Mix Challenge

It's the 02nd June 2024, 00:10 (UTC+2/CEST) - the Voting Period has officially ended.

Sadly, not all participants have submitted final feedback, we would therefore have 1 disqualification.


I will send out another newsletter/message to those particular participants, give you until the end of Sunday, 02-JUN-2024 as per the rule book on the voting process ("overtime mechanic"). If there is a feedback and a vote by the participant in question, only -5 points will be deducted from the scoresheet. Else, sadly a disqualification.

Once I have this feedback as well, I will post the results within 2-3 days and take "late feedback" into consideration.
(this is not an automated process)


The only disqualification criteria is by "not participating" with feedback at the end of the game.
Time constraints can happen -- but I do not consider entries to be "withdrawn" at this point. You unfortunately just didn't have the time.


Everyone else, please no more changes to your vote. Thank you.

Please don't just gather feedback, and don't give anything back. This is not what the Songwriting Competition is about. To those that kept their feedback brief, please consider at least adding just "a tad more".


Please have an eye on this thread

It's the 03rd June 2024, 04:05 (UTC+2/CEST) - the Voting Period extension has officially ended.

We sadly have 1 disqualification (@Koekepan -- due to unexpected health reasons). This means, we're 1 global feedback block short. I will think of something.


Please no more changes to your feedback from this point forward.
I will post the results within 2-3 workdays. (this is not an automated process)


Please have an eye on this thread

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen health reasons, @Koekepan couldn't participate in the feedback / voting period of SWC081. So I am stepping up the plate to provide some additional commentary and cast a vote in order to "balance out" the game a little bit.


I will comment in order of the submissions:

@Arelem

Our most active participant during May, providing us with some very interesting movements in the created sounds. Personally, I find the kick and snare a bit too heavy handed, but this is modern electronic for you. I am also aware of your struggle with loudness limits - however... it's really not that hard to just have a gain knob before hitting your mastering limiter and quick checking with something like Youlean Loudness Meter.

I am more interested in the generated effect modules however. I barely have any knowledge on FL Studio's "Patcher" and certain new modules (especially the "Formula Controllers"). Pity that Image Line didn't keep this thing available for everyone. From looking at the screenshots, you basically created a custom transition effect from scratch? If that is the case - I hope this opened a new and interesting sound design door for you. Maybe this will even help in future songwriting games.


@EsteveCorbera

A very soothing and ambient focused production. Not as much "dynamic movements" going on - but definitely also less jumpy than some of your previous entries. I would have actually turned up the kick, and also the percussion loop from 2:20min and forward. The beat section feels a bit subdued otherwise.

I would have loved to see what you did with Voltage Modular or Disthro Cardinal, but yes... these tools can be quite CPU intensive. By definition, Reason Studio is already a modular DAW. I assume your custom patching was basically to create some more movement in the FX usage rather than having more straight-forward send effects. Sometimes the small things can still add a lot to a production - but it doesn't feel "as bold" as I hoped.


@Koekepan

Our "all hardware" production this month, and yes... quite experimental, which was to be expected this month. It is also our longest entry, yet far from being boring or repetitive for most of the song (the last 2 minutes could have been a bit truncated however). I really like how things evolve.

I think the weakest component here, is the mix of certain instruments. For example - some synth blips and boops are a bit too loud (wildly even). Which can be both a desired side-effect of modular patching, but can also be a curse to keep things in check. In turn, the pads feel "barely there", same with the clap. Maybe there is still a chance to revisit that. IIRC from private conversations, the TASCAM is a digital mixer - and depending on recallability, who knows where things can still go. The headphone mix is different of course. Here you can hear more intricate details.

It saddens me however, that there are no photos of your setup (a requirement this month). I would have really loved to see patch cables and closeups and all the good things for this song. Especially for those that might not know the hardware you've been using. Thank you for adding additional explanation however, to read what you tried to achieve.


@Doc Jon

Yeah, you definitely channeled some "Kraftwerk" there, only to drift into cheezy pop ever so often. I like it! This is also among the most clean / balanced mix with this month's challenge. And you folks really like to use Synthesizer V, it seems. I don't have much feedback to give here - although maybe the female vocals are just a tad too loud (and by that, I mean just 1dB - it's a "very first impression" thing), and your vocoded vocals feel a bit low (again - about 1dB range).

Other than that... while I hoped you would go a step further in terms of "creating your own effects" or synths, you did go out of your way, used a modular synth/FX module (although with presets), and tried something new with it. This was the main goal of this month's game. Who knows which route you might go in the future. I am a bit surprised with the ASIO load however. Then again, Cubase does do mysterious things - and modular synths can be quite CPU taxing still.


@VCA-089

Our resident pusher of boundaries when it comes to sound design. Glad to read that this was right up your alley. This one does definitely get the 1980s Sci-Fi feeling across. However, as with a lot of your more experimental entries, you're also really heavy on reverb usage - and mostly "metallic" one as well (then again - I'm a fan of more "warm" ones, where the mids are not as emphasized). Great and experimental piece - I really enjoyed the journey.

Unfortunately, as with @Koekepan's entry, I miss screenshots of your setups. You definitely seemed to have pushed many boundaries, and I would have loved to see (for example) your drone setup, or your noise clouds. If one has experimented a bit with modular tools like "Voltage Modular" or similar, you might have a vague idea what is going on. But I would have still enjoyed to see more - for the educational aspect of the community. And, it was also a requirement this month. Oh well...



All in all, you folks did great.

