OCR03805 - *YES* Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword & Ocarina of Time "Sword of Storms"

[Gario]

Hello Judges,

I've been lurking on the site for a few years now. Since I'm about to ride up to MAGFest with an OCR vet, I thought I might try my hand at this. Attached is my arrangement for your consideration. Thank you for your time!

Contact Information

ReMixer name: MrHassanSan

Real Name: Hassan DuRant

Email: 

Website: www.hadurant.com

User ID: 30467

Submission Information

Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as well as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Name of Arrangement: The Sword of Storms
Songs used: "Ocarina: Song of Storms" and "Ballad of the Goddess"

 

Comments:
I was running in silence one day, having forgot my running earbuds at a friend's place, when two weird things happened: First, my mind began counting my footsteps in 5/4 time. Second, Ocarina of Time's "Song of Storms" got stuck in my head, despite the fact that I've never actually played that game at all. 

The piece references and heavily expands on motifs from Song of Storms (particularly the note-fifth-octave motif) and Ballad of the Goddess.

Possible format concern: I'm not sure how huge of a problem this is, but I recorded the remix entirely at 48k instead of 44.1k (I hadn't planned on submitting this until I was pretty much done with the whole project). Trying to downsample is creating a ton of distortion that I cannot resolve. The bit rate is 192 kbps as instructed, though!

 

[MindWanderer]

Some pretty cool ideas here, but it doesn't seem quite polished enough.

The soundscape is lacking in bass almost throughout, giving it an empty feeling.  The bassoon and the kettle drum are the only instruments occupying that low end, and they only come in for a few seconds at a time, a handful of times.

In 1:10-1:17, the French horn and the flute are off doing their own things, conflicting with other in both rhythm and melody.  Similar things happen at 2:24-2:33 and 3:05-3:10, throughout 1:36-2:04, and a few more brief sections throughout.  In some cases it seems like they're trying to play complementary parts, but are too far off.  These complex interminglings really need to have tighter timing to work; as it is, I'm not even sure some of the time whether they're hitting compatible notes because the timing is so far off.

Otherwise, this is a pretty solid and creative arrangement, with excellent humanization and great production.  I think this is really close, and just needs a push in a couple of areas to get it over the bar.

NO (borderline, resubmit)

[DragonAvenger]

This is a pretty nice orchestral mix that combines the two themes pretty well. The 5/4 was a nice touch, and I think the adaption worked pretty well here. My nitpick overall is that the track at times feels like it goes on a bit too long in certain sections. I don't think it's really a repetition issue, and it could be personal taste there, so take that with a grain of salt. Humanization of the parts is pretty solid, nice work there! Nice work!

YES

[Sir_NutS]

I found myself entranced by some of the sections where you just explored the original progressions, so much detailing and originality there.  I think those are the very same sections Deia found that went too long, but to me they were hypnotizing.  I sat here in the snobbiest pose you could think of just savoring all the melodic layers.  The change in signature is just awesome.  I'll admit it felt off on the first listen as I'm perhaps too accustomed to the original cadence.  

I don't find too many issues with humanization and the performances, they aren't perfect but they are good.  I felt some of the dynamics in some spots could've been more pronounced, such as some long attacks on a couple legato sections that I think could've started quieter.  A bigger issue for me was how some instruments felt a bit thin, like some brasses, that lacked body and were just a bit strident in character.  In general, I feel the mix could've had more body and bottom end to it.

I didn't find the issues were that many or too pronounced to take away from such an intricate and well-executed arrangement.  

YES

[Liontamer]

Issues first: something about the bowed strings in particular was in the uncanny valley territory of realism. 1:12 had an odd note, but we'll live. Not sure what the snapping noise at 4:26 or the last note at 5:16 was either, and the ending fadeout was way too fast, but, again, we'll live.

I also checked all of the potential off sections that MindWanderer timestamped, but wasn't bothered by anything he cited; busy in places, sure, but overall it sounded fine to me. That said, I feel his pain; I too have had the issue where I just can't get past some iffy-sounding constructions and can't get on board, so it definitely happens.

Otherwise, this was a pretty strong arrangement, Hassan! I enjoyed the constant "Ballad of the Goddess" variations throughout, and the way you intertwined "Song of Storms" in places was very creative. It does wander at times, but the ride is a fun one.

YES

[Gario]

1 hour ago, Liontamer said:

I also checked all of the potential off sections that Gario timestamped, but wasn't bothered by anything he cited; busy in places, sure, but overall it sounded fine to me.

Huh, well I don't think I've timestamped this one yet, Larry, since I've been a bad judge and haven't judged this yet. Just sayin'.

EDIT: You fixed it, but I leave it up there because I think it's funny.

All things considered, this track does a great job taking such a short theme and expanding it into such a large orchestral piece. It never really loses touch of what it's arranging, but it rarely covers the source the same way twice. Very impressive arranging in this.

The orchestra sounds great, for the most part. I have some reservations on the trumpets in this, since they sound fairly hollow and tin-ny (too much high EQ, too little mid and lows to balance them). They just sound too nasally, which takes me out of the experience a bit. Since the opening is heavily brass oriented it's especially problematic there. Overall the instruments sound great, so it's particularly strange that the trumpets sound like this.

Overall, this is just great stuff, though. My issues are relatively nitpicky compared to the amazing arrangement, well humanized instruments and well balanced orchestration. I'm loving this - let's send this one off!

YES