Mix Challenge

It is the 22nd July 2020, 00:15 UTC+2/CEST - the first Mix Round has officially ended

Another very warm welcome to all new participants. A huge thank you to everyone that is spreading the word about the Mix Challenge. Please help get the Songwriting Competition as popular (3 days left).


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 109 submissions this month (we've exceeded 100 participants for the second time ever!)
• We have 0 submission after the deadline
• We have 7 submission that could not be downloaded by the time of this post and are therefore disqualified
• We have plenty of entries that did not adhere to the Rules and Guidelines (see below and also this post)
• Overview of Submissions - is your entry within given parameters? (PDF - updated: 2020-JUL-22, full sheet)
• Overview of Submissions (disqualifications only) (PDF - updated: 2020-JUL-22)

NEW WITH THIS MONTH:

From now until the end of 2020, I will provide a data sheet each month showing all entries and what values they have in terms of loudness (LUFS ILk), maximum signal strength (dBTP), if they are in the correct bitrate and sampling rate, if they were downloadable, etc.

This data sheet is not an automated process, and in fact means more work for me. However, considering that we had a surge of new participants this July, and also looking back at the PMs I got in recent weeks or the comments from previous months regarding "I didn't know of this/that rule", this ongoing topic needs to be addressed. And I think, this is the best way to show how you can improve in the future - straight to the point.

The Mix Challenge is a fun mixing competition, true. But we also have clear a set foundation for everyone to adhere to, based upon the real world (a simulated Client-to-Business scenario).

Since I've downloaded all entries pretty much as they came in, the results in this PDF will be based upon every upload prior to 22-JUL-2020 0:15 UTC+2. I will post separately once I have the data sheet prepared and uploaded (which will be linked to from this post you're reading right now).



I now open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however.


Please watch this spot for the client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.

Good luck to all participants.





The Songwriting Competition 35 (SWC35) is still in full swing.
The deadline is 24th July 2020, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST.

Please spread the word!

Hi Mister Fox,
What tool will you use to measure loudness (LUFS Ilk)?

thanks so much to Mister Fox for the announcement of an evaluation data sheet.

remark: in some downloaded mixes I found heavy limiting then volume was reduced after that to stay within requirements, and also one looked like SRC after limiting which has typical artifacts.

(besides Cool Edit to look at waveforms in detail, I use EXPOSE - Mastering The Mix for LUFS statistics.)

As promised, here is / here are the data sheets for Mix Round 1 and it's follow-up evaluation process.


The Song Provider has been in the loop since pretty much the first week of MC067, and he already got the full sheet as well. Those that have been with the Mix Challenge since June 2014, might remember that we already had this type of data sheet once. But considering the workload, we stopped this 7 games in. However, as mentioned in my last post, I am of the opinion that we are in desperate need of a "straight to the point" summary again. Not only to address the constant debates about the established Rules and Guidelines, and discontent regarding "rule breakers". But to also show exactly what went wrong, and improve on that in follow up competitions.

For the future: since this is a very time consuming manual process, it might be that the data sheet for the public will arrive up to 72 hours after Mix Round 1 has ended. Just letting you know in advance - I am not a machine after all. The evaluation process by the Song Provider does shift accordingly.

The following paragraphs will also be a one-time occurrence, to set some ground rules for the rest of the year.
Now that this is out of the way, let's get down to the nitty-gritty, shall we?




OVERALL STATISTICS (to be adjusted above):

• we have 109 submissions this month
• We have 7 submission that could not be downloaded by the time of the deadline
• We have 43 disqualifications overall due to the inability to download these mixes, and/or technicalities

That is a 39,45% ratio of disqualifications.

Compared to MC064 / April (since I still have the statistics for that):
There were 45 entries and 17 disqualifications due to technicalities, which is a ratio of 37,78%.



What were the reasons for a disqualification:

According to the Rules and Guidelines (last update being 2020-MAY-30)

• entries that are not in the correct sampling rate or bar minimum in 24bit (source material was 44/24)
• entries that overshot/undershot a certain Loudness value (lower -23LUFS / higher -16LUFS, +-0,3LU tolerance), or a certain maximum signal strength in dBTP (higher -1,00dBTP, +-0,05dBTP tolerance)
• entries where you could not(!) associate the forum user with (as in - different participation name to the forum username, or no username given at all)
• double entries and/or edited entries

What was not a reason for a disqualification (but pointed out in the additional info section):

• entries that were submitted in 32bit (they will be bit-truncated if you import them at 44/24 - the Rules and Guidelines clearly state to "try to prevent bitrate truncation", as this can introduce noise and glitches)
• entries that were not properly named (as in - differing from the given template on the first post, including typos)
• entries that do not have any documentation (Important this will change once and for all with MC068/August, see below)

!

Bonus Info

As of MC068 / August 2020 If there is no documentation about your edit/mix by the time the deadline has been reached (21th of the Month, 23:59 UTC+2 / CEST), your entry will be disqualified. This particular rule has been in existence since 2014, and has been a constant topic for debates. Please time your submission in such a way, that it will be complete and doesn't need any further edits. The Mix Challenge (game) runs for 21 days. You have plenty of time to set everything up (unless you opt for entering at the last minute, which is not recommended!). Please don't just enter the competition, write "will add the documentation later" and then ultimately never do this.

Regarding "tolerances" for LUFS and dBTP

I've settled on +-0,3LU (from the minimum and maximum) and +-0,05dBTP (from the allowed maximum) because of known offsets in metering tools. Usually the tolerances are +-0,1LU and +-0,02dBTP. I've been a bit more lenient behind the scenes for a couple of months now. I also take into consideration that not every measurement tool out there has the same readouts. In fact, if you measure 5 times, you get the most different result every time.

