orlouge82

It's not really fair to brag about how great the album is when most of us can't get it for a few more months I'll just have to bide my time with the Wily Remix Gauntlet and Mavericks Rising (assuming it's released before this one).

Sorry, I oversimplified in my original post. The thing with derivative works is that it is a very broad term that applies to both what you describe and works that are primarily original but incorporate some previously copyrighted work. Derivative use CAN mean "not okay" as in "not independent enough from the original work to be copyrightable," but it can also mean a work that utilizes older work that is already copyrighted, but builds upon it significantly so that the new work is copyrightable (obviously, the older work that is being built upon can't be copyrighted since it wasn't created by the derivative work author). While what you are doing would probably be derivative use, I was mistaken in attributing any kind of defense against an infringement suit to that principal (again, I was writing that first post quickly without having done any research). As far as fair use goes, that will protect you if you follow these guidelines (the four "fair use" factors under 17 USC § 107): 1. Purpose and character of use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes: Make your works as "transformative" as possible. Meaning, even though you are using chiptunes/SFX from copyrighted sources, you should arrange them in a unique fashion - something very original. If your work is transformative enough, it shouldn't matter whether it is commercial (I know yours technically isn't but it is somewhere between that and private/noncommercial). 2. Nature of copyrighted work: not going to help much here, this factor will generally weigh in favor of fair use if the work to be used is factual in nature (scholarly works), as opposed to works involving more creative expression (songs, SFX, etc). Still, not satisfying one of the factors isn't fatal to whether a work is considered fair use. 3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: If you are only using the sound effects from a game (and I am assuming that all individual sound effects are not independently copyrighted, which is a logical assumption), then this one should weigh heavily in favor of you. Even if you arrange a new, unique song using only sound effects from copyrighted games do to it, since the game itself which the sound effects appear is the copyrighted material, not the individual sound effects themselves, you are only using a very small portion of the copyrighted work in your derivative work, and this factor should weigh in your favor. 4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: This is really the determining factor. Basically, this factor will weigh in your favor (and that of fair use) if your work has little or no impact on the market value of the copyrighted work. Seeing as using sound effects from a video game to create a new song should only increase awareness of the original video game, and thus provide a net market benefit for the original work, your work actually benefits the original work under the law. Follow the guidelines above, and you should be good to go. Also, every single remix on OCR is a derivative work because they all utilize previously copyrighted musical arrangements from video games. Why they can invoke fair use as a defense is because of the application of those four factors above.

It's done the same way as the PRC 1st place = 3 2nd place = 2 3rd place = 1 Teams get 3 points automatically whenever a team member votes

Actually, by my tally, it wouldn't have made a difference. Gentlemaster's Club had 67 points The Hard Men had 60 points The Bad Guy Robots had 57 points Granted, I haven't tallied again after DarkeSword voted, so I don't know if anyone changed their vote after voting was closed, but anyhow, the point is that it didn't make a difference this round.

Red Chamomile - Nice rock arrangement, and one of the only ones this round. Really can't complain about it, and definitely one of the better mixes this round. It could have easily broken into the top three if the mood had struck at the time I listened to it (and it still yet may) Air-Cossacks! - Definitely doesn't have the usual polish that I'm used to from WillRock, but the arrangement is actually one of his better ones. The production, while not up to his usual standards, wasn't so bad that I couldn't enjoy it. Loved the solo at 2:02. This one just barely beat out a couple of others for the number 3 spot. twenty-six alpha - Ah, the return of jazzy/mellow pieces from prophetik. Awesome. As soon as I was 35 seconds into this one, I knew it was going to be in my top 3. It sounds like you used some of the jungle-y samples from your final GRMRB 2011 mix, but they are deployed much more effectively in this mix, IMO. Really love it. My #1. Standing On Top - You said that you weren't too happy with the way the mix turned out, but it really isn't that bad (or maybe you didn't want to feel left out from all of the other mixers who were complaining about how their mixes turned out this round, I don't know). Anyhow, I didn't mind the the vocals that much in this mix, but something about it just didn't click with me. The way you and your team's mixes have been going so far in this compo, though, I wouldn't be surprised if this one won this round, too. Northern Lights - This song and Zerothemaster's are a great example of one of the reason's I love these compos: watching people improve. This one could have easily been my #4. Just a huge improvement over your last one (and your last one wasn't really bad). My only complaint would be that it seemed to get a little stale by the end, but it was still a catchy arrangement and very well executed. Nicely done! License to Chill - Like I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of orchestrations. I do love the James Bond inspiration, though. I could definitely see it in a Bond movie, and you definitely get points for creativity. Nice work! Eye Of The Storm - Ah, more trancey goodness from Jewbei. Much better combination of the two themes this time, around, too. Yet another contender for my #3 spot, and if the mood strikes, I may find myself changing it. Groove, Swing, March - I really liked the little chip-tune interlude in the middle. I actually really liked the whole thing...sigh, yet another contender for #3... No Time for Doctors - No time, indeed! This mix sure is in a hurry! Unfortunately, it is a bit short (in a round where most mixes are shorter than usual). Still a good arrangement and nice production, I just wish it was longer. Villainous Revelry - Another great piece from Jakesnke17, and, unless we hear from him in the infamous Round 10, perhaps his last mix of the compo? Anyway, I don't really know why I liked this one so much, but I did. I think Jakesnke's mixes have great way of delivering something without beating you over the head with it. There's a lot going on with it being overwhelming, and I can chill out while listening to it, but it isn't really that slow-paced and it certainly isn't boring. Like I said last week, it's great to have you back!

