How to emulate the references?

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myk247365
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How to emulate the references?

Post by myk247365 » Fri May 13, 2022 6:52 pm

I submitted a piece to this listing: https://www.taxi.com/listings/S220429LR
The reference I focused on is here: https://youtu.be/hq-ZMq5Er6E?t=15 (from 0:15 - 0:46)

My submission is here: https://www.taxi.com/members/uwEIk6EPRS ... rden-party

The feedback was:

What I like most about this song
I like the use of the instrumentation on this instrumental.

I think you could improve this song by
The motivic structure works well, yet the master is very low. To have a competitive track, make sure your master is at -14 LUFS -1 db True Peak. Utilizing a loudness meter will help.

I returned or forwarded this song because
The track has a good "hunt & stalk" attitude, although, it could benefit from a revision in the mastering to get closer to the listing's request for "Broadcast Quality"


The feedback says my track is too quiet. Yet the reference has the music at a very low volume. I simply tried to emulate the volume level of the reference. I thought if I tried to make the track loud, the timbre of the instruments would be off.

Here's a version with a louder sound library and some tweaking: https://www.taxi.com/members/uwEIk6EPRS ... en-party-2

So which one fits better with the reference? I kinda feel like I did my best to emulate the reference, but got returned because I did what we're told to do over and over again.

Thoughts?

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by BrentI » Fri May 13, 2022 7:24 pm

Hey there Michael! I have a couple thoughts on this.

First off, I like your cue. It sounds like good dramedy music to me! In my opinion, I don't know that it fit this listing. I know that's not what you were necessarily asking about. The only reason I bring that up is because sometimes I think a submission can get returned for multiple reasons. In my experience, I've had critiques that seem to focus on a specific issue with my cue, but then a whole bunch of checkboxes citing other problems the screener had.

Secondly, the particular reference you gave contained music that had been mixed under the dialogue of the scene. If you compare it to the Bleeding Fingers reference (https://youtu.be/f1fbCvwoog8), you can hear that this one is louder. I think the idea is to mix at a competitive volume, then leave it up to the editors to turn it down. I watched an episode of TAXI TV where they commented on how a louder track automatically sounds better...even if the music itself might not be.

Anyways, I hope this is helpful. I'm still learning, so take this for what it's worth.

Your louder version sounds great! I would certainly re-submit this one in the future! Best wishes!

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by myk247365 » Fri May 13, 2022 7:39 pm

Thanks Brent!

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by Paulie » Sat May 14, 2022 8:29 am

Afreed... your mix is almost a flat line of quietness. Our job is to provide broadcast quality tracks, this includes being recorded at the proper levels (which were kindly provided in the screener feedback). :)
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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by cosmicdolphin » Sat May 14, 2022 9:12 am

Even the loudness guideline given by the screener is too quiet for some Taxi freindly libraries I know. :?

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by irthlingz » Sat May 14, 2022 11:36 pm

cosmicdolphin wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 9:12 am
Even the loudness guideline given by the screener is too quiet for some Taxi freindly libraries I know. :?
Let's say you submit something at -14 LUFS and the library likes your piece, but needs -12 or -10 LUFS or whatever. Do you think they'd come back and ask you to remaster at a louder level? Or just pass because it's not loud enough?

===
Michael

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by cosmicdolphin » Sun May 15, 2022 2:14 am

irthlingz wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 11:36 pm
cosmicdolphin wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 9:12 am
Even the loudness guideline given by the screener is too quiet for some Taxi freindly libraries I know. :?
Let's say you submit something at -14 LUFS and the library likes your piece, but needs -12 or -10 LUFS or whatever. Do you think they'd come back and ask you to remaster at a louder level? Or just pass because it's not loud enough?

===
Michael
Some of them have a composer dashboard on their website and it will do a loudness check on the file as you upload it, so it will just show an error if it's too low and not let you continue.

Others will just ask for it to be turned up in the master. I've never had anyone ask me to turn anything down, but I highly doubt they would reject anything for that reason alone as it's an easy fix.
Last edited by cosmicdolphin on Sun May 15, 2022 4:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by Telefunkin » Sun May 15, 2022 3:27 am

irthlingz wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 11:36 pm
Let's say you submit something at -14 LUFS and the library likes your piece, but needs -12 or -10 LUFS or whatever. Do you think they'd come back and ask you to remaster at a louder level? Or just pass because it's not loud enough?
Some libraries prefer personal interaction with composers and will ask for revisions (perhaps several times) until a submission meets their expectations. Others have more of a yes/no type procedure, so a track is either accepted or rejected without explanation regardless of the reasons why, and that can include volume/level.

When submitting blind via Taxi, neither you nor the screeners know what the library's expectations are. However, the screeners will listen to loads of submissions and have a good idea what is the 'norm', so don't give them any reason to single out your track as being unusual. IMHO -12 to -10 LUFS is a reasonable target*.

*Such levels might be easier to apply in rock/pop/electronic music, but can be more difficult in highly dynamic styles and some orchestral music. Also, some libraries prefer to master tracks themselves to their own standards so your initial mix level can be somewhat less important, but you might as well submit a demo that sounds like its mastered to a competitive level.
Last edited by Telefunkin on Sun May 15, 2022 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Graham (UK). Still composing a little faster than decomposing, and 100% HI.

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Re: How to emulate the references?

Post by irthlingz » Sun May 15, 2022 10:08 am

Thanks, Mark and Graham!

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