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XPRTNovice   Judges ⚖️

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Posts posted by XPRTNovice

  1. Unless he's Ravel, that's not gonna work. Mindful practice makes perfect.

    This is what I would recommend: don't just practice, but practice with goals in mind. I always used to tell my students "practice makes habits - perfect practice makes perfect." If you practice being bad at something, you'll be really awesome at being bad. I learned this the hard way with piano; my practice habits were bad, so I basically learned how to do things poorly and I am still spending time un-fornicating my technique.

  2. All: If you have not received a MOD REVIEW and your thread has been marked as such, please BUMP your thread in these forums and I will get to it ASAP. I'm trying to start clearing out the old ones and make sure they're returned to "finished" when the modreview is complete.

    If I don't see a bump in your modreview thread within the next week or so, I'm going to return all threads to "finished" states so that the queue is fresh. If, after that, you still haven't gotten a modreview, change it back to "modreview" and bump and we'll take care of it.

    Thanks for helping us clear the backlog.

    rozo edit: Shortcut for recent mod review marked tracks. Because it seemed like a new thing to some of you. No names. Link now updated for the new forum version.

  3. Hi there - couple of things. This forum is for remixes - there is another for originals (even if they are 'inspired'). Second, if you want critical feedback, try posting via soundcloud or some other site that hosts MP3s. You'll get a higher quality listen and therefore higher quality nitpicky feedback. Lastly, since source incorporation is a requirement if you're going to submit to judges, always include a link to the source (a YouTube link is fine there).

    Thanks and have fun! I've gone ahead and moved this for you to the correct forum.

  4. If you're willing to shell out a bit, try Multi-Platinum's mixing course. It's 5 hours of in-depth production with an award-winning mixing engineer, and well worth your time and the $50 you might pay for it. He USES pro-tools, but never once talks about the function of it. He focuses exclusively on using plugins to mix. While it focuses on contemporary rock/folk mix, the principles are universal.

    There are other courses there, but I can't vouch.

  5. XPRTNovice

    Real name: Joseph Zieja

    Location: Northern Virginia (changes almost yearly)

    Occupation: Government Contractor

    Preferred method of contact: OCR PM at the moment

    Also reachable by: Skype, mIRC sometimes, pigeon

    OSTs I recommend: Xenogears, Persona 3

    About Me:

    Relatively new to OCR (joined January 2012), but I've been a musician for over 20 years. My highlight seems to be the amount of instruments I play (at widely varying different skill levels of course), which include 4 saxophones, clarinet, guitar, mandolin, trumpet, french horn, flute, piano, and oud. I'm also a voiceover artist and fantasy/science fiction author on the side (hopefully some good news about my books coming in 2014).

    I'm glad to be a part of the OCR community and now I'm thrilled to be a part of the staff as well. I look forward to growing with you all.

  6. [modreview]

    Hi there. Nice groovy mix you've got here, with lots of good production stuff going on. To make this shine, here is my take:

    - The intro is nice, but there are some very noticeable volume jumps in the melody line (first noticed at 0:04) that make 4 notes sound way louder than the rest. Just pull them back town and they'll blend fine.

    - I agree with Timaeus that there's something...off about the drop. But I can't tell what it is. It could be that the volume difference between the intro and this doesn't mesh, or it could be the way the instruments are stacked. It's hard to tell. I feel like it might also need some low end in that drop.

    - The drums disappear for about 4-5 seconds at 0:33. In fact, the drums in the first section are really inconsistent, they sort of come in and out and make me feel like I can't get into the groove of the piece (which is so tasty, and I want it). This doesn't appear to be a problem after about 0:45 though.

    - The chiptune lead is a bit loud at 0:50, just a touch. It's not sitting right in the mix. Maybe even a touch of verb in addition to volume control might help tone that down.

    - Be careful that subwoofery bass doesn't overpower things at around 2:00. It's borderline and it's a really cool touch, but I might pull it back just a touch to avoid it taking over that section.

    - The piano has a doubling synth lead at 1:31. For the most part I think it works great, but there are two sections where it doesn't decay fast enough and it's too loud - pierces right through the mix. One is at 1:52 and the other is at 2:08 (the two high notes)

    - The piano lead that jumps in around 2:16 is way too out in front and punchy and doesn't blend. I think a simple volume adjust will fix that, but you might consider shaving some of the highs just a bit. When you do pull it back, take care you don't bury some of the softer twirls that make them quite nice.

    - I dig the outro :)

    [/modreview]

  7. People kind of mill about, see panels, play games, buy merch, etc. The OCR group itself is so big that there are constantly shifting mini-groups all weekend, since getting food with 40 people in an area that is already packed with 10k visitors is ridonk.

    Cool. I ended up feeling lost last year because I had only been on OCR for about 10 months and didn't really know anyone but I think this year should be easier to float around without feeling like a creepy person

  8. Confidence is the key to any performance

    This. I always try to be really cocky and really humble at the same time - the really cocky part is when you're performing, because you have to KNOW you are the BEST THING THAT HAS EVER TOUCHED MUSIC.

    But once you step away from that stage, you must, must, must ditch that attitude. For one, it makes you a dick. It also makes it impossible to get better because you think you already know everything.

    So, when I've been on stage, I am the best musician in the world. All other times I am awful and I don't understand why people like my music. It's a weird mind-splitting duality but it works for me.

  9. Hmmm...

    1.) Get a book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble (that's only me, not an anthology)

    2.) Level up in Parkour to a red wristband, possibly become an instructor

    3.) Land at least 3 video game OST gigs

    4.) Write the first draft of at least 3 more novels

    5.) Win a Hugo award (bahahah)

    6.) Learn a whole lot more about music production and these sample libraries I have

    7.) Expand my voiceover business and quit my day job so I can live in a cabin in the woods and actually accomplish #1-6 without severely burning out or making my daughter forget she has a dad.

  10. I got mine on Monday. I poo-pooed handhelds for a while, but this is a massive step up from the PSP. I'm playing Xenogears right now, but I hope to actually play some PSV games soon - I got the package that came with the Amazon bundle, so Sly cooper/uncharted etc are waiting for me. I'm more interested in getting back into RPGs though, since they seem to be exclusive to handhelds nowadays.

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