OceansAndrew Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Remixer name: Rexy (real name: Beverley Wooff) Email: OCRemix user ID: 7528 Remix info:- Remix title: "The Dragon Emperor's Calling" Game covered: Seiken Densetsu 3 Songs covered: Weird Counterpoint (main source), Angel's Fear (several minor appearances), Whiz Kid (two cameos), Witchmakers (two cameos), Star of Darkness (Secret of Mana - single cameo) Weird Counterpoint - --- Okay, time to take a break from the solo non-piano stuff with an actual solo piano arrangement for once. This track was formed for the Seiken Densetsu 3 project that has been going on for a long time. In fact, it's been there that long that I signed up when project founder Usa made a start with it, I took a completely different song, and yet I felt too uninspired to actually realise it, much to my disappointment. Fast forward to around October 2011, when I noticed that even under Rozovian's management, the project still wasn't finished. So I looked at the available tracks and decided to rejoin, eventually feeling that I could do something with "Weird Counterpoint". I've come to the understanding that I gel quite well with late dungeon material in some form, so I felt I could realise a solid vision with this one. "Weird Counterpoint" is heard in the Dragon Hole, the second-to-last dungeon in Duran and Angela's storyline and where the Dragon Emperor resided with the Sword of Mana, itself with enhanced power after the heroes of the game defeated the 8 Mana Beasts. So the vision I have here is a more intense performance, adding to the size and complexity of the dungeon at this point in the game. It's pretty much a poignant moment in the story's progression too - they either reach the Dragon Emperor, or die trying. There is no middle ground - just overcoming adversity and watching your guard at all times. Whichever is the fate for this track both on project's release and through the submission process, I can say it's brought me another step closer to realising the scope for my piano arranging and really bringing out my feelings for the source material. And I am glad that I got this through for Rozo and assistant director Meteo Xavier (even through more reminders than I can count!), and I wish all the best for the album's unveiling Peace out, -Rexy- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I have played, since Monday, about an hour and a half of SD3 so far As per usual, you have a pretty emotive and personalized take on the source here. Admittedly, I only listened to the main source and know the Secret of Mana sources, so I didn't catch the cameos, but even as is I think the sources are easy enough to recognize. I think for the most part your arrangement and playing is fine, but I'm noticing what feels like some slight timing issues that did pull this down a little bit. I also felt like the dynamic range of the piece overall could have been expanded and explored a little more to push the emotion further. On the good side I thought a lot of the transitions, especially the first one into the Weird Counterpoint source, were well done and very thoughtful. In terms of production, I personally think the piano sound is fine, and I am curious what the other judges think. I do think it's not the best mix I've heard from you, and it might be a little close to the bar due to the small issues standing out on a solo piano track, but I'm OK with passing this as is. Good luck with the rest of the judging! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 the arrangement here is pretty solid, with a good dynamic curve. The cameos were cute, and I love Whiz Kid, so it was cool to hear it briefly. The piano sound was very nice, though I think the reverb could have been toned down just slightly, due to the extensive sustain pedal use. More of a personal preference than anything else. I noticed sortof some of the timing concerns Deia had, but didn't really think they had much detrimental impact on the song as a whole. Nice work, I like this one. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Like Andrew, I thought the heavy verb didn't suit a song with this much damper usage, but I think it goes past personal preference. The overall sound was a little cloudy and the quieter notes weren't that easy to hear. The timing problems were more troublesome to me than the other two judges I guess, because I kept hearing them and felt like they were taking me out of the flow. As usual, I like the way you approach arranging, Bev - your solo piano mixes are quite enjoyable. I think the couple issues I mentioned push this one below the bar though, and I'd like to see another version. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Ayyy... I hate to be a downer but there's small little timing errors ALL OVER this performance and it's really bringing it down for me as well. I love the arrangement and all of the various cameos, but I think you really need to scrutinize the flow of your performance, figure out where the problems lie, and remedy it with either a re-recording or by making the minor tweaks to the MIDI data itself. I had few problems with the piano tone itself but the performance here is very disjointed due to the uneven timing. Send this one back our way! NO (resub!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 there are definitely some weird bits regarding the timing, kinda just feels like you couldn't keep a steady tempo. I thought they sounded more concentrated to certain parts of the song, as most of it sounded fine to me. but some of those melodic sections where you're kinda riffing had some odd moments. I dunno, that aside, I also feel this wasn't the strongest piano mix you've subbed, but I enjoyed it overall. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Nice opening. A LITTLE stilted with the left hand to start, but this still sounded nice. Really awesome delay/ambiance on the piano helped fill out the soundscape nicely and mitigate the timing issues. I could see how one could say it went overboard, but it came across like a purposeful choice to me; either way, I wasn't bothered and don't feel like important details got lost in the mix. There were noticeable imperfections in the timing throughout that I wish had been smoothed out. But it was all small things that didn't drag this down enough in the big picture, IMO. Solid arrangement with production choices that helped undercut some noticeable negatives with the timing. Not the strongest YES on account of the timing issues, but it gets more right than it does wrong by a wide enough margin to me to go with it, flaws and all. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Reverb is really muddying this piece up a lot, especially during the fast sections where the syncopation should really be exposed. The timing issues in the performance also bring this piece down and some instances really stick out. Arrangement is nice though. NO, resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Arrangement is awesome, I'm really liking the variation throughout. I didn't look at the cameo tracks, since the source usage added up without them imo. - At first, I thought that the reverb sound would suit the piece, but as soon as it got more uptempo, the reverb only really served to muddy up the soundscape. I find the performance issues slightly troublesome. Its just enough for me to consider this not quite ready. Some sections are performed very well, but I can tell you've had alot more trouble on some sections of the source, I'm on the fence here, but I think this needs a performance clean up before I accept this. Its a nice song, and I hope you resub this one should it not pass the panel! NO (resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 I'll send this back to Bev for an update, shouldn't be too difficult to get a fix going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I think a brighter reverb is in order. Maybe just cut the verb return around 250Hz. I like the body of the piano but the reverb gets really muddy. The arrangement is pretty cool. Tells a story. Perhaps a bit long but It's a cool track. The biggest problem with this track is the timing and phrasing. The timing is extremely choppy and inconsistent. I appreciate that it wasn't performed to a click, and the tempo fluctuates on purpose, but even taking that into account, the rhythm is quite out much of the time. Perhaps a little manual quantization could fix this problem without sucking the life out of it? NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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