Palpable Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 ReMixer Name: Ben Steed (previously 'Aether Oxide' in a previous submission) Real Name: Ben Steed Email: bensteed@rocketmail.com Website: http://bensteed.bandcamp.com UserID: 31345 Game Name: Fable Song Name: Temple Of Light Composer: Russell Shaw Original Song: Lyrics: Walk between the utopia of Avo and the apocalypse of Skorm Keep your balance among Albion and your place where it should be Comments: I've always been a fan of mixing sounds from both ends of the spectrum together, so I experimented with dry, distorted drums and harps and glockenspiels, both reversed and normal. The lyrics are my view of neutrality within the Fable games. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Personally, I'm liking this mix. It's very angsty, which seems to be exactly what you were going for. The source is present in the bells which remain pretty much constant throughout the mix. I have a bit of an issue with the fact that that is pretty much the only source I can gather is used in the mix, but it the fact that it is there throughout, and brought back into focus often just puts it over the bar for me. Even though it is a background pattern, most everything else revolves around it. The production has some minor issues to me, but they all seem to be pretty intentional, so I'm willing to throw it to artistic choice. The drums feel a little too distant to me at times, and there is a distinct lack of a real low end. Nothing deal breaking here, and I like most of what you've done. I personally think this is good enough for a pass, albeit it's close on the source usage. I can see the other judges voting the other way, though, so good luck on the rest of the votes. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I'm not sure about the source usage here. It sounds a lot like the original mapped to some interesting sounds and put over a drumloop. I realize that the approach here is more of a sound-design approach, but I feel like there's not much originality in the arrangement besides the original with some sustained strings and choir. I dunno, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'm not feelin' it. Needs more interpretation. The strings also sound very dry and fake. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 I think there are a lot of interesting and commendable production choices here to really give this a bit of additional drama, but I think the mixing was a little unbalanced in some spots, and the soundscape was crowded in some spots, and Arrangement-wise, there were some decent additions, but mostly it was really repetitive. I know the source had the same structure, but the serene zen of the original worked with it, and i think with the more manic feel this has, it doesn't work as well. I think giving instruments more space in the mix via panning would help clean it up, and some additional variation on the sections would be good too to make the arrangement closer to the bar. I really like the feel of this though, it's very dramatic. No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted September 23, 2010 Author Share Posted September 23, 2010 I don't agree that there wasn't much originality in this arrangement. In addition to the sound design changes, the drums and new melody parts make this a fair bit more fleshed out, not to mention the 6/8 drums and the interesting section in the middle that starts truncating the measure. The big problem I had with it was OA's problem, that once an idea gets introduced, it gets repeated too much. There needed to be more development and refinement of the ideas. The drums are a very cool addition, but they sound low-quality (perhaps intentional, but it sounded sloppy to me) and they aren't mixed in well - mixing in general is not great. The choir and string parts play the same things over and over, they wear over the course of the song. I think this is headed in the right direction, but needs more TLC to evolve the mix and have it sounding strong throughout. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillian Aversa Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 This soundscape is really quite interesting. The distorted drums took a little getting used to... very crunchy, but they've grown on me. Mixing up the harp and glock samples with both forward and reverse motion lends a very ethereal, haunting quality to the track. Throw in some strings and male choir, and it sounds like something Yoko Kanno could have written. I love it! I think the questions raised on production here have been a little too picky. There's really nothing majorly wrong with your mixing; the drums are the only thing that made me think twice, but I can tell that it was a stylistic choice. Like Vinnie said, the changes you've made are more significant than it may seem at first. I can see why the repetitive nature of the arrangement would be of concern - and I definitely respect that point of view - but for me, it works. I find myself in a sort of trance... Some songs are more ambient than others, and it can be tricky to weigh that according to our standards here, but in cases like these I usually lean towards a YES because it's fitting of the genre. I think you've really done the source tune some justice here. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Agree with OA that there's some unhelpful repetition here. The mix has some problems too. The drums should be louder, and the strings and choral pad should be quieter. They are the least interesting sounds in the mix, and they are also the loudest. Honestly I think if you fixed the mix I'd pass it, even if you didn't change the arrangement at all. NO (resub) EDIT: Oh, and you need an ending. You forgot an ending. Such things are important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Interesting take on the source. I have to agree with the other judges though, there are some problem areas. First it's the repetition of elements as they're brought in, this especially hurts when they're very similar to the source with no variation. Secondly the mixing doesn't do the track any favors, the harp/glock that takes the front seat are very dry even though they have a reverse effect, where's the reverb? While the drums were cool they felt rather thin all things considered, the distortion caused a lack of presence that felt odd with the other elements. The choir/string combo was pretty cool but again felt very dry and upfront. Overall this mix shows a lot of promise but you need to polish it a bit more before I could comfortably pass it. NO(resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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