I am now also tasked with the monthly difficult decision to find ones "top spots". To me, you are all winners. Pushing personal limits, looking at tools differently rather than just "load, use preset, blend in". All at varying degrees of experimentation. I hope this gave you new perspectives, and might even add something special to your future productions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the results of Songwriting Competition 081

The winners podium consists of:

1. @Arelem (44 pts)
2. @Doc Jon (42 pts)
3. @VCA-089 (41 pts)

Apologies for the waiting time, this is not an automated process.

<4 participant rule is not in use (staff comments and votes, my vote would count as bonus)
We have 1 disqualification (due to lack of feedback / a final vote)
We have 0 withdrawn entries (but counts as submission within the deadline, yet couldn't be voted for)
We have several users still in the game that tied

• The following ties on the chart happened due to various reasons
  • VCA-089 -- acquired 33pts with the participation vote -- the participant has otherwise most bonus points (resulting in 42pts), and also received a -1pt penalty (resulting in 41pts)
  • EsteveCorbera -- acquired 31pts with the participation vote -- the participant has otherwise all bonus points, but has lower participation scores from votes overall (resulting in 41pts)
• no (more) users that tied

"Sole (License) Winner" rule does apply - 1-position Winners Podium (<= 8 participants prior to the deadline)


STATISTICS SHEET:
Overview of Submissions (PDF - updated: 07-JUN-2024, full sheet)

!

Bonus Info

Short info: I am using Wavelab 10 for batch analysis, then I manually port the CSV export to a Microsoft Excel/Open Office Calc sheet with custom layout (this is not an automated process). As pointed out in this post from SWC047 / July 2021, Wavelab has different tolerances for dBTP max analysis compared to tools like iZotope RX, Youlean Loudness Meter, NUGEN Audio VisLM, etc. To find a common ground, I've implemented "allowed tolerances" (just like with the Mix Challenge). These are based upon allowed offsets mentioned in the white papers for EBU R128 and ITU-R BS.1770-4. Since no measurement tool is the same, to be on the save side, please export at -14,1 LUFS ILk max, and -1,1 dBTP max. As usual, I did list/analyze alternative releases (MP3s and FLAC). If you've submitted your entry in multiple file formats, the statistic sheet will focus on the uncompressed material first (WAV), then FLAC, then MP3. The higher the quality, the less possible loss on bonus points for "Loudness Specs" due to offsets introduced by a used CODEC. In this case, FLAC and MP3 are merely for information purposes.

Here are the results as chart in image form:



Thank you so much for your participation.

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	INFORMATION: As of January 2023, I am adapting the same voting mechanic as most other International Songwriting Competitions utilize. Nearly all of these games use(d) a 01 to 05 points system (top 5 entries) in some shape or form. The main difference to our game: these ones don't offer bonus points or penalty points, neither are they tiered (depending on the participant amount). I hope to get that properly sorted out in form of an extensive Rule Book update in the foreseeable future (serious apologies for the waiting time). Breaking up a tie: There was no unbreakable tie that needed to be addressed. The ties were "sorted out" with the known fallback mechanics of the game. An explanation on the bonus points and penalty points: Due to exceeding the loudness specs, the following users could not acquire all 4pts bonus -- @Arelem only exceeded the loudness limits this month (-14,0 LUFS ILk). I unfortunately could not address 1pt bonus to @Arelem, due to not properly utilizing the filename template (sorry, but there was a white-space in there, and could result in access issues). I sadly had to withdraw 1pt bonus for both @Koekepan and @VCA-089 from the 5pts max for "Documentation", due to the fact that there were no screenshots / photos provided (was a task this month). Although both users explained their work in text form. A visualization would have still been nice. I also had to withdraw -1pt bonus from @VCA-089 due to a lack of personal reflection during the voting process. Seeing such a low participation is a bit unfortunate - however, there is hope we'll be back to regular form with 10 to 15 participants with SWC082 and forward. I can only repeat what I wrote the last couple of months - you are talented, you don't have to be an expert at things. Join, experiment, gather / share feedback. That alone is already a winning condition - the rest is bonus. See you folks in the next game.

License selection:

We will now perform with the usual. Selecting of licenses is handled in public. In order of the winners podium, and only if you want to, please select one license/company out of the pool and mention it in this thread, then (important) please get in touch with me (via PM) with your full name, email address and your license selection.

As usual - you're not forced to pick up anything. You can pass and therefore offer more to select for the next person in line (if there is a spot existing / not available for "sole winner" mechanic). Just let all participants/winners/the staff know in a timely manner (within 5 days of this post). Once one company has been selected, it's out of the pool for the next person on the podium.

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	As part of a new collaboration with Hornet Plugins, you are allowed to select either 2 plugins at a maximum value of 20 EUR MSRP for both, or one individual plugin of choice from the whole available plugin range (bundles are exempt). Due to time constraints, I could not make a bigger announcement about this yet. Apologies for the inconvenience.

I re-open the field for talking some more about each others' productions. If things drift a bit too off-topic, please use the General Gossip thread, or Discord.



See you in in the next challenge!


Songwriting Competition 082 (June 2024) is still in full swing.

There are currently no (number: 00) entries.

Gotta say I'm pretty surprised with the result but thank you and congrats to everyone. I would like modobass 2 please.

Congratulations @Arelem, a well deserved win
Thanks @Mister Fox for your additional feedback and keeping things running smoothly
See you all in the next one, hopefully with some additional participants

Many thanks to all for the comments and contributions!!
Congratulations to @Arelem for being this month's winner!!

@Mister Fox you're right I could have been more creative or innovative but the experiments I did didn't work out so I decided to remove them. Anyway, thanks for forcing us to innovate.