djpretzel Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Hi dear Judges! Hope you're all doing well. I think I'm starting all my sub mails like this LOL Please note that this remix is part of Chimpazilla's PvZ Project. Contact Information Chernabogue Alexandre Mourey www.fflproduction.fr ID: 20943 Live violin from Jeff Ball (ID: 8601) Submission Information Plants vs Zombies Winter is Coming Grasswalk Laura Shigihara / PC and other systems This remix took a while to finish, but I'm really proud of the result. The main concept was to give the track a nice winter/chilling feel. The orchestra way was the one to go. I like doing orchestral remixes, and this one sounds quite baroque especially with the harpsichord. I'm very happy I took a different road and tried something a little different. Chimpazilla, Brandon, and Timaeus were very helpful, and I cannot thank them enough for their patience, as I learned a lot from it. Big props to Jeff Ball as well for that killer violin recordings. LINK to remix: Hope everything's okay, let me know if you need anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Glockenspiel, sleighbells, and violin are all great ways to invoke the winter feeling. I think you do a pretty great job nailing the style. Jeff sounds great as usual, and I like some of the Melissa's he added. They really help nail the baroque style. I do wish that some of the backing parts were a little more humanized to compliment Jeff a bit more, but it wasn't anything deal breaker. Heard a weird note at 1:54 or so that wasn't matching up between Jeff and the rest. Not sure if it was intentional or not but it is noticeable. Overall I think this is a fun take on the original. There aren't huge changes taken compared to the source, but it's refined and has a nature style change from the original. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I liked the atmosphere of the piece (similar to the original with some differences), but I'll be dead honest: it didn't sound very inspired to me. It has a very plodding feel without strong dynamics, and a lot of the added writing sounds pretty forced. Humanization would help the ploddingness as Deia pointed out, but I wanted a stronger direction and more interesting partwriting. The backing instrumentation under the first couple iterations of the violin is very basic, and the call-and-response section just didn't do enough to justify its length. The solo at the end was a good idea (live violin always goes a long way), but I didn't think the notes were very lyrical and as such, sounded noodly to me. Every now and then, Jeff added an exciting run or you added a flourish, like at 2:12, and that was what I wanted to see more of. I don't think a lot has to change here; in fact, I could see this passing in spite of my NO. A lot of what I found problematic could be called personal preference. Mixing and production are great, minus the humanization. Many of the parts you've written are fine, but I think the song needs to be more focused and captivate the listener more. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Nice opening with the bells as well, as going for the light orchestral approach; it's not structurally transformative, but very well adapted For the first minute, everything shaped up nicely. I agreed with Deia about the sour note at 1:51; it's not a huge deal, but it should be tweaked if possible to make the support writing work with Jeff's note there and prevent the dissonance. The dropoff at 2:13 actually felt like an opportunity to do something a bit more dynamic with the composition, but that's just a personal taste thing; that said, I really enjoyed the percussion in the background from 2:20-2:45 as well as the chromatic percussion transition (though there was light crackling/distortion from 2:48-2:49). Again at 3:13, there was another chance to do something more drastic with the dynamics or sound palette; this goes the more understated route. Also, until fuller instrumentation came in at 3:43, the harpsichord timing feels exposed as too rigid, something that was an issue for me throughout (timing), but not as much as it was there. Dynamically, there could be more going on, but within a flatter dynamic curve, there's actually a good deal going on with subtle textural changes throughout the piece. It actually feels very much like a piece of in-game BGM maintaining a fixed energy level all while fashioning contrast through those restraints. I think Palpable's right on his NO in the sense that it feels more like a personal preference leaning to me as well; there's indeed more I myself would like to see from this piece -- and I hadn't read the previous votes before writing mine -- but I believe the arrangement's genre interpretation, subtle instrument/textural changes, and overall clean production had more than enough going correctly that this should be a pass. No big issues here, and I enjoyed the approach. Good job, bros!YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Mmm, well this is a subtle take on the track. I didn't think it could be more light-hearted than the source, but it manages, and does a great job at it, to boot. In general, the arrangement