djpretzel Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 CONTACT INFO: ReMixer name: Rexy Real name: Bev Wooff Email: bev.wooff@gmail.com OCRemix user ID: 7528 REMIX INFO: Remix title: "Sixty Feet Under" Game covered: Zelda 3 (Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past) Individual song covered: Light World Dungeon --- Okay fokes, this submission's a long time coming. Frankly I didn't intend much on sending this to the panel, but I think GrayLightning has convinced me long enough. So anyway, here's to my take on the Light World Dungeon theme from Zelda 3. I ended up falling in love with the theme when I first checked it out via Neskvartetten's "Ganon's Temple", and it was through getting to know the original that I could do with creating a more melodic focus in comparison to the source material. This isn't necessarily jazz (in fact, it can be seen as some crazy ambient chill-like piece or something, complete with various haunted sound effects), but I feel that I've done as much as I've done to create a rather unique piece at hand. It's there that I've been more complex with the channel processing than in previous works given the emphasis with the Sony Foundary Vegas software dominance, which I think has been shown with the general gestures of the sounds here. Whichever happens, I appreciate the feedback granted through. As it stands I feel content with how this came around, and I hope you feel the same too. I'll be back soon with another MP3 to stand trial! Peace out, -Rexy- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/loz3.rsn - "Sanctuary Dungeon" (loz3-15.spc) Played this one back on VGF52 and knew this was gonna need some work from the get-go in order to get it up to snuff. Decent intro, though the SFX being so grainy was kinda weak. Piano & drum intro was somewhat sparse, but a pretty unique way to build things up. The source tune kicked in at :59, but I felt it was too conservative and reliant on reinstrumenting things to change the feel without much of anything else going on. Ha! Go Go Godzilla at 1:39! Still pretty conservative stuff with the arrangement, but I liked the quiet vibe there thanks to the new instrument choices. The synths arriving at 2:11 had some really jerky not-to-note movements and the tambourine needed to be quantized badly. There were some supporting elements there like a harp and some vox that you could barely hear at all, so I'd suggest bringing those up a bit. By 2:56 the synths on lead were really straining. You may want to change/alter the lead sooner in order to not let the track get monotonous during that section. Same problems with a lack of performance realism with the wind instrument introduced at 3:04. Same jerky note-to-note movements. Heard some Super Metroid at 3:31; nice yo! The laughing SFX was a decent touch but the sound quality of the sample being so low prevents it from sitting well in the track. Perhaps use some additional effects on all of the soundclips to disguise the lower quality. The soundfield was pretty sparse from 3:04-3:55, and may need something subtle added into the picture to further fill things out but disrupt the relatively quiet setting. Source melody returned at 4:08 on strings, which comparably sounded much better than the synths and wind instrument pointed out earlier in terms of performance dynamics. The issues were still there, but were much less noticeable. The velocities of the piano at 5:02 sounded nearly the same for your close. The subtle strings in the back should be brought up in volume and then faded down just like the rest of the instruments. Good arrangement ideas, but the execution needs refinement. Not sure when you'll be able to get to this in order to rework it, but keep at it, Bev. I feel like this one needs more texture to the sounds, and refinement in how you're using your samples, but ultimately those have been recurring issues that you've been able to tackle in the past. This one needs a substantial bit of work, but I'm sure you can swing it. NO (refurbish/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayLightning Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 The beginning starts off with the zelda theme/overworld theme or something, being played on the chromatic percussion. Also the source tune appeared before 59 sec, just not the melodic section of the source. Not sure I agree it's as conservative as Larry notes, there's quite a bit of chord changes and melodic expansion here compared to the original. The original didn't have much to work with either. There's also some other Zelda themes worked into the mix very very smoothly. This is definitely an atmospheric/percussive oriented mix. I felt the percussion work here was quite great. There was a lot of variety and intricacy in this department. Some of larry's criticisms are true, but I think they're a bit overstated. We've passed quite a few with such problems. For me bottom line this was an interesting concept and arrangement and to that end it was executed well enough. There was a lot of subtleties in the mix that should be listened to on good headphones to get the full effect. It's nice work and quite enjoyable for me. