GrayLightning
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Posts posted by GrayLightning
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Way too conservative - Where's the arrangement?
On top of that production is substandard. A fun listen to some extent, but that's mostly because of the source material. Please add your own spin to the mix; change the structure around, play with the melody or harmony (expand it), change the genre, something different. In other words arrange it more. We need to hear your personal style shine through a mix, and judge on creative merits. As there is not much here to judge in those aspects, it's almost a NO Override in my opinion. Keep working at it, and as mentioned above, use our Work In Progress forum before submitting.
NO
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Aquatic Ambience is like the new Terra, at least this week.
In addition to what the other judges said, there's a lot of distortion/clipping going on here.
Arrange the mix more, there's barely anything here to judge. What merit does this have to showcase your personal style? Very little, if any. This also needs instrumentally and compositionally more low end, low/middle end frequencies, the atmosphere is very thin.
As suggested, please use our WIP forum before submitting in the future. Keep working at it, but bring your A game next time. NO
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Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=56127
ReMixer name: Rexy
Real name: Bev Wooff
Email: bev.wooff@gmail.com
OCRemix user ID: 7528
REMIX INFO:
Remix title: "Where Force Stood Still (Version 2.0)
Game covered: Chrono Cross
Individual song covered: Frozen Flame
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Whew, again I want to pass your thanks towards the past variation on the track. Mind you, even though you scared the crap out of me with 4 NO's I still felt that this'll stand a better chance against the panel than the other two submissions there at this moment in time.
So anyway, I managed to follow your input relating to the track. So much has been done in the mix to make this stand out from the original - softer dynamics (and soundfont, may I add), use of a foot pedal I wired in not too long ago for sustain control, a better developed left hand performance, a moderate reverb setting (all thanks to the conflicts between Gray and Compyfox), and just basically... a more fluent performance than what the original version had down, I assure you.
Well I think that's about it when going through this mix. Should you want yet another revision out of this if it doesn't come through you'd have to wait a few months before the college semester starts again. But I still think that I preferred this over the original take, in all honesty.
Thanks again for your time, and may the "force" be with you.
Peace out,
-Rexy-
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Larry and I have decided to allow rexy to resub both her resubmissions, so that we can decide on it one way or the other and move the queue along. - Gray
Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=54343
ReMixer name: Rexy
Real name: Bev Wooff
Email: bev.wooff@gmail.com
OCRemix user ID: 7528
REMIX INFO:
Remix title: "Robotnik’s Immortal Presence"
Game covered: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Individual song covered: Robotnik Battle
Song link:
Source: http://www.zophar.net/gym/sonic2.rar - Boss (Robotnik Theme.gym)
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Alright gentlemen, I’m here to waste your time once more.
Thanks for your analysis on the elder version of this track; even though it took a long time to come through (and I feel for you given that *was* the time for exams/finals and all that) I really appreciate the feedback as shown by you all.So yeah, that left me to take your critique in mind - even some of the added commentary from some of you during the revision stage - and tweak the file when appropriate. I felt that upon going through the course of all this I managed to approach much of the problems that make the original stand out. For the record on timings, I did in fact perform the parts live through a keyboard (although for some of the faster parts I had to turn the tempo down to fit them in); it’s still all good at the end of the day though.
I pass my extensive thanks towards Gray, Larry and Harmony for their extensive input during the revision stage; hopefully with their thoughts on all this we should have a track that made it much stronger than the initial version.
I end this message with a sentence as shown in the old submission - Deem Bristow may be gone (January 15th 2005), but the legacy of Eggman will live on.
Peace out,
-Rexy-
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Yeah the audio glitches are bothersome enough to warrant a rejection alone. They're everywhere.
Arrangement itself is promising, but as noted by others not quite there yet. I would especially listen to Israfel's advice.
The organ in this style is an incredibly difficult instrument to get right, I have not heard it done with great success in our community yet, if my memory serves. Trying to balance the mass of sound is very tricky in how that correlates to the composition.
You should consider submitting this with some production reworks and arrangement tweaks. Promising work, that hasn't arrived at its potential yet. NO
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We need more Ecco mixes, so it's nice of you to do one.
Unfortunately this is so midi grade in the production aspect and to some extent composition as well. The choirs attacks are way too pronounced, if you can edit the envelopes those should build much more slowly. Place the choirs in the back of your soundstage, that would help soften up the attacks and increase the decay. Use reverb and other fx processing tools to give this more atmosphere - in the way Spencer did with the Ecco soundtracks.
I agree, there is something odd sounding with the asian chromatic percussion, it just seems to hit odd notes off and on. Of course it could be also because the tuning was changed?
