Chimpazilla
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Posts posted by Chimpazilla
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The humanization is not very good, and I have to agree the sounds are below the bar, sorry to say. The levels feel off to me, most noticeable when the first drop at 1:01 is so much more quiet than the buildup. Drops should always be louder than any buildup that precedes it. The DnB drums are so quiet as to be apologetic, and there is no kick sound to speak of, and no sidechaining to make the drums melt into the arrangement, and so this leaves me feeling like the drums don't fit the arrangement at all.
I adore this arrangement, it's clever as can be, part writing is tight. The ideas are dynamite and I'm sure people will enjoy it tons. I just can't in good conscience approve a track that relies this heavily on orchestral samples with these sounds and humanization. It just sounds like a mockup or advanced wip with these sounds.
NO
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Well I like this! It's crazy, but crazy good. I love the how the vocal clips are used. I agree with Gario:
On 3/20/2017 at 4:06 PM, Gario said:I like it - it's a little ball of energy that burns itself out quickly, but in that time it's a blast.
I'm finding the production fine, if quirky, and I happen to like the heavy kick. Works for me.
YES
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Wow I'm right on the borderline here. This is very creative, I love the lyrics and the vocals are well done. The beats are repetitive and not processed in a very interesting way. Hats are pretty loud and mechanical when they play. I'm fine with the simple synths, even the delay on the square is fine. My main issue here is the vocal processing, I hear NONE until 3:53 when I hear "NOOOOO" screamed with some reverb. The entire track's vocals are bone dry and centered, wow what a lost opportunity here. The vocal is the lead and the centerpiece here, and nothing is done to them whatsoever. If this were my track, I'd use Nectar 2 Production Suite to add some compression, de-essing, stereo widening, some subtle reverb, etc. and I'd probably take some portions and double them with delay for emphasis (as in the final syllable of a line, with epic ping pong delay on just that syllable). So much fun could be added to these vocals with some processing. I see also that the track is very highly compressed and hitting -5.9db RMS which is WHOA loud.
I wouldn't be upset if this posted as-is because it is so cool and creative, but I'm going to suggest adding a bit more source as per Larry's suggestion, and give the vocals just a bit of processing since they are the highlight. ("shot him in the DICK!" hahahaha)
NO (borderline, resubmit please)
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I love the huge beefy kick, and the perfect 80s synths. The intro almost does a "Stranger Things" thing and I love it. The arrangement does feel repetitive, but so does the source. The drum groove seems fitting to me, repetitive as it is it works in this context. Production is very good. I don't even mind the ending, with the restart and the fadeout, this just adds to the cheese factor. This one is working for me overall, just as it is.
YES
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Wow I really like this source, and I love the remix approach. I hear the criticisms about the mix being awash with reverb and release tails, but it doesn't bother me too much until 1:25. That wonky lead note at 1:25 does bother me, and the backing harmonies from 1:25 to 1:52 sound dissonant and harmonically muddy, possibly due to the long release tails but also possibly due to some wrong chord note choices throughout that section. The volume jump at 2:00 is startling and causes me to have to lower the volume. Wow I'm really on the fence here because this is so good, and I could flip to YES if that is the consensus but I'd prefer to see some issues addressed first.
NO (borderline, resubmit please)
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Guitar performances are really great. The flute is noticeably fake but it has a minor role. The drums sound fine. The string pad is not the loveliest pad sound I ever heard, but I don't have the feeling that it means to be real strings, and it gets the job done just fine. Nice arrangement.
YES
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I have a special love for this source. I agree the overall volume is low, it could be brought up with some proper mastering which would really make this pop. I adore all the wonderfully dissonant harmonies you added to this source, you gave it extra creepiness while keeping it completely recognizable. I love it!
YES
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Emery shared this with me a couple of weeks ago and I was amazed by how smartly it was put together and how ten minutes went by without a moment of lost interest. Production is as clean as it gets. Lots of love went into this track and it shows. Easiest yes ever.
YES
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Track is conservative and often sparse. I love those beat variations so much, unexpected ear candy. I think a lot more could have been done with this track melodically, and that ending is way too abrupt. I'm not sure sandwiching the mix in between dry vocal clips is the best choice. Still, I love the ideas here, very groovy.