I actually am a licensed attorney, but I'm not sure if I'm licensed in his area or not, which is why my earlier post should in no way be construed as legal advice. This is an informal discussion on the subject, nothing more. Anyhow, I can research into it some more later today after some other things clear up and let you know. Again, not legal advice.

You know what you should also do is vote. Along with... halc Benjamin Briggs C7 Xarnax42 zach72 EVERYONE FROM THE BEAT BUSTERS LuketheXjesse Jakesnke17 EDIT: Halc just voted EDIT 2: Silly me, I forgot the entire Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion except Lidawg who just voted.

Offhand, I would think that it probably qualifies as a derivative work and there shouldn't be any infringement issues. My gut tells me that there isn't much, if any, difference between for profit derivative works and "revenue for charity" derivative works, but I'd have to research a bit to get a definitive answer.

Normally, we'd all find that funny. But the way things have gone in this thread, that comment is likely to start a three page long debate on the rules.

I noticed one small error: You attributed Ben Brigg's team as "The Mega Ballers" when he is actually part of The Hard Men. That doesn't affect The Mega Baller's ranking this round, but it does affect both The Hard Men's ranking, and the Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man's ranking. I.e., The Hard Men should have 53 points instead of 50, and therefore are placed ahead of the Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man, instead of being tied with them.

Wow, this is great! It sounds much cleaner than what you submitted for the compo! Great work!

Hornet of Legend - Hylian Lemon never fails to impress with his ability to make a remix that sounds like it could be straight out off of a Legend of Zelda game's soundtrack, even though the source tunes are nothing like a Zelda song (see round 2 of GRMRB 2011/song title: "Save a Horse (Ride a Transformer)"). Anyhow, this is a fantastically executed song, and I have no technical complaints about it. It didn't make my top three purely because there were other songs that I preferred the styles of more, but if recent voting trends are any indication, this song will do very well this round. Blast Counter - As someone else has already mentioned, the soundscape at the beginning is well-executed and fits the intro. Again, overall, I have no complaints about the song, but it didn't stand out to me as much as other songs this round did. Also, my perceptions of Napalm Man remixes may be a little biased since the zenith of all Napalm Man remixes for me is WillRock's Walking Weapons Unit from GRMRB 2011 (which also is probably my favorite WillRock song altogether). In any event, no complaints, like most of the rest of the songs this round. Dr. Wiwwy, Polarized - Loved the sound of Magnet Man's theme all skewed - like it was run through a magnet. Yet another song of this round that I don't have any complaints about. This one could have easily made my top 3, and it's one of the songs that made me wish - for the first time in this compo - that I could do a top 5 or 6. Great work. Proud Warrior of a Forgotten Kingdom - Great stuff here. Two things. First, it feels a little skinny, which could be remedied by running through the WIP forums. Second, it's too short, but that's simple enough to fix with more time to draw out the arrangement. The great ideas are there, you just need to develop them more. Nice job. Bring the Heat - I think I remember you saying that this song is incomplete, which is too bad because I really liked where it was going. Same suggestions as above though: make it a bit longer, and fatten it up a bit, and you'll have yourself a great finished product. If you choose to finish this song, I would definitely look forward to the end result. Tower Power Boogie - I know you were busy this week, and it's too bad that you couldn't spend more time on this mix, because it has a really unique style that I would have been very interested to hear as a finish product. Maybe you can finish it up when you get some time later one? Very creative approach here. Shining Groove - Great soundscape. I actually felt like the song was "shining" when I was listening to it. Like Gario's, this one could have easily made my top 3, and it's one of the songs that made me want to put a top 5 or 6 instead of a top 3. Just great work. Loved the solo from 1:17-2:08 (AMT, I presume?). Definitely one of your better works to date, Neblix. Very nice job. The Fall - Standard disclaimer: I don't really like VG remixes with lyrics, as I've said repeatedly in the past. That said, the song was well executed and arranged, and the only complaint that I have would be echoing what Ecto said earlier about it sounding "like 'Title of Your First Remix' 2.0." Still, no one can complain about how well done the song is. Robot Lounge - Hot damn, this is great. This manages to be relaxing and chill while still maintaining my attention. Great treatment of Shadow Man's theme, which I typically find to be somewhat one dimensional. Awesome trumpet solo, C7. Anything more I say about this song would just be more heaps of praise, so I'll just sum up by saying excellent work, this gets my #2 spot. Wily's Bubble Bath - TGH returns and steals the #1 spot. I listened to all of these remixes for hours yesterday without paying attention to the artist, and the first few times this one came on, I had to check the song title and artist because it was so good that I wanted to make a note of it. Love this song, and I'm impressed that you were still able to find a unique way to treat Bubble Man's theme after doing four remixes of it for GRMRB 2011. Nice soloing, too. Excellent work! Planes, Trains, and Auto 'n' Beat - It's funny, when I was listening to the songs yesterday without listening to the artists, as mentioned above, I thought this was Neblix's entry the first couple of plays because it resembles his style quite a bit (and that's not a bad thing). This is one of the many other songs this round that I don't have any complaints about but didn't make my my top 3 because it didn't stand out as much as some of the others to me. But it would have made a top 5 or 6 list. Great work! Combustive Implosion - I swear one of the things that made this round so hard to vote on was the return of Jakesnke17 and TGH. This song beat out several other excellent mixes to snag the #3 spot, and even though electronic genres seem to be well-enough represented in this competition, this song still strikes me as unique and dissimilar from other electronic ones I've heard so far in the compo. Also, congrats on actually producing something meaningful from Grenade Man's theme. Great to see you back! Well, that's all of them. A phenomenal crop this week. Good luck to the mixers of next week trying to top them.