I liked a lot of the ideas here, particularly at the end parts, it just needs more polish at this point. I would also consider extending it by another minute. Promising mix, but it's not there yet. NO
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Where's the arrangement? As noted by others, it's a very basic and conservative interpretation of the source material.
I agree with the production issues here, the cluttered sound and the center-oriented panning in the mix doesn't help. Learn to place your sounds in the stereo field to create more distinction and balance.
An entertaining listen for what it is, but it's really not there yet on both aspects in my book. Keep working at it, and please use our WIP forums for future feedback before submitting. Best of luck.
NO
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Very basic, simplistic and sparse sounding for the most part. Needs more reverb. To give it some space and texture. The percussive booms before the 2 minute mark are out of place, you have this slow sparse calming piece then here comes the massive percussive booms.
Nothing terribly wrong here, but not much right either. This needs more work on the concept, arrangement and execution. Use our Works In Progress forum to get feedback before you submit a mix.
NO
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Most solo string samples are harsh by nature with out lots of processing. So I don't have much problems in that regard. Nature of the beast I'm afraid.
I do agree with Harmony's assesment of the mud issues. That's why these atmospheric mixes are so hard to do, because they are indeed reliant on lower frequencies, which can introduce a lot of mud. Back down on the reverb slightly as well.
I don't have a problem with the wall of strings, not everything has to have brass or woodwinds. For this type of piece I really wouldn't change much, maybe add some woodwind or reeds. There is a middle eastern motif going on here, consider adding some clarinet unless you have some middle eastern double reed samples? I also would throw in some close sampled jingles/tambourines to help drive the ethnic percussive flaire.
I agree this mix isn't as developed as it could be considering how long it is. I would also trim out at least 3 minutes of the mix. Focus on polishing the concept and fixing the production issues. Neat final minute.
Pretty cool and enjoyable, I'm tempted to throw a wrench in the works and yes this, but some of the cluttered mixing and mud issues sway me to a borderline NO. Resubmit please.
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The beginning starts off with the zelda theme/overworld theme or something, being played on the chromatic percussion. Also the source tune appeared before 59 sec, just not the melodic section of the source.
Not sure I agree it's as conservative as Larry notes, there's quite a bit of chord changes and melodic expansion here compared to the original. The original didn't have much to work with either. There's also some other Zelda themes worked into the mix very very smoothly.
This is definitely an atmospheric/percussive oriented mix. I felt the percussion work here was quite great. There was a lot of variety and intricacy in this department.
Some of larry's criticisms are true, but I think they're a bit overstated. We've passed quite a few with such problems. For me bottom line this was an interesting concept and arrangement and to that end it was executed well enough. There was a lot of subtleties in the mix that should be listened to on good headphones to get the full effect. It's nice work and quite enjoyable for me. YES
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We need to check if there's any problem with source violations on this one, like with our DDR regulations.
Beyond that the keyword of this mix is Authentic. Not the most daring of arrangements as far as expansion, but everything is just put together extremely well. Let's not forget the source material and please give credit to the catchy and enjoyable original as well though. As far as this mix, I like all the little additions sprinkled in here as far as the arrangement and composition goes. Nice mixing and mastering as well. Love the violin composition, they really add to the authenticity factor of the disco vibe. On top of that Stephanie's vocals do indeed make this track, excellent voice and vocal style. She sounds quite charming. Very catchy and enjoyable. YES
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Confirmed. I agree with larry, much too conservative bordering on cover/mock up territory.
N.O.
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Jesse is right. My other main problem here, is it's way muddy. The piano is dreadfully dark (not steinway cool dark, just muddy/cheap dark). I would eq the treble and or consider shifting it an octave up. I think there are a lot of great ideas here, and it's clear that you are familiar with atmospheric mixes. There are a lot of good techniques, but the result is just lacking. I think instead of the solo strings, the mix would be better served by using softer pads. Also consider using tremelo passages if you must use solo strings, it would add some more of the horror vibe going on here.
I like the use of the waterphones, very true to the horror/atmospheric nature of the piece. There's potential here, but it's definitely not there yet. NO
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There's so much clipping in this mix. There's really not much I can add here that would not repeat what my fellow judges have said. Darkesword was especially to the point and cut to the meat of this issue.
Decent effort, but there's too many problems in terms of arrangement, production to pass. Keep working at it, there's a lot of nice ideas here, but the execution just isn't there. NO
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Liontamer is right. Confirmed NO Override. Use our WIP forum to get further feedback for future submissions. This is too conservative a mix, and underdeveloped considering the straightforward nature of this.
