The Orichalcon

Source: http://www.doulifee.com/prc/TheOrichalcon/Tubelectric.s3m One word: Repetative. This is standard dance-music and doesn't utilise a great deal of arrangement ideas at all. You have the sound down, but you need to throw some integral arrangement ideas in the creative process. The beats in this sound all right, but they're the same basic pattern playing over and over again with little interpretation beyond introducing and reintroducing the same elements over and over again. For a trance-style piece such as this, I'd expect the melody to be constantly building throughout the course of the mix rather than repeating itself over and over through to the end. I pretty much said all this to you before you submitted the mix and it doesn't sound like you've changed much at all. So what I said then still stands. NO

The mix starts off very quiet, and not in a great way, I feel that this particular piano sample sounds flat when it's quieter, it is possible to have a piano sound quiet, while still being prominent in the mix. Overall, the sound of the mix is pretty. It's well arranged, though I felt that some parts of the mix, an example being 1:28, felt like they were just too.. simple, like more could have been done in these sections with a little more work. The left hand of the piano consists a lot of just banging out the same chords again and again with no major variation, which I find grating on the ears. It's not too bad, considering the arragement is pretty clever, but as it stands, I think it's too bare and needs just that little more work on the arrangement to make it sound more fluent. At least, that was my major concern with the piece. Otherwise, a fairly nice mixing of the two themes. I look forward to hearing this one again when you resubmit it (hint.) NO

Right off the bat, the percussion has too much percussion on it, sounds fake and beginner-ish, it keeps that wet-reverb sound right the way through, which make it sound like you're listening to the piece down a long hallway rather than through crisp clear speakers. This is especially noticeable when the toms come in to do their stuff, rather than being audible and powerful as toms should be, they sound muddy and hidden in the murky depths of the mix. Moving off the percussion, the mix has a long flat sound to it right the way through. Some bits sounded interesting and at least showed some promise, the way the chocobo section was arranged in particular stood out for me, it was a little basic in the choice of instrumentation, but it was arranged well for what you did use. Unfortunately the next section of the main theme didn't utilise any really new ideas, keeping the same strings and wind instrument droning on. The piece finishes really abruptly too, even if the rest of the piece was superb, I'd ask you to take the mix back and give it a proper ending. I feel that the ending of a piece is in most ways the most important part of the mix, as it's the last thing the listener hears, and as such the most memorable part of the mix. As Larry already mentioned, the production is the problem here, and until you learn how to master better, the pieces will sound flat and unrealistic. NO

This thread is moving around faster than a marine on strafe-run.

I've PM'ed DarkeSword, this'll be moved to the WIP forum when he gets the message.

My yes also stands. I feel the arrangement here is enough for this to be acceptable in contrast to the production. I feel we're putting too much emphasis on production here and blowing it way out of proportion. Although I can see Gray's points clearly, I just don't think it would be that big of a deal if the strong grip on production values was loosened for a standout arrangement, even if it's only once. Unlike the gabber mix, the production values were good for the genre of the mix, so it's a step above that decision. Oh and JJT, perhaps a change of underwear is in order.

Thanks Douli, it's always good to have hosting available. After a little deliberating, I've placed Evilhorde on Track 01, and RoeTaKa and Evilhorde will collab on Track 07, which fills the project up again. Edit: Forgot to mention, this thread will be moved to the WIP forum shortly for a small time, just so you guys know where it is.

All right, if you two want to do the site for the project I can cross that off the list. We'll hold off on any design ideas until later in the project though, so if you try anything, don't get too attached to it.

Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll start making a sample so you can determine if I qualify. This is going to keep me busy for the rest of the day. edit: Argh. Nevermind my post, keep this track open. I have so many visions for this song, I would love to turn it into the most powerful and emotional thing I've ever made, but I hate signing up for things before I'm finished. That's just the way I am, I guess, I'm better at being secretive until something I do is released. Anyway, I just tried playing this song again on my keyboard for fun, and it turned into one of the most psychotic music experiences I've felt in a long time, so thanks for reminding me how awesome this song is! Haha. If you really want the song, I can put you next to it if you want. There's no guarantee that it will still be available later on in the project if you do end up coming up with something for it. If you find yourself unable to come up with anything by the first WIP deadline, well that's what it's there for. There's no pressure on people to stick with the songs they have. This period is for people to work on their pieces and determine if it's the right piece for them to mix.

