Rexy

Eino, it had been updated for the past hour. I was just really slow trying to edit the first post with nothing but mobile internet a few blocks down the street. It's there either way. No modification was done to the koto though, if that answers anything.

Heya Eino Thanks for the commentary on Hogging Molly earlier! Well, I took a look at some of those concerns, though off the bat here's some I can't address. The pads at the beginning were part of Impact Soundworks's Resonance library (yes, one of the two prizes I asked for as a result of the FF6 contest). I've looked into the framework of the pad, but in the end it's a bowed metallic pad that relies on loops, and I can't really take out any grating noises that came with it. I did have a go at EQing out some of the frequencies past 2500 though, seeing if that kind of helps things. Coming in at 1:01, that's not an acoustic guitar - that's a koto. I was originally intending to go for a shamisen there but there was just too much high end and not enough body. I went for that because when trying to integrate the guitar power chord breakdown with the Emerald Hill chord structure, I realised it had a pentatonic progression, hence the need for something Eastern. As for the chords at 3:35 and 3:42, the chords go into diminished, which was present in the original source tune. I have indeed rectified it by making a slight modification on the synth lead over the top of the first one. Finally in regards to the pace, having realised that I need to do a lot to make sure this thing passes, what I am understanding is that there needs to be some added tension going through the acoustic drum section. So taking it into account, I've ended up cranking the drums and bass into double speed prior to the arpeggiated synth area, and indeed it calms down before the end. I'm actually not sure if it's even going to be likeable myself, but hey, if the Goo Goo Dolls can make it work... x_X Either way, uploading with newest version now. Will update the first post accordingly.

Another mod would be helpful, but no matter what, I feel that changing the form is just going to destroy the vision that I had for the track. If I want this thing to pass the panel, then I definitely don't want that vision compromised because that would just make me feel even more unhappy than the rejection. I still want to get this out there - I am taking a serious amount of pride in it, though that to me is now sounding like an understatement considering how upset I am in myself right now. But alas, took a look into the track again before going to work, according to the crits layered out. Two things I'm not doing is putting in synth guitars due to my general dislike for them, or even compromising the portamenteau section with any form of piano part; I cite Steve Vai's 'For the Love of God' for the builded climax for the synth line going throughout the last couple of minutes. And it's usually that kind of music that rubs a chord on me and brings out that kind of expression. The new version is in the first post. Go grab it.

It's not really a stream of thought; I found it hard enough to fit in every single one of my ideas when going through my initial notes on how to go about it. This is practically the structure I agreed upon: * Subdued intro * Planet Wisp melody gently coming in * Reference to Brandon's opponents * Planet Wisp repeat with fitting in of the Emerald Hill melody * Intense synth solo, moody for 16 bars * Synth solo becomes more triumphant at end * Dream Theater style string fakeout * Minimal piano outro Basically my low moods were able to carry the track forward; I couldn't really envision creating something like this in any other way. But I just feel really disheartened if you're thinking that the panel would 'no' it on arrangement grounds. It's making me think that I give myself way too much credit than I actually deserve. I'll address the other components bit by bit after having eaten, but I still can't see myself altering the structure unless there seems to be something that needs to be taken out. [EDIT: Okay, started going through a few things. I'm mainly paying attention to Blue Magic's thought about the delay on the first voice clip; this is its settings as it currently stands. There was some awkward feedback on the second ping which I soon took out for consistency, but is there something else that is making the delay stick out? (And yaaay... that's Reaper's ReaDelay. )]

Fixed. Go to bed, Tuberz.

Beth is a goddamn pancake, you crepe

@Shake: Just for the record I found it hard to initially condense my ideas within 6 minutes without breaking apart the artistic vision. So I can't cut it any shorter, I'm afraid. :\ @C7: Managed to take a look into the feedback. We addressed bits together in the IRC and I managed to get some of the ideas into the track... including replacing a few synth sounds and reshuffling/texturing some near the end. I'm kind of unsure about doing glitching though; I'm looking for a more natural and expressive sound as opposed to Katamari-style chillout. So either way, the first post is updated with some of the feedback taken into consideration. Is this an improvement? Can other things be changed? Or is there something else I'm just not hearing? o_O

I am letting you guys know that I am refining my Planet Wisp bonus track for OCR submission. I would definitely love all the feedback I can for it to make it onto the front page. Go on, make the greatest female lizard ever happy

