DragonAvenger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) Some fun arrangement ideas - Deia Contact information: Your ReMixer name: Broken Sword Your real name: Thomas Goodine Your email address: Your website: http://www.facebook.com/brokensworddubstep Your userid: 31475 Submission Information: Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy VIII Name of arrangement: TIMBER! Name of individual song(s) arranged: Martial Law Additional information about game including composer, system, etc): Nobuo Uematsu, PlayStation Your own comments about the mix: I basically just wanted to try my hand at doing another video game remix... I wanted to pick a "mellow" track for my original, that also had some jazz elements to it... I stepped out of my normal scene of filthy/grimey/dirty dubstep inspired genres, and made a more progressive style song, merging an original style of beat with a typical brostep drop. I guess my goal was basically to do something different, that explores not only a progression in energy throughout the track, but also a progression in mood. I like what I came up with, and hopefully I managed to create what I was aiming for. ------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPVE34HM1nU Edited August 5, 2013 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Not really impressed by the synths during the intro; pretty vanilla/stock choices here. Super bland layered claps and kick at :44. Wow, not feeling the piano sequencing at 1:11; weird notes from 1:21-1:23. Decent piano run there from 1:25-1:29, but everything sounded so mechanical and devoid of feeling. Pretty minimalist beats and pads from 1:44-2:42. I guess with a 6:18-long piece, you can have a minimalist build somewhere, but even so this was still REALLY barebones. 2:43 (finally - you could trim that last section) moved onto something from the source, gradually building into some bass kicks coming in at 3:44. The lead to things picking up at 4:14, though the energy level was way lower than that buildup implied. The writing was decent there, but the textures remained VERY thin despite everything indicating this was the apex of the arrangement. The sounds just have no body, no richness whatsoever. The mixing lacked clarity/sharpness as well. Yeah, Deia mentioned some interesting arrangement ideas in there, but it's all hampered by weak execution. Many of the instrumentation choices were flimsy with no creative processing, none of the textures were cohesive, you often had odd notes from the way the leads combined with the pads, and the climax didn't even get into second gear as far as the energy level. There's just a ton of unrealized potential here, and a lot to work on to get it into shape. I wish I could be more complimentary, as the arrangement approach was good and used the source tune creatively throughout. But the energy inherent in the writing never arrived. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Larry has pretty much nailed the key issues here. If you're going for a super minimal build, it needs to have some real ear candy put together cohesively with really detailed modulation. It has the feel of a mish mash of different presets that have just been put together with whatever drum samples were available. That might not be the case but that's how it feels. I can hear what you're going for and the arrangement definitely has potential as Larry and Deia seem to agree! But the synth sounds need a lot of love as most of them are quite thin and static. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Yeah, I think both Cain and Larry have hit it right on here with the production issues. Piano especially felt like a big offender with rigid sequencing. Beats felt pasted on top and in general not gelling with the rest of the track. That's not to say all of the production wasn't working. I did like the drop around 2:45. Cool mood established and sort of ambient/distorted atmosphere is clicking as breakdown section for sure. Dub section following this has some very cool synth work, but in general, the soundscape is pretty sparse, despite how much is actually going on here. Just keep at it. You've got the basics covered, just gotta refine your craft. This isn't bad, just not there yet. NO Resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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