ectogemia
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Posts posted by ectogemia
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Everquest was the tits before SOE got ahold of it and diarrhea'd out like 15-20 expansions within a few years. Unless they've decided to steer closer to the original formula, I can't say I'll be too hyped up about EQN, and that totally sucks since classic EQ is easily one of my favorite games.
Buuut there's always hope. right?
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Of course you disagree with me, it's my opinion, mostly. A subjective suggestion with a hint of objective that would only have improved what was already there.
Maybe tone the abrasiveness down by like 99%.
IIRC, I thought you said the first 25 seconds were original. It actually sounds kind of like the Cold Man slap bass slowed down to me. That may be close enough to count as source usage.It's original, so it can't count as source usage...
Overall, aside from the bass, I'm not actually noticing Cold Man very easily. Any usage that I'm not hearing here?Yes, just about the whole tune. The Cold Man "part A" melody is used essentially verbatim rhythmically and melodically (with some added harmonies) via the distorted jazz organ both before the brass kicks in and once the muted trumpet takes over. The entire outro is a reharmonization of the verbatim Cold Man "part B" melody as played by the muted trumpet.
there are a couple potential issues that stand out to me though. im not sure how youre doing the scratching (im thinkin roughly 1:00-1:15), but youre essentially using it as part of the auxiliary percussion here (as opposed to something soloistic), so the repetitive technique begins to stick out. it seems like there is little to no fader involved, and the rhythms themselves are fairly repetitive. i would also suggest a hp filter on that stuff, as youve got a pretty dense texture goin on and at a certain point scratching is essentially rhythmic white noise.
It's high passed, but maaaybe not enough. Pretty much everything I did in this remix was experimental for me, and yeah, I couldn't seem to get the scratches to sit quite right. They do sound a little too thick now that you mention it. As for how I wrote the scratches, I just cut up and repitched and rearranged a bunch of random scratch samples I have. It was a good idea, but I quickly ran out of samples compatible with the song, hence why the scratch patterns get boring. Also, percussion isn't my strong suit
one other little detail thing , at ~2:36 the cymbals and trumpet seem to clash. i would go with some brighter cymbals there ? (sounds like youre using a china) or maybe just a little filter.You're saying I should low pass the trumpet slightly to let the splashy cymbal come through?
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As I had said in my review earlier, 1:17 felt a bit disparate with the jump in dynamics as compared to tbe section before it. You had essentially a full soundscape, then just an organ for a bit, then back to full. It might just be the source having been shifted to the left, eliminating the first few seconds of source from that climax, that contributed to that. Aside from that, it sounds pretty good.
It was for effect. A light rendition of the melody for a bit followed by a heavier set of instruments finishing up the phrase is a pretty common technique to create impact through contrast. I'm guessing you're not a fan of that technique based on all your critiques, but I really like the contrast
To each his own and stuff.Thanks for the feedback, guize.
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I loved Castle of the winds growing up, I definitely would like to see this game pan out. Pitching some cash as soon as i get home from work.
Amen to Castle of the Winds. Fuck Lifthrasir, man.
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A little bit of an informal survey: how closely are you guys working with your team members, week to week?
Not at all for my track, but I made the high-passed crazy synth in Ben's Literally Metal Pirates track. He did the remaining 99.5% of the track and did it well.
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However, thanks for the effort.
Everybody gets one.
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Wanna expand on the harmonic excitation? I've fiddled with the one I have in Ozone some and I know it's basically just a multiband distortion unit used to saturate frequency bands, but I'm not sure how best to apply it in mastering situations. EDUCATE ECTO.
His name is Robert Paulson!His name is Robert Paulson!
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There's a lot more to mixing and mastering than simply using good samples. Listen to how much louder my song is this week than everybody else's (and yet still clean sounding, as far as separation goes; yes I know I have some filthy sounds in that mix). That's 8 hours of work just on final mix down and mastering between Jason and me.
