Liontamer Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Contact Info Remixer name: Top Dollar Real name: Markus Friebee-mail: m_friebe@gmx.net Website: www.matrix-faq.com (not music-related) ReMix Info Game: Jurassic Park (GB) Songs remixed: Track 2, 3, 4 and 7 Link: http://www.zophar.net/gbs/jurazzic.zip Liner notes: Again, one of my first VGM experiences ever. Ever since I started remixing I have thought that the soundtrack for the JP game for GB would be a great opportunity to go orchestral on it. And again, I took the approaching of composing it as a sort of end credits, visiting several themes of the soundtrack, intermingling it with original compositions. ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.zophar.net/gbs/jurazzic.zip - Tracks 4 (:57-2:26), 3 (3:36-4:45), 2 (5:01-5:36) & 7 (6:00-6:55) A lot of the melodies in these sources take a while to show up in the GBS, so you'll have to be patient when making comparisons. Pretty strong opening, though the texture sounded thin around :44 during the buildup. The section from :57-1:42 was good, but seemed sparse, plus the strings sounded mechanical/jerky with the note movements. Nonetheless, I liked the writing, and the energy was good overall. After having the melodic strings blend together with the supporting instrumentation from :57-1:53, it was odd hearing the woodwind sound so much louder and dominant from 1:53 (playing some stuff from Comic Bakery that was cribbed for JP's soundtrack). Didn't like the timing sounding so rigid with the phrases from 2:03 and 2:21. The supporting writing under the lead though was pretty well-done, before transitioning into some quieter stuff at 2:26 for some nice contrast. Definitely a good move for an arrangement this lengthy. Heard some light clicks/pops in the back from 3:29-3:36. Once things got denser with the woodwind, strings, vox, drums, etc. at 3:36, the soundscape became too muddy and cluttered, plus the mechanical nature of the woodwind further hindered the expressiveness of the section. Things remained crowded and muddy all the way until 4:47 finally changed up the sound combinations a bit. Once things picked up again at 5:02 with the woodwind lead, things became mudded up again, though less drastically than last time around. Lead was still fake/mechanical-sounding and too loud, IMO. Would have been more interesting and creative to play around with some different ideas for the lead to change things up. Really liked the strings and brass taking over though at 5:36. The writing was beautiful and the interplay of the various elements was solid, leading to a beautiful finish. The last note hung too long, but wasn't a big deal. This one is pretty close. Look into decluttering some of the denser sections so that things aren't swamped, revisit the sound balance of the woodwind lead vs. the other sounds, get rid of the clicks/pops, and see if more realism can't be injected into the lead woodwind and string performances (that's a more minor criticism, so focus on the other improvement suggestions). Pretty close, but it needs a little more love. Definitely tweak this and send it back, Markus. The site needs an arrangement like this one. Good luck on the rest of the vote, as this may have what it takes to pass; either way, even a rejection would have most if not all of us encouraging a resubmission. NO (borderline/refine/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 clipping around 2:12 This mix is diving in both ends of the pool for me. On one hand you have some very nicely arranged string sections, along with some good woodwind and beats. But then you get sections that just sound like they're thrown together with no regard to what sounds good. I get clipping around 2:12 and 5:02. That might just be my crappy sound system, but you might want tone it down a couple of decibels on the next encoding. Muddy is the word I'd use to describe your reverb. It works on the brass and strings, it doesn't work on your drums or your woodwind. You have some work to do there. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillian Aversa Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Not bad! Not bad at all. I have some very straightforward suggestions for you, though, and if you can take them into account I'll probably pass this next time around. At 0:57, the string rhythm gets weird. It's lacking some sort of rhythmic integrity, like the players are getting lazy with the attacks and just "swinging" them instead. The last down bows sound a little early in the pattern, making things out of sync with the bass drum. I agree with TO on your excessive reverb for the drums. No clipping for me, though. The flute part sounds awfully mechanical. Think you can mess with that a little more? Overall, you've chosen a very unconventional mixing style for a symphonic piece. If it were a mixture of styles, that wouldn't really bother me, but this is strictly orchestral, so I really think you should pan the instruments as they would be seated in a real orchestra. Here's a diagram for help: http://www.sammamishsymphony.org/Orchestra/Seating-Chart.gif I know it sounds picky, but there is a reason why instruments are spaced the way they are; if you don't observe the tradition, things start to sound muddy and imbalanced pretty fast. In this piece, as soon as you take away the drums, everything starts to sound very left ear heavy. In a real orchestra, though, the strings would be evenly spread across the front of the stage, so there wouldn't be that problem. Hope these suggestions will help for a resubmission. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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