Geez, you assholes must have all decided to make this round of voting as hard as possible. Seriously, the mixes get better every round. Also, nice to see the return of TheGuitahHeroe and Jakesnke17!

Aren't the mixers the last remaining ones that didn't mix the last two weeks?

True story (course, I just get to listen, but that's a lot of fun for me)

Hooray! Fan requests work! EDIT: Whoops, I guess that's Cossack, not Wily. Still an AWESOME theme (Cossack 2, I mean)

See if you can get prophetik to finally vote in one of these rounds. I know he doesn't like to vote, but it's hurting your team every round.

SuperiorX: if you can track them down, you should check out Sir_NutS's stuff from the IMC (IronMix Challenge). Different style, and his current stuff is way more polished, but I guess that happens when you have 8 years to work on it.

Did I stumble into an alternate universe wherein Wind Waker was never created? Also, it's sequels Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks? Or were you thinking something more along the lines of a futuristic Final Fantasy VIII or XIII setting, because I think those two games got just a ton of praise from fans and no criticisms whatsoever. EDIT: Oh, also, Mario Kart 64 was the pinnacle of the Mario Kart series

Welcome back, by the way. Congrats on getting another mix posted!

I've been semi-following the thread here, and I wanted to interject that the song sounded pretty good before (when submitted for the compo), and now it sounds awesome. And also don't ever get discouraged by how people vote in the compos. I can't figure out why some teams are doing so much better than others, but I certainly don't think that the either the enjoyability or quality of the song has been the determinative factor so far.

Not sure if you're new to English language idioms, but "elevator music" carries with it a negative connotation (i.e. boring).

That makes three of us.

Liquid Metal - Pretty entertaining song, but not much of a fan of the genre. Some slight production issues, but nothing too serious. Satch Man - Superb mix. Loved every minute of it. It really captured the feeling of nostalgia conveyed by the Wily source theme, at least the feeling of nostalgia I've always felt when I played through Mr. X's stages (last Mega Man NES game:cry: (and no, MM9 and MM10 don't count)). Tied for #1 with... Cold Dreams - Another great one. Loved the decade fast-forward, Sir_NutS. This one also captures the nostalgia of Mr. X stage's theme. Really well executed. I wish I could vote for two #1's this round, but I may change up my choices if the mood hits. I didn't have time to make this song The Song - Argh, I was loving this song so much! I had it playing in the background and didn't notice the short length until it suddenly ENDED. YOU MUST FINISH THIS SONG!! Passing of the Knight - Almost everyone's slowing it down a bit this round, but I'm not complaining (probably due to the Wily source). A great mix here, but I don't think it clicked with me as much as some of the other mixes this round. Still an excellent piece of work, though. Electrostatic - I like the style you're going for here, but I think some of the samples randomly thrown in there could have been employed more effectively. A good arrangement nonetheless, and I definitely liked it more than your mix last round. The Death of Mr. X - I don't know if it's because there's tougher competition this round or because this one isn't as good as your last, but I'm not loving this one as much as your first round submission, which was easily one of my favorites of that round. It's still a great mix, though, and I'll be adding this one to at least one of my playlists. Dayquil, Nyquil - Could have been my #4. I really liked the mellow style, but I think the production was a little iffy from 1:53 to 2:20, but nothing serious. I Dreamt Of A Man With Two Heads - Like I said earlier, a VAST improvement over your last mix. I don't know who said it earlier, but it's true that the ambient synth/instrument should be strengthened. Really, it's a great mix, though, and I'll definitely be listening to this more in the future. Copperhead Drumstep - Luckily, there's no "Snake Man's on my trail" to get stuck in my head all week in this song. Unfortunately, this one doesn't seem to click as well as Dubious Brother. Still works, though, and still a good song. Smooth Operator - Nice mix overall, but I don't think that the upbeat style of the song works for me with the Mr. X song. It's still definitely an improvement production-wise over your last mix, though, and the song itself is still very well done. ZERO to ROBO - Nice industrial style here. Again, though, for me, it doesn't click with the Mr. X source. I still like it, though, but as others have said already, it's a bit too short.