Conceptual Music Competition 35: The Stranger

Abadoss

Posted July 12, 2010

CMC: Conceptual Music Competition

This competition is based on the rules of the classic TOMC (Thematic Original Music Competition).

The CMC (Conceptual Music Competition) is designed so that each participant enters a piece of music based on a set theme. The participants take the theme and interpret it as they will to come up with something that fits. Any style can work, as long as it portrays a sense of what the theme is.

Feel free to be imaginative!

Each successive theme will be chosen by the winner of the previous competition. For example, say the theme of the last competition, CMC 36, was "Freefall" and the winner, Ruby, submitted a piece that knocked the socks off of everyone, so she won. Ruby then gets to decide the theme for CMC 37.

This competition is open to registered members of the forums of

OverClocked ReMix, VGMusic, Gaming World, Young Composers, and GameDev.

CMC 35: The Stranger

"On the 5th day, the Stranger arrived. If there was any hope left, would it be brought with him?" -Rich Douglas

Results!:

Text results and critiques

There are 2 entries for this round...

Rich Douglas - "The Stranger"

"The Stranger is a FICTIONAL film that doesn't exist. The basic idea behind the film is that it is a post apocalyptic western in which a stranger comes to the rescue of a small town being raided by 'enforcers'. Think The Road Warrior with a western twist :). The music has a very strong emotional / thematic motif for the stranger proper and is oozing with cinematic qualities. I got so wrapped up when writing this thing that it became a cohesive suite of music lasting around 6 minutes. I also got inspired to take some photos to show with the music which really help to evoke the emotions I was going for here, so if you want to hear my music with said photos check out the following link:

For those curious about my samples, I utilized Project Sam's Symphobia for nearly all of my orchestration, a german monochord, heavyocity evolve and EWQL gold for a handful of other instrumentation."

Joshua Taylor - "He Who Can Restore Hope"

"A small collection of outcast people huddles around the TV set in a small home and listens in despair as news is released that will forever doom them and their kind to a life of fear and obscurity. Comforting embraces are exchanged among them and tears are shed, but their sorrow is interrupted by a knock at the door. A man of questionable allegiance enters into their domicile and begins coolly explaining how the people may attempt to recover the way of life that, only a few minutes ago, was all but forfeit. 'The weeks ahead will be difficult for all of you,' he says, 'but if you can accomplish the plans I have just presented, I'm sure that both of us will benefit.' With that he closed the door behind him as he stepped back into the outside world. Could hope really have been restored?"

Voting Rules!:

Voters will be allowed to pick one first place (3 points) and any number of honorary mentions (1 point). Only one set of votes from any one voter will be accepted and a person cannot vote for any one piece more than once. Corrections to votes, from the original voter only, will be accepted, but corrections will void the previous votes. Basically, a voter can vote and correct the vote, but only the final form of that vote will be counted. Send all votes to

Abadoss by PM. Please include any and all constructive critiques (not to be confused with bashing) about them with your votes as well, so that there's always a sense of growth in the artform. If you wish to remain anonymous, just state so in your PM. Thanks.

To be eligible to vote, you must be a registered member of at least one of the participating forums, prior to the beginning of the voting period. In your PM or e-mail, please indicate which forum you are a member of and your username.

The voting period will last from the moment the entries are posted in the thread to the Saturday of that week. The voting period for this round ends August 7, so be sure to spend some time really listening to the pieces.

Any participant in the competition can vote, but not for their own pieces. However, in an effort to encourage voting among participants, any participant who votes will have 2 points added to his/her voting score (unless the participant chooses to be anonymous).

Official Rules!:

Each piece must be originally composed for this competition. Arrangements and remixes will not be accepted. (Pieces composed by the participant prior to the competition will not be accepted.)
Each piece must be 2:00 or longer and match the competition theme.
Only one entry per person. Collaborations will be allowed, but each collaborator may not submit any other pieces. (This also means that a person cannot collaborate on two or more different pieces at the same time.)
A link to the entry piece must be e-mailed or PMed to Abadoss prior to the deadline set for each competition. DO NOT POST THE LINK IN THE THREAD!
Important: Each file must be labeled accordingly: Composer_Name_-_Composition_Title_CMC#.mp3
(For example, if Andy Yaeger submits a piece called "In Chase of Ketchup" to CMC 38, then his filename would be: Andy_Yaeger_-_In_Chase_of_Ketchup_CMC38.mp3)
MP3 file format is required. Know that even OGG will need to be converted into MP3. (If someone is unable to do so themselves, Abadoss would be willing and able to do it for them.)
Entries should be accompanied by a description and/or story to help listeners understand what the piece is about. (Not required, though.)
All entries must be submitted by Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 11:59 PM - PST, GMT-8.