Palpable Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Hi DJ.pretzel and folks at OC-REMIX, I hope things are well. Here is yet another submission for the OC-remix, it’s a remix I did yesterday evening of the song “Burden of truth” from Final Fantasy VII. This time I tried to keep it as close to the original as possible since you don’t want too much original stuff in the remixes. =) *hint hint* Your ReMixer name : Mattias Holmgren ’aka Starfall Your real name : Mattias Holmgren Your website : www.morningdewmedia.com Your userid : 4464 · Name of game(s) arranged: Final fantasy VII – Crisis Core. · Name of individual song(s) arranged: Burden of truth · Original composer is: Takeharu Ishimoto · Background and inspiration: The other day it was raining outside…actually it was also the first snow here in Skellefteå (Sweden), so I sat there in the sofa thinking…what to do. Well as usual when I’m a bit bored I sit down with the piano or keyboards and then suddenly I started playing a song I had heard a few days before, the song was “Burden of truth” from FF VII. Since the melody and theme was so memorable it was obvious that I had to make something with it, a new OC-remix maybe. So I started arranging the song and three hours later it was done. I hope you enjoy this piece. Let me know if you accept my submission as soon as possible. Thanks in advance, Mattias Holmgren / Composer Morningdew Media www.morningdewmedia.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Man, Crisis Core was such a good game. Any of you folks out there reading the joojes decisions, if you haven't played Crisis Core, you really should. If you don't have a PSP, get one. Don't give me that "there are no games for PSP" crap. Anyway, onto the mix. This is a fairly conservative take on the source tune; I feel like it covers a lot of the same ground in the same way. But at the same time, I think there's a more delicate take here; the piano is lighter and moves more. The orchestral embellishments are a great addition, especially when they really fill out the space around the piano, like around 1:48. Very nice. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 The orchestral touches are a nice addition, but some of those main melody brass attacks are super slow- not really feeling that aspect. The harp was really nice, and the strings and percussion as well. The supporting brass worked well too, it's just that lead stuff. Dynamics were good, and everything was clear and balanced. Overall a really nice mood though, and though there are a lot of similarities to the source in structure and mood, this one does take a decidedly different approach. I'd say the arrangement is expansive enough to pass, and though the main brass bothers me, I don't think it's bad enough to go with a no or conditional vote. So while this one tends to walk on the conservative side, there is enough personalization and expansion for me to pass this. yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 This sounded really conservative. First half has some parts that sound almost identical to the original, and I think except for some minor flourishes, there's no real interpretation. Even when more instruments come in, the writing either comes from the original or it's so tucked back that it's hard to make out. I heard some chord changes in the second half, that was cool. More stuff like that, please! The production also wasn't totally there. There's some slow string attacks, an unnatural sounding wind instrument at 1:26, and as mentioned, the background instruments are too tucked back. Conceptually, I love the piece and the piano playing in this was very good. There's some real strengths there. But it falls down in the interpretation and execution. I can't pass on it, sorry. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHz Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I'm with the illustrious Mr. Prabhu on this one. Really close to the original, but there's some nice stuff done, especially in the second half. The piano sounds great, but some of the accompanying elements and the balancing could use a bit of work. Fairly close call, but I think there's too much holding this back at the moment. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I really dig the highly processed brass around 1:40. Wasn't expecting that, and it added some really memorable texture. The most important comment I have is that arrangement-wise, the second half of the tune is much more interesting than the first. I'm not the first to mention that the first half is pretty conservative, but It sounds to me like the second half of the song is just the beginning of what it should be. You start picking up steam and then it's over. Any intention of elaborating on what you have here? NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Haven't played Crisis Core, but really want to. Just can't afford a PSP and the game at the moment. Still hoping for a port somewhere. The soundtrack is really nice, I've listened to it a fair bit, but this track is unknown to me for some reason, even though it's really nice. The remix starts off very similar to the source, with some embellishments and extra percussive elements. I agree that the mix doesn't really start until it's half over. I'm with Vig in that I think this needs more before it's really ready to be passed as a proper remix. Right now it's too conservative with the first half of the mix. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice remix. I just think it needs some more material in it, and from the looks of it I'm not alone. So I'll give it a NO on the proviso that it's resubmitted. (Personal taste: boost the volume a bit.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 I really dig the highly processed brass around 1:40. Wasn't expecting that, and it added some really memorable texture. The most important comment I have is that arrangement-wise, the second half of the tune is much more interesting than the first. I'm not the first to mention that the first half is pretty conservative, but It sounds to me like the second half of the song is just the beginning of what it should be. You start picking up steam and then it's over. Any intention of elaborating on what you have here? NO Agreed on all counts. There's probably VERY few times that I would imagine that such heavy processing would sound good on brass in this type of music, but man, it sounds really awesome, I love it! I'm fairly OK with the conservative nature of the mix, but I do agree that just when it starts gaining it's full momentum, it does lose it's steam shortly after. On the whole, I think it's a fantastic remix, but seeing as this already has 4 NO's, and though I'm inclined to throw it a sympathetic YES, I think that ultimately it may be an uphill battle with the panelists who haven't chimed in yet, so I'm just going to go ahead and confirm that this is a SOLID foundation, and that maybe if you can add a bit more to the first half, and maybe expand on that section from 1:45 - 2:00 or so, where the mix is kind of at its climax, this would probably get an easy and unanimous YES from the panel. Really great work, please resubmit this. Feel free to PM one of us when you have done so, and we'll get it back up here for a quick re-judge. RESBUMIT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Overall the arrangement was too conservatively structured, IMO. For the first half, the additive elements didn't do enough to distinguish it from the original given the structure. The latter half did a better job of changing the overall mood though. The ending was fair abruptly at 2:41. The piano sequencing was better than decent, but didn't sound quite natural enough. The bowed string sequencing starting at :49 was also very odd. It was a background player but the decays sounded very fake, making the subsequent attacks also sound weird (e.g. 1:25-1:44). The brass sequencing at 1:44 was serviceable. All of the samples were fine, but the articulations didn't sound quite as natural as they should have. All in all, this is a short mix, so everything needs to be clicking for me to pass it. Most importantly, IMO, the arrangement should be more interpretive in the first half. And the sample articulations need to be smoothed out so there aren't any fake-sounding spots. Solid stuff so far, Mattias, but it needs to be further developed and refined. See what another 3 or so hours would bring to the picture, then definitely send this one back. It would be cool for you to have our first Crisis Core mix! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 See what another 3 or so hours would bring to the picture, then definitely send this one back. I think what Larry means is that he likes the song so much, he would like you to make it just over 3 hours long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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