Emunator Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Contact Information ReMixer Name: GreatBlakes Real Name: Chris Blakley Email Address: Website: gearside.com User ID: 12312 Submission Information Game: Pac-Man Name of Arrangement: Vice Name of Song Arranged: Main Theme Soundtrack: https://ocremix.org/game/142/pac-man-arc Song: Additional Comments: My goal was to create a dark/gritty '80s retro future inspired half-time remix of the Pac-Man theme song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Very cool idea. It's hugely transformative, very creative, and has a great sound. I was concerned about source usage, though (as one should be for a 5-second source). While nearly everything is at least inspired by the original jingle, quite a bit is so liberally transformed that it wouldn't necessarily be identifiable if you listened to it by itself. Here's what I came up with: 1:15-1:28 is directly taken from the game, just slowed down and detuned. 0:16-0:47 is almost the same as the source, just slowed down, with a key change, and with a couple of notes omitted. 0:52-0:59, 2:28-2:35, 2:55-3:01 are SFX from the game, not music, so I don't think they count even though they help identify the source game, if not the track. 1:01-1:15 and 1:29-3:18 are very loose interpretations. I'd say they're transformations of the transformation; vaguely reminiscent of the source but really not the same. These sections alone make up 62% of the arrangement, with 1:29-3:18 making up 55%. So really the whole thing hinges on whether that heavily-transformed take counts as source usage. I don't have any other major concerns. The tail is really long, with almost 2 minutes of the same basic groove, but it does change throughout that section and I didn't find myself getting bored with it. The sound design is brilliant. Production is intentionally gritty but clean. I'm really on the fence about this one. On the one hand, I love it as a piece of music inspired by Pac-Man. I love that it exists. Our rules say this: Quote 3. The source material must be identifiable and dominant. While interpretation and original additions are encouraged, arrangement must not modify the source material beyond recognition. The amount of arranged source material must be substantial enough to be recognized. It's easily recognizable that the source material is in use at least to an extent. It helps that some of it is less transformed, which helps the listener draw the connection to the part that's more transformed. And, that connection being made, the transformed source material is dominant throughout the mix. It's not a bulletproof argument, but I'm going with it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 oh, this sounds great right off the bat. the initial theme presentation is excellent - great realization. the gritty hats sound so good. the voice-over is clever (and features the bassline that's been defined by the original, so there's a tenuous connection). the guitar solo sounds so good, and that tapedrop to the filtered digitized theme bits is super fun. 1:29 isn't a tenuous connection - it's the same theme from the beginning, with some eventual half-beat delays to put it on the offbeat. there's tons of theme through at least the glitchy part at 2:15. it gets hard to hear pitches for that bit, but the arpeggio that's essentially the melody is preponderant through the rest of the groove from 2:25 to the end. the tail is longer than it needs to be but it's interesting anyways so i didn't mind. from a mastering perspective, this is really beefy but intentionally so. there's some mild clipping at a few specific spots, mostly between 1:55-2:05, but it truly sounds intentional (or at least not unintentional) so it didn't bother me. i love how fat the bass is throughout, and the specific attention paid to filling in the space of the soundscape consistently with pads and sfx so it doesn't ever sound hollow. arrangement-wise there's no issue here - i hear the 'melody' arpeggio throughout almost the entire track. for certain it doesn't sound like pac-man, but the only times it was even really in doubt about the source is when there was intentional detuning. this is fantastic. can't wait to see it on the site. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Will keep it short and sweet. From a judging perspective, I didn't enjoy the 1:28 section as much because it was arguably too transformative; I actually would have liked it to keep the melody somewhat more straightforward, but of course I have to respect altering the rhythms. As long as the connection's direct and clear to me, which it was, I'm OK with it. From a production respective, somewhat cramped/muddy in brief spots, but otherwise fairly clear and purposeful sound to things. Super creative approach to the arrangement, and I didn't have any significant problem with clipping, balance, or anything else on the mixing side. Nice job, Chris! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 (edited) wow, I wasn't expecting this for a pacman remix. Pretty ominous and dark sounding stuff. I get some blade runner vibes with some of this arrangement, like the tension-creating bassline which hangs on that note forever (but doesn't get tiresome). Excellent soundscape and use of synths. The arrangement is great, turning this classic short tune into something this epic is pretty awesome. I feel the mix is missing some mid frequencies but it's fine overall. Man I just get some nasty cyberpunk vibes from this. If there's ever going to be a Pacman: act zero, this is the song to put in that. Nothing much to say other than, bring it up to the front page! YES Edited April 4, 2022 by Sir_NutS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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