Oh, yeah, I agree, but that being said, high quality sounds out of the box are *necessary* for the best possible production value. The point I was really trying to make, though, is that some people don't have access to high quality samples or synths, so by default, they'd be at a disadvantage in such compos because there's only so much you can do with free sounds, at least as far as production and polish goes. That's not to say you can't make amazing music with free sounds -- just look at Phonetic Hero, Theory of N, Hylian Lemon, Ben Briggs, etc. -- but for a hypothetical compo FOCUSING on sound quality, it's sort of a bum deal for free-sound types.
And as an aside, I know my track isn't as loud as a lot of others, but that was intentional to preserve the dynamics of the muted trumpet solo. Didn't wanna compress my track too much and poop all over that automation and velocity business I spent so much time on ;o
I guess I could have bused everything else but the trumpet and compressed it a bit, but meh, dunno if that'd sound very good. Just turn up the volume a bit on my track and enjoy the beauty of unsquashed transients
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Starting a new workout regime tomorrow with heavy emphasis on swimming at various intensities and lots of lean protein.
Gotta get thin before I get BRICKED.
Yep, yep, and more yep. If you have bonus fat, step 1 in fitness is to lose it before you start adding muscle.
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Hey, fuck you man.
I know a guy who got in a fight once. Don't make me call the guy I know who got in a fight once.
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This makes me wonder: has anyone ever tried a pure production compo before? For instance: The organizer provides a MIDI, and participants are not allowed to change or remove any notes (though possibly notes could be added?), but they can do anything else they want.
Slap on a bunch of top-quality samples and synth patches, and it won't be much of a contest D:
But there are mastering and mixing contests out there fairly similar to what you're talking about where you're given poorly mixed music, and you have to fix it.
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I do actually point out that the usage of both themes is the more important factor to consider, but that production and general enjoyability of the track should also be considered in the voting guidelines. How people apply this criteria is up to them. I just don't want people to forget about the fact that artists should be using both sources. For example: if I mix this week and do the most amazing remix of Blizzard Man the world has ever heard, with impeccably recorded live orchestra fused with a top-notch EDM soundscape, but I only use like 12 seconds of The Moon tacked on to the end, you should not be voting for me. xD
True, true. As I said before, 'sall about tipping points between the axis of arrangement and production. Commensurate quality of each is ideal. but production is super important, youguise
Ladies and gentlemasters, I'd like to point out that we just successfully completed a debate on the internet without slinging a single shit-word or ad hominem premise, a first for all of mankind. Remember where you were this day, because people will ask about it years from now.
On that note, KgZ, you and I need to have a talk about production ;o I have much to learn.
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Except that it's Darke's compo, so he decides what the voting criteria should be. That's not to say you can't have your own opinions about how to apply them, but it does mean that source usage, which means integrating the two sources into one coherent whole, should be the most important factor, followed by production and enjoyability. In practice, most people reverse the order of those when voting. In fact, I personally rarely vote for the pieces that make it into my own playlist, because the ones I enjoy are often not the ones that best meet the voting criteria.
If you've ever watched Olympic figure skating, I think of it that way. The judges get a lot of boos sometimes when the most entertaining routines get low scores, because the judges have specific things they look for irrespective of their personal preference.
This isn't the Olympics, man, and we're grow'd up guys. We can choose our own criteria for voting. Not to mention the Olympics require a numerical system of "objective" scoring so that the competitors have a VERY specific set of skills to work towards. By rigidly defining the voting criteria of this compo as arrangment-first, that forces the artists to focus on that skill if they want to win instead of focusing on all facets of musicality, and I don't think anyone here believes that's a good idea.
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Cool, I'll do some research on pubmed soon. I got from 155 to 180 without too much trouble, now I want to see if I can get to a clean 200 then back down to a super-clean 190 or so next spring.
Would you mind sharing your average daily food log? Just what you're eating and how much, etc. I'm curious.
Yep, it's the same nearly every day.
PWO meal = 1 lb 100% grass-fed ground beef, 1 lb organic sweet potatoes, 3/8 cup of hemp protein
Then throughout the afternoon and evening, I just sorta cram down 4 scrambled eggs cooked in butter, steamed broccoli and grass-fed raw cheese, about 3/4 lb of microwaved potatoes with several tbsp of grass-fed butter in them + various seasonings, a large bowl of raw, grass-fed yogurt with 2 bananas and some berries.