In case of this data sheet, I've used Wavelab 10's Batch Analysis, since it offers me the readouts that you see in the PDF (although I had to clean up the data quite a bit to simplify it, and of course layout everything). Orban Loudness Meter would have given me different readouts. Same goes for Nugen Audio VisLM, Youlean Loudness Meter 2 (Pro), tc.electronic LM2, ToneBoosters EBU Loudness or whatever else is out there.

This does not mean that you can always scrape at the allowed tolerance limits, and then hope that the Song Provider (or me - until end of 2020) will have better results after the analysis. This also does not mean that you can just mix away and then just... run a "Loudness Normalizer" in the end to hit exactly -16LUFS or similar. This is not about loudness normalization according to broadcast standards. Keep in mind, this is still a mixing challenge, not mixing and mastering (which is why the "for broadcast streams allowed +-1LU offset of the target" doesn't apply).

The idea of setting minimum/maximum loudness limits, is for you to learn to work and export within a certain range. Ideally with reference levels - like the known -18dBFS = 0VU (EBU convention R68) or -20dBFS = 0VU (SMPTE RP 0155 recommendation). Which is especially beneficial if you work ITB (In the Box) and with external hardware.




On the topic of "mix runtimes"

I also need to point out, that a lot of entries didn't take care of adding suitable silence at the beginning and at the end of a mix.

While this is not relevant for the competition, as in - this is not part of the rule set for contestants (mix engineers). This is something you should still look out for in the future. Especially if you're doing this professionally, or plan to. Adding suitable silence at both ends of the mix offers the mastering engineer some more leeway (wiggle room) in terms of setting suitable fades (fade-in/out and crossfades). It also means that your audio tools might not cause any hiccups. I actually speak form experience with his - I had tools that changed the first 500ms of a mix in very undesirable ways (think of a fade in, or altered transient - even though the tool in question wasn't a transient shaper). I'm fairly certain that future Mix(ing) Challenges will not have a suitable gaps of silence. Just something to keep in mind.




File Accessibility

And finally: Before you post the link to your mix/edit on the forum, triple check that people can access it without any special permission through the help of a separate browser (Portable App, Mobile Device, etc). This has been a big issue in recent months and I consider this to be one of many careless mistakes. For the future, I also don't want people to point out "file can't be accessed". Participants need to learn this themselves - the hard way (it seems).

!

Bonus Info

Revisited for MC068 / August (Rule existing since at least 2017) If one can not access and/or download your edit/mix by the time the deadline has been reached (21th of the Month, 23:59 UTC+2 / CEST), your entry will be disqualified. This particular rule has been in existence since 2014, and has been a constant topic for debates. Please triple check the accessibility of your files without any need of a specific login or permission through the help of another browser (portable app) or a mobile device. If you're unsure how to set that up, please also consult the FAQ/Documentation section of the service you're using.

With that said... here is the "Data Sheet" in PDF Form for Mix Challenge 067 / July 2020

Overview of Submissions - full data sheet
Overview of Submissions - disqualifications only



I will update the thread accordingly. Same goes for the "Global Statistics" on the homepage, and I will also update the "Rule Books" section the coming days.

Thank you for reading.

OMG!!

What a lot of work. This is the way which things are well done.

Congratulation Mr. FOX and thank you for keep all this live.

It's a hell of a work, Mr. Fox. Hats off!
It's not that I'm thinking about my win this time, just for curiosity: I did not find myself in the lists you've posted. Please, doublecheck my post (#51, https://mix-challenge.com/forum/viewtop ... t=50#p8150 ).
Shall I suppose myself as a totally disqualified or this is just a tech slip?

Denzzony wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 23:06 CEST

Greetings! Here's my mix, I'll add a description later.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FWC6Gv ... sp=sharing

Hello! Description note: Drums: each track EQ, phase equalization. On snare, parallel compression. Toms panned, light compression, transient shaper. Kick boost at 100Hz and 5000Hz. Snare and toms - plate. On the drum group - Ssl bus, plate. Bass: EQ, Compression, Eden wt800, radiator, devil loc, reverb. Guitars: Pan with Left Right EQ and cut the top a little. Dist guitars: EQ, Psp Oldtimer, reverb send, left guitar to right and vice versa. All keys: grouped together, cut top, reverb. Lead vocal: Automation, C2 in Vocal mode, EQ, some resonance cut. Sends 1. Echoboy pong pong. 2 Echoboy - slap. 3. Reverb plate. 4. Reverb hall. BG vocals: equalization, panning, reverb. Master bus: no processing.

Necaster wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:33 CEST

It's not that I'm thinking about my win this time, just for curiosity: I did not find myself in the lists you've posted. Please, doublecheck my post (#51,

Mixed_by_Necaster.wav

HEY EVERYONE!!

Honestly thank you to everyone who’s taken part in this months mix challenge the submission numbers have far surpassed are expectations, and from the small handful of mixes we’ve listened to it’s so interesting hearing everyones different take on the track.

Because of the amount of submissions please bare with us as we slowly work our way through. We want to make sure everyone has a fair and good chance at getting through to the next round.

We’ll be choosing around 10 mixes to go through but once again thank you so much to everybody who’s entered and don’t get down if you don’t get chosen! The main point of this challenge is to learn and know better for next time! And so we WILL be giving everyone some sort of feedback because I know myself from past submissions there’s nothing worse than not getting chosen and then not getting any feedback as to why not.

Thanks again,
Myself & PMIC x