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I got return for a dramedy cue

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One of the refs were
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SjOkb3kVgI

to which I wrote
https://www.taxi.com/members/EvDIaTs5SU ... nversation

Quote the screener "I think you could improve this song by
It would be great to have some unisons or octave doubles to make this more colorful. We can double it with woodwinds. The first 49 seconds could have more changes on the strings to improve on its development."

I did that, it opens with bassoon doubling the low at the open. Xlyo in unison and percussion filling out the head at the :39 second mark (adding interest and variation) and the clarinet coming it at the B section

The ref was very simple, I kept mine very simple. Very similar, I could argue almost too similar, but at least, exactly what the listing asked for.

Truly confused.

Hey John,

Yeah, maybe contact the head screener about this one...

I don't get the comments. Sometimes, screeners will point out things that they think need improvement, and the piece might actually need improvement, but it's not for the reasons that they state. That might be what is happening here.

At the beginning, it feels just a bit stiff and just a bit... unbelievable... I get a little tiny, tiny whiff of midi... As it goes, particularly when the percussion kicks in, it sounds more believable... The bassoon in particular just doesn't sound believable to me...

And that might be the issue... And instead of just pointing that out, the screener went into a whole nother thing.. Remember that they are listening to a bunch of these over the course of a few hours, and maybe they all just start to run together for them...

That's what I think... It's a nice little tune too... If you really feel that this needs another listen, then maybe be in touch with Mr. Pilo - I think it's headscreener@taxi.com.

I wish you the best,
- Mark

Thanks Mark,

I appreciate the comments

I was going for stark, and the super tight and dry with lots of space adding to playfulness. But there were times, I think I got it too tight and dry (I went back and forth)

Thanks for the info.

Cheers!

John

Hey John, I feel ya on this. I got two returns on this listing as well, and dramedy is one of my bread & butter genres. I've had so much of this stuff used on TV that it's impossible to keep track of any more, and still, even I got returned on this one!

You know what? Dramedy listings come around very often. This listing is just one of many, so save this track and submit it to the next opportunity that comes around, as there's sure to be another one in a couple of weeks. Dramedy is always in demand, so this track WILL get forwarded and find a home eventually. As Taxi states in their disclaimers: this critique is just one person's opinion (though a very educated opinion). Next time, you might get a different screener, and perhaps a different result.

As for the track itself, it's quite good. Seems a bit dry and stiff to me at the beginning when there's just a few instruments playing. Maybe stretch the reverb out a bit so stuff doesn't decay into nothingness before the next note starts up. Or adjust the quantization to be slightly more natural by having stuff hit the notes both slightly before and slightly after the other instruments. Just try to humanize that a bit. Otherwise, this piece is ready for action.

Myself, I'm just gonna pass my two returns along to another company that is currently collecting dramedy. If you have other library deals, then you could do the same with this piece. If not, just wait until the next dramedy listing and try again.

And keep up the good work!

~~Matt

HI Matt,

Thanks so much for the encouraging words.

I think you and Mark are correct, it is a little stiff and dry. I think I'm going through a phase; "any amount of reverb it too much reverb"... (do I think it's the 90's again?!)

It's to cool to get a perspective from one so accomplished and atop the Taxi heap.

Hope to see you on Taxi TV soon

Thanks again so much.

John

HEY JOHN I FEEL YA i I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE TAXI LOOP FOR QUITE A WHILE i RECENTLY UPLOADE A CUE FOR THE SAME LISTING .I RECEIVED A RETURN THATS ALL I'VE BEEN GETTING VERY FRUSTRATING. the piece is not on my soundcloud so at the moment cant upload it. I thought I nailed it especially after reading the listing where they mention pizz strings, horns, etc mine was more horny lol the strings might have been to arco AFTER LISTENING TO THE EXAMPLES I thought it was on target. as soon as i get off of work i will upload it to my soundcloud

Ron

JohnV wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 28, 2024 12:33 pm

I got return for a dramedy cue

John, it's a great cue! But what my ears wanted to hear was some color/register change in the ostinato/ground layer after a couple repetitions. It seems to me to be a bit too heavy, keeping the low-register stuff going throughout the piece. That's all I got...

Were it me I would have forwareded it. It's one of the annoying quirks of Taxi, particularly as you're paying for submissions, that sometimes things get knocked back for the strangest of reasons. I've had tracks forwarded and then not, and vice-versa.

I remember watching a Taxi TV once where Michael was going through some songs and whether or not we thought they'd be forwarded, it was interesting to see his more relaxed "it could appear in this playlist" approach in opposistion to some of the feedback I've had in the past. "Sounds overly quantasized" being cited as one I had and in the same piece it stating that it wasn't tight enough.

Unfortunately, sometimes, you just have to suck it up and move on. Which is disheartening, as I really think this deserved a forward.

Wish you all the best, this is good work and you'll go far. Dramedy is a great genre to be good in, it's incredibly popular, I can't do it myself as it just doesn't gel with me, but I envy those who can pull it off.