MIX CHALLENGE - MC080 September 2021 - Mix Round 2 in evaluation (staff taking over)

[zeminor]

It was not my intention to copy m tree mix data exactly. I wanted to use m tree comments as a template. I made an incomplete copy while copying my own information. It was not my intention to mislead the competition. The mix I send is entirely my own. I didn't do it with your data. sorry for the misunderstanding.

[shoma]

@DIVESPANNER -- glad this could be sorted out.




@shoma -- regarding the upload

Don't see it just from my perspective as a host. Assume you've posted (for example) 2 days prior to the deadline, you think the link is okay. Our client accesses files as they come on, then never comes back later (because: no re-upload, right?). Your file is not downloadable, to not influence others, there is no further comment on the forum, the client moves on. Maybe the Song Provider tries again towards the end of the game, still not downloadable. Then that's it!

The game ends, then it's my turn as host, if I didn't already download material in parallel as well (which I've done in the past months, but not for MC080 since I was busy). Bottom line is still - your file was sadly not accessible, and I have tried to download several times. Your documentation also surfaced after the deadline.

The new link you are posting now, which I wonder what this is for, is also not accessible. On Firefox (not logged into Google) it asks me for a login, and on Chrome (logged into Google) it asks me to "request access".

I understand the frustration. But I also have to be fair to everyone involved. To both regulars and newcomers alike that check their files, get their documentation in order and do not post last minute.

Thank you for your answer, Mister Fox.

Yes, this is really frustrating, but I will accept your decision, as it's the rule. I don't know what the heck is going on at Google Drive. All three files are set to "Everybody who has the Link can view and download (or whatever this option is called it is called in english) .

Whenever I exchange files with my customers I'm using wetransfer, which has been the most reliable service to transfer files between me and the customers and vice versa for years.. I would've never used Google Drive.
If mixing was my main business I'd go for my own file server.

Good luck to everyone. See you next time

[shoma]

@Shoma hate to say it but your link is still asking for permission to access. When I go into Google Drive, I can right-click on my file, and then click "Share". This comes up with a screen with two sections; the top one says "Share with People and Groupd" is for adding people and permissions, but the bottom one says "Get Link" and "anyone on the Internet with this link can view". I think this is the easy way to sharing ! You can try it out in a different browser as well just to double check it. Good luck !

Yes, thank you. I know and I have chosen the "Get Link" and "anyone on the Internet with this link can view" option and if the screenshots I have linked to would have worked, you could see that this option had been set for all three files (mix and the screenshots)
After posting my file I went rushing through the last postings and there was another one, whose file was not accessable an I went "Ups..I'll better check my links". So I logged off from Google and tried to access the file, which indded was not accessible. That's when I changed the option to that you just mentioned and I could acess the file after being logged out again. I just felt safe....



Edit: Just checked again with Cent Browser., which I usually don't use and which has never been used to log in to my Google account.

This link is working with Cent Browser, even if it also takes some 15 secondes to show the file. (Same link from original posting) and doublechecked user rights again...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k3UbEC ... sp=sharing

Can anybody confirm, if the file is accessible or not?
I just want to know if I'm completely dumb

[fcamp]

Hi @shoma, it is accesible.

[mattaroni_and_cheese]

Yep working for me as well now @Shoma. Glad you could get it sorted, sorry for the troubles but we'll see you next month yes ?

[cpsmusic]

Wondering what everyone thought of the vox track and their approach ? It was a raspy performance (good for song) , but it also sounded pretty hot to me already so I really didn't want to add any saturation to them at all. Trying to harness them in with serial compressors just made them too hot imo. perhaps I need more time with compressors or perhaps i had a technical error somewhere. This did lead to me spending a couple days with my compressors to understand them better : )

I struggled with the vocal tone. It seemed to have a "papery rasp" to it that I couldn't remove and that was accentuated by compression. It was particularly noticeable on low notes. When I tried to brighten the vocal (using saturation, high shelf EQ, various parallels, etc.) it only made it worse.

Cheers!

[fcamp]

I was happier with the vocals when I applied a Pultec style eq. Boost and atten at 4 at 100 Hz, boost at 3 at 10 kHz, in my case. The atten band at 100 Hz lowers a frequency band up to almost 1kHz if I remember well. Combined with the boost in the lows aand the highs, the vocals felt smoother. Maybe also because the Black Rooster Pultec has a box tone that helped.

