This is a dark/ambient track that was rejected yesterday. The intent for this piece is to be used for basic evil video game and tabletop roleplaying game scenarios. What can I improve on this? Should I rework this and resubmit, or should I trash it and start fresh?
Hey, I think this track is pretty nice. I can’t give a lot of technical feedback hence I am not a video game composer (except maybe for the cymbals which sound a lil bit harsh and the snares sound a bit too dry to fit in the mix)
but I think the main reason for rejection is the length and how progressive it is. Audiojungle’s niche is background/stock music not specific things (e.g. video game OST).
I personally would try to focus on a part of it and make the whole composition based around that part in a way and not go too far in terms of time (2 minutes or something max). Keep it as simple as possible.
Good luck!
Thank you so much for the feedback. I’ll try shorter and simpler.
Hey there,
I think RedLeafMusic has a good point with “The track might be too long”.
I am not sure, if it is too evolving. Regarding this I am lacking of experience here on AJ, hehe. Still some more points, which came to my mind:
- The micro dynamic seems rather flat in the specific voices. Real instrument players will always have at least some kind of micro dynamic in a single note. Your piece seems more like “flat notes”. I would always try to record the voices live with a masterkeyboard and use the dynamic automation you can get out of your virtual instruments a lot! Better is to also vary the vibrato, if possible. I do this for every voice (even on synths). Live recorded is always humanized. (-;
- I am not sure, if this might be bad for AJ (I assume it also could be a good thing here on AJ after all), but still I just mention it anyway: the overall dynamic seems rather flat to me as well. Like there is mainly just one dynamic without climaxes or similar. IN a cinematic context, I would try to make it exciting with dynamic variations.
- Mixing wise it seems like the deep base drum is pumping (around 8 seconds into the piece). This sounds odd. If you cannot make a piece louder, let it be, but do not try to limit a track flat, just “to be loud”. Luckily in this kind of genre you do not even have to be loud anyway.
- The used virtual instruments in this piece seem to lack a bit of legato. Especially the beginning brass sound a bit fake, in my opinion. Either it’s a lack of programming or a lack of your equipment. Even without the best equipment: try to cover such things with any technique you can think of (overlap the non-legato samples, use maybe more polyphony to trick the listeners mind, etc.).
Good luck ! (=
Much appreciated! Dynamic contrast and mixing has always been something I struggled with when composing. I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting for the past couple of years, but I know I’m a long way from the pros. Comments like these help me greatly.