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 The Main Zelda theme in the intro was pretty cool and so was the haunted-mansion vibe piano work. The jazzy section starting at 1:01 has the potential to be really nice. The drum pattern was intricate and set a great mood. That chill e. piano, the sharp rimshots, the bass and the organ definitely hit the spot as well. Unfortunately, the loud hi-hat is swallowing a lot of the other instruments, including the very timid snare. Not a bad section however and I liked the FX transition at 1:43. I’m struggling to hear the right panned synth string with the theme from 1:43-2:07. Similarly, the lead synth is way too loud from 2:12 – 3:06. All of the pad and background work is washed out and from what I hear it’s really beautiful. Also, sounds like that conga strike at 3:06 is early. The modulation on the flute at 3:49 sounds strangely cool. I likes. In general though, the velocities on the flute notes starting at 3:07 are pretty shifty. They go from a reasonable level to very quiet at seemingly random intervals which is killing me because again this laid back section has such potential, especially with the interesting bg FX and instrumentation. I’ve got similar level issues with 4:22-5:06. The lead organ and the drums dominate the other elements a little more than they should and that harp is too nice to be that far in the background. I’ve got no beef with the arrangement. Nice ambient/jazzy take on the source with a nice weird factor from the well placed FX. I’m digging the other Zelda material thrown here and there as well. My major issue is the disparate levels that I think seriously take away from what should be a very cool mix. I don’t think much work needs to be done to bring this up to par so please work on the minor issues mentioned Bev and resubmit. NO (Please Resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 I think this is a pretty cool mix, but has some issues with both production and structure. For one thing, the sampling is a bit overused - a lot of them are so lo-fi that they just feel out of place. You might consider ambient pads instead to maintain the atmosphere you're going for. Some of the percussion seems to be off rhythm entirely at times, not sure what the deal is with that. Also, the overall mixing could use some work. The percussion tends to be loud and overbearing - particularly that tambourine. You might consider changing from an acoustic drumkit to something a bit more.. ambient in nature. Experiment with different samples and drum processing and see if you can't come up with a percussive line that isn't as intrusive. More reverb would not hurt either, used tastefully. At times, the mix also seems somewhat bare and sparse, held up only by the effects sampling. Again, I recommend putting in more pad/sustained instruments. Choirs, synths, strings, woodwinds.. experiment with sounds like that and process them with light reverb/flanging/phasing and EQ so that they fill in empty space well. Finally, some of the leads aren't that great. The string and flute samples in particular are blatantly unrealistic and dry. There are definitely some good free sounds out there, so keep looking. In terms of arrangement, I thought the interpretation factor was great. However, it did seem to drag on a bit.. perhaps because of the sections where there is nothing but ambient effects/samples. Combined with areas of sparse melody + percussion, a good chunk of the song's length is sort of 'inactive' and not all that interesting. My advice would be to keep some sort of gradual accumulation of volume or 'energy' throughout the mix, and work towards a climax. I know it seems like I've pointed out a lot of issues, but I really don't think this is a bad mix at all. Even if you implemented half of the suggestions, I think I would pass this. Keep it up. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Do i hear mother brain? the samples all strike me as clunky, the strings, the organ, etc. The section at 2:15 or so sounds like it needs some quantization...the bass sounds off to me. The maridia allusion is sweet, but the string lead sounds really unnatural. the flute solo is also pretty akward, not only the sample, but it also plays a bad note or two. generally i think the arrangement and concept are pretty damn good, but the execution is quite sloppy. better samples needed, otherwise some studio magic to hide the crappiness. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayLightning Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 better samples needed, otherwise some studio magic to hide the crappiness. Rexy has good samples, but she's still learning to use them to full potential. The key element remaining is experience with good sequencing/composition and production treatment to make the samples come alive. I doubt a resubmit is possible considering her case, at least not anytime soon. I'll be keeping this one myself. Better luck next time though Rexy and if at all possible, consider the consensus feedback for a resubmit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 arrgh, this was closed as i was voting on it. oh well, here's my vote anyways... yup, this one needs more work. great intro, sets the mood, gets me pumped! but then we enter into a GM sounding ballad. is that the default FL electric bass sample? the B3 organ bothers me, the rotary speaker effect is part of the sample, so as the pitch goes up, the effect gets faster and as the pitch goes down, the effect gets slower. this probably doesn't bug most people, but hey, i'm analoq. check out the free ZR3 organ synth VSTi, it's neat. some better sequencing is mandatory, there are a few parts where the string melody overlaps a previous note for a short time -- it's supposed to be a solo, not a duet right? even if it was a duet, that'd be one weird second part. the use of sound effects isn't particularly bad, but it doesn't enrich this much for me. i agree with most of the other criticisms, though i think the arrangement is OK. no I'll be back soon with another MP3 to stand trial! don't let this rejection stop ya. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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