Chimpazilla Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 (edited) ReMixer name: jnWake. Name of game(s) arranged: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Lost World. Name of arrangement: The Flying Garden. Name of individual song(s) arranged: "Green Hill Zone" (from STH), "Sky Road Zone 2" (from SLW). Mix comments: I made this mix for Round 1 of SZRC 2014. My main idea was to make a rocking song and I believe I succeeded for the most part. I also a added a random jazz/fusion thing at the middle, it is kind of unexpected but I think the transitions to and from that section work well. Song breakdown: 0:00 - 1:12: The main melody here (shared by the flute at the intro and the guitar later) takes elements from both sources. It begins with Sky Road and the end of the melody is from Green Hill. I wanted to begin the song with a calmer section and then rock! 1:13 - 1:34: I guess you can call this section original... I wanted to bring the flute back so I made this section! 1:35 - 2:20: The lead guitar comes back! This section is mainly based on the ending of Green Hill Zone (guitar and piano both play melodies from there). Synth lead plays a melody from Sky Road. 2:21 - 2:43: Breakdown time! This is mainly Green Hill zone on a E. Piano... 2:44 - 3:14: I didn't plan on inserting a section like this originally but the chords came to me while writing the song and I couldn't help but to add this section to the song! This is based on Green Hill zone, you can tell by the synth lead. Transition to the next section was a bit hard to write but I believe it sounds nice. 3:15 - End: Melody from the intro returns! Second repetition has the synth lead play a part from Sky Road. Hope you like it! green hill zone: sky road zone 2: Edited January 8, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Oh man... this arrangement is nice. Plenty of source, nice interpretation and nice interweaving of sources. Production has issues. The flute in the intro is very fake sounding and resonant and the intro stringed instrument sounds stiff. At 0:28, the drop is sudden and not signaled at all, the piano is stiff and the snare is weak. I don't know what guitars are being used here... if they are sampled, they are used pretty well, although they just sound a bit stiff. The backing guitars sound stiff, the lead is better. At 2:22 there's a nice breakdown, I'm not sure the hats need to autopan. The drums are weak in general and the crash has zero presence or impact. The backing synth that begins at 1:59 (and again at 2:45) could have so much more presence, it just feels like it is mixed into the background and center-panned. Oh gosh... I just feel generally that this mix could use some more polish and a little less stiffness to the writing, but I'm really right on the borderline here because the arrangement is quite good. I might flip after a few more listens and reading others' words, but for now, I'm NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Nice source selection! I haven't heard anything from Sonic Lost World, but this is nice. I know this is going to sound like I'm coming down hard on you, but this seems to play to your strengths, but ultimately falls prey to the same issues that many of your previous submissions have had. I'll do a quick breakdown of some thoughts on this track, both positive and negative: +You've got a great ear for arranging and mixing multiple source tunes together. On an arrangement level, I feel like this is a pass. Sources are present but mixed well with original writing. +You always have a wide range of instruments that keeps your tracks sounding fresh -The whole intro sounds tinny, lacking in any low frequencies. This part should sound a lot more lush - try layering in a deeper pad or sub bass, and replacing your flute sample, which just isn't working here. -The bass seems... not so bassy? Can't tell if it's a sample issue or how you EQ'd it, but it sounds weak. -Overall, this just seems rigidly sequenced. The e-piano Green Hill section at 2:24 is a very noticeable example where everything is hard-quantized to the grid, and doesn't have the expressiveness needed for such an exposed solo section. Not sure what to say here, there's still a lot of mixing issues that you need to address. The arrangement is ace but as a whole I think you still have some kinks to work out before this can pass the bar. NO (resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I gotta agree with the other judges, the arrangement is very nice and intelligently put together, but some of the samples, the mixing, and the sequencing all need some work. THings are sounding really boxes around the 250hz mark, so scooping your bass and some of the guitars in a narrow Q range there will help give you a lot more headroom, which will in turn make things easier on your master, so you can get a punchier sound. The lead guitars should be sequenced a bit looser overall, as they are over quantized at the moment. Arrangement is showing a lot of skill, the other elements just need to come up to match it. I'm excited to hear this with a layer of polish on it. No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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