Liontamer Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Game remixed: Final Fantasy 7 ReMixer name: Alastair Forum userID: 892 (Here we go again. Last time I got a nice insta-reject stock reply so I cleaned the mix up to the best of my ability ...) A wanky rhapsody in tribute to the Comic Relief Character. The arrangement could be said to be analogous to the character's non sequitur nature. I honestly feel the game could do without him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Source tunes: 212 It's Difficult to Stand on Both Feet, Isn't It? 104 Anxious Heart 114 Underneath the Rotting Pizza 219 Gold Saucer Man, I can't believe you went with this title. It's terrible. Anyway, I heard the earlier iterations of this in #ocrwip and I'm impressed with the final result. The sound quality is MUCH better than it initially was - the samples are pretty good, and in general the sequencing, rhythms, and processing are all rock solid. The guitar samples aren't the greatest, but they don't hurt the mix much. The weakest part is arguably the bell and synth stuff, which is wobbly and goofy. However, IMO, we've passed mixes with comparable production. There are no mixing/mastering or balance issues. Arrangement is something of a mixed bag, but I'll explain the cons after going through the individual parts. Here's the breakdown: * The start of the mix arranges "It's Difficult to Stand on Both Feet, Isn't It?" - instrumentation differences aside, the remix's bassline is more rhythmically varied, and the harmonies were made more interesting. :44 in particular is strong. * Next, at 1:03, "Anxious Heart" comes in. Considering the source is a simple one-instrument melody with two note harmony, the level of arrangement here is REALLY great. Tons of original and varied stuff was added. The key changes are executed tastefully when combined with the melodic variations, and the original solo thing at 1:43 is a nice touch. * 1:46 brings "Underneath the Rotting Pizza", which isn't heavily arranged, but has some additional chords that weren't there in the original, along with a more embellished bassline. * 2:06 introduces the classic "Gold Saucer". Again, the personalization comes from the organ/guitar harmonies, which are more varied and interesting than the original. Melody wasn't touched much, but the key changes are nice. * Lastly, "Anxious Heart" comes back at 2:22. A different part of the source is used, but it's still pretty heavily arranged with lots of additions and personalization. The weakest points of this remix would be the transitions, which for the most part are a little abrupt and cheesy, the short length, and the sudden ending. I would have liked to hear more original sections in the form of solos or new melodies/countermelodies. However, I really appreciate the amount of arrangement that went into this, even though four themes were used in less than three minutes. Additionally, despite the goofy samples, the mixing is tight and the guitar, bass, and drum sequencing are all quite detailed. I know this might be a contested vote, but I'm going with YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 212 "It's Difficult to Stand on Both Feet, Isn't It?" [:00-1:02] 104 "Anxious Heart" [1:03-1:45, 2:23-2:41] 114 "Underneath the Rotting Pizza" [1:45-2:03] 219 "Gold Saucer" [2:07-2:23] Thanks to zircon for the source breakdown. Nothing I couldn't have done in a few minutes (only because I'm familiar with these sources), but I definitely glad for the legwork. This is a great comparison to chumble spuzz's "Turd Surfers", which I was happy to load up again for a listen. Both arrangements keep the structures of the source material intact, but drastically overhaul the supporting instrumentation and really personalize the arrangement on that level. Everything zirc praised on that level is on the money. However, "Surfers" ended up doing a way better job in these respects: sounding cheap but putting it together exceptionally well, especially on the production side. The textures are ok, but this mix just sounded way drier and more exposed by comparison. It's decent as is, but needs to sound more spacious to mitigate the fakeness of the samples. The transitions near the end, where you switched the source really quickly 2 or 3 times, are weak. 1:46's change was stealthy and smooth, but 2:03 & 2:23 were very weak transitions, breaking the mood and flow, the move to "Gold Saucer" in particular. If you've gotta use that theme, it has to mesh better with the rest of the arrangement. Also, the way the instruments faded out at 2:41 exposed the samples badly, especially the vox. For me, the presentation is too lopsided. zircon mentioned in #judges: <zircon> It's definitely not medleyitis in the sense of just covering the sources, because most of the sources were REALLY minimal<zircon> But you could argue that it's too short and the transitions aren't cohesive enough to hold it together I wanna stress that the length itself is not a problem. But if it's gonna be this length, the nuts and bolts have to be TIGHT on this bitch, and they're not. It's asking a lot to give a straight YES to a brief mix with very low end sounds that aren't quite used to their best, some very weak transitions near the end, and well-done but clearly underdeveloped usage of several themes. This is an awesome start, Harri, but in my view, you've gotta refine it before it's ready for primetime. NO (rework/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Can I just bring to everyone's attention that this track is called "Catpoop Overture?" OK This track is put together better than the vast majority of medleys I hear around here. The different tracks transition seamlessly, and they follow a unified dynamic curve. To be honest, I was planning on voting YES until I heard the ending, which blows. Gimme an ending and you've got a YES. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillian Aversa Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 To me, this didn't feel like a medley until we got to Gold Saucer at 2:07. All the transitions up until that point felt perfectly logical, but then it was like "meep meep meep mamameep meep meep!" and I did a double-take. I love the goofy samples, personally. It's clear that you weren't trying to make them into something more than what they were... And well, with a title like "Catpoop Overture" it all makes a little more sense. That slap bass, which is most exposed during the little fling with Underneath the Rotting Pizza, is so awesomely cheesy. It reminds me of the Law & Order theme! Totally digging this. I kind of wish you hadn't attemped Gold Saucer, or at least been a little more careful with it. And yeah, a more conclusive ending would have been nice. But overall, this is just too great not to pass. If it doesn't make it, definitely resub, and definitely submit to OverLooked ReMix as well. ^_~ YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcos Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 The name of the mix is terrible, however if the remixer wants the word poop in one of their remixes then that is up to them...artistic license and all that. The arrangement here is very good and a lot of original material has been added. As usual with medleys the transitions become a point of focus. For me the first transition at 1.04 was the most jarring, with the subsequent ones being less so. The instruments have been used well here, although they might not be of the highest quality. The rather short length does detract some brownie points but the arrangement doesn't leave me with the impression that this is underdeveloped in any way. So YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Gonna swing with Vig's vote on this one. Pretty solid, but the ending is super weak. Just sort of... stops. Hard to explain, but the fadeout is way too quick. Wish I had some more specific advice on what might work better, but what you've got just doesn't leave a pleasant ring in my ears after an otherwise pretty sturdy track. Fix dat ending, d00d. RESUBMIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 Gathering serious dust. Let's go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Some of the transitions work better than others, the one between "pizza" and "saucer" being the worst. The partwriting is great, as is the drum/bass programming. The last half of this remix kills it for me. The weak ending matched up with the shoe-horned transition mentioned above pushes this into NO territory. RESUBMIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Sounds good to me. Weak point is the drum kit for sure. Could've been sharper and crunchier to emphasise the power of the mix. Every time that snare hits I feel like turning the treble boost up another notch (it's nearly maxed.) Sharpen that snare please. The shinra theme is also a source around 1:36, appears to have been missed. I'd say the ending was weak, but there simply was no ending. There's laziness and there's laziness. Just do a fadeout if you can't be bothered shaping a proper ending, it's better than doing nothing at all. Add an ending and boost the snare a bit. RESUBMIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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