I currently have 3 mixes so I can't stop people from taking more than one mix. Nasenmann has also expressed interest in track 01, and I'm waiting on him to supply a sample to see if he can take it in the right direction.

Juha Kaunisto has had to pull out of the project for now for personal reasons. So that leaves two tracks open for someone else to pick up. 01 - Entryway - Running From Evil 07 - Dead Simple - Shawn's got the Shotgun I'd prefer that someone who is proficient with electric guitar picks up track 01 so we can kick off the project with some kickarse rock like we did with DSoP.

I've sent out the update PM to all the mixers. The project is now in full swing. Get cracking on those mixes, your first deadline as you know is February 6th.

Looks good to me, Overcoat. I've put you on the track. I guess that fills up the list.

Post some samples for me first. Hemo, I've added your name for now.

Check the mixerlist. Mazedude is on map20.

Thanks Darke. Anyone noticing this for the first time. There are 2 tracks still available if you're interested, just post some samples of your work and which of the tracks you're interested in. Otherwise you can put yourself down on the redlist if you want to be contacted when someone drops a track. Current Mixers: I'll be sending those PM's out tomorrow with all the information about the first deadlines and guidelines.

Update as of 30th December 2005. Ok, as of January 1st 2006, this project will be back in working progress, since most people should be back from Christmas/New Year celebrations by then, if not soon after. I've decided that the first Work in Progress will be due on Monday February 6th, 2006. That gives you roughly 5 weeks to get started. By that stage I expect at least a bare-bones work in progress of the track that gives a good indication of where the piece is headed in terms of arrangement. This will also be the time to decide whether you want to stick with the piece right the way through the project, or want to drop it and perhaps pick up another one. I will hold the right to redirect anyone on the direction of their piece for the project. If someone submits a WIP of a track and it isn't meeting the pre-requisites set at the beginning of the project, I'll either ask them to rework it, give them suggestions on what direction to take, or ask them to start again. This will most likely be a worst-case scenario though, so don't worry too much. I'm not going to ask people to rework personalised arrangements and such to suit my tastes, but rather rework the general sound of a mix if I find it is too basic, or isn't "dark" enough for the project. If someone misses the deadline, they'll have a week to PM me or post in the thread as to their reasons, after which they will be immediately terminated from the project and the track will be filled soon after. On January 1st I will send both a forum PM and an email out to all mixers involved in the project updating them on what will be required over the first WIP phase. I will also be creating the relevant topic in General Discussion to fill the last few tracks and get some publicity. This isn't required just yet, so I don't need/want anyone to respond to these yet, just to keep in mind if you're interested later in the project. As the project nears the finish line, we'll need: A website designer CD art and cover designer Someone to keep track of the project's progress for article updates (ie: Wikipedia) Publicity Torrent Seeders. So all mixers need to get to work on their pieces if they haven't already, you have under February 6th 2006 to get the first WIP in to me. Go forth young marines!

Ok, a small update. I'm searching for a co-organiser to bounce ideas off for the project since Larsec quit, so hopefully that won't take too long. I'm expecting people to be on pseudo-holidays for the next two weeks or so, so I'll decide on a deadline for the first WIP deadline before I ask DarkeSword to move this to the next port of call. However, I will ask that anyone who has time to start working on their pieces now so you have a bit of extra working time. analoq: I've removed your name from the main project and opened another section for people who are interested in tracks occupied by other people. It might incite some lazier mixers to drop their tracks for these mixers rather than occupy them without work. Extra note: One thing I have decided is that if you don't meet any of the deadlines, I'll PM you and give you 3 days to send me an update on your mixes status. Otherwise you're booted from the project.

Well, personally I think all chiptunes are bad, and I don't think this should qualify as a remix for the site. But we have to look at it from the site standards view, and I don't see anything that really stands out as bad or unworthy of the site. The quality of the file is really bad, but that's to be expected because it's a chiptune, they all sound bad. The arrangement is really the focus here, and like JJT said, it's remarkably good for a chiptune. I don't know a lot about the limits of the genre beyond the sound limits, but this sounds pretty good to me. Surprisingly, it even sounds less dissonant than most of Shna's non-chiptune stuff. I think OCR needs something like this every now and then to remind people that sound quality isn't everything, and what better way to present that point than with a standout chiptune arrangement? YES

