Emunator Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 (edited) Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Mel Decision Your real name: Mel Choyce-Dwan Your email address: Your userid: 18632 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy FVIII Name of arrangement: Net Fish and Chill Name of individual song(s) arranged: Fisherman's Horizon Your own comments about the mix: When approached to see if I was interested in participating in the last-minute bonus disc, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to rearrange something in a style I was comfortable with given the time crunch. I trawled through the OST, and when I realized Fisherman's Horizon already had a relaxed vibe, I knew that would be the one. Lofi felt like a good fit, and it's a genre I felt like I could pull off in the allotted time. Sax by Lucas (Thirdkoopa) and Bass Clarinet by GameroftheWinds really brought this to life! Credits Mel Decision: arrangement, production, mixing Lucas Guimaraes: tenor saxophone GameroftheWinds: bass clarinet Edited November 6, 2023 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 (edited) can't find an original decision thread. i'll note that this is, to me, one of the most iconic final fantasy tracks of all time. it just nails the style an vibe so well. sfx to start. the lo-fi is strong in this one - it's really thin to start, but fleshes out a bit when lucas comes in. lucas's tone here is better than some other tracks, but not great. GotW's bass clarinet is fun to hear, but it's mic'd poorly - there's a lot more volume on lower pitches as the air column gets longer, indicating incorrect mic placement. there's also a completely gross unison with both instruments having bad tone as well as being wildly out of tune, and that's a deal-breaker right there especially when it could have been adjusted in audacity or something, not even expensive software. lucas picks up the B theme at about 1:15. the lack of vibrato really hurts his tone here. there's a solo section starting at about 1:46, and the shape of the solo is nice. it's still pretty honky throughout. GotW comes in and solos at 2:10, and the intonation throughout is rough, especially right at the beginning and another unison that's equally bad as before. 2:38ish the instrumentalists are done from the sound of it, and the track kind of just noodles along until it's done with some more sfx. i thought this ending highlights the thinness of the arrangement - the drums are pretty active actually, not really in style, and aside from that you've got a pad instrument and a guitar with no bass that i heard. this makes the intro and ending very thin and feel like they're missing something. i don't think this is up to our standards across the board. both lucas and GotW's performances have some notable flaws in intonation/timbre/execution, although i love the instrumentation choices and (for the most part) what they're playing. the backing part is simple to the point of too much, and the intro and outro both feel like they're missing stuff. NO Edited November 1, 2023 by prophetik music first paragraph wording Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 4, 2023 Share Posted November 4, 2023 So the first time around (for direct post/flood consideration), Chimpazilla and I were fine with this, but djp pointed out loads of performance issues, mainly with the sax, that DarkeSword, prophetik, and others co-signed, and I definitely heard where they were coming from. Loads of hiss right from the jump; really unsure how that wound up here, because even as an aesthetic, it doesn't sound good at all; the hiss here is much louder than than album version. Starts off sounding so lossy here with the sax at :18; where's the sharpness??? I had to throw on a control track to ensure my listening setup wasn't compromised. Still hearing loads of shakiness/honkiness/flatness in the sax at :30-:31, :50-:52, 1:15-1:25, 1:48-1:51, 1:56-1:57, 2:03, 2:18-2:20 - TOO MANY PLACES. Now the mixing's not strong either, which is a shame, because the album version was fine with me there. The sax still needs more strength and control, and now the mixing's not sharp enough either. If this is to be revisited, let it be with more time to have some distance and clarity on what needs work; this may even need a new sax take from Lucas or someone else. Great arrangement, Mel, but the performances and mixing are hurting this. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 I don't think the performances are all that bad, though I agree there's plenty of room for improvement. The mixing is more of an issue; there's frequent pumping, some muddiness in the busier sections and transitions, and the kicks cut right through everything. But the arrangement is actually my biggest hangup: There are the tape deck FX and a little bit of riffing here and there, but mostly it's that plodding drum line under a very conservative take on the theme, and I don't think this is interpretive enough for us. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 59 minutes ago, MindWanderer said: But the arrangement is actually my biggest hangup: There are the tape deck FX and a little bit of riffing here and there, but mostly it's that plodding drum line under a very conservative take on the theme, and I don't think this is interpretive enough for us. I'll just go on record as disagreeing. The melodic treatment is conservative in places, but there's enough differences for me in the genre, mood, and some additive original part-writing that interacts with the source (e.g. 1:46-2:37). There's room for melodically conservative arrangements being transformational enough in other respects, but MW's reservations are also something to keep in mind, Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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