UPDATE 4: http://instaidgrace.com/freqrexy/junk/soniccolors-gointothelight.mp3 It's at this point that I consider the track done. Fixes in this version: * Bass lowered, again. * Timings fixed on the strings, and automation fixes on them in the beginning. * Mid-EQs boosted to fill in some space. * Piano lowered again due to distortion induced by the above point. This is pretty much the version that I sent off to the Submissions Inbox. Let's see how things go --- UPDATE 3: http://instaidgrace.com/freqrexy/junk/gointothelight11.mp3 Current fixes to the previous version are as follows: * EQ cut on pads at beginning. * After being annoyed with 3 patch changes that went nowhere, I just replaced the square in the call-and-answer section with a piano. o_O * Changed a bum note near the end of the electro kit segment. * Added some liveliness to the drums and bass near the end. Not sure if this is what Eino means...... * Took out the bass EQ boost because it sounded horrible with the above section. * In response to the structuring, I boosted some of the rhythm parts in the background past the 4 minute mark that were also present in the beginning. Also I should have said this at the start; the 4:15 section shares chord progression with the 1:15 section, and the climax at 4:35 started by sharing chord sequences with the 0:50 area before going in a more dynamic route. So there's food for thought regarding any more irks regarding the general progression. Thoughts? --- UPDATE 2: http://instaidgrace.com/freqrexy/junk/gointothelight9.mp3 * Wetness on the delay for first clip reduced by 4db. * Bass varied in first couple of minutes. * Volume boosted by 2db on lead synth at around 3:30; that synth also had a cut in portamento by 6% to make it sound less like a "bird chiruping", which volume there was reduced by 2db. * Flanger added on synth in acoustic drum section and added a phaser to alter the tone to something a little less grating. * Threshold on limiter boosted by 1.5db. Tried to do it higher, but it just killed my piano for some reason. * 800-1200 frequencies brought in on strings. I usually have a problem fitting them in so that they don't clash with other rhythm parts... o_O * Cut out a few 32nd notes in the last synth solo, particularly one of the portamento based wobbles. That ultimately got replaced by a brief 16th note sweep. Apparently, there is concern about my structure. That is something that I really do NOT want to compromise for the sake of passing, but I just don't know how else to manage Gario's remark by that. I have done every bit of squeezing in and condensing as I could while making it in the first place, so I just feel really stuck by that. --- UPDATE 1: http://instaidgrace.com/freqrexy/junk/gointothelight6.mp3 * All Zebra synth sounds completely changed to some thicker equivalents. (Note to self: never use the Arksun soundbank again...) * Pads at the beginning extended and blended in more with the first instance of the Planet Wisp melody. * Weaving of pads and strings at 3:00. * Chord prior to Green Hill piano section changed from a D Major to a D Major 7th. * Synth texture changes thickened near end, particularly after the arpeggio segment. * Acoustic snare drum volume lowered in the mix. Seemed to get a bit too much attention for my liking late on. ORIGINAL POST: Well, thinking about it as hard as I can, I really want to start getting one or two tracks I entered to Sonic Zone onto the site. I did my best with my source pick of Emerald Hill 2P from Sonic 2, and I want to make sure it FINALLY gets some representation on OCR - something to compliment my S&K and Sonic 1 movements. So let's start with the little bonus track I worked on and sent as a bonus entry last week. http://instaidgrace.com/freqrexy/junk/Go_Into_the_Light_(Emerald_Hill_2P_&_Planet_Wisp).mp3 I wrote this as something more calming/thereaupic than my other 4 main entries, and really wanted to bring up what I felt expresses me as an artist, particularly going as far back as 2005. Even if you're trapped in yourself, there will be someone who will help grant you a way out, even if it's someone you don't expect. First things first and foremost: the voice clips are staying. First one is Sonic's infamous copyright statement prior to the Planet Wisp boss (keeping in as a sense of irony lol), and like my other Sonic Zone entries, the second one has a Gex voice clip ("What this place needs is color"); an intentional nod to Colors and the lifting moods as the track goes on. I'm cutting straight to Mod Review because I have poor confidence with the workshop as it is, and I really want to make sure this baby will actually pass the panel. So yes, fire away!

I do understand it by the figuring out who to vote for part, though they still bolded their choices. Granted, I may have gone by the excess word count myself, but I still had something to say and wanted to stick by it. Didn't think that others would be in a similar boat o_O

Nah, I counted that as a vote for Gario. But if he is still insisting that he had no part in Greg's track, I can't tell what he is thinking

WUT. Mind = BLOWN o__O I thought that was his voice coming in when he said "Syllix, you're up", but completely overlook that detail. Need to re-listen quick!

