Upright - an epic attempt

[Simon Daum]

One of the main reasons I am on this forum is to improove my epic writing skills

This was another attempt of me to go in that direction, and just wanted to share it with you. Feedback is welcome.

The song was written for a friend of mine as entrance song for his mma fights.

youtu.be/vXhqqL3EVKY

Click to read more...

 

[markleake]

Hi Simon. Overall this seems like a good attempt, but the two things that stood out to me were:
1. To me the vocals don't seem right. They sometimes sound a bit fake, and don't really have a strong/forceful/full enough tone to really carry an epic sound, or maybe they are not mixed right?
2. There are some softer parts, particularly the start, which don't work for me within scope of what you are writing. They don't build anticipation at all that a bigger sound is coming - they are not what I would expect a MMA fight intro to sound like; it sometimes has a more fantasy sound to it.
I'm by no means great at this myself though, so feel free to ignore my observations.

 

[Simon Daum]

Hi Simon. Overall this seems like a good attempt, but the two things that stood out to me were:
1. To me the vocals don't seem right. They sometimes sound a bit fake, and don't really have a strong/forceful/full enough tone to really carry an epic sound, or maybe they are not mixed right?
2. There are some softer parts, particularly the start, which don't work for me within scope of what you are writing. They don't build anticipation at all that a bigger sound is coming - they are not what I would expect a MMA fight intro to sound like; it sometimes has a more fantasy sound to it.
I'm by no means great at this myself though, so feel free to ignore my observations.

Thanks a lot for your review.

You are right with your points. At that time I only had the choir from Kontakt 4, and it simply doesnt sound good, but it was all I had.

I originally planned s different introduction, but that is how the fighter wanted it. The reason was that he said in the first 40 seconds, the fighter still gets introduced, which means the music needs to stay in the backround. Today I would probably prefere a good choir, or strings in the beginning.

That has a little fantasy touch was my intent..

Thank you for listening and for your good points

 

[markleake]

No worries. One other thing I noticed was the brass seems panned wrong... it was too far to the left. Was that intentional?

 

[Simon Daum]

Yes, I panned the way thought it would be best for the entire mix, may be a little to far on the left (;

 

[Dean]

One of the main reasons I am on this forum is to improove my epic writing skills

This was another attempt of me to go in that direction, and just wanted to share it with you. Feedback is welcome.

The song was written for a friend of mine as entrance song for his mma fights.

youtu.be/vXhqqL3EVKY

only had time for a very quick listen,.I think you should forget the synths/sfx/sound design in this one and just let it be what it needs to be,..an orchestral/choral theme driven track,..the synths dont work at all and sound forced onto the track (maybe because you want it to have a hybrid,modern sound or as an experiment?) Your track has some great ideas and themes in there that are suited to a more traditional orchestral track. I would suggest you go for it all the way without the synths dont force them on this one.

re orchestra mix: the guys are right,.try keep the Fhns left not too much and tbns/tubas right (I think youre missing some reverb/ambience(far mics) that will give you a more even spread sonically,..the vn section seems lost too.

ps:also in general your synth libraries/(skills?)/mixing are'nt on par with your writing and orchestra, I would save this track and experiemnt further with another track idea? D

 

[Simon Daum]

only had time for a very quick listen,.I think you should forget the synths/sfx/sound design in this one and just let it be what it needs to be,..an orchestral/choral theme driven track,..the synths dont work at all and sound forced onto the track (maybe because you want it to have a hybrid,modern sound or as an experiment?) Your track has some great ideas and themes in there that are suited to a more traditional orchestral track. I would suggest you go for it all the way without the synths dont force them on this one.

re orchestra mix: the guys are right,.try keep the Fhns left not too much and tbns/tubas right (I think youre missing some reverb/ambience(far mics) that will give you a more even spread sonically,..the vn section seems lost too.

ps:also in general your synth libraries/(skills?)/mixing are'nt on par with your writing and orchestra, I would save this track and experiemnt further with another track idea? D

Thanks for your input

 

[LamaRose]

Simon, allow me to share a very pragmatic tip: always keep your target audience close to heart when considering feedback.

