*NO* Halo 'Dawn of a New Age' *RESUB*

12.9MB... just a liiiittle over the filesize limit - LT

Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18439

Remixer Name: Sweendrix

Real Name: John Sweeney

Email: Sweendrix@yahoo.com

Website: Youtube.com/sweendrix

Game Arranged: Halo (Main Theme)

Name of Song: Dawn of a New Age

Song Link:

Inspiration for the song comes from the incredible music and talent of composer Marty O'donnell, as well as my own ideas for what a single player Halo Campaign should be like.

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For the record, 6.00MB is the filesize limit for the site. Try not to double it next time.

HALO Original Soundtrack - (26) "Halo"

Definitely a substantial improvement, and much more sophisticated in performance and execution. The VERY extended intro was very solid.

Once things picked up at 2:35, I thought the that percussion and vocal loop was out of place, moreso than the last time around. The timing of it was an awkward fit and it should have been dropped out entirely. I would have only used it at 3:32's and/or 5:02's section if you had to have it in there, but it still didn't fit during 3:32's section. Good dropoff at 4:12, followed by a more low-key rebuilding for the finish.

Something about the stereo separation felt off listening to this on headphones, like a lot of elements were panned hard to one side, which didn't sound right. I'd appreciate a second opinion for a sanity check.

If the no one has any corroborating complaints about the panning/balance, then I'd say drop that out of place percussion/vocal loop for the win. As is, it's like hammering a square peg into a round hole. Fix that and tweak some of the panning for the win, otherwise it's a NO, IMO.

YES (conditional)

While I appreciate that you spent some real time on this before resubbing it, I still feel like my problems from the last version remain. Drumloop still ain't helping things. Like Larry said, if you're gonna use it, use it in the quieter sections where it won't fight with the awesome drums and guitar you've got going on in the 2:35 section.

I feel like the production still isn't quite there. The 2:35 section isn't loud enough in comparison to the intro and it sounds like it's missing highs, almost as if you're running something through a lowpass filter? It's pretty low-quality in comparison to the well-produced intro. The lead guitar in that section is actually harder to hear than the one in the intro so something is definitely off.

I don't think I can call this a conditional YES, but I feel like it's only a couple steps away from passing. If you can get that section sounding right (regardless of whether that drumloop hangs around), I would call this a YES. Maybe try getting some help on that production from the WIP forum to seal the deal.

NO (resubmit)

There's plenty of headroom, yet the mix is heavily over-compressed. Lots and lots of what I call non-clipping-clipping, where the master doesn't clip, but it sounds like it does without busting up your monitors. The intro was okay, but I would definitely prefer a shorter version. I didn't really get into it until 1:40, and that's just a bit too long IMHO.

In short, the production is the main thing holding this back. Aside from the compression, it's extremely muddy. The overall level needs to be brought up, and you just need to take more time mixing and tweaking and retweaking it until it fills more of the soundspace without sounding squished or cluttered. The arrangement was simply okay, not phenomenal, but not awful. My main suggestion there would be to make it more concise. I felt like this 5.5 minute track really should have only been 3-3.5 minutes.

I didn't hear your previous submission of this track, so I hope this is a *fresh* set of advice. I did hear your other Halo submission, and I know you're a pretty solid guitarist, so keep at it, we'd love to get one of your mixes up soon!

NO

I was really digging this until the drums came in. Sounds like you've got sequenced drums layered over a drumloop, which ends up creating a lot of booming kick sounds that jump out. Everything kind of loses coherence around there, and the guitars just sort of do their own thing without regard to anything else. It's kind of messy sounding with that booming kick just popping out. :\

Everything's mixed kind of quiet too, when it sounds like it should be louder. Like a big sound coming out of small speakers.

Needs work, IMO. NO, resub

The intro was pretty good, maybe too long because it's a whole minute before the theme comes in, but when it actually does, it's a pretty great moment. Then 2:35 hits, the transition is okay from an arrangement standpoint, but things get weird with the production, as has been mentioned. Definitely too much compression, the guitar in that section should be hitting me in the face, as it's harder to make out than the ambient noodling in the beginning.

I was okay with the panning for the most part, some of the instruments are panned a little too far for my liking, but no biggie. My biggest problem was the rhythm guitar panned hard right in 2:55-3:32, that really sticks out, especially since the lead guitar is stuck in the back. The whole section starting at 2:35 could use some rebalancing to make sure the lead comes out and the accompaniment stays in the back.

The drumloop kind of works at the break at 3:33, not really too much elsewhere, I would suggest losing it entirely since you've already got other percussion in there.

Solid take on the theme from an arrangement standpoint, I like how the piece develops. I wouldn't mind if you tightened it up a little, especially cutting down on the intro length, but if the production were up to snuff, this would be passable. Right now, it's pretty close, but I think there's still more work to be done on it.

NO (resubmit)