That was Jason? I could've sworn the vomiting between Tiger and Syllix's raps was Brandon o_O Where was he anyway? Strangely he told me he had no involvment whatsoever, but what's your take?

While I have understood that artists like the OneUps and the Megas have gone out of their way to actually sell videogame remixes, it does make things difficult to acknowledge for some, especially on a rights based issue as brought up above. That said, I'm actually fine with videogame remixes being sold, as long as the artist in question has acquired the rights to sell those remixes for profit. That's what made a band like the Megas work, as from what I heard they had a licence from Capcom themselves to sell the Megaman remixes that they are responsible for

Am on my way back home from Blackpool Pleasure Beach and my triumph on The Big One. Will listen to these on the way back home. [EDIT: Derp, my phone doesn't support zips. Gonna have to wait x.x] [EDIT 2: Okay, NOW I heard the tracks, and casted my vote accordingly. I have a question for Gario though - what exactly did prohpetik do in your track? Because I couldn't hear him anywhere o_O]

You know, what seems to be missing is some trash talk. "Amph, prepare to get drained out of your pond. Your resistance is futile - you ain't even a proper lizard!" "Gario, you think you're one phat pancake? Well you're getting topped with the bitter taste of defeat!" Eh, should still be intense. I may not be there for 5 due to a trip out at a theme park, but this will be great to witness

Why do I get the feeling that by "that", you're implying I shouldn't have put the bonus track in at all? Did I upset you?

Clicked and pledged. Surprised me how fast it's going up too - this is going to be epic

A 3rd place faceoff would've been very cool to do, though even then we've seen Brandon's track record for his wins being "oh ffs I have to make a new song" (!), and even then, Brandon didn't want to fuse the two themes mostly due to other commitments. I still had a handful of people including Brandon himself suggesting that I fuse our sources together in a whatif-type scenario, and I feel really moved by the resposnes over it Thank you!

You guys just need to chill regarding the voting irks here. To be fair, these votes can't please anyone, but what's done is done and we just have to put up with it all. So in the meantime, how's about you all just .(And yes, I was really quick on that vid too And thank you Arceace!)

Well, thank you for breaking my posts orlouge, because I can finally link this into the thread. Yes, that's EXACTLY what I would've done in the event that I would come against Brandon in the final. I'm kind of sad that both of us didn't make it, but in the end, I received a lot of requests to get something like this done, and I hope this will make the Wispy fans proud... especially Lucavi And now... time to bugger off and make a music video for it.

Lucavi did. I bet he won't even vote next week for that reason, but oh well. [EDIT: Guess I'll finally chip in with my pancake reviews, even though I'm late. Brandon's serving... actually made me cry this week. I like it when someone's able to dip into a more primal aspect of character and draw out something more sentimental. That said, definitely liking the extra raw onions on there - nice touch. The additional use of greens and ground pepper had definitely done a lot to bring in the hippie 60s vibe brought into it, and I definitely was feeling it. Only concern though was that there wasn't as many air bubbles in the concoction as I would've liked (sorry, a huge Sky Sanctuary bias *) but all in all it's definitely a solid effort. Gario had a lot to top for me though. Amusingly, using a poetry collection as opposed to a proper cookbook somehow seemed to pay off; a moist serving that definitely frothed well, with the increase in flour definitely paying off. The pepper also worked well to add a light sizzle to it, so great combination on the sources there, though again it didn't appear to have as much of a presence as the other. It's a very weird combo to what i'm usually expected to taste, but it definitely worked in Gario's case. Even though I was more at heart with Brandon's, I hope you'll make the pancakes proud this time next week, my man. ]

Brandon.... not you too ;__; Alas, it was a brave fight til the end there as well. Brandon did proud with Planet Wisp, and it was his movements with it that inspired me to go for Sonic Colors to begin with. Shame he couldn't take it all the way either, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I know, late on the reviews again. But I will have something for you guys that may want some more Planet Wisp love within the next few hours... especially Lucavi

What Dhsu said I've only just got an android as well, and the only free apps I got so far other than the free Draw Something are AndroChat (if you want IRC on the go) and Alarm Clock Xtreme (why does this phone not have an alarm to begin with? >_<). I can't be much help, but it's good to see what else could be recommended to help us all.

Oh, don't feel too sad. I may be eliminated, but I'm actually working on something to ease the tide, and it'll show exactly how much fighting spirit I still have (not to mention the handful of requests I had received regarding this case). Besides, guess who actually picked up Sonic Colors for £15 at Argos on Tuesday and will actually get around to playing it this weekend? I'll also have my pancake reviews up tomorrow as well. They WILL be in before the date is due. >__>