YES (borderline)
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This is one of the best Zelda sources of all time, but a tricky one to remix. I like the bassline added. Without the sampled rattly bit, I think it would be too liberal and also too sparse. My big question is, are we allowing this much sampling straight from the source material?
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Not much to add to what the other two Js have said. The flute sounds nice, but that entire section has no real leadwork. The drum groove is probably the biggest issue I find holding this track back, it never changes. The kick sound doesn't seem to fit with the instrumentation either, it seems to be more of a hard rock kick and a soft kick would work better, and since the sound doesn't fit right and sticks out of the soundscape, the noticeably repetitive pattern of the kick is emphasized. Ok so I did have more to add. Fix the drum groove and this should work better.
NO
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Idunno guys, I like it. Sure the backing is repetitive, but it is holding the soundscape together nicely. Perhaps a few gated noise sweeps or something else, something sparkly here or there could liven it up a bit more, but ultimately I'm ok with this and the changes in lead/focus instrumentation keeps it fresh for me. I don't like the fadeout but that's a personal opinion, and perhaps it works here in context. The first note seems a bit sudden and chopped off, like the render missed part of the first note. Otherwise, after four listens I am finding this quite enjoyable. If this doesn't pass, definitely make some changes to the repetitive aspects of the track and throw in some more ear candy, but for now I'm a
YES
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Yep the drum balances and mixing are off, that tambourine or hat right in my face and so mechanical. The lead guitar tone is so mid heavy and has too much reverb, so the lead lacks any kind of sparkle, yet the backing chugs are mixed bright and up-front. I agree with Gario's vote pretty much entirely. Hope to hear this again though, I like the concept.
NO
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I see all the crits here and I don't disagree about the first half being conservative, but I love where you went with it and the arrangement flows really well. The humanization works well enough and it is a good, emotive track. Going with it.
YES
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Agree with all the crits here. That first one minute is ooof. The entire track's balances are off, the writing is frequently too busy, and things are not mixed to sit in their proper places. The arrangement is too good not to go with it, but please take our crits to heart for next time. Dat wakka guitar tho!
YES (borderline)
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I don't disagree with the criticisms listed here, but I still like this track and I feel like my issues from the last submission have been addressed. Please keep the crits in mind for next time, but this gets it done for me.
YES
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I like the concept, I like the interpretation of the melody quite a bit. But I'm not quite feeling this one, it is so sparse and that simple backing gets old quickly. The violin playing is competent but I dislike the right-ish panning and the sound is very dry. The piano when it enters is very simple and mechanical and feels like too little too late. Feels more like an extended concept wip to me.
NO
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Omg what an awesome track, great arrangement and ace production. Easily into my favorites folder, but I can't argue with Gario's source breakdown and unfortunately it isn't enough for OCR. If you wanted to throw in some other recognizable motifs from other sources (the section starting at 3:29 could almost hint at Zelda's Lullaby but would need to be made more easily recognizable) into those longer fully-original sections, that would put it over the top in terms of source use. If you don't want to revisit it, I would understand, and it sounds so great as it stands right now. Great listen, enjoyed it thoroughly.
NO (please resubmit)
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Wow, tricky vote here. I am listening and have read all the votes above. What I am hearing is a track that sounds overcompressed and yet not loud enough (limiter ceiling too low), all the way until 3:35, then there is this super quiet and clean piano, followed by a horrendously loud section with comically loud/dry vocals. I feel like the arrangement, odd as it is, is cool and quirky, but the balance and compression issues are ultimately putting it under the bar for me. It feels like too many cooks in the kitchen and the head chef went on break instead of overseeing this cake getting made. Needs another pass at the mixing/mastering, then it will be good to go.
NO (resubmit, please)
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Omg this source tho. Wow, I love music that makes you feel, especially when it makes you feel raw and shredded, I don't know why but I prefer that over "happy" music any day of the week. Ok on to the remix. Ah yes I can hear the NIN connection Gario mentioned, it's the bassline. I am loving this interpretation, this isn't an easy one to interpret but you managed to add a ton of creep factor into an already creepy source. I think the staccato strings are fine. I kind of wish the bass was a little louder, otherwise I really like this. Why does the ending cut off like that though, it sounds like your rendering range wasn't long enough to capture the final note or it's tail. Still,
YES
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I don't know these sources and I see that my fellow judges have gone over them in great detail, and I thought it would be fun to listen to the track in isolation before listening to the sources at all. What a cool track this is! Totally immersive. The mixing is just right for what it is trying to achieve, every element has it's place and nothing overstates itself. The arrangement is dynamite. Completely enjoyable track, great work!
