Emunator Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Original Decision: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35548 name: Brandon E. Strader remixer: Brandon Strader forum: 3123 website: www.bstrader.net game: Mega Man 9 / Mega Man 5 composer: Ippo Yamda (MM9) / Mari Yamaguchi (MM5) source: Splash Woman / Wave Man ( / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtEcfF1STWY)remixname: Lady in the Water link: genre: Orchestral An orchestration somewhat in the vein of "Mirage", this is my third orchestration so far that I've submitted... I've maintained most of the orchestral elements from "Mirage", including the koto and shamisen. I wanted to add some more ethnic instruments but I ran out of RAM and my computer was crashing, so what can you do. There's some production tweaks but I felt Mirage was pretty strong, so I didn't go overboard. I made this for Round 1 of the Grandiose Robotic Master Remixing Competition run by DarkeSword. I wanted to get involved with a Shariq Production™® and I thought this would be a cool way to enter that Darke World. I made an orchestration I am very happy with, combining Splash Woman and Wave Man themes -- sometimes simultaneously. When I was writing the harmony for the Wave Man melodies during the chorus, I knew I was on to something special. (1:21 heard on the Oboe / Pizzicato violin). And the Splash Woman melody is going at the same time, which I thought was really awesome. Some stuff just works together nicely, you find out while you're in the process of fiddling around with doodads. I did a lot of doodad fiddling with various gizmos. Wanted to make sure I actually represented Wave Man properly even though I wasn't particularly interested in using that theme. I'm all about the Splash Woman, folks. Anyway, it's used for the intro, and also at 1:58 which represents 1:34 in the source youtube. As you can tell I really didn't go that deep into its source, really just a couple stand-out melodies were used. As for Splash Woman, I think it translated to orchestra extremely well. It's another charging piece at times, but I think it reaches a level of major-key epicity that the darker previous orchestrations didn't. I probably won't do many more orchestrations soon. It'll start to seem like a gimmick and people won't be interested in hearing more of them. I like to try different stuff, genres, and fiddle with the gizmos of various genres -- it keeps me interested in music. I hope it keeps ya'll interested too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 String articulations at :12 were pretty meh, especially that last exposed note at :18. Not a great transition to Splash Woman at :41, but it was serviceable. The orchestration for the Splash Woman section wasn't mind-blowing, but was interesting before moving back to Wave Man at 2:00. Weird sweeping noise at 2:05, 2:15, 2:26 and 2:38, I believe with the woodwind, that doesn't sound right, though it's a minor thing. The instrumentation started giving me flashbacks to my very first vote as a judge, Koelsch1's Valkyrie Profile 'Blind Eternity,' and not in a good way. That track stuck out as having a good arrangement, but some bland instrumentation (e.g. bells, strings, woodwind) that undermined the energy inherent in the writing. The final section put it over the top of me as far as having more right than wrong in terms of the production and execution, but you can't help but hear this track and realize the quality of the orchestration hasn't reached its potential. Everything was fairly well written and arranged, but some sections felt a bit lifeless despite all the activity going on. To me, it's a problem, but the smart arrangement of the two theme carries it enough as is that I can let it go by. Having checked out 4 resubmissions by Brandon in a row today, I'm disappointed none of them are outstanding, as he's grown a ways as a musician since he started submitting tracks. I wasn't feeling some of the RESUBs today, but he's shown he can significantly improve flawed pieces from iteration to iteration. That said, more consistency and a better ear from the start should be the goal. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 The slow parts were just kindof treading water for me and not doing anything very interesting. I couldn't help but wonder when it was going to pick up again each time. I really liked the sections where the splash woman A section was playing; that part was very good, but the rest felt like bland and plodding background music that didn't really go anywhere or say anything. The intro didn't feel very solid, with no real instrument taking the forefront. Overall I don;t really know about this one, as it is pretty blocky as far as the chords, with not much going on in passing tones. I think overall this needs a lot more interest and energy for me to give it the nod. No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 2:52 on was excellent. If everything was at that level of energy and focus, I would have loved this arrangement and passed it no problem. As it is, the first half was really not as good in terms of sequencing and writing. Like Andrew, the slower sections didn't hold my interest much and also felt a little noodly. I really wanted some element to take the lead and plot a course, but instead you had a few different lead-ish instruments vying for attention. Overall, I think this is still put together well enough that I want to pass it, but I guess it feels like a step back from some of your more recent stuff. Sorry if this sounds condescending, but don't get complacent with your musical talent! You have the ability to make amazing music, Brandon! YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I agree with the consensus. Just a bit slow to start. Not crazy about some of the samples used, but I'm not really holding that against you for the most part. You just need more energy here. it wants to get moving but it never really does. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 I'm not feeling as borderline on this as the rest of y'all. The intro was pretty weak, I'll admit, but when the koto came in I was actually feeling this quite a bit. It doesn't exactly progress in the same way as your traditional orchestral arrangement, which makes it feel a bit plodding, but the strong parts where there's a more dominant lead more than make up for the parts that didn't quite hold my interest. The ending is FANTASTIC. I guess when compared to the better-written parts (mainly the ones that feature the koto and more energetic drums) the rest of the song seems underwhelming, but I still like this one enough to give it a pass at the end of the day. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 The koto playing Splash Woman is the best part of this, but the rest of the piece sound really clunky and plodding. I feel like a lot of the samples (strings, winds) were really exposed here, and the balance between all the elements were really off, especially during the Wave Man sections. The sustained chords sort of just droned. I can't remember if I voted this one high during the competition but I'm not really feeling it here at all. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I remember being impressed with this when I heard it in the GRMRB. That still holds true to an extent, but it does feel bland. I feel like it lacks some much needed energy in its more bombastic sections but its at its best when the dynamics are more subtle with the ethnic instrumentation, the ending is a good example of this. Overall, the koto is big highlight for me, its brings so much life to the arrangement. The arrangement itself is fine, the breakdown at 2 minutes in is a little bland but even so, this has some pretty neat moments. I feel like it doesn't quite fulfil its potential, but its a nice mix, there is plenty to like, and it mixes the themes nicely. I'm cool with this. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Tough call here for sure. It definitely suffers from some clunky sequencing and balance is off at places between parts. TBH, I wasn't feeling this for the first :45. At that point, though, the parts started flowing more naturally together. Watch your levels as well, because it sounds like a bit of distortion is just starting to creep in on the louder parts (like transitions with cymbal rolls). I don't disagree with the NO votes by any means - there is a lot of unrealized potential here I think - but overall I think it get's the job done and the stronger sections outweigh the weaknesses of the mix. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Jumping on the borderline wagon here. The end part is quite nice, and if the rest had the same energy and movement this would be an easy call. The opening to around 2:50ish has some treading water, although I think there are some brief shines of light (1:03-1:41 especially). YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts