Palpable Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) Dear OC ReMix, I love your site and all the activity on it. The quality of the “remixes” is often very high and they’re really enjoyable beyond just being cool to recognize the tunes. Wanting to contribute to the site I started working on a remix of my own, from one of the games that inspired me to be a musician (I’m now a music teacher and director and compose all kinds of music). Contact Information MisterTheMan (I just signed up) Real name: Tim de Man timdeman.com (Dutch), soundcloud.com/timdeman userid: 54175 Submission Information from Final Fantasy VIII new title: An oath fulfilled original: The oath (Nobuo Uematsu) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr4eB0WOwN0 About the mix I’ve been interested in orchestral music for quite a while (ever since I played Heroes of Might and Magic III actually!) and have dabbled in it for quite a while. I’m now in the process of learning the skill of orchestration properly by listening to a lot of classical music and (mostly [orchestrated] game) soundtracks and reading literature on the subject. There is a populair orchestration of this particular tune on the net, but in my eyes it's a bit overly sentimental. I wanted to add more tension to the tune and make it tell more of a story. The original composer didn’t have the luxury of a song that could develop in the same way because the tracks in the game are looped so I had a chance to make the titulair oath “pay off” in the end which, I think, is a very satisfying moment =) . It was made in Logic X using exclusively sample libraries from East West. I hope you like it! Kind regards, MisterTheMan / Tim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr4eB0WOwN0 Edited November 24, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision timaeus222 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Got it working! The Oath definitely lends itself very well to orchestration, and I think a lot of your approach here is a pretty good start. In terms of arrangement I only had a few quibbles; the opening third of the mix is pretty empty and is really accentuating some other flaws of the mix. I also felt like the chord progression at 1:00 sounds a bit off, and I'd consider adjusting some of the notes there. The production is definitely the area that needs the most work. The instruments have very little humanization and feel blocky (really emphasized in that opening). Similarly, there are times when the attacks between the instruments are slow or fast and are not matching up well, making things sound out of time. That is more apparent in the end between the brass and strings especially. The samples themselves are another big issue. Most of the instruments are sounding pretty fakey, and the higher notes of the strings are very thin and screeching at times. To some extent you could massage some life into the samples and they will sound better, but it would also be good to consider finding some more realistic samples. I think you're on the right track in terms of practicing your orchestration, but the mix itself has a ways to go before it is ready for OCR. Hit up our WIP forums to get some more feedback. No (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I can pretty much co-sign with everything Deia said above, especially the slow empty intro and the obvious fakeness of the samples used. But wow I really like this arrangement and the creativity of the writing, and the excellent dynamics I hear in this track. The jury is out for me. edit 11/24/15: I'm not going to hold this up. I still really like the arrangement, but the fakeness of the strings, horns and woodwinds is just enough of a distraction to be a problem. The pizzicato strings are fine, it's the legato strings and brass and also the woodwinds that are at issue. With every legato instrument, you seem to have used all the same articulation for all the writing, with just enough of a long attack so that the shorter notes sound awkward. Ideally you should layer a few articulations together so that the more staccato articulation hits those shorter notes with a much shorter attack. I hate to reject the mix on these grounds, because this arrangement is stellar. But this will be a great opportunity for you to refine your craft regarding humanization. Clem is right about not having every note hit right on the grid too, allow for a teeny bit of human error, moving notes slightly ahead and/or behind the beat (not enough to make it sloppy, just enough so it feels human). And definitely look into layering articulations for the different attacks. Good luck and I hope to hear this again! NO (borderline, please resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 cool arrangement. I agree with Deia about sequencing issues. blockiness pervades. there are a few points where fakeness jumps out. overlap at :25, wind entrance/melody at 1:11, stabs at 3:07. truth, writing with the grid makes it hard to create legit sounding orchestral recordings. xfade, scooch. it’s tough to reject the track on these grounds because fo real, your arrangement is tight. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I think your track has a lot going for it, you have a great arrangement. I didn't have too many problems with the patches/samples used - of course they could be better (I particularly thought the sound of the horns damped the realism for me somewhat), but overall I think your sounds are serviceable. Your mix is fairly well balanced, you have used your stereo space fairly well and things aren't too boomy in the low end. As the other judges have stated, the main place where the mix is lacking is the humanisation department. When you build a mix predominantly on patches/samples of real instruments, you'll always run into the problem of matching that with a realistic performance. I believe you have a solid foundation here to build off, and really all this needs is some humanisation across the board, being tweaks to note start and end times, note triggers, and a bit of a play with velocities. I think that would satisfy most of us here. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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