NBergman

Yeah, it's supposed to be over-exaggerated to the point that it IS kinda funny - I mean it's not a comedy sketch by any means, but here's a tennis match filmed as if it's some epic duel - it's kinda funny and exaggerated! At least that's how I see it. I see your points however Jijgaat, but I think I'm going to have to disagree. Even the tennisball hits, although not entirely realistic, add to the exaggerated-ly epic sound. But I'll take your points into consideration! :P

To be honest, I don't feel that it's incredibly triumphant. I DID make it a little triumphant, but in my opinion it's also a bit sad and the final note although major, is a bit of a 'plea' or outcry. So while yes, I agree that it has a triumphant feel at the end, it also gives a bit of the other side creating, in my opinion, a bit of a tension in who you really wanted to be rooting for in the end. Does that make sense? :P That's how I feel about it but I'm curious if other people agree, and if I'm accomplishing what I wanted. The sound effects I was talking about were the ball hitting the racket and the racket scraping the floor. I think that's about it (other than the effects that are part of the music, like the 'ding' when it focuses on on player 1's racket near the beginning). Thanks! It was kinda for both actually :P it was partly an exercise for myself because I wanted practice scoring to video, but I'll also probably use it for demo purposes (I have the director's permission and everything).

View the video with the piece here: Sound effects also were made by me. This is probably the most epic tennis match you've ever seen! :D I mixed in some electronic sounds with the orchestral sounds, and I'm really happy with the result. I had fun experimenting with percussion, and altering the sounds to produce some cool effects! Overall, I tried to compliment the slow-motion and over-exaggeration of the video. I also wanted to have a focus on the players themselves, trying to capture the intensity of their expressions. Denouement (scored to video)

Neat idea! I like what you did, but I feel it's a little to 'in your face' in the beginning. The second half is a bit less so in my opinion, but still like John said, it's a little overstated. I think part of the problem is that the film has a very distinct look and atmosphere to it, and the music doesn't share the same atmosphere. I think compositionally it does quite well, but the sound itself stands out separate from the atmosphere of the film. I would try putting some effects on the whole track to make it a little 'dimmer' and maybe weaker.

Really nice piece! The opening is very effective. I love the string ostinato you bring in, it works really beautifully. I feel like 0:45 and on could be bigger and more powerful. I think throughout the piece after the opening, a more prominent lower string section would help a lot, and I would consider ramping up the percussion, with powerful timpani, tasteful crash cymbals, and snare drum. Also, along the lines of the snare drum, at 0:43 for the transition, the snare feels very bland compositionally in my opinion. The movement in the whole opening is wonderful, and the snare drum's very basic rhythm takes away from that in my opinion, and it feels like you've kinda just stuck the snare in without caring too much about it. I would try to really work on the snare part and make it more interesting, so that it complements the overall rhythm of the piece. At 1:02 it realllly drops out. The build needs a lot more power. It certainly needs some suspended cymbals! Again, more percussion like timpani and snare would also greatly help, as well as more powerful crescendos in the brass I think. It needs to come out more powerful than before in my opinion. I like the quieter staccato transition, but at 1:18 when you repeat it I think it could use some sweeping legato strings, or maybe just at 1:21. Thinking of the 'story' of this piece, as I understand it (and I might be wrong! :P) Icarus is in flight for the latter of the piece. I can picture the quieter section as Icarus becomes comfortable with the flying and is kinda relaxing out a bit, but with that relaxation I feel it needs to have a 'soaring' sound, which the legato strings could provide. Similarly, at the very end with the last note, I would accompany it with legato strings and maybe a quick crescendo to finish off the piece. That's very much my own interpretation though, so maybe that's not what you want. Overall, great stuff! I really liked it :)

Thanks - great comments and suggestions! I definitely agree the opening could use more of a push towards 0:50. Yeah, right now I actually have the pitch bends in the trombones AND horns, but it would make a lot more sense both for the mix and realistically speaking to have the slide only in the trombones and not the horns. I think that might improve the sound's realism. I'll take a look at it on Tuesday to make improvements, and then re-upload! :)

I've been working on a bunch of compositions over the summer, then realized last night I should really put something out already! So I decided to just start and finish a new piece last night :P So, about 6 hours of work total, made on my new Macbook Pro using the trackpad (as opposed to a USB mouse ...I hate trackpads D: lol). Just supposed to be something relatively simple and epic. --A new power is rising. This is the critical hour, as it takes control-- Hour of Ascension

Alright, it's updated! :) I improved the mixing a bit, panning the instruments and adjusting some other things. I also just changed the ending a tiny bit. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for the kind comments! Yeah, I had almost no panning. Anyways, I took your advice and got around to panning both this piece and a bunch of my other pieces. Is there a way to update the file? Or do I have to start a whole new thread. I'll have to see what I can do about those brass at the beginning. There's a couple other mixing issues I need to address as well so I'll have to look at that. Thank you for the feedback :)

Doesn't look like I'm going to get a score in - unfortunately I don't have Sibelius (although I plan on buying it very soon!), and I'm using Logic to create my scores, with a massive headache as a byproduct :P Even to get the overall layout looking proper would take me a good chunk of time, and I don't really have time to spare right now. Looking forward to seeing the competition results! Good luck to everyone :)

Hmm... I don't really have time to make a proper score I don't think. :S I mean I don't think it would be too hard for me to just make a score with all the notes/instruments on it in their proper places, but it wouldn't have any markings like dynamics, accents, etc. Would that be worth anything?

Definitely sounds like something that would fit perfectly in the right video game. I could see it in something like Sonic maybe, or some outside adventure game. I know I'm thinking of some specific game, but I can't put my finger on which one :P I agree with paquijote - the repetition works just fine for a video game setting, and probably is a plus, however at 245 you do lose my interest a bit. You have a cool idea, but I don't think you've executed it right. It doesn't groove with the rest of the piece. I think the problem is that on the one hand, it still has a similar sound to the rest of the song, but on the other hand it lacks the catchiness the rest of the piece has. I think I'd like to hear some of those drums you have at 350 maybe incorporated into this area. Overall, I think your goal for that weaker section should be to make it contrast a bit more, but at the same time fit in with the groove of the rest of the piece - I think those drums might be able to accomplish that. If not, I think something more on the lower end is what you need probably. Anyways, after that short section, I like where you go. I think practically speaking, if you were thinking of this as something that could actually be used in a video game like it sounds it could be, I would make it so that it can loop easily. Good stuff!

At the beginning, this sounded a lot more inspired by the Prestige music by David Julyan than Giacchion! :P Not a bad thing at all though - I like the sound you get. It does sound a little chilling at first however - that's fine, but I'm not sure how that fits into a 'reunion' :P it becomes more reunion-y in the second half though, where I can hear more Giacchino influence (you just haaaad to do the harp note at the end, haha). One thing I think is missing is a powerful melody. Giacchino in his Lost music has very simple melody lines, but also very memorable, which he builds upon throughout the piece. Everything generally centralizes around a specific melody line, and it is reflected even in the parts where you don't hear it directly. I think your piece could similarly use a very strong, simple melody line, because although the overall sound is nice, there's nothing really tying it together. Nice work!

It's finished! I hope you can still accept the entry even though it's a little late. It's still sunday here :P Approaching Storms

Made for the Hanz Zimmer Competition.I basically tried to go for an epic piece, aiming for a Hanz Zimmer-y sound. It was a little rushed, so I might still end up making some more improvements/changes.This piece takes you on a journey through the high seas, as your ship is put to the test by some heavy storms. Approaching Storms