Liontamer Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Contact Information * LunarHeartHeaven * Names: Dan Johansen & Frank Johansen * johansen_frank_dan@yahoo.com * http://www.thedualdragons.com/ Submission Information * Final Fantasy VIII * The Landing * The name of the ReMake: SeeD Mission (The Landing) It's a track that have been requested on numerous forums online and it hadn't been done as Metal version so we went ahead and did it after in won the poll on our website. Link to source: ------------------------------------------------------------- http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF8_minipsf.rar - (108) "The Landing" Same crits as the Lost Odyssey piece (weak snare drum tone and mixing could be cleaner), but otherwise nearly as strong stuff. Loved the touches of strings, though I wasn't feeling the synth lead at 1:36 at all. The arrangement had me worried that it was going to be repetitive when 2:17 cut & paste a previous section, but the changeup at 2:37 was welcome. Hated the synth lead combined with the flimsy drums and bassline at 2:46, which created a very empty texture until 3:11; dynamically it was a good idea, but the execution should have been better. Wouldn't mind the mixing cleaned up a bit. Ultimately, even though the weaker parts bugged the hell out of me and dragged this down, most of the ideas clicked, so let's roll with it. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Mixing definitely wasn't as strong as the Lost Odyssey track. Had no big beef with the drums but the heavily reverbed synths and strings took away a lot of focus and clarity from the track. Overall it was no dealbreaker just yet but that definitely could've been toned down. Arrangement is pretty cool. The sudden drop-off.. I didn't really enjoy. Otherwise there's enough personalization here and the subtle variation really helps this arrangement click with me. Overall, this is a strong track. Not as strong as the Lost Odyssey track but definitely strong enough. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Arrangement is very cool. Lots of hooks to draw your attention, a great blend of new writing with the old. The sudden dropoffs broke the flow IMO, but that's pretty much the extent of what I didn't like about the arrangement. Very good stuff. I thought the mixing felt very rushed, and I'm on the fence about whether the arrangement makes up for it. Eh, scratch that, I'm going NO. It's not often I come down on production more than the other guys, but this doesn't sound right to me. There's way too much reverb on some of the synths, strings, and drums, and the levels are also a little off, with some synths getting too loud. I don't think it's a lengthy fix-up for you guys, but it would greatly enhance the piece. Right now, it sounds too unpolished and the gobs of reverb makes it hard to hear the great arrangement underneath. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I gotta agree with Vinnie here; This is an awesome and creative arrangement, but the string reverb is out of control, and I am having difficulty hearing a lot of the nuances underneath it all. The articulations and everything sounded good, and the guitar performance was also excellent, but things were really smeared. It got cleaner sounding near the end where it was more guitar and synth, but it should be this clean throughout. The dropout with delays was a cool idea, but i think the execution needs a little more refining to make it sound awesome. You've already got some cool synths up in there, so I don't think filtering just that entire section would be out of the question, and I think it'd bring some great interest to the drop. Other minor stuff, but still noticeable: the synth lead at 1:38 is cool (ps. Larry is wrong), but it's a little loud in the mix. I also think the fade out would work fne for the track, but the way it was handled was pretty weak, it cuts way too soon, and doesn't feel like it fully faded out, more that it started fading and then stopped. Overall, it's a great arrangement with just some production issues to iron out. I think they would be very easy to implement; and i'd be happy to pass this. Until then, I gotta say, no, please resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Since the fix-up is minor, I have e-mailed them asking if they want to send a new version. EDIT: (7/15) Frank wrote back, they don't want to do a resubmit. We'll keep judging this version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 This is a very creative arrangement with some nice time signature work. It's definitely prog'o'clock wherever you are. Mixing is a bit muddy, not hearing a huge amount of highs, but nothing too bad. The effects are bordering excessive in spots as noted, I think the delay on the leads is a bit overwhelming, especially from 3:15 onwards. The drop out was a bit weak, but the new theme is very nice, and I'd have a hard time thinking of a transition for that too. The ending too was a bit weak, but I think the rest of the arrangement is strong enough to overlook it. I think the arrangement is outweighing the negatives in the production for me. I still think that the effects are annoying but if they won't resubmit and they won't bend on it; I'm leaning just on the yes side. JUST Borderline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 I still think that the effects are annoying but if they won't resubmit and they won't bend on it; I'm leaning just on the yes side. I hope the fact that they won't resubmit isn't a factor in your decision. It sounds like it might not be, but I think it's unfair to judge on that basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 I hope the fact that they won't resubmit isn't a factor in your decision. It sounds like it might not be, but I think it's unfair to judge on that basis. Agreed. Let's make sure "they're not going to work on it further" bears 0 impact on the call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Well I was basically saying if it has to stay exactly as is, its just borderline yes; but if they were willing to fix it then that would be peachy. I.e. not quite a deal breaker for me but I would've suggested it if I hadn't read that they didn't want to change it. It does look a bit weird the way I wrote it, my bad. Do call me out on that if it looks dubious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I think this is pretty rockin'. It felt a little thin in the first half, but when those synths hit around 1:50 I was totally into it. Percussion work is great; really locks in nicely with the rhythm guitar. A lot of folks just put the drums on autopilot and wank over 'em, I like that you guys did a lot with them with ride and cymbal work accenting what's going on with the rest of the piece. I like it! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 This is baller. I love the analog synths. Screw you guys, I'm going home. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts