Liontamer ⚖️ Posted July 4 Posted July 4 Resub 1 Original Decision Artist Name: Audiomancer, Aka Eric File upload failed, link provided above and below. This is another resubmission of this ReMix. Taking into consideration the feedback I got from the judges last time around, I have.. -Replaced the "dancy" piano with a celeste. The piano was Addicted Keys, for what it's worth. -Altered some of the articulations and notes on the flute part. Hopefully it sounds more organic. -Adjusted the EQ on the trumpet part, as well as adding a flute duet to that section. I hope that helps with the level of interpretation. -Added a soft knee compressor, threshold -15 db, ratio 1.1. I hope this brings up the perceived volume some, while maintaining the dynamic range of the piece. I then "normalized" the volume with a limiter, the loudest part of the song brings a -1.5 db reduction. -Changed the choir. The one I had in before, even with the attack set to nothing, still had a very noticeable swell. -Lowered the volume in context of the "heroic" horn at about :53 in. -Worked on the pizz. section. Hopefully it sounds more like how it would actually be able to be performed;) Also, I tried fiddling with the backing strings when the voice comes in towards the beginning. After many different chord changes I experimented with, I still like the dissonance that has been mentioned...I think it adds a little tension. I also have some dissonance on the flute duet part. That's intentional, I hope it's well received:) One of the judges mentioned something about "artifacting" on some of my vibrato notes. I took a listen at the sections mentioned, and that's my actual tone:) If you were in the same room as me while I was playing, you would hear the same thing. My private instructor in high school taught me, especially if playing solo or exposed, that your tone should sound like you are a hair's breadth away from jumping to the next higher harmonic. I've actually been scolded in an ensemble setting for playing too powerfully (the section of the song was Forte, even...Eric Whitacre tune), and to reign that s#^t in, Ha! As always, I appreciate the time taken for the feedback given. You know, in all of my years visiting the site, I always liked reading the split decisions the most, it pleases me to do the same thing, more feedback that way;) Respectfully and Semper Fi, Eric, aka Audiomancer Games & Sources Forever Rachel, FF6. Nobuo Uematsu
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted July 7 Posted July 7 my vote on the resub focused mostly on the vocal sample not really fitting the progression, the trumpet really needing humanization, and a few other smaller tweaks that were mentioned. long sustained strings to open the track, and a persian scale vocal sample for a bit. we get into the melodic material at 0:32, and some horns reinforce things at 0:48. there's one more vocal sustain before the main melody comes in at 1:02. 1:42's another transitional element featuring the vocal line, and we're into a chorale section at 1:47 that is mostly brass driven. there's some percussion and a harpsichord at 2:13, and the trumpet's the lead here. there's a few notes that are a bit funky - not wrong, but just odd choices in here. the flute takes the lead for one last run through the B side of the theme, and it's done. i need to admit that i really don't think the vocal patches fit at all. there's no foundation for them harmonically as they're in a different tonal structure, they're stapled into a few transitional sections and never touched anywhere else, and they're quite loud in the mix relative to other instruments. i think you could remove them entirely, just mute the channel, and the track wouldn't suffer at all. but it's definitely possible this is a personal feeling about vocal samples in mixes in general, and not specific to your track. i don't think i'm ever going to be in a place where the uncanny-valley effect of the flute doesn't bother me. but as a whole, i think that this is finally where it needs to be. personalization doesn't need to always be a significant amount of altered chords, time sigs, or expansion. what's done here to personalize the melodic line and backing elements is enough for me. YES
pixelseph ⚖️ Posted August 1 Posted August 1 It's me, the judge who mentioned the artifacting! The vibrato itself was not what I was referring to, just that you can hear the artifacting clearer during the vibrato compared to the other articulations. That's on me for not being clearer myself! The "digital artifacting" I was referring to was the metallicy, swishy sample-stretching sound that I hear mostly from time-stretched samples in a DAW. It's less grating in this latest mix! I was a NO on the previous vote for not enough expressive articulations on the lead instruments (flute and horn). This latest mix definitely addressed those concerns, particularly in the latter half of the piece, starting @ 1:44. The blend between horns and flute here is much richer and dynamic. The choir sounds more like a windbed and is more subdued, which works better in this context. I can't tell if that's the celeste @ 2:13 or a harpsichord, but it works great for providing the counterpoint line with the flute and horn. I'm so glad this came back to the panel, it's definitely better for the 3rd pass on it! Happy to sign off on it, and hopefully see it on the front page soon! YES
paradiddlesjosh ⚖️ Posted August 4 Posted August 4 Welcome back, Eric! My previous NO vote was ultimately based on the programming of the trumpet and flute parts, focused primarily on the overtly disconnected short articulations from the longer ones. The Addictive Keys patch I could have taken or left -- weird timbre for the texture, but not a dealbreaker -- and the vocal sampling wasn't an issue for me, either. The flute and the trumpet are much more organic this time around! I can hear that some of the melody line has changed from about 1:10 to 1:31; some of the passing tones are strange, but I like what the new approach is bringing to the piece. Sounds like some attempts at legato in the trumpet at 2:11, 2:31, and 2:40. These might still fall into the Uncanny Valley for some; overall, I think the single biggest drawback of the previous submission has been addressed for the better, and we can call this one good enough to pass. The celeste replacing the piano in the first B section is a better texture fit for sure. It's a tad plinky but not uncalled for. Semper Fi! YES
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