Trailer-style cover, public domain (S210809DC)

[irthlingz]

*************
>"Always"<
(Irving Berlin)
*************

Couldn't resist the challenge. Ears appreciated as "Always" ...

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Michael&Sharon
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TRAILER-Style COVERS of PUBLIC DOMAIN SONGS with Male, Female, or Group Vocals are needed by a successful Los Angeles-based Production Music Library for a wide variety of TV, Film, and Advertising opportunities!

Please send Covers that could fit in the general stylistic ballpark of the following references we got directly from them:

"Ave Maria" by L'Orchestra Cinématique

"The Star Spangled Banner" by Chase Holfelder & Ursine Vulpine


Please submit reimagined Covers of Public Domain Songs with a generally similar epic, larger-than-life vibe to the references. Orchestral or Orchestral Hybrid instrumentation that includes Electronic and/or Rock elements are the way to go, here. Any and all software instruments or samples you use should sound current, fresh, and not dated. Your production should be slick and modern, as well. We recommend sticking as close to the original pieces' melodies and lyrics as possible so they're instantly recognizable to listeners. Expressive, well-performed vocals could help you seal the deal!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please double-check to make sure the pieces you submit are truly in the Public Domain!

Broadcast Quality is needed.

This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal. You’ll split any upfront sync fees 50/50. They’ll get 100% of the Publisher’s share, and you’ll get 100% of the Writer’s share. You must own or control 100% of your Master and Copyright. Since this is an EXCLUSIVE deal, please be sure the material you submit for this pitch is NOT already signed with other Libraries or Catalogs. Please submit as many Songs as you’d like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by a TAXI Screener who was personally selected by the Company requesting material. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PDT) on Monday, August 9th, 2021. TAXI # S210809DC

[Stubee]

Hi Michael & Sharon. Great song selection. Wish you would have started working on this one earlier because the listing expires on Monday. That
being said, you still have today and tomorrow to work on it. The entire idea is awesome. My suggestions are:

!) put the vocals in the center
2) percussion is too loud
3) strings are panned hard right so pan at about -25 and balance it with another instrument at +25

I think that there might be too much reverb because all of the frequencies are converging together in the mix.
I think you were trying to get an etheric feeling. It's there but it's being masked by too much reverb and percussion.

after I finished my recording I ran it through the $5 Soundcloud mastering process. I was pleased with the result.
If you do it they give you 4 options. You select the sweet spot of the song and test it using the 4 options. Select the one you want
and then apply the percentage of that option. It defaults to 50%. I used option #1 to enhance the bass frequencies at 70%.
You might need a different option for your recording.

I hope that helps.

-Stu

[irthlingz]

It is helpful, Stu, in that we are reminded that we don't think about the panning enough.

EDIT:
Hmm. Looking in the DAW project, it looks and sounds like we have all the DAW tracks panned center. It also looks/sounds like the strings (Spitfire BBC Orchestra) are panned center in the VI interface. Again ... hmmm ...

Soundcloud mastering ... interesting ...

Many thanks for the listen!

EDIT #2:
Slightly modified version now on Soundcloud - click on link in first post above.
Didn't change the volume of the percussion, didn't change the reverb on the vocal, but worked with a limiter to bring the vocal out a bit -- hopefully it now cuts through the background and the reverb better.

Didn't change the panning. Still thinking everything is more or less center.

We do still have till Monday night to turn this in. Can accomplish a lot between now and then if there are still issues!

Stu's input (and others to come?) greatly appreciated!

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Michael & Sharon

[Stubee]

I do love where you're going with this. In my opinion, the vocals are being overpowered by the other tracks.
I think the performance is very good but if you can get the vocals to rise above in the mix you would have a much better recording.
The vocals are gentle but the percussion is not gentle. Maybe listen to the song with the percussion muted
and see if the vocals become more prominent.

One other thing I noticed is that there is a hum or white noise goin on in the first 2 seconds of the recording.
The orchestral instruments seem to be much more prominent in the left channel than the right channel.

I hope someone else can either validate what I am hearing or debunk it.

-Stu

[irthlingz]

Thank you once again for your continued interest, Stu! We really do appreciate you taking the time and effort. Good catch on the noise in the beginning. We wanted it there (part of the "sound design"), but had neglected to put the obligatory little bit of silence before it. There is now a new version up that has that little silence (same link in first post above).

Ironically, we had just been making the background music a bit louder under "not for just a day" (around 2:21) ! We would also be very interested to hear what others might think, but our feeling was that maybe the mix was over-balanced towards vocals in some spots, like that one.

We were looking at the post quoted below (from wa-ay back in 2019) and wondering whether we could make the rhythmic elements, especially drums, even more intense, "huge" and "in your face", without obscuring the vocal.

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Michael&Sharon
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You need more listening time to the refs and trailer music in general and concentrate on:

1) brightness / darkness and level of various sounds - mix
2) impact of various sounds - production and mix. Where are the huge drums?
3) space (reverb, delay) of sounds.
4) doubling instruments to make them sound less synthetic / and / or getting some sounds to augment what you have already.
and
5) MASTERING - this piece has to hit you in the face just like the music does in those trailers.

It might help to do a google search on trailer music from major labels / music libraries and look at the sausage shaped waveforms of their tracks in their player. There are quiet sections between the acts, but in the meat of the action things are loud and intense.

[Stubee]

I'm not sure if it applies to this listing but I was told that trailers need a couple of full stops, arc and buildup.
In other words a quiet first section, a completed stop for an edit point, add instruments and build up in the 2nd section,
another complete stop for an edit point, then the grand finale with lots of excitement, more instruments and power and
finally an outro with declining energy. Like I said I don't know if that's a criteria for this listing but I was advised to
design all of my trailers that way by screeners and people on this forum. You have an intriguing piece of music
that might fit a kitschy scene. Great job,

-Stu

[AlanHall]

I'm not sure if it applies to this listing but I was told that trailers need a couple of full stops, arc and buildup.
In other words a quiet first section, a completed stop for an edit point, add instruments and build up in the 2nd section,
another complete stop for an edit point, then the grand finale with lots of excitement, more instruments and power and
finally an outro with declining energy. Like I said I don't know if that's a criteria for this listing but I was advised to
design all of my trailers that way by screeners and people on this forum. You have an intriguing piece of music
that might fit a kitschy scene. Great job,

-Stu

+1. Most trailers have a 'three-act' structure with a well-defined composition. Whether trailer-ized songs have that structure, I can't say. I'd think they have their own song form to obey, and yet still follow the quiet/big/bigger outline form to some extent.

[irthlingz]

Thank you, Stu and Alan!

We did design with three parts: 1) intro up to 0:34, 2) a slower, softer section up to 1:35, and finally 3) a faster, more intense section. Does that not work?

We have now put up a new version with better edit points (link in first post). The first edit point (around 0:34) you can now hear quite clearly hopefully. For the second transition, there are actually two points, each just following a staccato note, at around 1:32 and 1:34, where we're thinking an edit could be made. Would love feedback on whether either/both of these work.

Thanks again!

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Sharon&Michael

[Zaychi]

By some crazy choice, the BBC orchestra is panned by default to the place where the instrument is "sitting" in a classical orchestra hall. So first violins left, celli right, trombones hard right, horns hard left, etcetera. You have to put them manually to the "other side" when you want them in the center.

[irthlingz]

By some crazy choice, the BBC orchestra is panned by default to the place where the instrument is "sitting" in a classical orchestra hall. So first violins left, celli right, trombones hard right, horns hard left, etcetera. You have to put them manually to the "other side" when you want them in the center.

Aha! Thank you, Jur!