"Dream Rising" (Inspiring Cinematic Orchestral Instrumental)

[johndalenow]

Please refer to the REVISED "Dreams Rising." Thank you.

[Telefunkin]

Hi, no claimed expertise, but I'd consider your ending to be the wrong type of fade. I'm sure you could easily graft on a final ending chord based on the lovely lydian wistful feel, and that rings out (which I would consider a definite ending).

I'm a fan of your compositions, but suspect some of the sounds here could trigger the usual comments from screeners, eg dated, midi-sounding, and perhaps the organ is not the best choice for this cinematic brief. The listing specifically mentions high quality, realistic sounds, so I suspect they would hope to hear less synthetic strings with a little more life and articulation.

There are some really good tools available to get such things now, although the down-side of that is that it pushes up the expectation for realism and dynamism in our submissions. For example, Project Sam's Free Orchestra is indeed absolutely free, and also runs in the free version of Kontakt. Check out the first 10 minutes of this video for a demo of it (before he moves on to one of the lower-cost orchestral libraries, with strings at ~18m).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJHKe5ypvf4

[johndalenow]

Hi, no claimed expertise, but I'd consider your ending to be the wrong type of fade. I'm sure you could easily graft on a final ending chord based on the lovely lydian wistful feel, and that rings out (which I would consider a definite ending).

I'm a fan of your compositions, but suspect some of the sounds here could trigger the usual comments from screeners, eg dated, midi-sounding, and perhaps the organ is not the best choice for this cinematic brief. The listing specifically mentions high quality, realistic sounds, so I suspect they would hope to hear less synthetic strings with a little more life and articulation.

There are some really good tools available to get such things now, although the down-side of that is that it pushes up the expectation for realism and dynamism in our submissions. For example, Project Sam's Free Orchestra is indeed absolutely free, and also runs in the free version of Kontakt. Check out the first 10 minutes of this video for a demo of it (before he moves on to one of the lower-cost orchestral libraries, with strings at ~18m).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJHKe5ypvf4

Telefunkin, If you get a chance please review the new revision enclosed. Best!


https://www.taxi.com/members/5g4RsNP0S1 ... ams-rising

[Telefunkin]

Again, no claimed expertise but here's my thoughts.
I much prefer this version now the organ has gone. Also, the strings are much more realistic, lilting and emotional, so big two big pluses there.

A few other things occurred to me on listening...
- The trumpet enters nicely at 46s, but then there's a few rapid runs and trills that suggest keyboard rather than wind player, so maybe tame those a touch.

- From 56s the high violin and piano are competing for attention, so either let the piano take the spotlight there by pushing the violin part back (octave lower too?), or give the violin the spotlight by adding more melody to the simple descending line and push the piano back.

- In the crescendo section at 1:29 there's still something coming through in the brass that sounds synthetic that spoils the illusion for me.

- At the end there's another little keyboard run on the trumpet and the strings go into harmonic territory, so maybe revisit those.

- At the very end I'm sensing a slight volume dip that's worth checking, and if it was my piece I'd want to join the trumpet notes so there's flow into the very last notes rather than the pause.

- Mood-wise, until 1:21 I get a reflective, lonely or melancholy feel before the crescendo that signifies some event to turn things around. Perhaps its worth a check on whether that still meets the brief.

Most of these things are rather subjective, so I'm sorry if its a bit too detailed for a forum response but others might give you some better ideas. If not I hope my thoughts help a little.

Good luck with the submission .

[BrentI]

Hey John! Pretty track! I like the piano and string parts.

It seems like things are panned a bit wide. I'd bring everything closer to center. Maybe I need to listen more closely, but while it's an orchestral listing, I don't hear much from the references beyond piano and strings. That said, I personally don't think the trumpets or the marching snares work for this. I'm curious what it might sound like if you replaced the trumpets with woodwinds and the snares with a low staccato string part.

That's my two cents for what it's worth. Best wishes with your submission!

[johndalenow]

Hey John! Pretty track! I like the piano and string parts.

It seems like things are panned a bit wide. I'd bring everything closer to center. Maybe I need to listen more closely, but while it's an orchestral listing, I don't hear much from the references beyond piano and strings. That said, I personally don't think the trumpets or the marching snares work for this. I'm curious what it might sound like if you replaced the trumpets with woodwinds and the snares with a low staccato string part.

That's my two cents for what it's worth. Best wishes with your submission!

Good call, Brent. I appreciate your help. Best!

[johndalenow]

Again, no claimed expertise but here's my thoughts.
I much prefer this version now the organ has gone. Also, the strings are much more realistic, lilting and emotional, so big two big pluses there.

A few other things occurred to me on listening...
- The trumpet enters nicely at 46s, but then there's a few rapid runs and trills that suggest keyboard rather than wind player, so maybe tame those a touch.

- From 56s the high violin and piano are competing for attention, so either let the piano take the spotlight there by pushing the violin part back (octave lower too?), or give the violin the spotlight by adding more melody to the simple descending line and push the piano back.

- In the crescendo section at 1:29 there's still something coming through in the brass that sounds synthetic that spoils the illusion for me.

- At the end there's another little keyboard run on the trumpet and the strings go into harmonic territory, so maybe revisit those.

- At the very end I'm sensing a slight volume dip that's worth checking, and if it was my piece I'd want to join the trumpet notes so there's flow into the very last notes rather than the pause.

- Mood-wise, until 1:21 I get a reflective, lonely or melancholy feel before the crescendo that signifies some event to turn things around. Perhaps its worth a check on whether that still meets the brief.

Most of these things are rather subjective, so I'm sorry if its a bit too detailed for a forum response but others might give you some better ideas. If not I hope my thoughts help a little.

Good luck with the submission .

Thanks, again, Telefunkin. Your comments are always well-taken and astute. Thanks so much for taking the time. Best! John