YES
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14 minutes ago, MindWanderer said:
I can't argue with any of Gario's crits. I didn't feel the issue with the counterpoint at 1:04 was a big deal--it took me a couple of listens to hear it at all, since it's quite quiet and brief--but he's completely right about the balance and the piercing synth. The SFX starting around 3:25 are also in that discomfort zone for me.
In addition, I heard clipping in a dozen or so places throughout the mix. The static at 1:27-1:31 sounds like a severe rendering error, even though it's clearly deliberate because of the way it ends.
I'm also not sold on the change to the slow piano+violin section at 1:48-3:18. It's so dramatically different, so long, and comes with its own introduction, it doesn't really work as a breakdown, but rather sounds like a different remix stuck in the middle. The transitions themselves are fine, especially the one coming out of that section, but I don't feel like that section belongs in the same remix at all. I think the general concept could work, perhaps if you cut out most or all of 1:53-2:23 and made some changes to the backing to make it feel like part of the same song.
There are a lot of individual elements that I do like, but I don't think it's just the production that's bringing this down, but that the arrangement could use another look-over as well.
NO
Although I agree with both of my fellow judges here, I think MW's vote sums up my feelings best. Wow, I really think something went wrong on render here, I hear so many glitches and not the cool groovy kind. I love the concept, but wow, piercing frequencies, mid-heavy eq, and rendering errors all around. Needs work.
NO
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Even I am going to say there are too many sfx and vocal clips, and I'm a HUGE fan of game sfx and vocal clips. Many of the sfx are also too loud. Way too many in here, gotta take at least half of them out, and make the rest of them count, throw one in right before a big change, along with a noise sweep or something, and give us a break in between. Other than that I think the track is very good. The saw lead could use a little filter movement or something, not a dealbreaker but that would give it some more expressiveness especially on the longer notes. I like the starman interlude a lot, such fun soloing! The transitions into and out of starman are a little abrupt but I'm fine with it. It's a fun track, pretty easy pass without so many vocal clips and sfx. I guess I'm with Gario here, but since there are so many sfx I don't think conditional is a good way to go, as conditional is for super quickie fixes, and you should take your time rethinking the sfx in this track.
NO (borderline, remove some vocal clips and sfx, and resubmit please)
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The brass and flute have way too long of attacks, to the point where the track sounds sidechained and I know it isn't (or, shouldn't be). The flute especially should have a much shorter attack as it is playing lead. I agree about the rain fx, they are overused with this source generally, and in this case I agree the thunder claps are too loud when they occur. The deep drum isn't doing a good job of keeping the beat because it lacks punch, perhaps layering a proper kick in with it would help, but the big drum is also taking a ton of space in the low end and making it muddy overall. I feel like the soundscape is quite empty though throughout the piece, even with lots of stuff playing the soundscape needs different stuff to fill it out. The writing is also repetitive. I like the concept, but the execution isn't there yet.
NO
*NO* Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 'The Triforce Needs Five More Minutes'
in Judges Decisions
Posted
I have been playing this game quite a bit so I wanted to hear this. The BotW Temple of Time is such a sparse melody I figured it would be very hard to interpret, and I am struggling to hear it here. I really like this arrangement and the vibe, but it is very hard to hear the source. Waaaaaay too many vocal clips, mostly dry, and the soundscape is much too busy when they are playing. "Revali's Gale," "Daruk's Protection," "Urbosa's Fury" and "Mipha's Grace" I actually really dislike those sound bites even in the game. The kick drum you have here is quite distorted, I am guessing this is a stylistic choice but I find it too distorted and it sounds overcompressed to me. The drum groove overall is repetitive.
I think vocal clips are fine if used sparsely and smartly. You could take 75% of them out and make the rest count, and mix them well into the track so they aren't a focal point. When you resubmit though, we will need to do a significant source check to make sure there is enough in the track for our standards.
NO