[jake sg]

The "Overview of Submissions" PDFs have been uploaded.
You can check them through the upper post (post #101). Apologies for the waiting time.



As officially announced here earlier this month (September 2021), this data sheet is used to give an overview of all entries, and whether or not they are within given parameters (loudness, sampling rate, bitrate). This is adding to the overall learning process of the "Mix(ing) Challenge", and there will be a dedicated "Mix Challenge Addendum thread" explaining the mechanic in even more detail in the foreseeable future (I need some time for that). Please take note that creating this sheet is not a fully automated process. I am using Wavelab 10's "Batch Analysis" tool (EBU R-128 specs / equivalent to ITU-R BS.1770-4), but the overall layout and highlighting issues/mishaps, is time consuming. If you do not find yourself on this list, please let me know.


We have a disqualification rate of 26,67% for September 2021 (75 entries, 20 disqualifications, no "Out of Competition" submissions). Although we have four entries that might not count as "tagged disqualified" (see further down below), in this case the disqualification rate could change down to 22,67% for September 2021 (75 entries, 17 disqualifications)

In comparison to previous months (detailed in spoiler tags):

► Show Spoiler

• August 2021 (20,45%, 44 entries, 9 disqualifications)
• July 2021 (20,34%, 59 entries, 12 disqualifications)
• June 2021 (26,08%, 46 entries, 12 disqualifications)
• May 2021 (22,73%, 66 entries, 15 disqualifications)
• April 2021 (24,59%, 61 entries, 14 disqualifications)
• March 2021 (25,64%, 39 entries, 10 disqualifications)
• February 2021 (35,05%, 77 entries, 27 disqualifications)
• December 2020 (22,67%, 75 entries, 17 disqualifications)
• November 2020 (31,15%, 61 entries, 19 disqualifications)
• October 2020 (33,70%, 92 entries, 31 disqualifications)
• September 2020 (32,60%, 46 entries, 15 disqualifications)
• August 2020 (28,57%, 35 entries, 10 disqualifications)
• July 2020 (40,37%, 109 entries, 44 disqualifications)

On average (14 months), we currently have a disqualification rate of 27,90% (compared to last month's 27,99% avg), the rate is on a decline.

Please keep in mind, your mix being tagged "disqualified", does not automatically mean "you're out of the game" (see Wild Card Mechanic, read more about that below).




A commentary on this month's entries:

Once more welcome to all new participants that joined this September, from which there are plenty. I hope you enjoy your stay and you could learn something from this experience.

The biggest criticism I have this month, is that I would have loved to read more of your motivation for the direction you went with your mix. I really did miss the "explain at least one sound you're proud of modeling" aspect of the game (mandatory!). A lot of participants, regulars even, just went like "Meh... I'll just drop what equipment I've used". In some cases, only screenshots (which is a no-no!). This is a huge topic every month.

There are sadly also plenty of careless mistakes yet again. The source material was 48kHz 24bit (or 48/24). This can change every month, so paying attention to detail is important. We have four entries that are in 44kHz, one that was a 16bit export even. On a different sidenote: there are a lot of entries that drop down in bitrate due to the more limited soundscape this month. No worries there however - this is just some technical information, everything is fine. As usual, I only tagged "song length" if things have been cut a bit too short. But please... we have a filename template - use it!

Where I have absolutely drawn the line, was with entries that couldn't be downloaded ( @Seba S ), or where a participant was like "I'll post now, and update later" (sorry, @shoma - your entry was not accessible until way past the deadline. The rules clearly state "It is mandatory to document your mix/edit by the end of the deadline" - please post your entry sooner in the future!). And my personal favorite this month: post an entry early into the game (03-SEP-2021), pull it with the comment "I will post again soon, going to make a revision on the mix", ignore the PM by the admin (that I sent out mere hours later on 03-SEP-2021), then post a revision on 18-SEP-2021 with merely an info-dump of what tools where used. I am sorry, @AndrewMcPherson - but this is a textbook example of a rule violation (see Rule Book - post #6, Upload and Submission Guidelines, bullet point 4).


