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XPRTNovice   Judges ⚖️

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Posts posted by XPRTNovice

    Fit Club ahoy! Where men are bros and women are also bros!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Fitness/hippie/gaming related question - I like nerd swag that I can use practically that isn't just pins or shirts. My hair is also getting too long to work out without it slapping me in the eyes. Do you guys know a place I can get sweet gaming/nerd/anime sweatbands? I've checked thinkgeek, but I'm not up to snuff on good places to buy that kind of stuff...

    Oh, in fitness related news, I got invited to become a parkour instructor. Woot! Now I have FIVE jobs!

    Monster in the Headlights (Haunted Woods) - Diddy Kong Racing

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Hey Joe, thanks for the feedback! Just a couple questions for clarity:

    The staccatos at 1:30, when you say 'touch out of volume', do you mean too loud? Too quiet? As for low end support, I think maybe layering some contrabass staccs could solve the problem. What do you think?

    The brass is meant to sound like in a real pops orchestra, so yeah, they're not supposed to be 100% tight in their timing.

    3:05 has legato violas doing one counterpoint, with staccato cellos doing the other counterpoint (aka the 'orchestral hits', mimicking what the brass was doing at 2:20, as you said). You said that the legato violas (what I assume you mean by "string lead") get buried underneath the cello staccatos, which sounds to me like the cello staccatos are currently the lead. But you said that neither seems to be currently taking the lead.

    I think the best solution may be just to remove the cello staccatos. They're pretty redundant anyway; just reiterating what the brass does before and after, while the legato violas introduce a new portion of the source.

    Also, could you be more specific about the production issue at 2:20 with the brass?

    Thanks again for all your help! :)

    Hey there. I don't have the song in front of me at the moment, but I'll try my best to answer these. Also, I'm not sure where this is written down, but I think you're only expected to get one Mod Review per song. I'll check on that though.

    - The 1:30 staccatos' volume seems to change up and down at non-standard intervals that seems more like mistakes and humanization.

    - Contrabass stabs might sound quite nice, yes! Just something to round it out a little without bringing in the mud.

    - The trumpets/trombones at 2:20 sounded like they were splitting the part. It might be a trick of the ear, but to me it sounded like the trumpets dropped out in the middle of the line for maybe 2-3 notes in a way that struck me as weird. Solo those tracks, and if you don't hear anything funny, ignore the comment.

    I'll check on the one-mod-review-per-song rule, because I could have sworn I read it but I can no longer find where I thought it was written.

    Orchestral Pokemon Remix (Lavender Town + Route 12)

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    REVIEW OF MODILY MOD

    This is a really cool interpretation of these two pieces, which include the only pokemon game I've ever played, so that's a plus. You've got some great elements of classical orchestration combined with a really sort of modern art flair. Here are my nitpicks.

    - Lovely intro with a great swell.

    - The string marcatos in the back of 35 ish seem like they're on autopilot a bit. You might want to adjust them to make them sound a bit more natural; right now they sound a little hammered to me.

    - I think the flute lead at :45 comes in too strong...just that one phrase, though.

    - I like how the harp creeps out of the mix to become the segue instrument around 1:30.

    - The flute that comes in at 1:37 sounds very dry and it's quite noticeable in contrast to the rest of the samples and mixing you've done which has been so warm and full.

    - String entrance at 2:23 is a biiit abrupt.

    - I have a similar complaint about the flute staccato at 2:50; it's drier than the rest of the stuff to my ears. A touch more verb and it'll sit better, IMO.

    - Love 3:55; great moment.

    - I'm not as much of the squeezing out effect at 4:15. It sounds like the song completely ends and really breaks up the continuity you've got going on. I'm not sure if that was just a mixing thing or if you chose it for stylistic effect.

    - Enjoy the swapping of prominence of brass/winds at 4:50; very well done.