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/FF10_psf.rar - To Zanarkand, Prelude Immediately we're presented with a flat and dry piano sound. A sharper sound would help bring out the right hand from under the power of the left hand in this case. The left hand of this remix is very basic from what I understand about piano compositions. The prelude section can't even really be considered a remix, since it's pretty much just different scales being played in sequence. The piece starts to pick up from around 1:48 when "To Zanarkand" kicks in. The left hand playing a pseudo-prelude to melody in the right hand is a nice idea. It's dropped at 2:10 to revert back to the same left hand as in the source and sort of switches back and forth between the two. The question that presents itself is whether or not combining two themes is enough in itself to count as a remix? In this case I would say no, as apart from the combination, there is little reinterpretation of the "To Zanarkand" theme. Considering the original is piano, you'd have to take quite a different approach to really remix the theme also on a piano. It's an interesting idea, and it turned out all right. But there isn't enough reinterpretation of the theme to warrant a place on OCR. NO

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/FF7_psf.rar - 110 Fighting - 114 Underneath the Rotting Pizza It's a nice mix of the two themes, hearing them together like this makes one realise just how similar they are. You've done an all right job with the arrangement here, much better than your last submission. My major problem here is with the drums. They're very basic right the way through, not really offering any creative beats that keep the listener wanting more, but rather wanting less. The synths in the mix are very dry, could use some better mastering. You can ask for help with synth techniques and such from people in the ReMixing forum. Zircon in particular has been posting some very helpful topics lately in regards to the basics of developing some good sounds. The majority of the mix just seems to be lacking energy. I'm expecting something extra to jump out and start wowing me beyond your piano sections, but the drums just keep plodding away and we get repeats of the same ideas used earlier in the mix. The 1:50 section is nice. If you're serious about mixing, you'll want to get yourself some better soundsets rather than just using the free ones found around the net. While it is possible to get onto OCR with entirely free soundfonts, your mixing style sounds like it would coincide well with some proper VST's to give you a boost in the drumming and synth quality departments. A much better attempt, just still not quite up to the OCR quality level. Keep up the efforts. NO

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/FF7_psf.rar - 209 Chasing the Black-Caped Man The first minute of this file is identical to the source with instruments changed. It then builds up into a pseudo-dance style remix of the source using some basic synths and sounds right the way through. It's not a bad idea, so to speak, but the execution of it here is done poorly. The sounds are low quality, there's little care gone into production here. I'd recommend taking this one back to the drawing board, coming up with your own introduction to the mix rather than ripping the first minute straight from the MIDI and working on mastering the mix a little better, making it a bit more creative. As it is, this just sounds like a mediocre attempt at transitioning an ambient piece into a dance piece. NO

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/FF9_psf.rar - 302 Loss of Me - 317 Protecting My Devotion The beginning sounds all right to me, just sounds like a light drum roll in the background. Bells that come in at 0:36 sound a little dry, same with the strings that follow up. Most of the instruments in this remix are suffering from a dull and dry sound, which is the problem that a lot of people tend to have. You have some nice piccolo backing around 2:02 and on. Very pretty, but subdued like most of the instruments in this mix. Sounds like the wrong chord at 2:38. The arrangement ideas are nice, utilising the sound from "Protecting My Devotion" and bringing it down to a slower and more fanfare-ish arrangement. I think it's still a-ways from being OCReMix quality level though. It keeps the same pace throughout the piece, the instruments are dull and dry right the way through. Some of the arrangement ideas are very nice, but it does sound like the piece could benefit from some better mastering. Perhaps you could request that someone takes the piece from you, since your computer is giving you trouble over it, and masters it properly for you? Ask in the WIP forum if you're interested in taking that approach. NO

The remix starts off pretty much identical to the original in the arrangement front. Everything builds up the same, I'm struggling to hear anything majorly different right the way through. From what I can hear, the synth that you have playing the rhythm of the piece is just mucking the melody up, rather than playing it clearly. The sound you have hear is nice, but it's pretty much identical to the source. I wouldn't go so far as saying midi rip as you've added a couple of extra things and changes some things around, but it's close enough to the original that it's against our guidelines to allow such a piece onto the site. I'll let someone else through a N.O. on this if they feel it warrants it. NO

no worries analoq. I've added you to that track. That leaves one track open. I might send Dj Redlight a message and see if he's interested in that one.