ViC offers a tremendous repository of info/expertise from a community of gifted musicians to help hone your sound - mixing, production, etc - and it's always good to get feedback from other musicians as a balance... but the reality is that the general public is listening with a different set of "ears."

This is particularly true in this specific circumstance because you are in a position to get feedback directly from the MMA crowds and community. Just like comedians when honing their material, take it to the people, to an event. Mingle and get feedback from viewers/listeners. Trust me, they'll be more than willing to offer their opinions. And if you're single... well, all the better, lol!

My guess is that they will love the guitars/power chords mixed with the symphony - a little grunge with class. Maybe some big Taiko-style drums, etc. But what do I know? I'm not in the MMA scene, and I definitely do not listen to what most others do.

You're demo sounds good. Now let your listeners help you out.

 

[Simon Daum]

Simon, allow me to share a very pragmatic tip: always keep your target audience close to heart when considering feedback.

ViC offers a tremendous repository of info/expertise from a community of gifted musicians to help hone your sound - mixing, production, etc - and it's always good to get feedback from other musicians as a balance... but the reality is that the general public is listening with a different set of "ears."

This is particularly true in this specific circumstance because you are in a position to get feedback directly from the MMA crowds and community. Just like comedians when honing their material, take it to the people, to an event. Mingle and get feedback from viewers/listeners. Trust me, they'll be more than willing to offer their opinions. And if you're single... well, all the better, lol!

My guess is that they will love the guitars/power chords mixed with the symphony - a little grunge with class. Maybe some big Taiko-style drums, etc. But what do I know? I'm not in the MMA scene, and I definitely do not listen to what most others do.

You're demo sounds good. Now let your listeners help you out.

You are very right...Guess this is always true. Its never possible to make it fit for every audience. Thanks for the good point

 

[dannymc]

Simon, allow me to share a very pragmatic tip: always keep your target audience close to heart when considering feedback.

ViC offers a tremendous repository of info/expertise from a community of gifted musicians to help hone your sound - mixing, production, etc - and it's always good to get feedback from other musicians as a balance... but the reality is that the general public is listening with a different set of "ears."

This is particularly true in this specific circumstance because you are in a position to get feedback directly from the MMA crowds and community. Just like comedians when honing their material, take it to the people, to an event. Mingle and get feedback from viewers/listeners. Trust me, they'll be more than willing to offer their opinions. And if you're single... well, all the better, lol!

My guess is that they will love the guitars/power chords mixed with the symphony - a little grunge with class. Maybe some big Taiko-style drums, etc. But what do I know? I'm not in the MMA scene, and I definitely do not listen to what most others do.

You're demo sounds good. Now let your listeners help you out.

i agree with this to a point. but in the year i've been here there is no denying the stand out tracks and cues that sit head and shoulders above the rest and both composer and listener a like both equally recognize that.

i'm into the MMA scene and i can tell you its all about big energy big hits and high adrenaline but to me this cue lacked that same energy. as markleake said i thought it sounded more fantasy than epic. epic is about smacking you in the face with a big sound. i think you definitely need to get some epic percussion in there and maybe some soaring lines into the piece to make it sound epic. you should check out some Thomas Bergersen among others for tips on epic imo.

but you're right, the ear of the listener general public is a funny thing, always hard to tell what they want vs composers so i'm guessing its worth presenting to the world.

Danny

 

[Simon Daum]

i agree with this to a point. but in the year i've been here there is no denying the stand out tracks and cues that sit head and shoulders above the rest and both composer and listener a like both equally recognize that.

i'm into the MMA scene and i can tell you its all about big energy big hits and high adrenaline but to me this cue lacked that same energy. as markleake said i thought it sounded more fantasy than epic. epic is about smacking you in the face with a big sound. i think you definitely need to get some epic percussion in there and maybe some soaring lines into the piece to make it sound epic. you should check out some Thomas Bergersen among others for tips on epic imo.

but you're right, the ear of the listener general public is a funny thing, always hard to tell what they want vs composers so i'm guessing its worth presenting to the world.

Danny

Originally I wrote quite a different piece of music, but the fighter wanted changes to be done til it soundet the way it does now...My personal taste would probably have turned out a little different... In truth its only the first one and half minute that is needet for the entrance..

But thanks for your honest input.