    - The piano that starts at 5:05 ish is a little plunky and, in my opinion, doesn't fit as well with the nice things you've got going on. The rest of the mix at that point is smooth and you've got a piano that kind of goes chop-chop-chop-chop.

    - Love the re-entry of the full orchestra at 5:50. The trumpets could come out more there, though; they are really singing the melody, so let them out! Right now I feel like that section is a bit bottom heavy.

    - The clarinet entrance at 7:13 could be moderated a bit to be less abrupt.

    - I hear a very faint string artifact in my left ear at 7:41...like after they fade out, they come up again for a split second.

    - I think the last note could fade out a bit more gradually...like the whole orchestra is letting out a slow breath.

    Overall, I really do like this. It's got a great feel, it's so warm it makes me want to hug a pokemon. My production critiques are very nitpicky, and I think this already has a fine amount of polish. Great job.

    YOU'VE BEEN MODREVIEWED

    Monster in the Headlights (Haunted Woods) - Diddy Kong Racing

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    MODREVIEW

    Hey there. Very cool take on this. I love the way it makes me think of Monster Bash.

    - This is a personal taste thing, but the dual-panned wind SFX in the beginning that start a half second apart throws me off. I would just start them simultaneously.

    - Bassoon around 0:50 sounds a little off to me. Probably the most unrealistic sound in the whole soundscape...I might consider replacing it with another instrument, or have the swells more graudal/slow rather than up and down so often.

    - Pay close attention to the accented viola marcatos at 1:30 ish. Some of them feel like they're just a touch out of volume.

    - Overall could use more low end support from the orchestra, prior to beat drop. it feels a little bottom-light, especially for the feel of the piece. This problem goes away at 1:45 when the beat drops, though.

    - Beat drop at 1:45 felt like it could use something more...maybe a cymbal crash? It's a great moment in the piece though.

    - The spooky leads are great.

    - Brass hits at 2:20 confused me a bit because I couldn't tell if the trumpets and trombones were playing in unison; it sounds like the trumpets come in a little delayed. That might be fine, but do take a listen and make sure it's how you intended.

    - String lead at 3:05 gets almost completely lost behind the orchestra hits that were previously brass hits at 2:20. Also, listening to the orchestra hits definitely makes me think that there's some production issue going on at 2:20 that you need to take a look at in the horns.

    ^^Now having read Timaeus' comments on the lead confusion, I see that I might be suffering from the same thing. You do need to decide which is the lead and make sure that comes out, because I'm having trouble figuring it out. Those stabs could be the lead, but so could the long notes behind it.

    - Nice panning of the vibes on the way out. Nice vibe performance in general.

    I like this piece a lot; great job with it. I think with a couple of subtle adjustments this will be an easy pass.

    /MODREVIEW

    Fit Club ahoy! Where men are bros and women are also bros!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    boy howdy am I sore from that sprint a few days ago. that's the kind of exercise I'm looking for, something that works a lot of different muscles at once. too bad I feel really weird running like a bat out of hell.

    Sprint workouts are great. Mark Sisson has one that I really like because it's not just running. Let me see if I can find it...

    here it is! I never knew how much hopping could make you want to die.

    Workout #4: Sprint Drills

    4 x 50m strides at 75% effort. Ten second rest between efforts. One minute rest before next exercise.

    2 x 50m skipping. Drive knee as high as you can (try to hit your chest), taking off and landing on opposite leg. Then launch off, and land, with opposite leg, driving other knee high into chest – like an exaggerated skip. Strive for maximum height instead of length. Fifteen second rest between efforts. One minute rest before next exercise.

    2 x 50m bounding. Take as long a stride as possible, focusing on keeping your balance rather than speed. Thirty second rest between efforts. One minute rest before next exercise.

    2 x 50m hopping. Take off on both legs and jump up and forward. Focus on achieving a good balance between height and length. Swing arms to assist effort and ensure a balanced landing. One minute rest between efforts (you’ll need it, trust me). Two minute rest before next exercise.