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Well it's not like Larry can do any better, can he? I bet all he can do is sandwiches if anything
Not even that, he resorts to poisonous campbell's soup (it did in Reggie White and Donnovan McNabb!) or fast food.
More info here:
http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1621908#1621908
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Like Larry then?
The question is do you have better food sensibilities than Mr. Campbells lover?Paige for judge!
But of course! Let's not forget that Larry eats sardines in tomato sauce from cans! ::Shudder::
I am an excellent cook, a skill I would be happy to employ for the benefit of all of you.
Paige As Judge Inaugural Virtual Dinner Menu:
First Course:
Fried Potato Crisps served with a light Ranch dip.
Second Course:
TGIFriday's Buffalo Wings with Extra Spicy Sauce
Entree:
Paige's Spectacular Macaroni and Cheese and Salisbury Steak (a top secret recipe from Chez HungryMan)
Desert:
Key Lime Pie (something I really do make, from my grandmother's recipe)
Aperitif: Paige's Get Drunk Punch (including Vodka with a splash of Cranberry juice).
(A Requested $500 campaign contribution per table)
Liontamer is trying to derail your judge campaign. Last night he told us in the judge chat, that most of your cooking is from boxed food, except the Key Lime Pie. He's already throwing mud this early in the campaign! Liontamer's modus operandi revolves around dirty politics. That lecherous swine!
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This is quite possibly the best arrangement I've heard of this source material. I agree with DJP that the key change sounds very Thomas Newman, and imo the whole piece in fact sounds very newmanish. The rhythm as noted does tend to get a little repetitive, but luckily it's good to begin with, and ultimately very interesting.
Instrumentation is spot on, but I'm not really crazy about the snare line or having snares in the piece at all. I think it would have stood on its own better without them. The rest of the instrumentation is great though and more importantly they blend nicely together.
Production is above average. Not much more to say here, this is lovely work and an enchanting listen. YES
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I can promise all of you as OCRemix judge, I will continue to talk about things without authority!
Like Larry then?
The question is do you have better food sensibilities than Mr. Campbells lover?Paige for judge!
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File size is above our 6 MB limit. Reduce the bitrate settings when you encode the mp3.
This is better in some ways than the older version. I like how the bell synth lead is clearer sounding and dominant; regardless of what wingless is saying, the bell synth is really quite nice. Unfortunately, a lot of stuff here is for the worse.
Main issue here for me is the mixing. I hear a lot of overcompressed elements and there's a lot of wierd pumping type artifacts. It sounds to me like there's some wierd dynamic processing that's destroying the quality of the mix, resulting in a flat mix. It just sounds messy, especially when the lower end and drums are there. It's so muddy and messy.
This is my main issue with the mix. Work on fixing these issues and please resubmit. I voted borderline yes on the original as I do like the concept, but the packaging of it, especially here needs more work.
This one as is though, is a NO.
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Very entertaining. Good job you two.
Since this is the official podcast for OCR, I'm stickying this thread. Good show.
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Everything sounds too muddy. I would go back to the compositional stage and figure out what's causing the mud. Low end instrument + bass. Also consider rolling off some of the lower end frequencies and boosting some of the treble to create more balance. There's no sheen in the mix. The composition for the most part is pretty cool and catchy, but still lacking and as has been said "underdeveloped." Promising mix, but I'd like to hear this with more work done. More expansion, more polish, more instrumentation.
Fun in some respects, but it's not quite there yet. NO
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Basic percussion and basic lead for the most part. This needs more supporting elements and instrumentation. At least stick in a pad there playing the chords. I also would like to see more expansion on the arrangement side, and on the concept side. Neat stuff, particularly nice woodwind sequencing, but it needs a lot more in my book. NO
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Not a bad arrangement, but there's really not much meat in this mix. The first minute is way too sparse and simplistic. Synth designs/sounds aren't bad, but they're not used as effectively as could be. The lead in the first sections grew on me though and I liked the delay fx on those. Beyond that, the beat was way too simplistic as well.
I too agree that the mix lacked any direction and given its simplicity there wasn't much to get hooked on. It felt like it was repeating the same thing over and over.
Please use our WIP forum to get feedback and comments before submitting a mix. Not bad, but needs a lot of work in the compositional components and execution. Keep working at it. NO
*NO* Mega Man 2 'Quickman and Company Take Five'
in Judges Decisions
Posted
Yeah, jesse is right on this one. The rhythm piano is way redundant. The whole mix just sounds very unconvincing. There's really no production value here of note and the sounds are very GMish.
A fun and enjoyable listen despite its sloppy nature, but really, it's not anywhere near the bar at this point. I hope you consider retooling this mix for a resubmission, as this has a lot of potential. Best of luck.
NO