On rest days, I skip the sweet potatoes and potatoes and add in kale + bacon cooked in the bacon fat and braised in white wine. Shit is so good... I also throw in whatever else will add in a few more calories on rest days without making it very carb heavy as I reduce my carb intake on rest days for fat-loss purposes.
And I'm not saying organic and raw and grass-fed to be a snob but because it's important to eat top-quality foods as they're more nutrient dense and in line with our biochemistry, not the mention the dangers of pesticide residues and GMO foods.
I also don't really measure or count anything except the hemp protein. I just eat a lot. That's the idea
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Let's also not forget that everyone is entitled to their own voting criteria
Also, HL makes a good point because his music is the shit, but he doesn't rely heavily on flashy production or modern sounds. There's certainly a tipping point on the axis between quality production and quality arrangement. I don't think anyone is judging tunes based solely on a single factor, but certainly, we all weigh things differently.
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That seems a bit narrow minded don't you think?
They're not mutually exclusive. A well polished production and arrangement will fall into place by sounding good naturally. I strongly recommend that you re-examine the end result or goal you're accomplishing in this contest. The people listening to this music who aren't musicians aren't going to care about "breakdowns". They aren't going to care about the details you put in the arrangement. If the production is terrible, it doesn't matter. Ultimately, they care that it sounds good. If the production is good, then they'll appreciate the arrangement if they already know the sources. As the leader of this contest, you should encourage participants in this contest to explore creative direction without pressure of what's appropriate and what isn't.
I agree that production is an extremely important part of this and any competition. Unless you're writing chiptunes (and even then...), production is an essential part of creating a really memorable, listenable tune. In fact, my primary musical goals for months now have been to focus on production, and now that I have a fairly strong grasp on it, I feel much more musically capable than I ever have.
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Here's a spicy tune I wrote for the WCRG compo. Links to the two sources are below. What do YOU PEOPLE think?
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So let's talk intermittent fasting, please. I'm planning on doing it for my next cut in January, but I was also considering the possibility of starting it for my bulk next month. I'm just a little wary of consuming so many calories in such a short amount of time; I'm afraid I'll feel like crap during most of my eight hours of eating. Ecto, I think you said you had some experience with this. Has anyone else tried it?
Also, if someone could point to some good research about how intermittent fasting affects hormones, that would be most welcome.
Actually, I've done my whole bulk with intermittent fasting. I'll be the first to tell you how effective it is. On the other hand, I'll also be the first to tell you how miserable it is to bulk while doing IF. Cutting is no biggie on IF, but bulking sucks because I consume like 3500 calories in 8 hours, and that is not easy or comfortable to do. The benefit is that I've gained no more than probably 5-7 lbs of fat after putting on 43 lbs so far this bulk.
But I wouldn't say I feel "like crap" too often on IF. Sometimes, yeah, if I really push it with eating more than I should too soon, but generally, it's just somewhat uncomfortable
Still not a great thing, but you have to keep your eyes on the prize when bulking anyway. It's never fun to eat several thousand calories each day, haha, fasting or not.Regarding research, it's all on pubmed. Just search for intermittent fasting. Or just ask me whichever questions are on your mind!
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Disagree completely. It's shouldn't matter how the person uses the source material, so long as it sounds good. Who cares if it sounds like two separate remixes on a cohesive or arrangement standpoint? Different effects of how you arrange or produce provoke different emotions for the listener. As long as you have a focused vision of what you want to express, you're good to go.
Ever been to a live DJ set? It's absolutely cool as hell when a DJ flips between one song and another back and forth.
My man. ;o I've been thinking this as long as I've been writing music. That being said, it takes more skill to weave two unrelated sources seamlessly, but yeah, I have 0 preference for that vs. using the source tunes successively, both as a writer and as a listener.
Also, I love this WCRG
I think it has the most talent of any OCR compo I've ever seen, plus we've had some nice, gentlemanly debates. Fun shit, so fart! Not even gonna fix that typo. -
Yes.