    4 x 50m full speed sprint. One minute rest between efforts.

    Let's improve our résumés & cover letters! (Job hunting advice)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Flower patterns and other graphic frames aren't always bad ideas, they DO actually add some idea of what kind of personality you're giving people out. Flower patterns might tell your interviewer you have a sunny personality that they could really use around the office or as a cleaning lady they bring in 3 times a week, but those are only really good for specific situations and should definitely not be overused.

    Yes, absolutely. I forget that not everyone is in super-serious government jobs.

    Let's improve our résumés & cover letters! (Job hunting advice)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    While we're having a bit of a side discussion on throwing out resumes for debatable etiquette violations, I thought I'd also get to the heart of this post and offer some advice.

    Literally two weeks ago I was involved in hiring my own replacement (it's a weird situation) so I was basically the person who recruited, reviewed all the resumes, and conducted the interview for this position. While I'm not HR or authorized to hire anyone myself, everyone in the chain took my recommendations without question. So take this with a grain of salt.

    Here are some things I noticed.

    - Look counts. Not in FANCINESS, but in READABILITY. If your resume looks like it came from a Notepad document, it's hard for me to digest the information and makes me wonder when you say you are proficient in Microsoft Office if you are blowing smoke. But flower patterns are annoying, so find a balance (like Meteo said, balance is key)

    - Read the job posting. I had over 50% of the people who were applying for a job that they were barely tangentially qualified for. It was clear they had dispatched a generic resume to every job in that field, and they were easy kills for me.

    Let's improve our résumés & cover letters! (Job hunting advice)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    If you've got good references, why wouldn't you put them on there? It's annoying at best, and shady at worst.

    It's like saying "real name of applicant available upon request" or "actual resume available upon request".

    As for them being important, I've never gotten a job where I had references on my resume, and almost nobody has ever asked me for any, so they can't be THAT important. Anecdotal logical fallacy, etc, I know. But still.

    But I'll quote the old wives tale about resumes being a page long, and people (again, I think sort of harshly) throwing out resumes if they go halfway to a second page in this sort of huff. What does a list of names tell you about that candidate that is so much more important than their education, work experience, accolades, certifications, etc? Obscuring the reason for leaving a job is shady; saying "I have amplifying information for you if the rest of this interests you" is not.

    Let's improve our résumés & cover letters! (Job hunting advice)

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by XPRTNovice

    One thing that no one should ever and I mean EVER do is say this:

    "References available upon request".

    Where I work, we get a shitload of resumes every day and any that have this on it (and there always are) go straight to the garbage. There are few things less professional that you can say on a resume than this.

    Erm, not to react, but this seems kind of unnecessarily harsh. If you're going to complain (not that you have, I am being hypothetical) that resumes are more than 1 page, but then also complain that a candidate doesn't want to waste space typing out names of people...I dunno. This seems like a really silly reason to throw out an application.

    EDIT: Further, you give no reason why this is the most unprofessional thing ever. I would think like, profanity in a resume might be better qualified :P . But really, what makes this so unprofessional?

    Anime

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    SAO is great. Well, more of the first season, personally.

    Really didn't like the second season. We went from a badass Asuna to a helpless fairy Asuna who's trapped in a parlor owned by a pervert that just wants to touch her boobs.

    This. I SO wish I had just turned off the series, because the first season was very powerful; the last episode was great. I was totally and utterly confused when I realized that there were more episodes afterwards, and utterly disappointed for the entirety of it. But I will recommend season 1 to anyone, anyday.

    Help Me Acoustically Evaluate This Room

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    Thanks guys. I don't have plans for the room yet because I haven't bought the house; what I was mostly worried about was the vaulted ceiling. It appears to peak at about 10 feet or so, judging by the size of the bicycles in the back, but I'll be seeing the house this week.

    (That's right I haven't seen the place yet; only my wife has and she came home gushing like a girl talking about her fairy castle, so I'm obligated to go see it)

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