sounds pretty close to the source - upgraded pizzicato strings, live violin over the string/woodwind melody, etc. The harpsichord is a great addition, though, and there are some pretty cool little licks going on in the background. I'm leaning toward this being a bit too conservative, but there is some really cool percussion in there (Glock, snare, wind chimes, etc.) that help give it some distinct flavor. Fortunately, the rest of the production and orchestration does pull this one very well - the mixing is well balanced, the production is clean and overall the orchestration is pretty clever. Jeff's violin sounds good, too - more little licks like at 1:48 would've been better rather than playing so much straight, in my opinion - it feels like a missed opportunity, since you're using a solid violinist to play the part. It's not bad or wrong, but it really feels like it could've been so much more. The note at 1:51 is a Neapolitan bII - a bit uncommon in arrangements, but not at all dissonant. It gives the passage some unexpected flavor - I liked it, myself, and more people should use it. The violin and arrangement don't match at 1:54, though - the violin plays a lower'd 7th while the arrangement plays a raised 7th. Either would sound fine, but they have to match. The arrangement would be the easier fix, but I personally would rather hear the violin match the arrangement, there. Entirely up to you, though, as either would be alright. The plodding feeling throughout this track wears on me after a while. While I like what's there, I agree that I wish there was more variety in pacing and texture. After a good two minutes, I was wondering when things were either going to change, or whether it was going to end soon. That's not a very good place for the listener to be. Mind you, it's not that it needs to be more exciting, but the overall density and dynamic changes very little throughout the piece. I have to go with Palpable on this one - there really wasn't much that made it captivate the listener past two minutes, due to the static dynamics you stick to throughout. Don't be afraid to make your quiet sections quieter (perhaps by dropping one more instrument out, for example), and your louder sections a pinch louder. I'd also argue that it leans just a little too conservative, due to the instrument choices very often lining up with the source, as I mentioned above - simply adding flourishes and the like would probably be enough in my book to make it distinct enough, though. There are some cool and original choices that are made in this, so it's almost good enough on that front, for me. You certainly need to fix the arrangement at 1:54, though, and I do suggest giving Jeff some more opportunity to spice it up with more of his flourishes (though again, that's up to you - it's not wrong as it stands, but it could be more interesting if you did so). NO/BORDERLINE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Enjoyable. The chamber and wintery feel of this worked very well. Arrangement wise things didn't feel too bad as you transition to different parts, although the slow plodding pace does incite feelings that things should progress more quickly throughout the mix, especially by the time you hit the end. Happy with your mixing, parts are clear and have their place. I hear the off note that Deia mentioned, would've been great if that was sorted. Perhaps this can be fixed if it's posted? I do think the arrangement could be stronger here as it takes a while for it to get where it needs to go, but looking at this, it's still a pass for me, as the attention to detail and little nuances throughout the track outweigh the lack of overall excitement across the duration. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 I like this. My mind is not blown away, mostly because I agree that this sounds pretty conservative, but I still think the arrangement has enough subtlety to it to make it acceptable for OCR. This is a fun take on a fun source, and there's nothing in there that bothers me, really. The off note mentioned by the others didn't sound like much of an issue to me. The most questionable harmonic choice, IMO, is the arpeggio starting around 3:44, but even then I don't think it's an issue. I think this is fine work! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I'll echo Joel on this one, in one word this was enjoyable. I liked the winter atmosphere quite a lot. The mixing was clear for the most part and performances were handled well. Some of the instruments are a bit too resonant for my taste but nothing that breaks the mix. There's a fair amount of attention to detail here, and while the arrangement doesn't go to extremes interpretation-wise, the adaptation is more than enough to distance it from the original. Repeating myself here, I'll say that this is not a perfect mix: the plodding pace may not be something everybody will enjoy, although we can put that blame onto the source which has a VERY plodding pace, so I think the remix improved on that too. This is certainly an enjoyable submission that's past our bar. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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