So this is my 1st track submission and from what l’ve previously read in the forum here l figured there would be a good chance mine may get rejected…not because l thought it was crap but there seems to be some hit and misses with what gets through and what doesn’t.
So here is the track
The message l got was: This item does not meet the general commercial quality standard required to be accepted on AudioJungle…as l know this could mean several things but just to put everything into context, this music was use for a social media video project l filmed and produced for Victoria Development - This is a state government department of Australia…so l know it works behind a video production where you have an intro, talking heads, overlay and then an outro to government branding etc. Here is the link to view the video to hear the music in context. https://vimeo.com/356299266/02e5d074b8
Any thoughts on why the track got rejected would be welcome, Thanks AP
Hi APProductions, I think it sounds pretty good. Here’s my thoughts:
I think the drums are a bit over-complicated and the galloping kick drum rhythm doesn’t really suit the style of the track. I think a simpler beat would work better. Also, you could maybe try a more electronic sounding kit.
The strings sound a bit artificial. You could go one of two ways with them; either make them more synth-like; or make them more realistic. But at the moment, they are a bit in-between.
The synth goes out of key at 1:22, 1:28 and 1:40-1:43
1:44 Woah! Key change! I always find them cheesy, but that’s just my opinion.
You introduce the new brass tune, which was hinted at earlier in the strings. I liked that, but it doesn’t have time to develop.
Hello! The track is great! Make it more montage-friendly: it’s all about special “triggers” or cues, for easy video montage. Stops, drumbreaks, transition effects, various effects between sections should make Your music more universal and useful for wide range of videos. And make it shorter: between about 0:39 and 0:46 it sounds like an uninformative gap. Or make this “gap” more “specific”: for example entirely change drum set on this fragment.
Thanks both for the feedback…I’ll try and address all points here: So my musical background is 25yrs of drumming and 4 or 5 yrs of piano…l was taught both these instruments with a theory foundation so l can read music and was into some pretty full on drummers such Alex Van Halen, Simon Phillips and Virgil Donati…So l’m confident with the drumming/timing aspect of things BUT the pitch side of things eg: chords, keys etc. is WAY lesser.
Criscracker: I’m happy with drums energy which are from BATTERY and Groove Agent…Battery is the 1st rhythm and Groove Agent is the 2nd rhythm which is where the extra kick pattern is added but get that it might of muddied the bottom end up a little, but the tom fill at the start is from NI 80’s Drummer and l wasn’t really happen with that… it bit cheesy.
The strings are NI Symphony Series Strings with Violas for the riff and the ensemble patch for the melody section…so not much l can do there and its a shame if they are not sounding legit.
The synth arpeggio was definitely hitting some clangers:grimacing:…so l should of picked that up!
Yes the key change was pretty full on especially with the horns.…so l get that it could of been introduced earlier and development more.
I liked the ending as your not expecting it to end like that with arpeggio trail BUT it work Government end tag of the video l produced…that’s not a fair argument not every corporate video project may end like that.
Pilotaudio: Point taken on being more montage-friendly and triggers or cues etc.
In general because l wrote the music for the video l produced l probably dug myself a hole in regards to making the music more universally friendly, so a lesson learnt there!
I will take a listen to both your tracks to see what l can learn.
My thoughts on the drums aren’t so much about muddying up the low end (I think the mix is pretty good), but more about the style of the track and what rhythm suits it best. Personally, I would have gone for a less complicated rhythm, because there is already a lot happening everywhere else. That is just my opinion though so it may be just a thing of personal taste.
The staccato strings at 0:13 are a bit wet and the character is lost in the mix. with the sustain section at 0:58, you should use the violins patch. The ensemble patch uses only violin samples this high up the register anyway and doesn’t include the legato samples (albeit bowed and not fingered legato in this library, unfortunately).
With all the strings, try playing with the mixer section of the Symphony Series library to tweak the sound. If you’re just using the default settings here, you might find that you get better results if you make your own blend of the close, mid and far samples as this offers you more control over the sound and you can blend them better. (remember to purge the samples if you don’t have a ton of spare ram!) Also, you may get tighter control of the sound by turning off the NI reverb and adding your own in the DAW.
I think pilotaudio’s advice is golden. It is so important to make your track as useful as possible to cut to. As a video producer yourself, I’m sure you know, a great track will inspire ideas for your cut. Part of this I think is allowing some breathing space in the track.
Thanks. And then my next entry: Put some attention on intro, most of successful tracks on AudioJungle starts with distinct reverse effect and/or crescendo. When I started to write stock music, I don’t realized, why they do it from one item to another, later I reminded my work as sound engineer on radio and TV: these risers, reverse effects, notable crescendos are very helpful in making smooth crossfades between audio tracks in broadcast media plan.
Thanks again Criskcracker & Pilotaudio, l went to both of your profiles and had a listen and Cris you obviously know a bit about strings, and yes l should of used the violin patch for the melody section cos obviously the samples are more realistic and try moving away from the default reverb…probably being a little bit lazy hear thinking know one would hear any difference.
Pilot l swear that when l had a listen to your Corporate tracks…I thought gee there are a lot starts with risers, reverse sfx etc…now l know why!
…so l get that it could of been introduced earlier and development more.