djpretzel Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 I'm a film and video game composer who has been in love with the music from Chrono Trigger ever since it was released in '95. The melody of the main theme was very strong and distinct and I remember being taken in by it the first time I played the game. I had some time off recently and I thought that it would be fun to create an orchestral arrangement for a piece that I have great admiration for. I hope others receive as much enjoyment from listening to this piece as I did from creating it. Sorry about the unoriginal title. I didn't know what else to call it as it is an orchestral representation of the main theme and not really a remix (no electronica or techno influences). -Mike Ayotte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger" (ct-1-02a.spc & ct-1-02b.spc) The orchestration is pretty cool. Lots of tradeoffs between instruments to be sure, and they sounded pretty good, if not particularly powerful or bold. Needs more originality via instrumental expansion as well if you're just gonna go the cover route, especially for being so short. Please add some original composition as well if you feel you can integrate it into the piece well. 2:07 is too short and underdeveloped for this. I can see why this wasn't named anything more unique, as the arrangement here doesn't do anything hugely interpretive with the source material. Don't just arrange, rearrange in some manner as well, as it's more of what the site's about. And name the piece something that reflects well on the changes you've made. Looked around for your name and see that you have some nice credentials, Mike, so I certainly hope you're willing to revisit this. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Ascher-Weiss Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Other than some of the rhythmic emphasises and melody, there is very little that is taken directly from the original. The orchestration is remarkably imaginative. Take the clarinet at 0:30 with the second clarinet playing a gentle counter melody while the pizzicato strings pluck the off beats. There you have a wonderful intrumental line up that sounds nothing like the original. The piano, clarinet, harp and pizz bridge is also 100% fresh. The laid back almost behind the beat phrasing in the piano gives the section an added touch of realism. The piano is sooned joined by several more instruments that float along being carried by the meditative piano rhythms. All of this builds superbly into the following climactic section. Here once again, the rhythmic emphasis patterns are taken directly from the original, but nothing else was. Some of the chords have been altered as well. At this point I glanced at the time and realized that the song was almost over. It occured to me that there was no way this ReMix could ever feel complete with only a few seconds left to finish things off, but you proved me wrong. By changing the dotted pattern from the original into triplets, you gave the piece that stroke of finality it needed in order to lay down a firm and complete ending. My only concerns about this piece come not from it being necessarily too close to the original, but from the fact that it only makes the journey through the entire theme. There are buckets and buckets of expansion during this single trip, but as a result it's just about the same length as the source. Ultimately I do not believe that is enough reason to say NO to this otherwise top notch material. YeS (Borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 I have to agree with Larry here. In terms of orchestration, sound quality, expressiveness, and realism, this mix is excellent. I can certainly hear your film/game scoring experience shining in that respect. However, despite subtle variations and additions to the source, the overall structure and arrangement of the original is essentially intact in this mix. Expanding on the original by adding original material, new bridges or transitions, or stuff that builds on the melody or the progression would definitely bring this up to the level of individual interpretation that we look for. This is a strong mix in many areas, and though I'm giving it a NO, don't interpret that as me saying the mix is not enjoyable, bad, or amateur. It's simply that OCR really looks for RE-arrangement and "ReMixing" as Larry (Liontamer) said. With a few tweaks this would easily pass. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I must be listening to a completely different song that Shnabubula is listening to, because this is incredibly similar to the original. It follows the progression of the original song verbatim; there is nothing in the way of expansion as far as phrasing is concerned, and I really don't hear the alterations to the chord progression that Shnab mentioned, though I could be wrong. Either way, the song is much too similar to the original as far as phrasing, instrumentation, and mood goes. You could superimpose this into the game without any alteration at all, and it could pass for a Mitsuda upgrade a la PSX remake. The production, sequencing, and samples are fantastic, and it really pains me to have to reject a song so wonderfully produced, but as far as OCR is concerned, it lacks the crucial element: strong reinterpretive ideas. You seem like a very talented musician; I would love to see you submit work that has more of your own original style incorporated. Play with the melody and rhythmic ideas, change up the feel, etc etc. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, given your obvious skill level. I hope to see more from you. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Sadly I agree that the level of interpretation here isn’t enough to pass. What a beautiful orchestration though. Everything from the placement of the instruments to the quality of the samples to the climactic builds and delicate bridges solidifies this as one of my favorite orchestral pieces to hit the panel since I’ve been here. Great work Michael. Fill this piece out with greater melodic, rhythmic or stylistic variation from the original and this magical mix will easily get my YES. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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