I really don't understand! This is perfect movie material!

[thepianoman14]

I submitted "Day of Remembrance", a 6 minute compelling, thought-provoking, story in music. Parts of this composition are currently being used (No financial gains) in the documentary "Fascination: Helena's Story, about a Holocaust survivor's determination to live through 3 attempted executions. It was good enough for the movie, but not good enough for a music library? This composition in its entirety (once again no financial gains) is being played every year at the Birmingham Holocaust Education Association for the Holocaust Remembrance Day. This was recorded in a professional recording studio and the strings have fooled many who have listened. I suppose EVERY recording out there on TV, in film, commercials are perfect? Just listen to the new APPLE commercial and listen to the woman's voice singing! IT's Atrocious!!! and that made it to TV!

I am shocked!

Here is the listing:

ORGANIC UNDERSCORE INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a very successful, Non-Exclusive Music Library. They’re searching for a bunch of Instrumentals in a variety of moods, styles, and tempos that would fall in the general stylistic ballpark of the references below: Theme from “To Kill a Mockingbird” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t98LWNwUhI A Beautiful Mind Soundtrack – Main Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr18I1PCECg IMPORTANT NOTE: These examples above were likely scored to picture and go through different moods, tempos, etc. because of scene changes. For the purpose of this request, you’d be very wise to stick to a singular motif and mood throughout your entire piece, so your submission is cohesive from top to bottom. If your piece goes through different moods, tempos, and styles, it’s going to be nearly impossible to use it in a scene. Give them well-crafted Instrumentals that effectively deliver a textured display of instruments that blend in and out of each other to create a unique piece of engaging Underscore. If you’re using any virtual instruments, they need to sound incredibly convincing! Please avoid submitting anything that sounds stiff, synthetic, or MIDI-driven. The more authentic sounding, the better! This is the perfect opportunity to show off your composition and arrangement skills, but you should still convey one emotion and mood from beginning to end. Having a developmental “arc” that makes your piece feel like it’s going somewhere is a good idea. Building as it goes is another way to say that Submissions should be at least 2 Minutes long, with Non-Faded endings and a natural decay/ring out. Do NOT copy the referenced music in any way, shape, or form. Use it only as a guide for texture, tone, and vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed

Here's the review:
Name Eddie "Keys" Allen Listing # Y180607OU
Title: Day of Remembrance

Reasons not Forwarded:
Instrumental Performance

Nice writing ideas here,but we need a much more natural sound from the string samples to match up well with this listing.
Listener ID # 396


Here is a link to the entire song on Soundcloud.com
https://soundcloud.com/eddiekeysallen/d ... embrance-1

Thank you for listening and your future comments. If I'm wrong here...please let me know. I've been rejected plenty of times in my career and can certainly take it.

[ttully]

Hi Eddie

If you’re using any virtual instruments, they need to sound incredibly convincing! Please avoid submitting anything that sounds stiff, synthetic, or MIDI-driven. The more authentic sounding, the better

The above statement says it all...."incredibly convincing"
The piano is very good, in fact the whole thing is very good.....EXCEPT, the strings sound like they are played on a keyboard by a pianist......not realistic enough...that is the down fall of this piece.
The intro strings come in so abruptly and do not sound realistic enough.....it would of probably of been better to start off with just the piano.
Also the staccato strings at about 3:20 do not sound realistic enough.

But this is a very very good track.
It just needs the strings played more like strings.

That Apple commercial is great...it really grows on you....... it really gets your attention.. You remembered it (mission accomplished) ...sometimes rough is better.

My 2 cents,
Tim

[funsongs]

Sorry - gotta agree - right out of the gate - midi-sounding strings; especially when the listing 'warns' about their use.

[Len911]

Eddie, I agree with Tim and Peter. Fortunately though you can update your composition with real strings. Multisampled vst instruments are real samples, they work fine for drums or maybe percussive one shot instruments, but not so hot with legato phrases. Thats where sample loops are handy. They offer phrases which can be manipulated in your daw or sampler, pitch and time stretched... That's the thing, multisampled instruments are sampled one note at a time, not usually in phrases. Sample packs
usually have construction kits, which basically means each instrument is separated, so you can choose which instruments to use or leave out. They also usually come in a few different keys and tempos, so you don't need to pitch or stretch the audio to extremes.
Here's a couple examples:
https://www.producerloops.com/Organic-L ... 3&f[]=g270
look for the "Real Strings" packs
https://www.producerloops.com/Download- ... cores.html

[thepianoman14]

Len, Tim, Peter, thank you for taking the time to listen and provide feedback.
It is appreciated. I haven't completed writing out the string score but I guess that's what i'll be doing next.

Eddie

[cosmicdolphin]

Yeah the stings sound totally fake

Nice piano though and a good piece

[Kolstad]

I think the composition fits the listing, but like the others, the strings are way off. They don't sound realistic, they are not played realistically, and they are not mixed like the strings in the references. In the mix the strings are way too loud, and lacks dynamics. They need a lot of work, and I doubt even if you do that, that these string samples will cut it. they sound like something from an 80s keyboard to my ears. Look into newer libraries from Cinematic Studio Strings, Spitfire Audio, Orchestral Tools and others. Those are the ones you are up against.

So no need to be shocked, really, if I were a supervisor, I would have stopped listening after 5sec, so I definitely concur with the feedback. Like the others write, it is a shame because the overall composition is good, it does match the references (allthough maaaybe a little close to the theme in "To kill a mockingbird", in my ears), and the piano sound nice.

[chrismugs]

i agree what others have said so i won't repeat. but i would suggest looking into east/west or native instruments for string VSTs. additionally, adding some reverb and panning to synth strings can give it more of a realistic feel. obviously, you can still tell that it's not entirely real but the slight difference helps. additionally, congrats on getting the track into the documentary.