part it seems somewhat sapped. What did you use to record?

My internet's acting up, I can't listen to the other two yet. I'll post later about them as well. By the way, welcome to OCR

[New AAI:Miles Edgeworth Great Revival Hard Rock Remix...]

PRODUCTION

[ ] Too loud

[x] Too quiet

[x] Low-quality samples

[ ] Unrealistic sequencing

[x] Generic/cliche sound choices

[x] Drums have no energy

[x] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics)

[x] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range)

STRUCTURE

[ ] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow")

[x] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough)

[x] Pace too plodding

[x] Too repetitive

[ ] Too short

[ ] Abrupt ending

PERSONAL COMMENTS

I'm not familiar with the original, but I can honestly say this is not a very interesting mix.

The drums do next to nothing, which is a killer for hard rock. The guitars sound too muddy/generic/messy. The overall composition is too repetitive. Not enough happens. I know you're claiming it's finished, but I'd consider going back to the mixing at the very least to address some of the bigger issues. Probably into the composition as well to at the very least fix the drums.

[Video Game Burlesque (NSFW)]

Good concept. Bad execution.

[American McGee's Alice Jabberwock Remix]

Still waiting on a 1/4in to USB plug. After that I'm recording all the guitar work myself. In the event that I can't do the plug, I'll probably reach out to try to find someone (or just borrow a friend's, if the kid's willing. Who knows?)

Thanks for the feedback

[American McGee's Alice Jabberwock Remix]

...any takers?

[WCT - [COMPETITION OVERHAUL - NEED IDEAS] The Writing Competition Thread]

Grats Hijale

I should have something freeform later in the week or so. This is the best time/kind of submission to start in for everyone, or if you want to experiment with things that might not already exist.

[Walt Disney is a psychopath.]

The issues mentioned in the list TheHands provided above can all be explained by one thing: these weren't films for kids.

No, seriously, these were movies for adults that kids could come along to. The freaky acid trip stuff was a staple for films (watch some earlier films with dream sequences), and the other stuff was just par for the course in Hollywood.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that Bambi is pro-hunting. In fact, I think it's a LOT of a stretch. That is stretching on the level of Goatse. There's hunting in the movie, yes, but considering the whole story is told from the perspective of the cute little talking animals, and humans are made out to be shadowy, inscrutable horrors, I wouldn't really call that an advocation. Audiences were not yelling "HELL YES HUNTING" when Bambi's mother got shot.

Granted, I suppose you could argue that being portrayed as fear and death incarnate is pretty awesome.

Guess my sarcasm wasn't thick enough. Most of the points I made were in jest. Some have merit, most are just absurdities.

I'm not surprised that there are scholarly articles written about Disney films, especially with such numbers. It's something that all people can in some way or another relate to, and the writing for the majority of them is above the average animated film. More importantly, many of them take twists on major archetypes that haven't been taken by a mainstream media source in the same way. Ultimately, Bambi is a coming of age story. Same is true for most of the Disney Animated Classics, including (from the list above) Jungle Book, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and The Sword in the Stone. Others take slightly warped spins on other major literary types as well, but I've been on a kick for the coming of age narratives lately. They only grow in number after Walt died.

[Walt Disney is a psychopath.]

Really, we're looking at this the wrong way. Walt Disney was only involved until he died, his last film was The Jungle Book.

That means (to stay on topic) we should limit ourselves to:

Snow White (discussed)

Pinocchio (a story of a demonic puppet doing terrible things to get rewarded by turning into a human)

Fantasia (the first animated film featuring Satan, who was later renamed Chernabog after a pagan god of night)

Dumbo (a story about freak-hood which promotes depression),

Bambi (pro-hunting)

A few terrible racist South American films (not kidding, go check out The Three Caballeros)

Cinderella (relying on help from others rather than strength of self to overcome relatively simple obstacles)

Alice in Wonderland (pro-acid movie)

Peter Pan (pro-abduction, potential child molestation, and piracy)

Lady and the Tramp (never trust Asians)

Sleeping Beauty (same as Cinderella, different context)

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (fur makes ugly people more attractive, Jazz makes evil people more cool)

Sword in the Stone (if you focus on weaponry and magic, you'll become king)

Jungle Book (promotes racism, hypnotism, homelessness [baloo is basically a wandering hobo], and managed to alienate The Beatles [originally supposed to play the vultures. I shit you not.])

EDIT: Forgot the partially animated ones too.

Reluctant Dragon (Racism)

Victory through Air Power (Propaganda)

Song of the South (Happy recently freed slaved staying behind to tell stories about racist Foxes and Bears)

So Dear to my Heart (No fucking idea what the hell this is)

Mary Poppins (Witchcraft, drug enabling, financial neglect, and potential gambling during the animated scene. Also hints of probable drug use in said scenes)

[Walt Disney is a psychopath.]

Disney's littered with this kind of shit, but most of the early ones weren't specifically for children. They were made to appeal to a wider audience. That's why most of the villains are actually pretty badass.

The other interesting aspect of this conversation is what everyone's preconceived notions of a Disney film are. Most of them have very, very dark stories that are told in relatively bright means. Consider The Great Mouse Detective. It's a battle of egos between two brilliant characters. One of said characters is known for drowning orphans and widows, aspires to commit regicide, and regularly murders his own henchmen whenever they disagree with him. This is all done in a sing-songy Major key.

[American McGee's Alice Jabberwock Remix]

Bump before it falls off the page.

[WCT - [COMPETITION OVERHAUL - NEED IDEAS] The Writing Competition Thread]

Ahh, that is perfectly fine. Thanks for the clarification, and I will do my part to be ready to submit during the appropriate time periods. Until then, adieu.

Edit: ummmm....is there an appropriate way to vote? or do I just say it here? Just incase, I vote for "poets". If there is a more discreet way of voting I apologize in advance.

-Trieason

Email your votes to HalcyonSpirit. You have 3 points to play with and distribute as you see fit, it's a pretty cool system. Check it out in the first two posts of the thread.

[What are you listening to?]

"Extra Pale" by Goo Goo Dolls.

[Mario RPG Smithy Part 1 Metal Remix]

I know what you mean, I'm a state over.

The synth isn't bad, it's just that one section feels odd. Even then, it can be played with.

Which sequencing software are you using?

[Mario RPG Smithy Part 1 Metal Remix]

The drums are all at max velocity, which is cool for some parts, but as it is right now would possibly give a real drummer palpitations (depending on the drummer). The velocities need to be fixed, especially in the constant double kick section.

The bass feels like most metal bassists do in the recording: mixed out. That could probably be fixed with either a little bit of OD or some volume shifts.

I agree with Austin's critiques and recommendations on the guitars. The instruments almost drown under the reverb.

The orchestration in the beginning feels overwhelming. I think they come in too loud and sudden after the lead in from the main band, I'd say to ween them in the background and then have them swell.

There's a strange effect happening from the synth in 1:51 through 2:20, but especially from 2:07 on. I think it's the alternation between melody/root note... but the root note is too short, and almost produces a fart effect. I'd say to either lower the volume on the root or let it ring a little longer, so it detracts less from the guitar once it kicks in at the very least.

So far I like this a lot, looking forward to the next version.