Palpable Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Original submission: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13328 2nd submission: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14498 Remixer name: Vidilian Real name: Vidal Spaine Game: Fire Emblem - Blazing Sword Songs: Archsage Athos, Silent ground, Knight's Oath Submitted this a long time ago under a different name since the name didn't really suit the song. Thats obviously not the only difference. I improved a lot on the production, humanised every instrument and expanded on the arrangement. Best way to describe what I'm going for is an epic lullaby. All done with a PSR-1500 keyboard. Thanks for listening. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.zophar.net/download_file/15933 - "The Archsage Athos", "Silent Ground" & "A Knight's Oath" I didn't touch much on the arrangement last vote, but I had a hard time even hearing the sources in this except Knight's Oath in the middle section. I'm not sure if this was an issue in the last version because it's been a while. Would be nice for Vidal if another judge wouldn't mind chiming in there. Unfortunately, I still don't think the production is up to scratch. I wouldn't give this as harsh a vote as last time, but there's still some weird envelopes and volume changes that make this sound unrealistic. Now the soundscape is cloudy rather than thin, which makes the writing hard to pick out. There's also some timing issues and bum notes, which I notice I said last time. Keep at it, Vidal. You might have overcorrected some of this stuff, but I think you'll settle on a happy medium and you can use those skills in further works. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Production is definitely getting crowded when the choir and synth are both pushing the legato passages. There's a lot of overlap that just sounds smashed in there. The samples aren't awesome, but with the right balance, they could definitely work. For that to happen though, they need to be a little less mechanical in the attacks, and things need to be cleaned as to fit together rather than just piling on top of each other. I didn't hear the first two submissions, but I'm sure that this is better than them based on comments from other judges. Arrangement was certainly expansive, but it also certainly meandered, and there wasn't a lot to really grab onto tonally. It tends to tread water rather than swim forward. In addition, I think it tended to be overly liberal, unless I am missing some obvious connections to the source. Sorry dude, no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I went back and revisited the old submission to see how the two compared. This one is definitely a little louder, but I still feel like a lot of the core problems remain. The mix has no emotional power to speak of (volume does not necessarily equate power). I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but I just didn't find the piece particularly moving. There's not much dynamic range, and regrettably, you're doing this from a keyboard with relatively mediocre sounds. I like Yamaha ok, but one gripe I have with them is that all of their lower-end keyboards (and by that I mean pretty much any of them that are under $800 or so) all use the exact same core samples. And they are WAY past due to update those. They just can't hold a candle to any of the softsynth stuff that's out there, even the cheap stuff. The arrangement itself just kind of wanders, doesn't really feel like it's really going anywhere or telling a particular story. The overall vibe is definitely somber and somewhat melancholy, but I think it's just very difficult to get the intended result when you're playing samples on a keyboard like that. If you have MIDI files saves, I'd recommend abandoning the idea of doing it on your keyboard completely and then giving the remix a head-to-toe overhaul using regular samples in a DAW. But at the risk of sounding pessimistic, Vidal, I think it might not be a bad idea to let this one just be a learning experience and let it go. You're only going to get better with practice, and sometimes it's just easier/wiser to let some pieces lie and start anew than it is to try to get them to the point that they'd get where they'd need to be here. Not to say your song is bad, but I really do think it'd just be more work than it's worth to try to keep fixing it up. But if you really want to, don't let me stop you, I'm just letting you know that it's likely to be a long and arduous journey. Best of luck either way. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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