Which brings me to the next four entries. The majority of these showed some strong inconsistencies regarding file update timestamps, while one post has been called out for nigh 1:1 copying. I was going back and forth for a couple of days on what to do, not knowing if I should disqualify your entry or not (because this could hint at a re-upload). I am therefore proposing the following:

Please explain by Wednesday, 29-SEP-2021 23:59 UTC+2/CEST what is actually going on here.

If you can't explain yourself by that time, your entry will be tagged "OUT" and can therefore not advance through the possible use of either the normal gameplay (due to no mishap / "tagged disqualified") or a Wild Card. These particular entries are point of concern:

• @fcamp -- can you please explain why your file was updated over 17 hours after you've posted on the forum?
• @jake sg -- technically you only posted screenshots of your used tools (rule violation), but to decide whether or not your entry is completely out of the game - can you please explain why your file was updated roughly 7 hours after you've posted on the forum?
• @Saccharine_trust -- you're edited your post several times, same goes for your file on Google Drive. Can you please explain what is going on?
• @zeminor -- your post has been criticized by @m_tree, and I have to agree with him. Why did you nigh 1:1 copy his post? Do you happen to have the very same setup as him? Is this an attempted mix copy? Please explain.

I kindly ask all of you to please be honest, as I am being very generous with this one-time special occasion. We all want to have fun in this game, learn something in the process. If you lie with your response, which I certainly wouldn't know, you would effectively only cheat yourself in the end.



Important to point out (for all new participants): :

Unless your file couldn't be downloaded, or it has been re-uploaded/re-posted during the course of the main submission round, having your entry being tagged as "disqualified" does not mean that you're completely out of the game (yet). Should you be selected for Mix Round 2 by this month's "client" (Song Provider), you have the option to advance through the use of the Wild Card Mechanic.

Please don't be frustrated but rather learn from the experience, find out what went wrong, and use your possible chance to fix this in a follow-up round. This is why the concept of the "Statistics Sheet" and "Wild Card mechanic" exists. It offers you an additional learning factor. Something you usually do not have the chance to outside of this community's monthly competition.
.




I now (re-)open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however. Though please note - criticism on the rule set and angry posts will be moved to the General Gossip Thread without further notice.


Please watch this spot for the client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.
This will happen sometime within the next 14 days (starting tomorrow).

Hi, im new in here. SOrry to break the rules and the link to my mix..genuinely mix by me. Im surprised that there was an updated which i didnt do anything or change anything in it. However i really respect of your decision and will make me understand more infuture not to make anymore mistakes / error. Thank you.

[Square]

Hello everybody and thanks to the song provider and Mr Fox.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jPK3Zv ... sp=sharing

A touching song of pain and loneliness.
As it is clear, the voice bears the story and the other elements should be playing different roles along it to underpin its meaning; whether into a dialogue with the voice (as the guitar in the first half, mainly, and the violins and piano in the second), or as an envelope to underline the darkness and the sorrow (the rhythm guitar later, the cello during the whole song and mainly in the intro, the outro and when the noise breaks after each pause, or the “percussive” pizz cello and strings).

The main features, besides ordinary eq and comp, are as following.

Voice: parallel compression, reverb and delay. Manual deesing and stressed in some spots.

Guitar: saturation. Closer and louder when sharing the lights with the voice. Duplicated when acting as a rhythm guitar. Both tracks into a group that is side-channed from piano and violin (at the midst of the song, when there is a risk of overly noise) and from pizz string (in the final part).

Piano: a tad of volume for the attack. Layering reverb.

Cello: I love this deep sound rumbling along the song (stressed with some distortion) and I give it more volume in some spots. Reverb and delays are duplicated and panned. Centred, as a bass, though the pizzicato parts are slightly at the left.

String pizz: duplicated and hard panning. Higher volume in the intro. Subtle fading out in the outro. Distortion.

Violin: some volume automation in the midst. Saturation. An extra long reverb in some spots.

Bus: a limiter to keep things within the boundaries. Eq and comp (automation for the latter).

I hope you all enjoy my take.

Greetings.

Hi there, i cant seem to gain access to your file.

[LCM!]

Hi Square. I don't know what the reason could be given that I wasn't in the disqualified mixes PDF. In addition, there haven't been any change in the file or in my settings on Drive. So, I hope we could find a way to solve this inconvenience.
I hope Mr Fox to tell us what the procedure is in these cases.