I saw a couple of guys posting breakdowns once voting started for Round 2. Honestly, you shouldn't have to justify your arrangement by explaining it; the arrangement should be enough on its own. People should be able to listen to the song and hear the source usage.
I posted a breakdown because Larry got upset with me that I didn't include breakdowns in the two tracks I've had evaluated by the judges' panel
Then again, those were super liberal interpretations (also coincidentally both from the last WCRG compo). The one I submitted to the compo this week, however, was a pretty good balance of source and original, I think. Sooo yeah, I just posted the breakdown for convenience for anyone who was interested rather than for defending my remix I know mah arrangement is fiiine, girl *triple snap*Well I'm up this week.Needless to say I'm freaking excited. <3
Let's bring my A-game.
I'm also excited. I love me some Tuberztunez <3. Future OCR/chiptune scene star. You heard it here first, folks.
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I doubt I'd be able to fit that into my schedule, but I'd love to listen to it afterwards. I can get things into the same key by ear most of the time, but I don't always know what key I've gotten them into. And chords are the same but harder.
Sounds like a little music theory would set ya straight
There's a limited number of chords out there (if we're keeping things simple), and scales follow consistent patterns of intervals. Spend a week or so really drilling the intervals found in basic triads and 7th chords and also common scales like the major scale, minor scale, harmonic minor scale, and pentatonic/blues scale. That should make it pretty simple to identify the key of a song and even to figure out the chords. Each chord has a "quality" to it (major/happy vs. minor/sad) as well, so that helps to narrow down which chord is being used in a piece of source material (are you hearing a happpy or sad-sounding chord? The answer will narrow down the notes/intervals which can be in the chord). Checking out the figured bass/Roman numeral system of chords in a scale is a really helpful tool when writing chords because it puts each chord in a natural scale into context with respect to "quality".
So a major scale is w-w-h-w-w-w-h (w = whole step; h = half step), and the figured bass representation of the triad chord scale (playing the scale in order where each tone is the root of a triad) would be I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-viio where a capital is a major traid, a lower-case is a minor triad, and the o means it's a diminished triad. 95% of the time, when the chord changes, the next note in the melody is going to be either the root or 3rd of the chord beneath it, sometimes the 5th or 7th, but only occasionally a different interval. Things get dicier when you add in 7ths, but with triads, that's nearly always true. The biggest exception to that is probably suspensions in which the melody or chord may have a 2nd or 4th instead of a 3rd going on until the suspension resolves into a 3rd.
Ok, I'm babbling at this point, but you catch my drift. Also keep in mind that the last point I tried to make about deriving the chord from the melody isn't always going to work in more creatively composed pieces
Gotta develop that ear to really hone in what you're hearing/writing. Myself, I improvised on piano a ton after I posted my first terrible remix in the workshop forum a couple of years ago to develop my ear to become a more competent musician. Nothing is more important than the ability to make sense of the music you hear through your ears and in your head. -
Source breakdown:
0:00-0:25: original
0:25-1:00: one of the organs is playing the first half of the Cold Man melody almost verbatim, albeit they're arranged as the root notes of various funky chords
1:00-1:52: Moliarty's Tower theme with some embellishments and harmonic interpretation + additional wankery and ornaments + the alt#9 chord in the turnaround that my Robot Master's theme and Moliarty's Tower both coincidentally share.
1:52-2:24: Cold Man's melody played as in 0:25-1:00, but everything is modulated up a minor 3rd. Original trumpet solo.
2:24-2:49: reharmonizing of the 2nd part of Cold Man with the Cold Man melody via trumpeto
Yeah!
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Subbed. My tongue is still tingling from the spiciness of these trumpets, ouch...
In other news, I agree with Shadix. Recording a session player results in an audio rendering of music the composer wrote. Sequencing samples of a player who recorded them for a library results in an audio rendering of music the composer wrote. The only difference is the quality of the end product where a session recording will sound more organic. I don't think it's that important that the person who records the part is on your team so long as the primary arranger wrote the whole part (minus embellishments and articulations added naturally by the player).
MM & Bass: Cold Man + Darkwing Duck remix from WCRG compo
in Post Your Game ReMixes!
Posted
I followed what you were saying. I was asking Alex about what he meant